Phat beat | Buster | Pi 4 | Sound or LEDs not working

Support
1

Hello!!

Hopefully I am in the right spot; I am new to Pi so apologise if I make less sense than usual.

I can’t get PHAT BEAT to work… tried pretty many times including reinstalling OS

Thank you!!

What I have
I have a new Pi 4. all upgraded, sound using headphones works well.
I have installed PHAT BEAT, the soldering looks ok, nothing seems too bad (maybe I’ve been too kind to my work).

Installing PHAT BEAT as per the manual seems fine (no errors)
https://learn.pimoroni.com/tutorial/sandyj/getting-started-with-phat-beat

observations

  • The LEDs work randomly… if I power-off/on different LEDs will light up
  • If I enable Audio (dtparam=audio=on) in /boot/config.txt and I select Analog “speaker-test -c2 -t wav” will make a sound
  • tried both speakers, left and right (and also both ways, red cable first and second)

The configs

COMMAND

/boot/config.txt

#Uncomment some or all of these to enable the optional hardware interfaces
dtparam=i2c_arm=on
#dtparam=i2s=on
dtparam=spi=on

dditional overlays and parameters are documented /boot/overlays/README

#Enable audio (loads snd_bcm2835)
#dtparam=audio=on

[pi4]
#Enable DRM VC4 V3D driver on top of the dispmanx display stack
dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d
max_framebuffers=2

[all]
#dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d

#NOOBS Auto-generated Settings:
dtoverlay=i2s-mmap
dtoverlay=hifiberry-dac
enable_uart=1
dtoverlay=w1-gpio

COMMAND

/etc/asound.config

pcm.!default {
type plug
slave.pcm “softvol_and_pivumeter”
}

ctl.!default {
type hw
card 0
}

pcm.pivumeter {
type meter
slave.pcm “hw:0,0”
scopes.0 pivumeter
}

pcm.softvol_and_pivumeter {
type softvol
slave.pcm “pivumeter”
control {
name “PCM”
card 0
}
}

pcm_scope.pivumeter {
type pivumeter
decay_ms 500
peak_ms 400
brightness 128
output_device phat-beat
}

pcm_scope_type.pivumeter {
lib /usr/local/lib/libpivumeter.so
}

pcm.dsp0 pivumeter

COMMAND

aplay -L

null
Discard all samples (playback) or generate zero samples (capture)
jack
JACK Audio Connection Kit
pulse
PulseAudio Sound Server
pivumeter
softvol_and_pivumeter
default
Playback/recording through the PulseAudio sound server
output
sysdefault:CARD=b1
bcm2835 HDMI 1, bcm2835 HDMI 1
Default Audio Device
dmix:CARD=b1,DEV=0
bcm2835 HDMI 1, bcm2835 HDMI 1
Direct sample mixing device
dsnoop:CARD=b1,DEV=0
bcm2835 HDMI 1, bcm2835 HDMI 1
Direct sample snooping device
hw:CARD=b1,DEV=0
bcm2835 HDMI 1, bcm2835 HDMI 1
Direct hardware device without any conversions
plughw:CARD=b1,DEV=0
bcm2835 HDMI 1, bcm2835 HDMI 1
Hardware device with all software conversions
usbstream:CARD=b1
bcm2835 HDMI 1
USB Stream Output
sysdefault:CARD=Headphones
bcm2835 Headphones, bcm2835 Headphones
Default Audio Device
dmix:CARD=Headphones,DEV=0
bcm2835 Headphones, bcm2835 Headphones
Direct sample mixing device
dsnoop:CARD=Headphones,DEV=0
bcm2835 Headphones, bcm2835 Headphones
Direct sample snooping device
hw:CARD=Headphones,DEV=0
bcm2835 Headphones, bcm2835 Headphones
Direct hardware device without any conversions
plughw:CARD=Headphones,DEV=0
bcm2835 Headphones, bcm2835 Headphones
Hardware device with all software conversions
usbstream:CARD=Headphones
bcm2835 Headphones
USB Stream Output
sysdefault:CARD=sndrpihifiberry
snd_rpi_hifiberry_dac, HifiBerry DAC HiFi pcm5102a-hifi-0
Default Audio Device
dmix:CARD=sndrpihifiberry,DEV=0
snd_rpi_hifiberry_dac, HifiBerry DAC HiFi pcm5102a-hifi-0
Direct sample mixing device
dsnoop:CARD=sndrpihifiberry,DEV=0
snd_rpi_hifiberry_dac, HifiBerry DAC HiFi pcm5102a-hifi-0
Direct sample snooping device
hw:CARD=sndrpihifiberry,DEV=0
snd_rpi_hifiberry_dac, HifiBerry DAC HiFi pcm5102a-hifi-0
Direct hardware device without any conversions
plughw:CARD=sndrpihifiberry,DEV=0
snd_rpi_hifiberry_dac, HifiBerry DAC HiFi pcm5102a-hifi-0
Hardware device with all software conversions
usbstream:CARD=sndrpihifiberry
snd_rpi_hifiberry_dac
USB Stream Output

photo

phat-beat-soldering
phat-beat-soldering777×1600 84.6 KB

2

curl -sS get.pimoroni.com/phatbeat | bash “should” be all you need to run to set the phat Beat as the audio source, and install pi vu meter to get the VU meter working.
Just keep in mind that the VU meter by default doesn’t show anything until you crank up the volume.
Do you have the switch on the back in stereo?
You soldering doesn’t look the best to be honest. And it looks like you bent the pins over? You don’t need to do that by the way.
What are the red an black wires, and how are they connected to the GPIO?

3

I’d agree, the soldering may be the issue here. I think pins 16 and 18 are driving the LEDs and they don’t look the best.

Take a look at Adafruit’s Guide to Excellent Soldering. Solder joints should look more like neat little volcanos. One of the common mistakes is not heating the pad on the board and the pin before adding the solder: they need to be warmed before being soldered together. Tidying that up might solve any electrical issues (one of the major causes of random activity on LEDs like that is bad electrical contact).

If I enable Audio (dtparam=audio=on) in /boot/config.txt and I select Analog “speaker-test -c2 -t wav” will make a sound

What sort of sound? Is it a popping noise?

4

Doesn’t dtparam=audio=on enable the onboard audio?
Which switches it back to AUX or HDMI?

5

Thank you @alphanumeric, really appreciate your time and help

I can confirm this is the script I ran to install it curl -sS get.pimoroni.com/phatbeat | bash

I have the volume up and I tried the stereo switch on/off (currently non-stereo)

I did bent the pin over :/ and tbh I don’t know why, I swear that’s what I think I read on the instructions which its clearly not there.

The red/black wires belong to a little touch-screen I have for the Pi. I need to find a different 5v source for the screen as the pins are used by the phat beat

Yes, I do think the soldering, pins bent and process are probably the cause of my issues. I’ve tried re-soldering but I feel the result is not any better and it hasn’t resolved the issues with the speaker or leds.

I’ll try to get new PINS and clean it up but for the looks of it I feel I might need a new phat beat too, would be good to hear your thoughts

6

Yes, tha’s correct dtparam=audio=on enables the onboard audio.
With that line ON you can change the source manually via the speaker icon on the top left (right click).

7

Thank you @Shoe!

I should of explained that better :)

I can get the audio to work using headphones and by switching the source to Analog. The steps are:

  • Ensure dtparam=audio=on is not commented on /boot/config.txt
  • selecting the Analog source manually by right click in the speaker icon (top-right corner next to the clock)
  • Now the audio works and I can hear all audio on the headphones. Running speaker-test -c2 -t wav you can hear the sound as expected in the headphones

I really enjoyed the soldering but I must admit I need more practise, I do feel the best way to proceed is by starting again

8

If you mount a Proto Zero, or a full sized Proto Hat in between the Pi and pHat Beat, it will get you access to all the GPIO pins.


You’ll need a 11mm stacking header for the Proto.
9

Thank you, I was actually wondering the name of the ProtoZero as I’ve seen it in lots or photos.
I am going to clean it up the existing PHAT BEAT this weekend and try again while I wait for the new pieces.

I’ll update the post once I’ve tried again

10

I have a Proto Zero in my Pirate Radio build. I used it to hook up some mini arcade buttons to duplicate what the ones on the pHat Beat do.

DSCF1063
DSCF10633456×4608 3.69 MB

It’s all mounted in an old subwoofer box. The pHat Beat is mounted where the speaker used to be, and the VU meter is viewable through the speaker cloth. I used a black diffuser as a mounting plate. The diffuser also makes the VU meter look nicer. IMHO anyway.
My Pi Zero W has a 90 degree header on it to make hooking up a monitor etc easier.

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