The Pimoroni Pirate Audio, a new accessory is now available for the Raspberry Pi, which turns the single-board computer into a mobile media player thanks to the amplifier and display.
At this point we have already reported on single-board computers such as the Raspberry Pi, which can also be used extremely flexibly, thanks in particular to the numerous accessories. Quasi-standardized dimensions of the numerous input and output ports allow third-party manufacturers to offer compatible accessories such as displays with E Ink technology or touch support.
In addition, there are actually ready-to-install solutions for certain applications, such as the now available Pimoroni Pirate Audio. Specifically, the accessory comes with an LCD screen in addition to a manufacturer’s high-quality amplifier and display. Audio signals are delivered to the amplifier via I2S, 24 bits are supported at a sampling rate of 192 kHZ.
The digital-to-analog converter of the type PCM5100A comes from Texas Instruments and is said to offer a dynamic range of 100 dB, the same applies to the signal-to-noise ratio. A PAM8908 is used as amplifier, which delivers up to 25 mW per channel.
The corresponding audio signals are output via a 3.5 millimeter output, the board itself measures 65 x 30.5 x 9.5 millimeters including the display. The LCD display has a resolution of 240 x 240 pixels and measures 1.3 inches diagonally. There are also a total of four buttons with which the playback of media files can be controlled directly on the device – with a housing and a battery, a portable music player can be realized directly.
The Pimoroni Pirate audio board is compatible with all Raspberry Pi models with a 40-pin GPIO header, the manufacturer Pimoroni already offers suitable software. The expansion board is available now for $ 25.
