Raspberry Pi audio vs. Adafruit USB audio

Many people on the internet comment about the poor sound quality of the Raspberry Pi audio output when taken direct from the 3.5mm jack socket.

One alternative is the Adafruit USB audio adaptor, which provides a mic input and headphone output.

Both the Pi jack and Adafruit audio outputs sounded a little harsh to me, so I decided to do a few checks using sine waves and a scope.

The NJM2073D: an amp for the Pi

The NJM2073D is a low cost, easy to use, audio amplifier chip with a maximum power of about 2 Watts.

It can be used as a stereo amplifier for portable devices like a music player or a radio, and is available for just over £1.

I have a couple of Raspberry Pi applications that need audio, so this device looks like a good option.

BirdBox2016: what's happening?

There has been plenty of interest shown by a number of local blue tits in both of our Pi powered bird boxes.

I've also added some enhancements to our bird box monitor which sits in a corner of our kitchen and raises the alarm if a box is triggered by a visitor.

It is the 12th March, so we may only be 2 or 3 weeks away from some real nest-building action!

Pi Unicorn Hat: as a photographic strobe light

This Hat sits on a Raspberry Pi and contains 64 LEDs in an 8 x 8 grid format.

The documentation says that the LEDs are very bright "...bright enough to cause eye pain... possibly retina damage..." ...so I wondered if they had a use in photography.

This post details some experimentation, some Python code, and a few photos.

BlissFlixx: wifi config & user information

I was thinking recently about how I might send a configured BlissFlixx SD card or complete system to a friend.

How easy is it for someone to configure and use?

This led to a bit of Python coding, as I attempted to make wifi configuration just a little bit easier.