I2S Stereo Decoder - UDA1334A, Hardware issue

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JohnnytheRocket
 
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I2S Stereo Decoder - UDA1334A, Hardware issue

Post by JohnnytheRocket »

Hi, I am interfacing the Adafruit I2S Stereo Decoder - UDA1334A with a Jetson Nano, and I am encountering a weird issue with the audio playback. At first, I only got static noise from the decoder (though it started and stopped at correct times). Then, when gently prodding the jumper wires attached to the decoder I sometimes managed to get a clear signal – and so I re-soldered them, and tried different jumper wires. Yet, the issue remained, and after some troubleshooting and gently pushing on each of the components of the board, I can consistently reproduce the clear signal by gently pushing down at a spot near an edge on the backside. Alright, so I assume that some wiring between the layers of the PCB has a faulty connection.

However, this only works when I use a finger, and then barely no pressure is needed at all. Trying it with a wooden match does nothing. And so now I assume that somehow it is the capacitance of the finger that fixes something somehow, but pushing with either a piece of metal, or a damp cloth does nothing again. And pushing with a finger on the front of the board also does nothing.

I feel both some kind of scientific curiosity in figuring out what the issue might be, but also if it fixable and/or a common issue – as I were to order more of these decoders after evaluating one.
Board setup (disregard the extra jumper wires, they are the previously noted new wires, using only five makes no difference).
Board setup (disregard the extra jumper wires, they are the previously noted new wires, using only five makes no difference).
IMG_2459.JPG (118.57 KiB) Viewed 1164 times
This removes the noise and produces a clean and high quality signal.
This removes the noise and produces a clean and high quality signal.
IMG_2460.JPG (112.16 KiB) Viewed 1164 times
Pushing with a damp cloth (or wooden part of a match, or with a piece of metal) does nothing
Pushing with a damp cloth (or wooden part of a match, or with a piece of metal) does nothing
IMG_2463.JPG (110.13 KiB) Viewed 1164 times

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JohnnytheRocket
 
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Re: I2S Stereo Decoder - UDA1334A, Hardware issue

Post by JohnnytheRocket »

After procuring several more of these boards, I can't help but think that it might be a consistent issue across them. As of writing, I have tried four more boards – none of which have produced anything but static at playback, but in two of them I can produce a clean signal sometimes if I squeeze them just right. Not as consistently as the first one though.

Any insight or thoughts would be very appreciated.

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Re: I2S Stereo Decoder - UDA1334A, Hardware issue

Post by adafruit_support_carter »

How long are the hookup wires you are using?

Please post a photo showing the solder job for the header pins on the UDA1334 breakout.

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JohnnytheRocket
 
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Re: I2S Stereo Decoder - UDA1334A, Hardware issue

Post by JohnnytheRocket »

Wire length is 18 cm.

Regarding debugging, also note that I've examined the Jetson output, both with an oscilloscope and with a Digilent I2S breakout chip (which requires a different clock signal than the UDA1334A breakout, though I've tried the latter with both), and everything is working as expected – and I get clean sound from the Digilent board. Further, I am testing with a song and not noise, so it is not an issue of misinterpreting the output. I've also tried several headphones, including one with external power.

Regarding soldering, I'm admittedly still finding my way (and I've referred to your guide more than once). However, considering that I've now tried five separate boards – most of which I've resoldered once I tested them – and that I've successfully soldered both the aforementioned Digilent chip, as well as another board with my current solder and setup – I find it unlikely that I've managed to fail on all of them. Further, I've also tried yet another board (due to free freight after a set amount, I could buy ten UDA1334A breakouts for the cost of a single one) but with an unsoldered header which I've tried all possible angles to get a clean signal – the only time I manage is when I squeeze the board just right. Anyway, some solder examples below:

DSC06988.JPG
DSC06988.JPG (96.51 KiB) Viewed 1109 times
Example solder 1. This is the board which my first post refers. I overdid the solder when I resoldered it.
DSC06988.JPG
DSC06988.JPG (96.51 KiB) Viewed 1109 times
Example solder 2.
DSC06987.JPG
DSC06987.JPG (125.6 KiB) Viewed 1109 times
Example solder 3.
Attachments
DSC06990.JPG
DSC06990.JPG (145.21 KiB) Viewed 1109 times

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adafruit_support_carter
 
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Re: I2S Stereo Decoder - UDA1334A, Hardware issue

Post by adafruit_support_carter »

Thanks. BLCK looks cold soldered in the first board. But the other one looks fine.

Is the Jetson your only board?

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JohnnytheRocket
 
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Re: I2S Stereo Decoder - UDA1334A, Hardware issue

Post by JohnnytheRocket »

At the moment, yes. But I have an opportunity to grab an Arduino next week probably. You wouldn't happen to have a Jetson to try it on?

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Re: I2S Stereo Decoder - UDA1334A, Hardware issue

Post by adafruit2 »

we haven't tried with a jetson but it sounds like it could be a grounding issue...
can you show a clear and easy-to-follow photo with the wiring setup?
we know the UDA1334 works with a raspi, if you had one you could at least verify it...

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Re: I2S Stereo Decoder - UDA1334A, Hardware issue

Post by JohnnytheRocket »

IMG_2486.JPG
IMG_2486.JPG (208.25 KiB) Viewed 1057 times
Here is the wiring setup. White is Vcc, black is ground, purple is Wsel, blue is data, and grey is clock. That is also the shown order into the UDA1334A. We also considered a grounding issue, and we have tried a variety of the grounds available on the Jetson pinout.

I did just notice that even with a fully disconnected ground, I still get a noisy output from the board – and I can hear the signal very faintly in the noise. This noise only disappears if I disconnect either ground and clock, or ground and Wsel, (or just Vcc). This seems weird to me, and it does not happen with the Digilent board. Since the Digilent uses another clock, maybe it is something weird with the Jetson's I2S clock? However, it was definitely a square wave when we investigated it.

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Re: I2S Stereo Decoder - UDA1334A, Hardware issue

Post by adafruit2 »

could be the format is nonstandard? are you powering from 3.3V? not sure what else to suggest because we havent formally tested jetson with i2s :/

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Re: I2S Stereo Decoder - UDA1334A, Hardware issue

Post by JohnnytheRocket »

could be the format is nonstandard? are you powering from 3.3V?
I have tried a variety of sample rates, but I can't imagine that there's a software issue since I can get a clean signal. Yes, I've been using 3.3 vcc, but just now I tried with 5 vcc as well, and with no difference. I also tested with another Jetson Nano with no difference.

Yeah, I've also ran out of ideas. I have posted the issue on Nvidias forums as well; so far no one has said anything about using the UDA1334A board, but your I2S MEMS Microphone Breakout - SPH0645LM4H (which I gather use the same clock signals) and some other I2S devices have apparently been used successfully. I'm probably going to pick up a Raspberry and Arduino at the end of the week, but I have low hopes that it will provide any clarity into this.

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Re: I2S Stereo Decoder - UDA1334A, Hardware issue

Post by adafruit2 »

i2s is i2s...as long as its 32 bit standard, i dont think there's anything in particular about the UDA that would cause issues - i still think its some wiring iffiness but thats just a guess!

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Re: I2S Stereo Decoder - UDA1334A, Hardware issue

Post by yesimahuman »

Found this post because I'm having a similar issue building a custom bluetooth device with an ESP32 dev board, outputting an I2S signal to a PCM5102 board, and then sending the R and L signals to an Adafruit MAX98306 3.7W stereo amplifier. I get pure static/noise unless I hold the wires and my fingers in just the right place then I get crisp, clear audio. I have tried powering the amplifier on the same and different power sources with the same effect

I, too, suspect it's a grounding issue. Are there any tips for properly grounding and isolating digital and analog signals in a circuit like this? I am using breadboards which I've hard can be awful for mixed digital and analog circuits.

Also curious if you resolved it since @JohnnytheRocket

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JohnnytheRocket
 
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Re: I2S Stereo Decoder - UDA1334A, Hardware issue

Post by JohnnytheRocket »

Sorry to hear that @yesimahuman,

I'm afraid we had to cut our losses and have given up on the UDA1334A boards as for now. I wish you better luck than what we had!

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Re: I2S Stereo Decoder - UDA1334A, Hardware issue

Post by Zubenel_robotics »

I had the same issue and made it work. Not the best quality sound but decent anyway. You can find info about how I did it in Nvidia Developer Forums https://forums.developer.nvidia.com/t/o ... /157872/12. Here I only can attach images but you need to configure alsamixer. Now I'm trying to use it along two Mems microphones but I have the same issue again. I think that this video can help https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DwXpAl ... nAudioTech.
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Pin connection jetson nano - decoder - amplifier
Pin connection jetson nano - decoder - amplifier
speakers connections jetson nano.png (216.98 KiB) Viewed 850 times

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Re: I2S Stereo Decoder - UDA1334A, Hardware issue

Post by JohnnytheRocket »

Zubenel_robotics wrote:I had the same issue and made it work. Not the best quality sound but decent anyway. You can find info about how I did it in Nvidia Developer Forums https://forums.developer.nvidia.com/t/o ... /157872/12. Here I only can attach images but you need to configure alsamixer. Now I'm trying to use it along two Mems microphones but I have the same issue again. I think that this video can help https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DwXpAl ... nAudioTech.
Thanks for your update! However, it definitely isn't an issue with alsamixer or the sound configuration since we can achieve perfect sound by touching the board – so most likely there's some EMR issue. Though it's interesting that you get proper sound out when using the breakout pads instead of the headphone jack, though I'm not sure if it makes sense.

Regarding sound quality, when it is working I can't discern any issues with the sound quality, so that might be due to your speaker setup.

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