fluid valve
Hi, I am reading the schematics of the voice PE and don't quite get why Q2 was necessary. For me, it looks like this denies us the use of the international speaker while the 3.5mm jack is plugged in. Is there a reason why this is done this way? There was already software control to disable the internal Speaker PA anyways.
If it would be possible to select the international speaker in software with the 3.5mm jack connect if Q2 was not placed without any side effects, I would advocate for this hardware change in future units. This could be used to save quite a bit of power in setups where an external amp is used only for music that is switched off during normal use, but assist functionality is retained with the internal speaker
quick sleet
cc @vague folio 😉
Maybe you can chime in 🙏
vague folio
hmm, good callout -- I'm not sure if there was a specific reason for doing that. I remember some discussion about some of the I/O here but I can't recall anything specific about disabling the amp for the internal speaker while the line out is in use.
I'm not seeing anything in the '3204 RM about not using both the HPx and LOx lines simultaneously, so I don't think that's an issue, but I do think the volume controls are common between them; that's the only potential "conflict" I can come up after a cursory glance (as in, the volume setting for the internal speaker might not be an appropriate level to feed into your external amp)
but even that is probably a bit of a stretch
maybe we could just tell Seeed DNP Q2 on future batches 😅
fluid valve
I mean, with Q2 removed, the status quo can still be maintained in software
Thanks for taking a look at it
If I get around to it, I might remove Q2 and do some test with internal and external speakers
vague folio
yeah, I could do that here, too
fluid valve
My main point was to communicate the idea early to adopt future hardware if possible. Because software can be quickly for everyone but hardware cannot.
fluid valve
yeah, I could do that here, too
If you get around to it earlier I would be happy to beta test software. I have the means to modify the PCB and know my way around esphome.
vague folio
I think there's not much to test, we'd just want to be sure that the amp can still be enabled/disabled as expected and then make a small modification to the yaml that disables it when the headphone jack is inserted (so basically it would behave the same way with/without Q2). if you want both the line out and the internal speaker to work in tandem, then you'd have to "take control" and do your own modification to the yaml to permit this/allow manual control of the amp
rancid ridge
Just so you are aware, if you managed to get both to output at the same time, the same audio would play on the internal speaker and the external speakers. There isn't a way to play say, just the music on the external speaker and just the announcements on the internal speaker.
chrome junco
Just so you are aware, if you managed to get both to output at the same time, th...
I guess that's understood. 🙂
vague folio
I have confirmed that removing Q2 enables software-only control of the internal speaker & this does not seem to cause any other issues 😁
hard sierra
I have confirmed that removing Q2 enables software-only control of the internal ...
any pics of what is Q2 on the board for those of us that are not that good reading schematics? 😅
autumn roost
Ohh this is good to know.
If this gets changed for future batches and put into software it would be nice to get an update in the newsletter or something so people can remove Q2 themselves if they are capable.
The internal speaker is good enough for quick responses but even just listening to the news podcast for 100 seconds it gets a little annoying.
livid loom
any pics of what is Q2 on the board for those of us that are not that good readi...
I would also like to see a picture of Q2 on the board
vague folio
ask and you shall receive 😉🙈 https://youtu.be/sSir-sD_Fxs
fluid valve
Nice, that shows how much you care about making great products that work for everyone, even if not many people will use certain features.
pastel swallow
With Q2 removed (or leg lifted), how would you turn off the internal speaker to only output to the external speaker? Disable the internal speaker amp on GPIO47?
vague folio
With Q2 removed (or leg lifted), how would you turn off the internal speaker to ...
correct, you can use the GPIO pin and control the internal speaker's state as you wish. 🙂
tulip hatch
Sorry for reviving this thread, and thanks for this discussion. I haven't gotten a HA Voice yet, though with the past day's spectacular Google goof-up letting some SSL certs expire in all of the Chromecast Audios out in the world, I've now got setting up Voice Assist and Music Assistant up at the top of my list.
The use case I'm trying to figure out is I have a few amps+speakers in the house that remain off (through smart plugs), and only switch on through an automation when HA notices that Chromecast Audio goes into a playing state. After some idle it shuts the speakers off again. I've also got a bunch of (dirty) Google Home Mini speakers littered through the house.
Just to confirm, based off what I've read in this thread: If I wanted the HA Voice to take the place of the Chromecast Audio AND the Google Home Mini I've got in the room, while still retaining the ability to have the external amp shut off when media isn't playing in the room, I should be able to pull that off by raising Q2 off of its pad, and then add in some yaml to wiggle GPIO47 through the automation where the smart plug on the external amp gets toggled when media is playing. Did I get that correct?
Thanks!