Thank you.
Finally got my Nuimo!!! Thanks to Dominik from Senic and DrCWO for all the help.
All set up and running with an RPi4b, but my BT range is dreadful. I am lucky if I get 2 metres so I am going to purchase a TP-Link BT adapter. My local store only has the UB500 and not the UB4A.
Does anyone know if this will work or even work well? @DrCWO?
It’s unlikely to work, from the TP-Link site page
Supported Operating System – Windows 11/10/8.1/7
You’ll need something that supports Linux.
Duh. I even read that myself.
(Slaps forehead).
Thanks @killdozer, I’ll take a longer drive and get the UB4A.
I have the TP-Link dongle and it works well for me, where the internal was failing.
But it is the one https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07NQ5YGDW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Which also advertises itself as Windows only. As an exclusively Linux user, I know from experience if the dongle doesn’t explicitly say Linux it’s a lottery. I usually stick to devices that state Linux support now.
Totally understand where you are coming from.
But this is the one recommended by the good Doctor.
Pretty sure we had an extensive discussion when I purchased my first Nuimo, which I had to go out and but something for as it was constantly failing.
A slight move and the TP-Link means it has been completely stable since then.
Something “funny”.
My 15€ IKEA remote control for the lights in by headphone cabinet (with IKEA power supply) is Wifi based and I can switch the lights in the cabinet from anywhere in my apartment, on and of.
It is a bit dissapointing that the 150€+ nuimo has such a weak BT range. I know, the 2m range is also due to weak BT of RPi but anyway could have been at leat a class 1 BT in the nuimo which seems not to be the case (or can anybody confirm otherwise?).
It probably does not help that the Nuimo has a metal surround as that can also limits the BT range.
It is also down to the amount of 2.4G WiFi in the area as that shares the same frequency.
I moved mine to a different part of the house and it was much more reliable (to about 4M distance), but the TP-Link got it more reliable for me, and as I said I moved it slightly away from dense materials which were likely to reduce the signal quality. It is pretty much 99.9% reliable now and the update to 2.2 should have made it more reliable again.
DrCWO stated that it is Class 3 BT in the Nuimo further up the thread. I found the post last night but don’t have time to look right now.
Mark,
first I am happy you finally got your Nuimo. What a long way to Down Under
The distance from the Raspberry strongly depends on the local conditions. If there are strong 2.4GHz Wifis around you only get a small distance.
I recommend the LogiLink Bluetooth USB Stick I mentioned in the quick installation guide. Add a long USB extension cable and you can experiment where to place the USB stick to have optimum distance. Further up is mostly a good idea as the Nuimo transmits BT through its touch-surface.
Best DrCWO
Thank you, once again, for yours and Dominick’s enduring patience with the epic journey my Nuimo purchase has undergone
Is the LogiLink that much better than the TP-Link as I can get the TP-Link today but will have to order the LogiLink from overseas?
Thanks, Mark
I am always fighting with the operating range of the Nuimo.
I own both Bluetooth adapters:
- TP-Link UB400 Nano USB Bluetooth 4.0 Adapter
- LogiLink BT0037 Bluetooth Nano V4.0 EDR Class 1 Adapter
And I found no difference in operating range. But both give better results as the internal BT of the RPi.
There are so many local environment factors it’s very much a YMMV situation. I can use a Pi with BT dongle in the attic bedroom and get a reliable connection at 6m. Same kit but 2 floors down near the router and it’s 3-4m max. All is well in my tiny 2mx3m office
Pretty much my exact experience.
It’s better to find somewhere closer to the Nuimo and get better reliability. It’s also worth trying different places to try positioning the Pi if you can.
In my study I have tried 3 or 4 locations for the Pi and got one that’s further away but clear line of sight without anything to block the signal strength and it’s been almost perfect there.
I purchased the TP-Link BT adapter but I’m not having much luck with the Nuimo downstairs in the kitchen, which is where I purchased it for.
Ironically when I flashed the latest rooExtend image onto the RPi4 upstairs on my Mac, I had the pi set up wirelessly and the Nuimo was working perfectly up to 5 metres away through a Gyprock wall.
When I use it downstairs in the kitchen, where the Pi4 is plugged into ethernet the Nuimo works for about 2 metres then drops the connection. Is it possible that there are too many 2.4Ghz wireless clients downstairs causing interference, we do have quite a few. Unfortunately there is no way for me to change that.
Oh well, unlucky I guess.
I’ll play around with it a bit more and if I can’t get it to work reliably I’ll probably sell it on.
Ironic considering the saga involved in actually getting it in the first place.
Try it in different places, not sure if you saw my post above, but I had similar issues and then found a perfect place for the Pi’s in my study and living room.
I found it needed a clear space for signal to spread out so I moved it away from cupboards etc.
Also no harm moving to WiFi if that works, positioning seems to be quite important, so if you find the best position and there is no Ethernet there, go with it.
It is working!
Thanks to DrCWO for the great price on the additional licence for testing this.
My setting now:
RPi4 (2GB) + LogicLink in living room works now at listening position and dining table for main speaker system and also in office for headphone station. Works now also as Roon endpoint (now separated from core).
RPi3B+ (4GB?) in bed room for speaker system there.
Can move nuimo around and nuimo automatically connects to bluetooth and follows zone.
As Michael said WiFi is not an issue, I will try to use this for the RPi3, this would make a hidden position possible.
Edit: How do I get the RPi3 connected by WiFi? I always used LAN.
This video shows hoe to setup WiFi
Got it, thanks.
Edit:
That was short fun. The LogicLink just died on me.
Have to wait for the next one.
Does anybody know if BT5.0 dongle also works?