PicoChess v3 Desktop and Lite Images

[RandyR]

I decided to start a new thread since I couldn't change the title of the old one, which only referred to the Desktop image.

I have added a readme file to each image archive which I hope will answer some questions concerning the image downloaded. They are a work in progress and as they are improved I will add them to subsequent image updates. If you see any errors or think something needs to be added (further instructions, etc.), let me know. I will attach them here so there is no need to download the image again, along with the links to the images.

Here are the links to the images:

Desktop (4.4 GB)

Lite  (3.5 GB)

The readme files are attached.

Randy

[Scally]

Hi Randy,

Thanks, I assume the links are the same as before as I have references to them?

Cheers,

Al.

[Randy Reade]

Hi Al,

Yes. The links are the same. I should be able to keep them that way. I might make the Readme files links as well to make it easier to update separately.

Randy

[Stefan Lozinsky]

Hi Randy,

Is there a trick to getting these images to boot the the first time?  I have installed the Lite version onto an SD card and am using a DGTPi.  After plugging the card in to the DGTPi and turning it on nothing happens - Should I try the process again from scratch?  I have a few other cards with different images of V3 on them and they all worked out of the gate but hoping to stick to the latest iteration.

Thank you!

Stefan

[Randy Reade]

Hi Stefan,

The first boot can take some time as it expands to fill the SD card and then reboots itself. Make sure power is disconnected before inserting the card, then plug it in and wait. The button on the bottom of the DGTPi is not a power button for the Pi.

If you can hook up a monitor, you can see what's happening. Try again from a fresh burn - I use belanaEtcher - and if you are still having issues we can look into it further.

Randy

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[Stefan Lozinsky]

Thank you Randy - All working great now.  Was using win32diskimager but tried belanaEtcher instead.  Thank you!

[RandyR]

That's great news, Stefan!

Enjoy.

Randy

[Kyle Washington]

I have used the Desktop image on my Pi4 successfully for a week now. I've edited the picochess.ini file and restarted, and it's teaching me a lot about the Pi hardware and software, which is a nice bonus.

Just for fun. I'm going to download the Lite image now onto another card and see if I can get it to work... but I don't know why I would need this version (except for me just wanting to learn).  What advantage is there to having a version without the desktop interface?

Kyle

[RandyR]

Hi Kyle,

Not much benefit when using an RPi4. The Lite image is better suited to the stock DGTPi or an RPi3. The Desktop version is basically the Lite version with a desktop gui and some extra software. Picochess is the same, as are the engines included.

Randy

[Thomas Adrian]

Thanks, Could you please update the readme files with feature list and changelog for each release

[RandyR]

Do you mean picochess features? Picochess changelog? Like here?

Or just changes I make to the image(s)?

Randy

[Thomas Adrian]

Thanks for the link, hadn’t seen that. Enough to include that link in the readme I guess

I find it a bit hard to follow when there are new releases. I only see v3, is there more than one version 3? How can I tell which one I have installed. 

btw, I am using the web ui in my ipad and just discovered that the ipad/safari webpage talks. But I can’t get it to only say the opponents move, I have tried to set user voice to off but that does not help. Also noticed that if I use the web ui voice I can’t disable the beep from the clock.  Is this some known bugs or can I fix it somehow?

[RandyR]

v3 is the latest version of the picochess code, based on Dirk's github site linked in the previous post. Some files were too large and are not included in the files there (mame, some voices, etc.). If you are using one of my images, I always announce on this forum when I update them. You can check the date of the SD card image inside the .7z file that you have downloaded and compare it to the date of the last post I made announcing a new image. Unfortunately there is no way to pin a thread, or lock it and allow editing by the OP (as far as I know), which would allow me to have just one message to update. Maybe this will change in the future if we decide to move to a new forum/format/website.

As for the webserver, there is currently no simple way through the interface to have only one side announced. I suppose it was originally intended for someone not in the same location to watch the game. But now, people are using it next to the board. Maybe Dirk or Shiv can add that capability. :^)

You should be able to disable the beeps using the System - Sound menu (set to Never). If you mean the beep when the DGTPi is starting up, let me know and I'll describe how to disable that.

Randy

[Kyle Washington]

I tried the Lite version, and it booted.  I even see it on my list of network devices, so it connects to Wifi just fine.  But the web server doesn't launch.  So yeah, I think I'm going back to the full Desktop version!

[Randy Reade]

Webserver is enabled on both images. Just type the ip address into a browser and it should show up.

Randy

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[RandyR]

I have updated my images to include Al's Stockfish 13 compiles. The links are the same:

Desktop (4.4 GB)

Lite  (3.6 GB)

Randy

[Peter Esser]

Hallo RandyR,

Thank you Randy. If you ever have this image for Raspberry 4b or Raspberry 3b stand alone, think of me. Greetings Peter

Saturday, February 20, 2021, 6:16:31 PM, schriebst Du:

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Mit freundlichen Grüßen,
Peter Esser

[Randy Reade]

Hi Peter.

It's really easy to alter the images for stand-alone, especially if the RPi is on a network or you have a keyboard/monitor attached.

Randy

[Peter Esser]

Hallo Randy,

That's why I need a finished IMG. My Linux knowledge is very limited. What do I have to do after the network, keyboard and monitor?

Saturday, February 20, 2021, 8:05:29 PM, schriebst Du:

Hi Peter. It's really easy to alter the images for stand-alone, especially if the RPi is on a network or you have a keyboard/monitor attached. Randy

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[RandyR]

Hi Peter,

I have attached instructions which you can use to switch the image to use in a stand-alone Pi. Take your time and follow the instructions exactly. If you have questions, ask. If you run into problems, just reflash the image and try again. You don't even need any linux knowledge. 

Good luck.

Randy

[Kyle Washington]

This does work great, Randy.  I have done it a couple of times now, and I appreciate having the instructions all in one place!  When I reboot, my speaker says "Picochess" followed by "Engine Setup."  That's how I know it's working.  I have printed this file and I will keep it handy!  I appreciate you taking the time to do this for us in the non-Linux world.

Right now, I have the opposite problem.  I finally fashioned a cable similar to the one on Jurgen's How to page, and I connected it to my clock and the Pi.  I edited the /boot/config.txt and un-commented the DGTPI=True line.  I also un-commented out the two lines for core_freq in the two different places in the picochess.ini file.  I disconnected the clock to board cable.  I set the clock to Mode 25 as I did before, and I rebooted the Pi.  Nothing.  I re-commented out the same thing in reverse, and I get the "Picochess" and "Engine Setup" message.  But when I do the reverse (or when I start with a flashed image), nothing happens.

At first glance, it does sound like a cable problem.  But when I use an electrical meter, the tip of my cable shows continuity to the two pins for SCL, the middle section shows continuity to the SDA pins, and the bottom section tests ok for Ground.  So my assumption is that the cable is fine and it's something I'm doing wrong on the INI files.  But, since it also failed to work with the flashed image, it makes me wonder about my cable.  I will admit that I'm new to Dupont cables and jumpers, but the continuity was there so I thought it was ok.  Maybe it's not.  Has anyone else tried this with a DGT 3000 and a homemade cable so that it should emulate a DGT Pi?  I am open to try anything.

Some pictures:

My clock after rebooting the Pi using the direct cable.

Audio cable on the left, stripped and jumpered with smaller JST connectors so that it can interface with larger wires.

Larger wires coming into the pins on the Rpi, put into an Argon M2 case so it has the extra clarity on the pin positions.  It's not very clear in this picture, but I'm positive I have them in the same pin positions that Jurgen told us to!

I re-enabled dgtpi = True

I re-enabled the core_freq lines in both places.

Ideas are welcome!

Kyle

[Randy Reade]

Hi Kyle. I’m not overly familiar with the mod, since I never tried it myself, but I thought I read that the pins are different between the RPi3 and RPi4. There should be some old threads on here about that, or I’m mis-remembering. Perhaps someone who has done the mod on the RPi4 can assist.

As for the clock, you don’t need to set mode 25, the dgtpicom.so file will take care of that when picochess starts. Also, you can start with the clock turned off, just power ON the Pi. With a newly flashed image, give it time to expand and reboot. You should get the DGT P| message on the clock, and a beep. If not, then I’d suspect incorrect wiring.

Randy

[RandyR]

See this post, Kyle.

Randy

[Kyle Washington]

Oh, yay! That means it could be something simple and not something with my wiring - lol!  I'll test it with a Pi 3 first, and then I'll try these suggestions on the Pi 4.  Thank you!  I really enjoy this forum...

Kyle

[Peter Esser]

Hallo RandyR,
Thank you. Runs great! Peter


Sunday, February 21, 2021, 5:27:30 PM, schriebst Du:

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[Kyle Washington]

SUCCESS!!  I tried the Raspi3B, and it worked great!  I have the ELO set to 800 and it still beat me, but that's because I stink at chess.  That's the whole reason I got into this Picochess business so I could learn with a real board.  It was more of a competitive game for me though, which thrills me to pieces.  This is what I wanted!  

Now I'll back up and try the suggested pins on the Pi4.  Thank you everyone for the suggestions...

Kyle

[Kyle Washington]

I followed the instructions from the posted thread, and they seem pretty easy to follow.  I don't have a wire for power and my ground wire was on a different pin, but that doesn't seem to matter much.  The good news is that I reboot the Pi, and it mostly works.  I usually get "Failed to start DGTPi Hello" in the startup script, and I don't get that.  Something is working.  The clock doesn't show the same success messages I show in my previous two photos, but it does give the audible cues.  If I look at the Pi via the Webserver, it all looks file.  I can play a game.  Voice prompts are fine.

But the clock shows 15:10 for each player, then the display goes to all dashes.  The Computer icon and the arrows both appear, but no text.  I've read through most of the posted thread to see if I need to download the two updated files from Github, but I suspect those changes from July might be in the latest image?  I'll keep reading.  But I wanted to post what I see now in case someone else has come across this.

Kyle

[RandyR]

Sorry for deleting that message - there was a mistake in the attached file. Let's try this again:

Kyle,

If you are using the Pi4 (wired to the DGT3000) and the Lite image, you will have to add a couple lines to the /boot/config.txt in the [pi4] section. They are as follows:

core_freq=500

core_freq_min=500

Also, the edits for the DGTPi should be commented out, or moved from the bottom of the config.txt file or else they will override the [pi4] edits. Probably wouldn't cause any issues.

I would suggest using the Desktop image, though.

I have attached the modified config.txt file. Remember, it's for the Lite version only!! You can just copy it to the boot partition after flashing the Lite image, the same place you would copy your wpa_supplicant.conf file.

And, yes, the versions of dgtpicom and dgtpicom.so are the versions from Lucas' Github release of 03 Aug 2020. See this post which was a couple months after my previous link.

You can test the communication to the clock by issuing the following commands:

sudo service picochess stop

cd /opt/picochess/etc

sudo ./dgtpicom "hello kyle" 1 31 15

Which should print the message on the clock, show the flags, show the side icons, and beep.

Randy

[Kyle Washington]

Thank you sir - I will try that.  I never got my Lite image to work and I'm not sure why... but I feel a bit more educated about the whole thing now.  I'll try it again in a bit.

Here is a quick mp4 video of me booting the Pi4 with a fresh Desktop image.  It is the stock voice instead of Al, but it gives the same error as my current Desktop image.  So perhaps I have things on the wrong pins?

I have the SDA on  3 jumpered to 19, SCL on 5 jumpered to 23, and GND on 9.  

It's about time for me to leave to take my daughter to Dance class, but maybe this will help everyone spot my obvious error, and then I can try something new when I get home this evening!

Kyle

(Returns 2 hours later and finds that message did not post)

It seems that my mpeg file is too large to post... so I'll describe it here instead.  I do not get the same messages on the clock that I usually get.  The computer icon and the arrows appear, then all 0s for both sides.  Audibly everything sounds great - but the time reverts to all dashes.

If I start a game, it all seems fine with the web server and with the audio.  So it seems that the issue may be with the wire that tells the clock what to do.  In fact, I loaded the Lite image as you mentioned above, and it also works!  There is no audio, but the web server works fine and I can play a game... I just don't get any notification on the clock as to what piece to move because it only shows dashes.  After a move, it does show the remaining time for me and for the computer.

When I tried the clock test commands you mentioned, I do not get flags, beeps, or a message.  The dashes disappear, and the clock shows 0.00 for both players.  The Computer icon and the bidirectional arrows disappear as well.

[Randy Reade]

That's frustrating. But if the dgtpicom command didn't work, it's got to be wiring or bad hardware. One thing - did you check the firmware version of the clock? I think Jürgen's article explains how to check it. Also, not having done this mod myself, I don't know if there's any difference between using the clock jack or wiring directly from the 'inside. Hopefully someone who has done the mod will help you out.

Audio and webserver will work because they don't rely on the clock.

You'll figure it out eventually.  😊

Randy

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[RandyR]

On second thought, if it worked with the Pi3, the clock must be fine. Disregard that idea. 🤪

[Etienne Chaffanjon]

Hello, eventually I  found that the jack connection to gpio can be tricky. Assuming you have continuity and use the right pins, you may take a closer look to the jack. I did a few wires with Dupont connectors and experienced some troubles. In my case I came to the conclusion that the jack was a little loose in the clock and found one that seems to fix the issue.

Best,

Etienne

Le 23 févr. 2021 à 04:02, Randy Reade <randy...@gmail.com> a écrit :



That's frustrating. But if the dgtpicom command didn't work, it's got to be wiring or bad hardware. One thing - did you check the firmware version of the clock? I think Jürgen's article explains how to check it. Also, not having done this mod myself, I don't know if there's any difference between using the clock jack or wiring directly from the 'inside. Hopefully someone who has done the mod will help you out.

Audio and webserver will work because they don't rely on the clock.

You'll figure it out eventually.  😊

Randy

On Mon., Feb. 22, 2021, 8:43 p.m. Kyle Washington, <kw4au...@gmail.com> wrote:

Thank you sir - I will try that.  I never got my Lite image to work and I'm not sure why... but I feel a bit more educated about the whole thing now.  I'll try it again in a bit.

Here is a quick mp4 video of me booting the Pi4 with a fresh Desktop image.  It is the stock voice instead of Al, but it gives the same error as my current Desktop image.  So perhaps I have things on the wrong pins?

I have the SDA on  3 jumpered to 19, SCL on 5 jumpered to 23, and GND on 9.  

<Pi Cable 3.jpg>

It's about time for me to leave to take my daughter to Dance class, but maybe this will help everyone spot my obvious error, and then I can try something new when I get home this evening!

Kyle

(Returns 2 hours later and finds that message did not post)

It seems that my mpeg file is too large to post... so I'll describe it here instead.  I do not get the same messages on the clock that I usually get.  The computer icon and the arrows appear, then all 0s for both sides.  Audibly everything sounds great - but the time reverts to all dashes.

If I start a game, it all seems fine with the web server and with the audio.  So it seems that the issue may be with the wire that tells the clock what to do.  In fact, I loaded the Lite image as you mentioned above, and it also works!  There is no audio, but the web server works fine and I can play a game... I just don't get any notification on the clock as to what piece to move because it only shows dashes.  After a move, it does show the remaining time for me and for the computer.

When I tried the clock test commands you mentioned, I do not get flags, beeps, or a message.  The dashes disappear, and the clock shows 0.00 for both players.  The Computer icon and the bidirectional arrows disappear as well.

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[BrianL]

Those settings don't work for me.

I have RPI4 and the Desktop version connected as DGTPI.

If I set the core frequency  and core freq min to 500. the DGT3000 clock doesn't work correctly.

With both set to 250 it all works fine.

Don't know why mine seems different to everyone elses.

[Kyle Washington]

Just for fun, I made that same adjustment - it still doesn't work.  Even though it connects on the Pi3, it still seems as if it may be wiring?

The wires on the audio cable are SO SMALL - it wouldn't take much for something to come loose I guess.  I'll try to make another cable outright tonight and see if it does any differently.

[Peter Eßer]

Hello Randy: I implemented your instruction Stockfish 13 DGT PI to standalone. But when I do the 2nd move the DGT 3000 clock stops!?. Greetings Peter

[Charles Declercq]

Hello. 

I had the same problem with the new desktop IMG  (and Stockfish 13). Blocking after the second movement.

I went back to the old version.

Best.

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Pensez à l'environnement ! N'imprimez ce mail que si c'est vraiment nécessaire.

[RandyR]

Peter and Charles,

That is interesting. There was a build of SF 13 that didn’t have the NNUE file embedded, which caused PicoTutor to hang, but I didn’t think it made it into my image. I will check and report back. In the meantime, you can try StockfishNN which is the same engine. You can also try disabling PicoTutor (PicoWatcher/PicoCoach).

I did upload new images Monday, but I think the engines were not changed - I only added a text file for the stand-alone change procedure.

I’ll test this morning.

Randy

[RandyR]

Peter and Charles,

I just tested the Desktop image on the DGTPi and stand-alone RPi4 with USB board and clock cable.  Stockfish 13 and StockfishNN are both working for me with PicoTutor enabled. Can you try downloading the image again? That's the one I tested just now.

Or did you mean a different engine?

Randy

[Peter Esser]

Hello Randy. Now it works. Thanks Peter

Wednesday, February 24, 2021, 4:21:04 PM, schriebst Du:

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[Kyle Washington]

Success for me too!  I created a new cable, and I tried to take closeup pictures to show everyone what I did so you guys could correct me...

I had my red and white backwards from Jurgen's original picture, but I printed out his text and labeled the colors and the new pinouts with a pen.  I was going to prove it was connected correctly, so when it didn't work, it would be very clear where my error was.  But to my surprise, it gave me a DGT PI message on the clock when it booted.  It worked!

I set up a quick game, and I must be using the image that I just flashed instead of my 'normal' one... because it usually sounds like Al, and it plays at the lowest possible ELO.  Instead, I was playing a 3200 Stockfish game.  Ugh.  But look at the time:

As soon as I would move, the Pi was ready to counter move.  It responded in just a few seconds instead of long stretches of time.  I've read where the direct I2C connection is a lot faster, and I have read where it doesn't make much difference.  In this case, it appears to really make a difference in thinking time!

So just for fun, I tried Randy's code for one last test...

That is so very awesome.

I have learned a ton about JST and Dupont connectors, Raspberry Pi GPIO, and a ton of other acronyms in the last week.  Now maybe I can work on improving my chess game...  :)  

Thanks to everyone who has tolerated my newness.  Hopefully I can help others in the near future.

Kyle

[Randy Reade]

That's great news, Kyle. Thanks for sharing!

Now you can get back to playing chess. 😉

Randy 

[Wilhelm]

Hello Randy,

I have a problem with the volume setting on the desktop image in connection with my sound card. The volume cannot be changed via the Picochess menu and also not with alsamixer.

I use a DGT3000 LE with a Pi4 in my self-construction and I use a “HifiBerry miniamp” as an internal sound card.

To activate it, I changed or added to /boot/config.txt

        # Enable audio (loads snd_bcm2835)
        #dtparam=audio=on
        dtoverlay=hifiberry-dac

there is also the file: /etc/asound.conf with the content: 

       pcm.hifiberryMiniAmp {
           type softvol
           slave.pcm "plughw:0"
           control.name "Master"
           control.card 0
       }
       pcm.!default {
           type plug
           slave.pcm  "hifiberryMiniAmp"
       }

The config.txt and the asound.conf were also changed for the litle image. The volume setting works fine here.

Can you please give me a tip what I should change in order to be able to change the volume on the desktop image?

Also from me a big thank you for your work.

greetings

Wilhelm

[RandyR]

Hi Wilhelm,

Are you able to change the volume via the command line using amixer? Do any of these change the volume:

amixer sset PCM 90%

amixer sset Master 90% 

Randy

[RandyR]

I think those commands should have been:

amixer sset 'PCM' 90%

amixer sset 'Master' 90% 

I'm not sure why alsamixer wouldn't work. Did you try changing the device with F6?

Randy

[Wilhelm]

Hello Randy,

Thank you for your quick response.

It makes a difference whether I start AlsaMixer with "sudo" or not.

When calling with "alsamixer"

     Card: PulsAudio

     Chip: PulseAudio

     Item: Master

When called with "sudo alsamixer"

     Card: snd_rpi_hifiberry_dac

     Chip:

     Item: Master

In the first case I call up my sound card with F6.

I can set the values ​​with the arrow keys. However, this has no effect on the volume of picochess. In both cases not.

Also when entering the command: amixer sset 'Master' 10% does it make a difference whether with "sudo" or not.

pi @ picochess: ~ $ amixer sset 'Master' 10%

Simple mixer control 'Master', 0

Capabilities: pvolume pswitch pswitch-joined

Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right

Limits: Playback 0 - 65536

Mono:

Front Left: Playback 6554 [10%] [on]

Front Right: Playback 6554 [10%] [on]

pi @ picochess: ~ $ sudo amixer sset 'Master' 10%

Simple mixer control 'Master', 0

Capabilities: volume

Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right

Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right

Limits: 0-255

Front Left: 26 [10%]

Front Right: 26 [10%]

pi @ picochess: ~ $

The result is the same. The running speed remains unchanged at 100%.

Grüße

Wilhelm

[RandyR]

Hi Wilhelm,

Don't use sudo; root doesn't have access to PulseAudio (from what I have read). Also, when picochess starts as a service when the Pi boots, audio will work because it is using the system account. If you are testing without rebooting, you should use:

sudo service picochess stop

and

sudo service picochess start

to start and stop picochess. This will also reset the webserver port. But we need to figure out how to change your sound volume using amixer. Then we can make an adjustment in the code for your specific case.

What is the output of:

aplay -l

Also, are you able to see the desktop (either via VNC or with a monitor/keyboard/mouse attached)? If so,  go to Menu->Preferences->Audio Device Settings->Sound card, select the hifiberry-dac and set as Default.

Then test if you can control sound via amixer.

Randy

[Wilhelm]

Hello Randy,

the output from aplay -l is:

pi@picochess:~$ aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: sndrpihifiberry [snd_rpi_hifiberry_dac], device 0: HifiBerry DAC HiFi pcm5102a-hifi-0 [HifiBerry DAC HiFi pcm5102a-hifi-0]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

Monitor and keyboard are a bit cumbersome for me. I can do that tomorrow.

greetings

[RandyR]

Hi Wilhelm,

If your Pi is on the network, you can install RealVNC Viewer on you PC and connect that way.

Randy

[Wilhelm]

Hello Randy,

should we open a new thread so as not to spoil it even more?

I now have the VNC viewer on the PC. At the top right is the loudspeaker symbol. There the sound card "snd_rpi_hifiberry_dac" is displayed and I can set the volume with the Picochess menu in the range 50-100. So far everything is ok.

Only the volume actually emitted by the loudspeaker remains unchanged.

Wilhelm

[Wilhelm]

Hi Randy

Bad news. I am currently unable to connect a monitor. I am missing an HDMI adapter for the monitor.

Wilhelm

[Wilhelm]

Hi Randy

the desktop image has the "/etc/alsa" folder. Not in the litle image.

If I rename this folder in the desktop image (i.e. make it undetectable), the volume change works again.

This is not the right and elegant solution, but it may help to find the cause.

It helps me to the extent that it works now.

I did not notice any negative effects in the short time.

Wilhelm

[Randy Reade]

Hi Wilhelm,

It probably would have been better to open a new thread. 😁

I'm glad you figured out a way to get it working. When the Desktop image was being revised, we were trying to get sound working when using the MAME engines, and have them show on the desktop while playing them in PicoChess. It's possible some settings were adjusted that caused your issues. It would be surprising if renaming the alsa folder has no side effects.

I was thinking another option for you would be to start with the Lite image and add the desktop and any other software you want. That's basically what the Desktop image is.

If you ever figure out the exact cause, and a more elegant solution, please post back.

Randy

[RandyR]

Wilhelm,

Something else to look at is the contents of /var/lib/asound.state file. It's probably set for the DGTPi. Perhaps this page, while a bit dated, may be of help. It talks about resetting things back to default:

sudo /etc/init.d/alsa-utils reset

Randy

[RandyR]

I have updated my images to include Al's MAME v0.229 compile and fixes. The links are the same:

[Dirk]

Hello Randy,

for my new "MolliPi" (see https://groups.google.com/g/picochess/c/jC-EEwEd15M at the end) I will need to use  your Desktop image as a base image because only with the desktop image I have sound for the mame engines as well as the standard picochess voice sound.

With the lite image whenever I switch to a Mame ENGINE the picochess voice vanishes and I can hear only the Mame ENGINE sound. If I switch back to Stockfish I hear the picochess voice sound again. Looks like Mame ENGINE process is blocking the sound of picochess.

Do you have an idea what could be the reason for this (the sound card  in the MolliPi is a „HIFIberry miniAmp“) and how to fix this in the lite image?

Furthermore both images (lite and desktop) can’t be updated anymore:

If I try to sudo apt update; sudo apt full-upgrade

I get the following error messages:

Adding 'diversion of /boot/start_db.elf to /usr/share/rpikernelhack/start_db.elf by rpikernelhack'

dpkg-divert: error: unable to sync file '/usr/share/rpikernelhack/start_db.elf.dpkg-divert.tmp': Input/output error

dpkg: error processing archive /tmp/apt-dpkg-install-eSErRl/06-raspberrypi-bootloader_1.20210303-1_armhf.deb (--unpack):

 new raspberrypi-bootloader package pre-installation script subprocess returned error exit status 2

Removing 'diversion of /boot/start.elf to /usr/share/rpikernelhack/start.elf by rpikernelhack'

dpkg-divert: error: unable to sync file '/boot/start.elf.dpkg-divert.tmp': Input/output error

dpkg: error while cleaning up:

 installed raspberrypi-bootloader package post-installation script subprocess returned error exit status 2

Preparing to unpack .../07-chromium-browser_88.0.4324.187-rpt1_armhf.deb ...

Unpacking chromium-browser (88.0.4324.187-rpt1) over (86.0.4240.197-rpt1) ...

Preparing to unpack .../08-chromium-codecs-ffmpeg-extra_88.0.4324.187-rpt1_armhf.deb ...

Unpacking chromium-codecs-ffmpeg-extra (88.0.4324.187-rpt1) over (86.0.4240.197-rpt1) ...

Preparing to unpack .../09-rpi-chromium-mods_20210212_armhf.deb ...

Unpacking rpi-chromium-mods (20210212) over (20210118) ...

Preparing to unpack .../10-libldap-common_2.4.47+dfsg-3+rpi1+deb10u6_all.deb ...

Unpacking libldap-common (2.4.47+dfsg-3+rpi1+deb10u6) over (2.4.47+dfsg-3+rpi1+deb10u5) ...

Errors were encountered while processing:

 /tmp/apt-dpkg-install-eSErRl/06-raspberrypi-bootloader_1.20210303-1_armhf.deb

E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)

Any idea what might be wrong?

Thanks for helping

Dirk

[Dirk]

Update: I was wrong with the Desktop image: Her the PicoVoice sound also vanishes if choosing an Mame ENGINE.

When you interactively set a Mame ENGINE then you hear no Mame Sound but after a restart your only hear Mame Sound and no pico voice sound.

Very strange - this did not happen with the external 3.5 speaker.

I guess in order to keep the picochess Voices I will have top switch off the Mame Sound for all engines in the scripts unless someone has an idea what goes wrong with the sound when using a sound card :-(

Dirk

[RandyR]

Hi Dirk,

I'll have a look at the update issue. I haven't seen that problem when updating myself. If necessary, I'll rebuild the images with the Jan 11, 2021 RPi OS release.

As for the sound issue, it sort of 'sounds' like the issues that Wilhelm was having in a previous post. I don't know if I can help getting that working as I only use the audio jack on the Pi and don't have the soundcard to troubleshoot but maybe Wilhelm has made some discoveries. I do know that you will need to either reboot and have picochess start automatically, or start and stop the picochess service to test changes since root doesn't normally have pulseaudio permissions.

Have you tried using a monitor (with built-in speaker) attached to the Pi (HDMI)? Things happen differently the OS starts up when using a real display vice a virtual one. 

Randy

[Dirk]

Hi Randy,

yes it sounds similar like the problem Wilhelm had with the volume setting - I am in contact with him...

Regarding the update possibility of your images - maybe my sd card is broken because Wilhelm mentioned that he could do the update.

I will download and check again...

Thanks

Dirk

[RandyR]

I'm updating the Desktop image now. So far so good. 

Al should find this interesting:

...

Setting up raspberrypi-sys-mods (20210310) ...

Blocking vscode repo...

Removing obsolete conffile /etc/apt/preferences.d/3rd_parties.pref ...

...

:^)

Randy

[RandyR]

Dirk,

Updated successfully.

The next time I change the images, I'll update them.

Randy

[Dirk]

Thanks for the update info, Randy - I am still downloading the image again ;-)

Dirk

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[Scally]

Hi all,

I wonder if I would have the same problems with the same hardware, as I’m not using VNC.

I keep my RPi up to date with sudo apt update & sudo apt upgrade and every so often a sudo rpi-update. Last week this caused my SSD Boot to fail, but I always create a backup before I update, so I recovered from my backup. rpi-update has now been sorted, I’m wondering if this could sort out your problems.

Randy please enlighten me …..

Al.

[Dirk]

Hi Al,

don’t know if it has something to do with the VNC - although it might have because before I have activated the sound card I could login via VNC - after I have activated the sound card I could no longer log on (error message „Can not currently show the desktop“) - so yes it might be although I have the same sound problem with mame and pthe picochess voice with th elite image.

For activation off the sound card I had to  comment out this line in /boot/config.txt:

# Enable audio (loads snd_bcm2835)

#dtparam=audio=on

and addd this line:

# Sound Card

dtoverlay=hifiberry-dac

Furthermore I had to add this file to the /etc folder:

asound.conf:

#pcm.!default {

# type hw card 0

#}

#ctl.!default {

# type hw card 0

#}

pcm.hifiberryMiniAmp {

    type softvol

    slave.pcm "plughw:0"

    control.name "Master"

    control.card 0

}

pcm.!default {

    type       plug

    slave.pcm  "hifiberryMiniAmp"

}

That’s it.

Really strange that mame and picochess voice sound can’t be played in parallel with this setup….

Dirk

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/picochess/cefec2da-3054-49e8-94f4-a8b90e031476n%40googlegroups.com.

[RandyR]

Al,

I checked out VNC on my Desktop image and sounds are fine both when viewing the mame display using VNC, or when leaving the -video none option. I read that it's not advised to use the rpi-update option unless necessary as the eeprom code will get updated using apt full-upgrade. It should be noted that I'm currently just testing on the  stock DGTPi and things are working as expected.

Dirk,

Not being able to login via VNC could be pointing to an issue, assuming you are using RealVNC viewer. Remember that picochess is started via the service and has the Display:0 environment initialized on the Desktop image. I suspect the sound issue you are having is in the configuration. It would be interesting to know what happens if you remove pulseaudio.

Randy

[RandyR]

Dirk,

I just re-read your message and VNC is not available on the Lite image as there is no desktop installed.

Randy

[Scally]

Hi Randy,

Yeah, I’d read that too. I’m just a rogue and like to have the most up to date code, but take precautions by backing my system up before trying it out. I also have the iOS updates before everyone else with Apples beta profile on my devices.

Hi Dirk,

Thanks for the heads up with the code, I’ll apply that as soon as I get my: 

 

Cheers,

Al.

[Scally]

Missing from my last post ^^^^^^^

Al.

[RandyR]

Ha ha.

Nice.

[Dirk]

I think the key point must be the difference mame is creating its sound and picochess plays its sound samples.

There must be a fundamental difference otherwise I should be able to hear both sound types via the sound card I think...

[socia...@online.de]

Another Question about the imagefiles: In the documentation is written, that beside FICS Online there is Lichess.org Online, too in the package. But after searching through the engines 3 times I can't find a lichess entry there. Did you kick this or do I have to configure something by myself (hopefully not :-))?

Is it possible to configure longer games (15+) for FICS easily in the ini-file or will FICS not accept this?

Best regards

[Scally]

Hi Hansi,

The FICS interface was included with Picochess v3 as the interface is very stable, however you still lose around 2.5 seconds per move on your online non Picochess opponent. I have my OnlineDecrement set to 2.3 seconds as I can see the moves quicker with my Revelation II LED’s showing me the opponents move, rather that working it out from the move on the clock display.

The Lichess interface was in beta and considered not stable enough to use, the OnlineDecrement had to set around 5 to 6 seconds per move and it’s not really viable to lose that amount of time per move. 

I believe the time parameters can be set from 1 minute up to 90 minutes with between 1 and 45 secs Fischer intervals if required.

If you challenge someone to a game online using FICS via Mobialia you can see all the different time parameters.

Cheers,

Al.

[RandyR]

Dirk,

What do you see when you type

aplay -L

on the command line?

Randy

[Dirk]

Hi Randy,

sorry for using your thread for all these obviously sound card related issues.

But it looks that using a sound card is tricky as more than one process for using the audio system of the sound card are not supported and the engine (here mame) runs as a separate process:

https://www.hifiberry.com/docs/software/mixing-different-audio-sources/

Unfortunately the work around from 2019 which is mentioned on this site does not work but ist looks like Wilhelm figured out another trick twist which I will test now (hint: je just did not create the /etc/asound.conf file (but the boot/config.txt changes) and it will only work with the Desktop image, not the lite image unfortunately....

I come back when tested...

Dirk

[RandyR]

Very frustrating, I am sure.

I hope you guys can figure it out. I wonder if it would be better starting with a clean RPiOS image. I'm a bit worried that there is a config change somewhere in my images that was tried when we were working on the MAME sound and was never put back to original. I'm hoping that once we figured it out I built them from scratch, but my memory isn't what it used to be. ;^)

Let me know if I need to make an adjustment that won't affect the 'standard' setup of a DGTPi.

Randy

[Dirk]

Thanks Randy but no change to the desktop image is necessary as one has to manually activate the sound card only in case there is really one inside the DGTPI ;-).

So all fine - the desktop image works perfectly with my MolliPI.

Dirk

[Hansi]

@Scally: Thank you for explaining. So I guess it's better for now, to play online just with an android app or the pc. No problem, at the moment I have so much fun with all these engines, there is no need for online play :-).

[RandyR]

Hi All,

I have updated the images with the latest kernel and package releases and added an on-screen keyboard (matchbox) to the Desktop image for anyone using a touch display with the Pi. There is a keyboard button to the right of the time display on the desktop which will toggle the keyboard on and off.

If you would like to add it to your own image, see this page.

Here are the links to the images:

Desktop (4.4 GB)

Lite  (3.5 GB)

Randy

[Etienne]

Hello Randy,

I must have done something wrong with Desktop image: BT is missing and I cannot find the way to activate....

Regards, Etienne

[Randy Reade]

Hi Etienne, 

It's possible that the updates affect Bluetooth. All I did was sudo apt update and sudo apt full-upgrade, similar to previous images. If you write exactly what you are trying, and what errors occur, perhaps someone can assist.

Randy

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[Etienne]

Thank you Randy, will see tmr...with new desktop image I couldn't connect my BT board and relaized that I was missing the BT icon..I didn't have this issue with previous image.

Besrt R, Etienne

[Randy Reade]

Ok. Let me know what you find.

Randy

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/picochess/19300236-ef08-42e2-a46e-d03d0b4ae965n%40googlegroups.com.

[Etienne]

Hi Randy, It appears that bluetooth is inactive and I failed to restart

The BT status says that Picochess skipped tthe service due to conditions

Best R, Etienne

pi@picochess:~ $ systemctl status bluetooth

● bluetooth.service - Bluetooth service

   Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/bluetooth.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)

   Active: inactive (dead)

     Docs: man:bluetoothd(8)

Mar 21 04:30:40 picochess systemd[1]: Condition check resulted in Bluetooth service being skipped.

Mar 21 04:30:44 picochess systemd[1]: Condition check resulted in Bluetooth service being skipped.

[RandyR]

Hi Etienne,

I'll check my system and get back to you. In the meantime you can try:

sudo modprobe btusb

sudo systemctl start bluetooth.service

Randy

[Etienne]

Hi Randy,

I did try earlier but although BT seemed to start according to the status, it failed to connect the board and the icon didn't show up; at next book BT was not active...back to starting point. I may try this new image with my RPI 4 to see if it has to do with the hardware.

In the meantime, I have burned an older Desktop Pico 3 image on this new Pi3B+ as stand alone (that is working perfectly well on my Pi4 set up as a DGTPI); BT icon is there and board gets connected BUT it creates a mess: at start up it requires to set pieces and "put b Ng8", if I move 1.h3 it says remove pawn from a6?! I cannot reboot or shutdown with queens and if I start Pi4 (DGTPI) get the same issue but get solved doing nothing...very strange...issue seems to come from the board...did you ever experience that? I may create a new thread.

Best R, Etienne

[RandyR]

Hi Etienne,

I haven't seen that issue before. It's almost like it can't read the pieces on the board. Could it be a lack of power in the board? As for Bluetooth, I'm limited in what I can do since I don't use a BT board or speaker. But I do have BT headphones so should be able to test that at least. I have to confirm which OS version I started with as there were changes that came with the Dec 2020 release. 

Randy

[Etienne]

Randy, I was up to test the new Desktop image on my Pi4 to check if it has to do with new Pi3B+ ..... and put it in the Pi3B+ instead solving a chess puzzle in the same  time lololo;...and what....eveything works fine with BT and no "set pieces" issue. Then I could verify that the set up of 3.5 screen afterward was the problem: BT lost. I am using a power bank and voltage could be an issue as well. I will need to test again when I will be able to get a better power supply (micro usb to usb c adapter with my Rpi4 official PS). Best R, Etienne

[Tom Emmelot]

Thanks again Randy, I don't know what happened, but I downloaded it a few hours to early I think, so the matchbox was not there, but your link did the trick.

 Working great so thanks again.

Thanks,

Kind regards,

Tom

Op zaterdag 20 maart 2021 om 19:27:07 UTC+1 schreef RandyR:

[RandyR]

Strange. Well, hopefully you can figure out why the screen is interfering. Please post back if you find the solution - it may help someone else.

Good luck!

Randy

[RandyR]

Etienne,

Just to follow up - I was successful pairing my BT headphones (Bose QC 35 II) with the Desktop image. And the BT icon was showing when I first connected via VNC. I had to follow these instructions though. Just pairing using the BT icon on the desktop didn't allow me to select the headphones as an audio device in the speaker icon. I suspect BT speakers would have to be paired the same way. BT should not be this difficult.

Also, I confirm that my images are based on the 2020-12-02 RPiOS32 release (as indicated in /etc/rpi-issue).

Randy

[RandyR]

I should have mentioned that I only followed the steps starting at "SAP Driver Initialization Failure" and stopped just before "Test Your Headphones". I tested by using the following command:

play /opt/picochess/talker/voices/en/christina/picotutor_verygood_position.ogg

Randy

[Etienne]

Hello Randy, thank you for your support...as always...you are our guardian angel!

I tried a few days ago with my Pi4 to connect BT speakers in addition to my BT board with success. However the drawback is that voices are not coming right away and I had some quality issues as well.

Regarding the Pi3B+ with RPI screen, the BT issue is now fixed thanks to: https://github.com/goodtft/LCD-show/issues/278

Besr R, Etienne

[Tom Emmelot]

Hi Randy,

I use your desktop-version, did nothing with BT, just pair a speaker and a headphone and could use them, switch  between them without a problem, output volume of the pi I put to six to keep the sound clean. No difficulties here.

Kind regards,

Tom 

Op 21-03-2021 om 19:14 schreef RandyR:

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[RandyR]

Hi Tom,

Thanks for sharing. I don't normally use BT so maybe I carried out some unnecessary steps. It sounds like it's working as it should in your setup.

Cheers.

Randy

[Etienne]

Hello Randy,

To follow up on the bugs I have met  "set pieces" and "put b Ng8" messages plus freeze: now fixed  with a new 3amp powerbank,  
All the best, Etienne

[RandyR]

That's great, Etienne! I'm glad you solved it.

Randy

[GPas...@aol.com]

I have 2 DGT boards

once with DGT Pi with original Pi3

and a board Pi 4 with DGT 3000

I have a question:

do these 2 files work:

Here are the links to the images:

Desktop (4.4 GB)

Lite (3.5 GB)

Randy

On the Pi 4?

Version V3 with Stockfisch 13 runs great on my DGT Pi, only not on Pi 4 with DGT 3000.

I actually always read along here, but there have been so many changes lately, I've probably overlooked something?

Does anyone have a link or tip for me?

Thank you

Gerd

[RandyR]

Gerd,

The images are configured for the DGTPi. To use in a stand-alone setup with a DGT3000, read the enclosed text file for stand-alone instructions. The most important changes are to 1. edit the /opt/picochess/picochess.ini file and comment out the dgtpi = true flag (or set it to false) and 2. disable the dgtpi.service and dgtpistandby.service using systemctl. Refer to the text file for details.

Randy

[GPas...@aol.com]

Randy,

thank you very much for the quick help. At the weekend I will have more time again and will test.

Gerd

[RandyR]

I have updated my images to include Al's MESS 0.230a compile.

Randy

On Wednesday, February 17, 2021 at 2:33:28 PM UTC-6 RandyR wrote:

I decided to start a new thread since I couldn't change the title of the old one, which only referred to the Desktop image.

I have added a readme file to each image archive which I hope will answer some questions concerning the image downloaded. They are a work in progress and as they are improved I will add them to subsequent image updates. If you see any errors or think something needs to be added (further instructions, etc.), let me know. I will attach them here so there is no need to download the image again, along with the links to the images.

Here are the links to the images:

Desktop (4.4 GB)

Lite  (3.5 GB)

The readme files are attached.

Randy