Hey guys! I've been plotting out a Raspberry Pi project recently and wanted to describe it here along with a few questions before I move forward with it.
First, a little background on myself. I am a software developer by trade. Most of my experience lies in the web & with Python. I have a little experience with some basic electronics work. I know how to solder, completing a circuit, etc. I will be doing reading and trying to teach myself more along the way!
As for my project idea, I feel like this should be a fairly simple concept... Hopefully I can explain it properly. I have a Griffin Amplifi 2.1 iPod Speaker Box that I would like to turn into a network connected music player. The box...
The (important) details about this box:
- The front knob has a digital volume control by turning it to the left and right.
- Pressing in on the knob toggles the power to the box.
- Its powered by an external power brick. (The exact voltage/amperage, I do not know off the top of my head.)
- There is a 3.5mm audio-input jack on the back-side.
- When there is nothing plugged in to this jack, it falls back to the iPod dock on the top. (30-pin Apple connector.)
What I envision going on in this project:
- The Raspberry Pi board will ideally be powered by box's power supply.
- The audio jack on the Pi would be hooked in to the audio-input signal for the speaker box. This will be accomplished by either soldering directly to the box's circuit board, or a 3.5mm cable ran out the back and plugged in... soldered to the board would be preffered.
- Wires connected from the Pi to the box's volume control, allowing my software to adjust the volume. I dont know exactly how this would be done. I assume it would connect to the Pi's GPIO pin header? (This will be a major point of my research during the project.)
- Lastly, I'd like some wires from the Pi to be able to toggle the power on the box, replicating what would happen if you push in on the knob. (Again, I assume this is done through the Pi's pin header.)
That all covers the hardware side of this project. As for the software, a fairly basic Linux distribution will be used. (I haven't decided which one, yet.) A combination of a few software packages will be installed for handling the audio sources (AirPlay, local network MP3s, Pandora, etc.) And I will be writing my own client/server software for controlling the box, including control over the audio-source, the speaker's volume control, and power state.
Well, thats about it... Does this all sound reasonable / possible? Are there any tips that anyone out there could share? And any resources for helping me along the way? I would be very greatful!
Thanks for reading!
