Adabox 004 - Problem with Streaming Cutting Out

[Stacks]

Hi all,

Finally got my daughter interested in the Adabox004 we got for her, and things have gone pretty well getting it to play an MP3 and then to stream music. (Actually, everything has gone very well/quickly thanks to the tutorial and this forum)

However, whenever we stream music (somafm), the device always cuts out/no sound about 1 minute in. Sometimes it will crackle a bit and go off, others it just cuts. The 1 minute is pretty reliable, though occasionally it will go longer (never over 3 min).

We are using the code provided at the bottom of this page:
https://learn.adafruit.com/adabox004/internet-radio

A bit more info:
- Configuration includes provided volume control potentiometer & resister. Interestingly, the volume remains fixed regardless of potentiometer position, but the addition did clear up a lot of sound issues
- This happens whether powered by laptop or included adapter
- Since we have been able to get online/streaming, my first assumption was a power issue, so we added a capacitor across the power rail (470 uF)

Any help would be appreciated. Her eyes lit up when we first heard the music from it, and you could see the gears in her head spinning -> I need to keep them going!

Thanks!
Paul

My apologies if this is answered elsewhere. I did tons of searching on/off adafruit for various permutations of adabox 004, feather, huzzah, music maker, and streaming (learned a lot & headed off some other issues!), but haven't seen this particular problem described.

[adafruit_support_mike]

Let's start with the physical parts: post a photo showing your hardware and connections and we'll take a look. 800x600 images usually work best.

[Stacks]

Thanks Mike,

See pictures below, and my apologies for the poor quality/contrast.

The wiring shown should be the same as this link, with the addition of a capacitor across the power rail:
https://learn.adafruit.com/adabox004/ad ... olume-knob

As mentioned earlier, the potentiometer position does not affect volume (a clue, maybe?), but having it does improve sound quality at the fixed volume.

Also, the addition of the capacitor has had no noticeable impact on how long the player goes before shutting down

Thanks for any help,
Paul

[adafruit_support_mike]

What voltage do you see on the solder joint for the pin connected to the center of the potentiometer when you center the knob on the pot?

[Stacks]

Hi Mike,

Not sure I did this correctly, but I put one of my dmm probes into the positive rail on the breadboard and then touched the soldered pin end on the board that is wired to the center position of the potentiometer.

Readings were as follows:

With the potentiometer in the 90 degree (middle of range) position = 2.79v

Turning the dial counterclockwise until it stops = 2.2

Turning the dial clockwise until it stops = 3.30 <-(edited from original post)

Reading is the same whether I have the multimeter probe on the soldered end of the pin itself, or the open hole just in front of it on the Music Maker board.

Board continues to reliably:
- get online
- stream music at a fixed volume (regardless of potentiometer position)
- cut out after ~1 minute of playing

Thanks!
Paul

[Stacks]

Have not solved the problem, but as a follow up:

Changed out the power adapter (the one included in the Adabox) for another, arbitrary phone charger.

It helped somewhat -> Music streams pretty reliably for 11-15 minutes now before shutting off.
- Still always shuts off, just about 10 minutes more time gained
- Behavior consistent with or without a capacitor across the power rails

Thanks for looking/any thoughts that this may provoke!
Paul

[adafruit_support_mike]

Sorry for the delay following up..

In general, you measure voltages relative to the GND pin. That's the common reference point for all voltages in a circuit. Measuring from the positive rail gives you valid measurements, but you have to subtract out the supply voltage.

In this case, it sounds like the voltage reaching the Feather from the potentiometer ranges from 0V to 1.1V, which should be okay.

Try disconnecting one speaker and see if the board still cuts out. It does sound like a power issue, and if so, taking one speaker's worth of load off the supply should have some effect.