[gentoo-user] Re: "X11 forwarding" so to say ... but for audio

[James]

<Meino.Cramer <at> gmx.de> writes:
 
> Hi,
<edit>
> PS:  <at> James: Do you know the NodeMCU Lua v3 board? ;)

Ju talkin to me?  Ju talkin to me?   
If so, sorry, had a major hardware issues where I lost a few days....

No not specifically, but that does not matter, embedded is embedded
and it's always broken, until you find the magic (hardware) tweaks
and codes that make it submissive, so let's take a walk thru your issues.

PS, I'm close on my install apparatus so when that is done I intend to
populate my micro Data Center with all sorts of new hardware boards
(get an embedded list ready).


> I am experimenting with microcrontrollers, dev-boards
> and other stuff a lot.
> Nowaday these "post stamps" are quite capable and often
> run linux of some kind.
> The beaglebone and the Orange PI PC are of those, even
> running an X11 server.
> X11 forwarding is quite handy in this cases...but I miss the
> audio.

Why not try to get (gentoo) linux running a arm64v8 board, with  gigs
of ram and gigE and such so you can run a low power workstation from a
board taped (mounted) to the back of the monitor? There are many
and once you get gentoo installed, then choose a minimal DE like
lxde, xfce or lxqt? Audio and video on the same board. Here's
one example (not sure there is a published gentoo port, yet), 
for less than $50::

http://www.cnx-software.com/2016/02/29/odroid-c2-64-bit-arm-development-board-is-now-available-for-purchase-for-40/

This is just an example. I'm not current atm on the latest offerings.
Most run debian, which is fine for now until you finish a gentoo port,
or find one on the IRC channel   gentoo-embedded@g.o

> I am already tangled up in cables ... and dont want to add
> just another cable to route the audio signal to my PC.

Make sure you keep straight your 'line level' signals and the 
boosted output signals, I test with a 3" speaker or small to make
sure a valid audio signal is first exiting an embedded board jack.
If you want a routeable audio protocol (?) You could always use midi::

http://www.instructables.com/id/Send-and-Receive-MIDI-with-Arduino/

Hit me up with private email, if you get stuck, but, I'm kinda swamped
right now.....


Some embedded boards have an RF chip for radio broadcast, that is low power,
so you could just broadcast to a receive and a pair of connected/powered
speakers, just for grins. (I have no boards doing this currently, as I have
way too much audio gear that is idle atm.) But that sort of arrangement will
need an externally powered audio amp to get the dB levels up. I know 
one guy that just broadcasts to his home theatre  hardware for SS-7
audio on an embedded board and just lies to his friends about how
he does it....(I traced out the wire and looked at the board to figure
it out.....  Datasheets are your friend. Motorola/Freescale/<whatever they
call themselves> has a plethora of arm cores and robust audio chips,
including a full spectrum analyzer so you can specify what will end
up with before you build something.....


> Is there any other way to get the audio from the (in this case)
> Orange PI PC board to my PC in a way, that dont need cables
> and is easily reconfigurable, if I will change the board
> to something different?

Meino. Your best bet is do write up a spec of what you want, go to
the gentoo-embedded IRC channel (yuck, I hate IRC, as you know) and
ask for a turnkey (monkey see monkey do) low cost recommendation.
Or go to one of the debian embedded lists and ask for a cheap solution.
Also, research the Rf spectrum rules in the country you are in 
before selecting Rf broadcast chips on a dev board, just to be legal.
Germany is rather 'tight assed' about this, if I recall correctly.
Here in the US, some TV sidebands are available for experimentation
as broadcasters abandon those freqs.

http://blog.rfvenue.com/more-on-the-fccs-proposed-new-rules-for-licensed-and-unlicensed-microphones/

http://www.digitaltrends.com/how-to/how-to-stream-audio-video-in-your-home/

Or you buy an embedded board that has an HDMI output and a stereo
output jack, you would have what you need. Some 32 bit arm boards will
have both of these and a minimized X11 Desktop environment will fly
on them, minus 3D stuff. Look at the video chip and research that it has a
bit of video ram with it, just to be safe. There are lots of new embedded
boards coming out every week, so do the latest research and make sure
at least debian is readily available from the hardware vendor. There is
some 'bait and switch' going on among the smaller players.

http://www.96boards.org/products/


rspi3::
https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Pi-RASP-PI-3-Model-Motherboard/dp/B01CD5VC92

** do your own research**

> Thanks a lot in advance for any help!
> Best regards
> Meino


hth,
James