Raspberry pi zero

[Iain Mott]

Hello,

Just saw that they've released a new raspi "zero". Haven't seen it discussed here, will it be a difficult proposition to run the ccrma satellite on this?

https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/raspberry-pi-zero/

Cheers,

[Peter Nyboer]

I think the CHIP from http://www.nextthing.co would be a better choice. It has built-in audio, wifi, and bluetooth for $4 more. I’ve gotten PD built on it, but there’s still some optimizations to do. I can’t, for example, run PD with real-time priority. But the built-in audio is decent (better than Rpi’s), and you can actually connect to it wirelessly :)

Peter

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[Andrew Piepenbrink]

Hi all,

Thanks for the tip, Iain, I was able to grab a Starter Pack from Adafruit right before they disappeared, and I should have it by the end of the week. I can't wait! A few thoughts...

I'd say the odds are good that Satellite CCRMA can be made to run on the Zero, because it uses the same processor as the Model B and B+, with the same 512MB of RAM. However, one major caveat is that the Zero runs Raspbian Jessie, a whole new version of Debian; as far as I know, Satellite CCRMA is based on Wheezy. Edgar would know better what hurdles are involved in upgrading to the new OS. Beyond this, the bulk of potential issues with the Zero seem to stem from its limited connectivity.

For one thing, accommodating the standard Satellite CCRMA workflow of ssh with X-forwarding to work with Pd's GUI will require external hardware, namely a USB-Ethernet or USB-WiFi adapter. From what I've read, the serial console (i.e. using a USB-RS232 cable) gains you access to the board, but is inadequate for ssh. It's a shame the Zero doesn't do what the Beaglebone Black does, which is offer USB-over-Ethernet on the same USB port which powers the board.

The union of the Pi with the Arduino for more flexibility in interfacing with sensors is a core feature of the Satellite ecosystem. Since this currently requires USB as well, we're probably now going to need a hub; so much for the $5 price point. Connecting a Pi with an Arduino over I2C <http://blog.retep.org/2014/02/15/connecting-an-arduino-to-a-raspberry-pi-using-i2c/> or SPI <http://robotics.hobbizine.com/raspiduino.html> is possible, but getting Firmata to work in this way may be quite a challenge.

Audio will also require external components. As described in <https://learn.adafruit.com/introducing-the-raspberry-pi-zero?view=all#audio-outputs> the basic output stage could probably be replicated on a piece of perfboard in under an hour, if all you need is output. For input, you'll still need a USB audio interface or an add-on board with I/O. This forthcoming, output-only audio board also looks interesting <https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/phat-dac> and is designed for the Zero.

I'm rather excited about the power consumption and speed of the Zero. A preliminary benchmark <http://raspi.tv/2015/raspberry-pi-zero-power-measurements> shows that it consumes the same amount of power as the Model A+, but that's not the whole story. The Zero is running 40% faster than the A+ (1GHz vs. 700MHz), and the A+ only has 256MB of RAM.

Last but not least, due to its size, the Zero is just begging to be embedded in wearables, where it would likely be subjected to an intense power-cycling schedule. This may make one of Satellite CCRMA's best, most unique features, disable-flash-writes, more relevant than ever.

Best,

Andrew

[Galanter]

Has anyone tried a Satellite distribution on the Pi Zero yet? Does it work?