Page 1 of 1

audio issues

Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 12:27 pm
by Fleder
Hi there,

i think i am blind to any errors i possibly made, for i am working on this too long without any real breaks now.
I hope someone can point me to my mistake here.

I did everything like on this following diagram but without the amplifier.
It worked well, but the speaker was a tad too quiet for my taste,
so i thought why not use the amplifier i already got so i can turn the volume down a bit.
Now the speaker and the headphones do not work anymore.

I tried everything, but i can't seem to find the flaw in this, so someone else might still have the eye for it?
Thank you guys in advance!
[spoiler="wiring diagram"]Image[/spoiler]

The little module the feeds the display is a step-up. I know, the wires are a mess, but i wanted to tidy this up, after i made sure it works.

Re: audio issues

Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 1:13 pm
by sander
Maybe you can isolate the problem by checking parts of the schematic first, like feeding a different audio source to the amplifier board?

Re: audio issues

Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 10:55 pm
by Popcorn
sander wrote:Maybe you can isolate the problem by checking parts of the schematic first, like feeding a different audio source to the amplifier board?
I was just going to say the exact same. Try feeding a different audio source. Also, I had that same USB audio card and it suddenly stopped outputting audio and I could never get it working again. I didn't have time to troubleshoot and I went PWM audio instead since I wanted audio on my startup video, and I couldn't get that with USB. Speaking of USB, that's not on your diagram but is it working ok?

Re: audio issues

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 1:18 am
by Fleder
Popcorn wrote:
sander wrote:Maybe you can isolate the problem by checking parts of the schematic first, like feeding a different audio source to the amplifier board?
I was just going to say the exact same. Try feeding a different audio source. Also, I had that same USB audio card and it suddenly stopped outputting audio and I could never get it working again. I didn't have time to troubleshoot and I went PWM audio instead since I wanted audio on my startup video, and I couldn't get that with USB. Speaking of USB, that's not on your diagram but is it working ok?
Well, i am a blockhead right now. What do you suggest i could use?
Could i cut a 3,5mm audio cable, plug that into my phone/tables whatever has audio out over 3,5mm and wire it to the amplifier?
I am really not that experienced on that, so i am not sure if this would work or not.

The USB DAC is good, i plugged it into my computer and it worked fine with my headphones.
I tested it after i desoldered the mic jack.

Yes it does work, but the USB Hub is connected through its USB Connector, still.
If everything else works, i will remove the USB Plugs and connect it with wires.

How is the quality of your audio, if you compare USB DAC to PWM, [mention]Popcorn[/mention]?
I wanted to go the USB DAC way, because it looked like a clean solution with superior audio quality and no "hacks".
But some people reported that the PWM Audio Solution is really good in terms of audio quality.
I am really torn apart, especially after this whole setup does not work as expected.
But then again, i might just made a mistake on my wiring.

Re: audio issues

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 11:39 am
by Kilren
Do you have a breadboard? I soldered wires onto each piece individually, made the circuit on a breadboard and played with different connections until I got what I considered the best circuit I could make. It also saves a lot of trauma from soldering/desoldering on your parts until you're confident about your circuit.

Re: audio issues

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 1:35 pm
by Fleder
Yes, i've got one. I am just not confident enough to try around, as i first have to read what all those connection points really are.

I tried to hook up my phone to the amplifier as an audio source a few minutes before, but no sound at all.
Only the Speaker to the phone, it works, but really quiet. So the speaker is okay.
I've got a few stereo amplifiers lying around, i will test them tomorrow. Maybe the adafruit amp is broken?

Re: audio issues

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 1:55 pm
by wermy
Fleder wrote:Yes, i've got one. I am just not confident enough to try around, as i first have to read what all those connection points really are.

I tried to hook up my phone to the amplifier as an audio source a few minutes before, but no sound at all.
Only the Speaker to the phone, it works, but really quiet. So the speaker is okay.
I've got a few stereo amplifiers lying around, i will test them tomorrow. Maybe the adafruit amp is broken?
The wiring diagram works fine, and yes wiring it up to a 3.5mm jack to test on something like your phone is a great way to test. Did you mess with the little metal potentiometer on the amp itself? That thing can be fiddly, might be worth turning that this way and that with a small screwdriver and seeing if that helps.

Re: audio issues

Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 12:01 am
by Fleder
wermy wrote:The wiring diagram works fine, and yes wiring it up to a 3.5mm jack to test on something like your phone is a great way to test. Did you mess with the little metal potentiometer on the amp itself? That thing can be fiddly, might be worth turning that this way and that with a small screwdriver and seeing if that helps.
Thanks. Are you talking about the small silver thing that looks like a screwhead?
I haven't even noticed that i could twist this :D

Thanks for the tip, i will try it later today and if everything fails, i am going to use a stereo amp.
And i thought i could finish this whole wiring process this week :(