This looks very interesting.
I saw your DIY section on your website. As far as I can tell, the downloads are sd card images to flash onto a card.
I have a rpi4/8gb at home that I use for other things as well - eg the Unifi network controller. I wonder if there’s a way to install rooExtend here rather than flashing a card as I would like to not loose the Unifi controller functionality.
Hi Miguel,
I am afraid that you will have to invest in a separate RPI. It is not possible to install rooExtend on top of another RPI-installation.
Kind regards, Frank.
Is there a min requirement? I can’t imagine this is very heavy to run.
RPI 3 or better (RPI3A+, RPI3B+, RPI4B or RPI Zero 2W). Preferably connected to wired network, but wireless is also possible. No extra requirements.
Kind regards, Frank…
My RooDial/Rooextend (Running on a Pi Zero W V1.1) has worked ok(ish) for a year or so albeit with lots of latency issues. However lately not at all. Roon shows it in extensions but it does not work.
I run a Pi4 for a Nuimo in another room which is working well. On trying to flash the newer version (PiARMV8) the pi flashes 7 times which i think indicates it is not happy? The PiARMV6 software appears to be what i had anyway.
I am quite a novice with all this only having got as far as i have via the youtube tutorials etc. Can anybody advise where i am going wrong? Do i need a higher spec pi?
Hi @jeremy_davies,
Pi Zero W is not able to run ARMv8 software only ARLv6. Please the rooExtend_v2.3.2.zip image for the PiZero W.
This is the latest release that runs with Pi Zero W but new developments like rooHead or rooAIDJ are not included there. So if you like to run these Roon Extensionns you have to upgrade to a Pi 3 or Pi 4.
Best DrCWO
Hi,
Thanks for getting back to me. The main reason i wanted to move to the newer software was not the availability of new extensions but the hope that the MS Dial would start working again. I note that another thread suggests improvements are planned for the dial, will this be limited to the Pi3 and 4?
Yes, new developments regarding rooDial are on the way but only at release v3.x.x. There a nightly OTA upgrade is included so anything is always up to date.
But if you like to make it run again happily use v2.3.2 for your Pi Zero W.
Best DrCWO
Just received the rooExtend box safely from Germany to here in the UK. Roon found it once all connected and the license showed 60days free trial. Had to unplug it and plug it into a new location, at which point all license codes removed and all extensions stating ‘Not a valid license key’ so I’ve not had a chance to test any of the functionality beyond enabling it in roon as an extension.
?!Que Pasa?!
This is strange. But I will test what happens if you start the rooExtend-Box for the first time and next unplug it.
Please let me know how long the rooExtend-Box was powered befor you unplugged it.
I am sure I will find a solution for you.
Best DrCWO
Thank you. I am tempted to redeploy my pi4 for Nuimo to the dial and perhaps get your Rooextend box to run the Nuimo and possibly play and aidj down the line. If i do this can i use the original license (i have the code) for the roodial? Also the website to buy is in german, is there an english language option, as it stands i cant work out the shipping/sales tax etc.
Yes, you can use the original License Key. But don’t forget to revoke the license before you switch the device.
You can select the language ant the bottom of the page but here the direct link:
rooExtend® Extension Box for Roon – rooextend
But the website is still buggy regarding language switching but ATR works on it…
Best DrCWO
Thanks so much! Fix sent to me worked perfectly and instructions were clear and easy to follow.
After short use, I’m very impressed, even if just using the rooDial so far.
Is it possible to have more than 1 rooDial / surface dial combination i.e. 1 for each zone?
Sorry no, this is not possible caused by the BT framework I currently use. This means one rooExtend-Box (or DIY with the Raspberry Pi) one license one Surface Dial.
Maybe this will change in future as I am working on a new software solution for BT.
Best DrCWO
Hello DrCWO, I’d really like to get into some of your extensions but unfortunately the installation options are rather limited. Since I already have 4 Raspberry Pi’s in my home I am not keen on having another one running 24/7 just for rooExtend.
My preferred way would be to virtualize it on my Server in the basement using an ARM Virtual Machine in Proxmox. I am trying to get that running but unfortuantely have not been able to get your image to boot (stuck at EFI boot). Would it be possible to get the root login credentials for the system? I would like to try to setup a regular ARM dietpi system in a VM and then backup and restore the rooExtend image via the builtin tool DietPi-Backup. Do you think that could work?
Furthermore, I do have another Pi3 laying around with a Hifiberry DAC+, but rooExtend does not seem to recognize the HAT, it does not appear in Roon under the Audio Devices. If I could at least use it as another Zone maybe I would go the Raspi route after all.
Thank you for your support. Regards, Steffen
For the Pi3 route, you’ll need to manually add the correct overlay for the DAC+ (dtoverlay=hifiberry-dacplus) to /boot/config.txt on the RooExtend SD-card (the boot partition is FAT formatted and readily accessible on any machine).
I have the rooExtend box. If I understand it correctly you can use it as an Roonbridge. Can I just connect an USB dac to the USB port and connect the dac to my amplifier to make it work?
In Roon I sometimes see the rooExtend box as an airplay device but if I have select it, it will disappear.
You got it right! Just connect your USB DAC and you can use it as as Roon Streaming device 
You also can strem from iPhone to Roon using rooPlay. But you have to set up the rooExtend radio station before it will work. Please find out to set it up in the rooExtend-Box Manual.
Best DrCWO
I am running rooExtend (with rooAIDJ) on an rpi4 that has a Hifiberry DAC+ ADC Pro hat.
Can the DAC+ be used for audio output?
@miguelito Does the Hifiberry HAT support DietPi? It looks like it does… Contact @Drcwo for the root creds and add the overlay statement to the boot/config.txt file. DM me if you need more help with the overlay config.