"Squeezing" a Raspberry pi into a Tivoli Radio

[nickcase]

Hi All,

With the recent release of the raspberry pi model A+, I've been able to realise a long standing plan for my Tivoli Audio DAB radio.

The idea is to add squeezebox functionality to this funky little DAB/FM radio

This was achieved using the following:

1x Raspberry Pi Model A+
1x Edimax 7811UN wi-fi USB module
1x 1GB micro-sd card
1x 7805 TO220 5V regulator
piCorePlayer
Some wire, solder, hot glue and a bit of hacking!

Total Cost £25

Method:

1. Build the Raspberry PI model A+ with piCorePlayer.

piCorePlayer is available here
Install and configure it for your wireless LAN and test it all works before moving on.

2. Open the Tivoli radio and:

a. Hack the power board and fit a 5V regulator to power the pi.

Here you can see the board with a single pilot hole for regulator towards the bottom of the pcb.

here it is with the regulator in place. I decided to mount it the other way around in the end to reduce wire lengths.

and here is the reverse of the board when its all wired up and glued in place.

b. Next step, hack the input board and create a feed for the AUX input from the pi.

Here is the reverse of the board

and here it is with the leads attached to the appropriate points.

2. Next, hook up the RaspPi to the new 5V power feed and the audio output to the new feed into the Tivoli input board.

There are some nice shiny test pads on the Raspberry Pi which are ideal for this.

Here is a rear view:

The pads to use are:

PP1: 5V power feed from microUSB (prior to fuse)
PP3: Ground
PP6: Ground
PP26: Audio - R
PP25: Audio - L

Solder the connections to the Pi.

3. Lastly, find a spot to cram the RaspPi board in.

The model A+ and wi-fi dongle just fit in to the right hand side of the bass port.

Route the cables so they do not interfere; like so:

4. Lastly power up and watch for smoke!

All looks good!

The result is that the radio works exactly as before but the AUX input now functions as a fully functional squeezebox.

Here she is:

Control is via the SqueezeCentre web panel or your mobile phone.

Works a treat!

Cheers

Nick

 

[orangeart]

That is what the DIY room is for, well done that man

 

[James Evans]

Quality dabbling (pun intended )

 

[nickcase]

Thanks chaps!

A small addendum.

The reg is dropping 7V, not measured current draw but it was getting rather toasty so I've added a clip-on heatsink.

The model A+ really is a perfect fit. No room to add a HiFiBerry DAC in this case but this is a mono radio on kitchen duty.

 

[bownose]

It is one of those weird synchronicities that I bought a hot pink Tivoli PAL on eBay for £15 a few seconds ago. Needs battery, antenna and PSU. Well PSU I can sort (assume 12V DC), aftermarket batteries are £10 on Amazon and I have a full tin of plastic etch primer just itching to join with the pinkness... I too have bluetooth and wifi plans for this bad boy... er girl... not sure about Pi though, was thinking an odroid...

I could keep it hot pink, (there is a pony for that) but we shall see.

EDIT:The good old Moto 2955 12A 60V MOSFET sits inside, good to know, thats a NTP2955, modern ones ought to run cooler. Wow, that's a lot of potential for heat.

 

[Bemused]

Neato and a nice write up.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[martin clark]

PinkyPal, Clive?


Very nice hack, Nick!

 

[lennyw]

Fantastic. I have a couple of Tivoli Model Ones about. Might be worth a go to...

 

[nickcase]

I bought a hot pink Tivoli PAL on eBay for £15 a few seconds ago. Needs battery, antenna and PSU.

That's good price Clive, especially with added pinkyness!

I do like these overpriced Tivoli boxes. They sound good but reliability of their DAB circuits are dubious, both this unit and my Tivoli Sounbook have developed rythmic interference issues I've not been able to resolve.

FM reception in York appears a little poor today, enough to reveal a deterioration attributable to the recent change. Initial reaction is to blame the wi-fi but I'll confirm that prior to thinking about if/how I can shield the FM receiver section.

Not fussed about DAB, the streams sound just the same but the FM section of these radios is normally excellent.

 

[Tw99]

V Cool...

 

[stevec67]

Really impressive work Nick. I still need to get a R-pi sorted out as a server.

 

[bownose]

Oh god it's so pink! by c-g., on Flickr

The Pink Stays, it needs a bit more cleaning but its a bargain at £15.... in fact I think I can augment the pinkness by changing the colour of the speaker grille to #ED458B (Pinkie's official hair colour). What is fabulous is the radio has #F33B6CF on the knob (Body). Its uncannily close in all respects. We need a cutie mark sticker....

I Chechen the droid and it's just too big a footprint. I have RPi Model a+ already and i think I have a USB dongle too. The house has a 12V supply delivered to 5V USB ports throughout the house inc kitchen.... so... Come the battery arrival and an aerial, let the bodging begin.

The OP has unleashed a demon!

@Martin, yes yes yes! Great name.

 

[nickcase]

Love it - what a pinky bargain!

If altering the grille, why not etch it, then spray it but use a stencil to create the 'cutie mark'? (whatever that is).

Will you be hooking into the AM input section?

Nick

 

[bownose]

A cutie mark is a tattoo on her ass.

It has an Aux in like yours so I was going to go that route. But I think the switch is the type that overrides the radio input I need to look inside to see.

 

[nickcase]

Ah, I see, a pony tramp-stamp; saucy mare

Hooking into the AUX input socket was easiest for me, still means I can use the socket and the switch between FM and AUX functions as pre-mod.

Let's have some internal shots please Clive.

 

[bownose]

Wilco. When then battery arrives I will do a tear down. I think I will just implement an AirPlay receiver which will be very very easy... Melvyn Bragg's baffling "In our time" (aka big stuff with medium sized words for simpletons) at breakfast again, thank goodness!

It also needs just a wee bit more of a clean, I got it for a bargain because the eBay ad made it look like a terrible battered up knackered thing, it's now clean and has that soft rubbery texture back again... The wonders of lighter fluid and isopropyl alcohol.