This is similar in concept to a Raspberry Pi, however, I don’t even see how to buy one.
The device I purchased was available through Amazon for $50. And given that I was able to get it to work, you could say that it is a RPi alternative. However for someone who knows nothing about these devices (and presumably little to nothing about Linux?), that may be a heavy lift.
It’s not that anything is particularly difficult once you know what you’re doing, but when you don’t know what you’re doing it is not straightforward. And the documentation is fragmented and much of it specific to other boards. And you do need linux experience or at the minimum familiarity to get it set up. Not trying to dissuade you, just setting expectations.
If that doesn’t dissuade you, and taking on a project like this sounds fun, go for it!
I do believe that a RoPieee supported device would be a MUCH gentler introduction to these devices (based on my reading, not on first hand experience). It is a shame that supply chain issues (or whatever the cause) has made genuine RPis quite expensive relative to where they were a short time ago.
At the bottom are links to the roon community forum and the beginners guide which may be helpful.
I do not know of a supported device that is obtainable at a reasonable price. Perhaps someone on the ropieee roon community forum will know. Or maybe there is truly nothing. It’s unfortunate.
do any of these proposed Rpi4 alternatives work with any HATs and RoPiee? Otherwise this is an academic exercise
312Elements
("The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.")
27
Ropieee is limited to rPi only at the moment, though I believe there’s some new hardware being supported soon. I believe it’s the Odroid C4. Hats are pretty hit or miss, but often not required as many, if not most, are plugging into a USB DAC. Ropieee also isn’t the only game in town.
Perhaps I’m missing your point. The keyboard is a Raspberry Pi. It’s called a Model 400 and is electrically identical to a Raspberry Pi 4 (the latest varient). The PC board inside the keyboard is different than the standard RPi 4 board, but uses the same components. The main difference AFAIK is the lack of a display connector on the 400.
At the time I purchased the 400 they were plentiful. I bought mine as a naked machine; no power supply, starter kit, or other stuff. I already had a RPi power supply.
Ropiee is compatible with this Raspberry Pi 400. It installs identically to a standard Rpi 4.
I didn’t modify any of the software. I downloaded Ropiee, burned it to a microSD card, initialized Ropiee, rebooted and Viola! endpoint.
When you initialize Ropiee you need a monitor and a wired ethernet connection. Add a wireless config and afterwards you connect to it over your wireless LAN using a browser.
Ropiee even had a configuration for the DAC Pro (albeit under the original vendor name)
More info:
I was thinking of my own use case selfishly. I use a Rpi4 with JustBoom AMP HAT to drive kitchen speakers in the ceiling. Do need WiFi and some kind of AMP HAT. Not married to my set up or RoPieee but not sure how to accomplish this use case with alternative SBC.
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312Elements
("The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.")
30
I’m confused are you looking to replace the existing one?
At any rate… this would “likely” work with your current hat but doesn’t have WiFi so you’d likely have to add a WiFi dongle. It could possibly even be compatible with your existing case depending which pi model you have. You can add endpoint support via Armbian.
Not looking to replace I just need another one that works in the same way. Thanks for the link will take a look although lack of WiFi puts me off somewhat since Linux drivers prob required for a compatible dongle. I have a raspberry Pi 4 Model B btw.
I wouldn’t say that it is an academic excercise; these devices can be a roon endpoint just like a RPi+RoPieee. I’m using mine now and it works beautifully. So a practical exercise.
The difference is that since these devices are not supported by RoPieee, there is a bit more work to get them set up. It’s not black magic, but requires some knowledge of how these devices boot and how to navigate Linux to be successful.
If you have the knowledge OR are interested in and motivated enough to spend some time to get this going, I recommend it. But expect there to be a learning curve if you are starting from zero.
This really shows the value that @spockfish has created with RoPieee, making this available to those who have a Pi and just want to get things working without fuss. Bravo!
Another point… you CAN get a RPi4 delivered to your door tomorrow. You just have to pay the current rate which amazon tells me is $170 - $200. That is still a pretty inexpensive bridge…. Just not as inexpensive as it was 18 months ago, and probably (maybe?) more expensive than 18 months from now.
But time is money! If you need or want it now you can get it!
I would rather not pay the premium price - I am waitlisted at some suppliers and using the rpilocator tool to track when in stock - this worked for me in December and I was able to get one at list price by moving fast. The problem I have now is I cant get the case for my combo until March. I am not in a hurry tho.
