Description
Kit contents
- Pi Zero W
- pHAT BEAT DAC and stereo amp. with VU meter and six buttons
- Male and female 2×20 pin headers
- Single 5W 4Ω speaker
- Blue acrylic enclosure***
- 50cm USB A to micro-B cable
- USB A (female) to micro B (male) adaptor
- Mini to full-size HDMI adaptor
- Sticker sheet (personalise your Pirate Radio!)
- Comes in a reusable kit box
- Build guide
Note that this is a soldering project, although you could use one of our no-solder hammer headers!
Pirate Radio uses pHAT BEAT DAC and stereo amp. to drive the single speaker (left and right channels are mixed when you flip the DIP switch on the underside to mono mode). The two rows of 8 APA102 RGB LEDs make the perfect VU meter, and there are 6 buttons along the edges to control your audio.
This kit takes advantage of the built-in wireless LAN and Bluetooth on the Pi Zero W, meaning that there’s no need for a USB Wi-Fi dongle.
There are three different software projects for your Pirate Radio: an internet radio, a Spotify streaming box, or an AirPlay speaker.
Features
- Dual I2S DAC/amplifiers (MAX98357A)
- 3W per channel
- 2x push fit speaker terminals
- DIP switch to select blended mono or stereo modes
- 16 RGB LED pixels (APA102) in 2 rows of 8
- 6 edge-mounted push buttons
- Software installer and ALSA VU meter plugin
- 5W 4Ω speaker with pre-soldered wires
- 3-layer blue acrylic enclosure
- Pi Zero W with single core CPU and built-in wireless LAN and Bluetooth
- Adaptor kit
- 50cm USB A to micro-B cable (power your Pi from an existing charger or computer)
- Python library
- Female and male headers require soldering
Software
There is a nifty one-line installer that get your pHAT BEAT configured and install VU meter plugin for ALSA that uses the RGB LEDs on pHAT BEAT to display sound levels.
There is also put together a Python library to allow you to control the LEDs independently, if you wish, and to program the buttons to do whatever you wish.
Notes
Assembled size of Pirate Radio is 135x85x70mm (WxHxD).
Henrik H (verified owner) –
Sjovt lille begynder kit/projekt…
man skal lige lære at lodde og så ellers følge guiden på hjemmesiden, og så har man en fed lille web radio… Eneste problem med dette kit er at Beat Dac (forstærkeren) har lidt støj der kommer når man skifter nummer (spotify eller Airplay) Men når man skal lære og gerne vil have et kit at starte med er det en fed løsning hvor alt (undtagen et micro sd kort og loddegrej) er inkluderet 😀