rooDial a Wireless Volume Knob for Roon with Microsoft Surface Dial

Yes, listen to Elmar…
Just remove the tab, and a sticky rubbery surface will magically appear!

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I have 2 knobs now…both have grippy rubber (yes remove the sheet from under the MSD) the one on the left is a balanced line volume controller for my active speakers.

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Guys, you were correct. I didn’t read those damn instructions… :smile:

My audiophile life has just improved since today after I bought this magic jog dial!

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Andeas,
sorry to say but this exactly reflects the philosopy of the roon developers!
Select a zone and then action is for the selected zone. All roon volume extensions work like that and there is nothing I can do about it…
My hint, just buy one Dial for each playback device :wink:

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Microsoft suggest that if the dial “slides” wipe base with a damp cloth to restore “grip.”
I tried that & it works just fine.

Amazing. I did exactly the same a few hours ago after finding exactly the same problem after initial installation. Great minds …

I was reluctant to peel off the bottom label as it looked as if the Dial would then be too strongly stuck to wherever I first put it. I don’t want to have it in any permanent location at present.

don’t worry, it’s like a gecko’s foot, sticks and is easy to remove.

the other trick is to place it down on a cleaned and dust free surface, ideally glass or metal or painted gloss works best but then leave it there…if you dont move it much it should stay put pretty well but a wipe with a damp microfibre cloth works wonders…steer clear of anything like a tissue though.

Edit - Actually I just put mine down on a metal (magnetic) surface and it was sucked down magnetically. very handy as its on the edge of my desk now and wont get knocked off easily being magnetically secured.

I was just about to write the same thing. We have some metal drinks coasters and the Dial magnetized to those, making it more secure and potentially protecting it from any nearby spillage.

Thank you, that is good to know. I will peel the back off with confidence now.

Also thanks to others for magnetic info. As I use the Dial in the kitchen, maybe put it on the fridge door then :thinking:

It has a pretty good strength magnet but note this is more for holding the battery cover on than attaching to a vertical surface perhaps… though the magnets appear to be in the cover so it could be fine…I would test with care

Thanks. The magnet is quite strong and a gave a good result. I was less impressed with the sticky base, which had minimal traction on artificial stone kitchen worktops. Long term I may get a nice grippy silicon mat and stick the dial base to that. Not sure yet, and it is hardly a pressing problem in the context of the world at large!

The main thing is that rooDial has worked seamlessly, and is an elegant solution, so I am already very happy with it.

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Well Done, DrCWO!
To be honest, I had a solution with a solid volume knob like the surface dial for a long time in my mind. I never found anything appropriate for me. Neither the old “Griffin Power Mate” (BT), nor the Wifi “Spin Remote” from a dutch kick start (no longer produced and supported). I also had a 3D mouse from the CAD world (3D Connection Space Mouse wireless, e.g.) in mind, but this one does not really feel like a turning volume knob.
I stumbled over this Roon Extension a few days ago and today I already installed it (no problem with the instruction). Job well done.
Now it feels like tuning the old potentiometer - volume knob on an analogue amplifier. Great.
I have to admit I am old school concerning this. I never was happy with the “+/ -” keys on a remote control or the slide control in an app for volume control.
Now I am considering to buy another system (and license) for another room. I tested the bluetooth range in one room: it did function all over the room (approx. 7-8 m).
Once again: job well done. :slight_smile:

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Like to thank you for your positive feedback. :pray:
It feels good to provide useful things with good usability.:slight_smile:

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I have also been a user of rooDial for 2 days. And with the kind support of @DrCWO, I was able to license the software. :crazy_face:

I decided to install a Pi 4 with a passive cooling housing and a network cable, as I would also like to use rooUPNP as soon as it is available.

At first I had significant problems with the Surface Dial. The response was bad and no matter what I set, it always did something else. A new set of batteries solved the problem. Now it works fine, the volume control on my Linn Streamer works as smoothly as never before.

Great work! thumbs-up

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Many Linn, Arcam, other users are excited for rooupnp!

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I’m working on it :thinking:

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I am very pleased how the rooDial works after few weeks of having it licensed for lifetime with the version 1.2.0. I decided today to purchase a MicroSD SLC (industrial-grade) memory card and to forget the Raspberry Pi in my IT rack.

There is some small reaction delay in the RPi or in the dial after a long period of not using it. Is it caused by the WiFi connectivity (I am using a RPi Zero W) and should I switch the RPi Zero W to a standalone RPi 4 with 4GB and PoE hat? Or the root cause is the dial which goes into some sleep mode and there is nothing that rooDial can solve about this?

Finally, when the new version will be released? It would be good to include some SW release notes once you will release it.

I notice that the volume usually wonks out though pause play works, with a second or so delay. Have a zero w and the zero w is around 8 inches away from the dial. Why are you thinking of the POE hat on the pi 4?

Thanks for your possitive feedback :grin:
It is the sleep mode of the dial after five minutes that causes the dely. If you have a stable WifFi there is no improvement with ethernet. But in general I always prefer etherernet :wink:

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