Dodgy speaker maybe?

Hey i also got big buzzing sound from the right speaker. However i testet a bit around, the sound from the Pi is not very loud and basicly bad. Testet the audio cable and picade board with smartphone and booth speakers are working.

On a side note i installed my screen upside down so the screen display board is not that stressed.
I think te buzzing comes from the HDMI cable.

Any suggestion to fix this problem ?

Hi

I had similar issues and my solution was to ensure there were none of the button wires anywhere near the corner of the PCB where the amplifier chip is (near the speaker connectors). I also replaced the audio cable with a shielded one and set the volume on the Pi to maximum.

Cheers

Paul

Yea I tried all of that and the fuzz and hiss are still there. Pimoroni crew, please advise… is this consistent behavior for a bad picade board?

Hi Moxie

Please would you be able to take a picture of the board close in as you can to the audio input socket I should be able to diagnose if there is an issue there straight away.

regards
Gee

Here’s some photos (i hope that helps):

Hi Moxie

Thanks for the photos. I can see a potential fault on the audio socket. If you could email support@pimoroni.com we will replace the board I’ll make sure it is one i have full tested myself. :) sorry about the troubles you’ve been having and we will get you up and running with your Picade.

Regards
Gee

Thanks @rabid_inventor! Just emailed them :-)

@rabid_inventor Out of interest, after looking on the pics, how you did figure out there is a potential fault on the audio socket ?

Just an update – I received the new picade board and it is working swimmingly! no hiss, no fuzz, nice and loud arcade sounds :-) Thank you!

And echoing @AndiBcool, how did you diagnose it so easily?

Hi Moxie and Andi

There is the potential for a poor solder joint on the audio input jack it is something we are taking care of in manufacture but very rarely a board can slip through.

I have marked the image where the issue is. It could be quiet easily sorted with a soldering iron and a touch of solder but we much prefer you to have a new shiny working board than asking you to fix it yourself. ;)

Once again sorry for the trouble this has caused

Regards
Gee

Oh i didnt realise i could enlarge the picture, but its only well noticeable on that pic.

By the way my speakers are still buzzing too.

i did try two different audio cables now, one is shielded and one is shielded even with ferrit on booth ends.
The game sound is hardly noticeable but i set sound in ES to over 90%. The buzzing becomes louder if i disconnect the cable from the pi.

I did look at the picade board but the contacts do not look that off like on Moxies board. However there is not much soldering fluid on the pins.
Taking pics was quite hard but i managed to make 2 good ones i guess.

.

Well testet still a bit picade board only, there is still buzzing when picade board is running alone and smartphone for sound conneted. when i increase sound to max on the smartphone the buzzing wount be that loud ( unless i increase sound with the buttons on the picade ). The buzzing also reduces when i touch the outer metal from the USB connector ( i use another cable to connect the USB Cable to the 5V power supply).
Tomorrow i will set up the pi with a USB soundcard and look how that work out.

Hi

Try and move as many of the wires as possible that cross the PCB near the loudspeaker connections as that is what caused the problem with mine as the amplifier chip seems to pickup interference from them. Once the wires had been rerouted it no longer buzzes.

Cheers

Paul

OK i can say i have a faulty Picade board.
I have buzzing only on the right speaker, if i dissconnect the right speaker everything is fine.
When i conncet the left speaker to the contacts for the right one the left starts buzzing.
So the fault must be on the picade board.

Many Thanks to Matt and the rest of the Pim Pirates. With the new Picade PCB everything is working fine now.
Awesome customer service !

Hi guys,

Got a picade last week. I have exactly the same problem with the right output.
Already tried inverting the speakers, disconnecting the wires, the problem seems to lie in the board.
I wanted to try to downmix the sound to mono and plug both speakers to the left output on the picade but this would be my very last option T_T (maybe I’ll do it anyway since the cade is a gift for my best friend’s 40th birthday and the date is approaching quickly).

Where should I sign to get a replacement ?

If you are in a hurry, you could try touching up the soldering points on the audio in jack, it’s a fairly straightforward job and will hopefully get things back on track.

If not, shoot an email to support@pimoroni.com explaining the issue.

Hi again,

Just to let you know that the soldering iron did the trick. The sound is working fine now.
Thanks for your help !

2 Likes

Just to chime in on this, I had a similar problem with our BilgeTank Picade just recently, and found the Picade board had been screwed down preeeeeetyyy tight, causing one contact of the audio jack to pop right off the board. Easy enough fix with a soldering iron, if you run into this issue and are well equipped.

Otherwise, be gentle with those screws- I’ll see if we can do anything to mitigate this for future users.

Seems like I have the same issue (buzzing right speaker). Haven’t soldered before so would appreciate a bit more detailed instructions of what should be done… Thanks! // Peter