Yesterday, I wrote about a 2-year-old open-source hardware ESP32-based DAB+ receiver project, but it turns out there’s also a digital radio project for the Raspberry Pi that was released about three weeks ago.
Raspiaudio’s Digital Radio V1 HAT adds AM/FM, DAB/DAB+, and HD Radio support to any Raspberry Pi SBC with a 40-pin GPIO header and is supported by CLI or web-based software for configuration and control.
Digital Radio V1 HAT specifications:
- Supported SBCs – Raspberry Pi Zero 1/2, Raspberry Pi 4/5, etc…
- Digital radio receiver chip – Skyworth Si4689-A10 (see product brief)
- Worldwide FM band support (76 to 108 MHz)
- Worldwide AM band support (520 to 1710 kHz)
- DAB, DAB+ Band III support (168 to 240 MHz)
- Advanced RDS/RBDS decoder
- FM HD Radio support with on-chip IBOC blend (note from Raspiaudio: subject to licensing. Please verify that you are legally allowed to use it in your country and for your intended application)
- Supports WorldDMB Receiver Profile 1
- Integrated OFDM channel demodulator
- Integrated de-interleaving SRAM
- I2S digital audio out with ASRC
- Integrated 97 dB stereo audio DAC
- Concurrent I2S/L-R stereo audio out
- Full range of signal quality metrics
- Fully-integrated VCO/PLL/synthesizer
- Host interface – SPI and I2C
- Package – QFN 48-pin, 7 x 7 x 0.85 mm
- Antenna
- SMA antenna connector for digital radio
- AM loop antenna connection support
- AM balun for impedance matching
- Audio
- Stereo audio jack output
- Built-in 5W amplifier and speaker
- Screwless passive speaker output for an external speaker; 4 ohm recommended, 8 ohm supported
- Switchable onboard speaker output (built-in or external selection)
- Analog audio output on the shield for audio capture
- Amplifier enable on GPIO17
- I2S audio path for digital capture and recording
- Misc – Onboard 3-way navigation button: up, down, and push
- Dimensions – pHAT form factor
While the board itself is not open-source hardware, the software is open source. Raspiaudio provides a browser-based Web UI and CLI access for automation, scripting, and custom applications, both written in Python, on GitHub. The radio.py script provides a local Web UI to scan, browse, tune, change volume, manage favorites, and handle audio recordings, all without needing an Internet connection. As a side note, DAB/DAB+ is mostly used in Europe and a few other countries like South Korea and Australia, while HD Radio (also called IBOC) is mainly used in the United States.
You can get started quickly as follows:
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git clone https://github.com/RASPIAUDIOadmin/Digital-Radio-for-Raspberry-Pi.git cd Digital-Radio-for-Raspberry-Pi python radio.py serve --port 8686 |
You can now access the web interface by going to http://piradio.local:8686/
Using the Raspiaudio Digital Audio HAT will also be easier than putting together the open-source hardware DAB+ receiver we covered yesterday, because you can buy/pre-order it from the company’s store for 59.90 Euros. This kit includes the HAT itself, a telescopic antenna, and a riser for mechanical compatibility with Raspberry Pi boards using a 40-pin GPIO header. So all you have to do is insert the HAT on your Raspberry Pi, connect the antenna, install the software, and you’re good to go.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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I have an unused RTL-SDR v3 and Raspberry Pi 4. Can I use this Raspiaudio software with that or should I try something else?
I don’t think it’s going to work since the backend communicates directly with the Si4689 radio chip.
You can still receive DAB+ or HD radio using an RTL-SDR v3. Software to look at includes Welle.io, QT-DAB, and nrsc5-dui.
It seems difficult to get all of the ingredients together nicely. HD Radio support appears less common than DAB/DAB+ due to the proprietary codec used. I also want a web interface that will be accessible over the entire LAN.
The GitHub mentions that you can “control everything from a polished web UI on your local network”, so maybe the generic “piradio.local:8686” address (rather than specific IP for the device, which could change) is working from any PC immediately after setup. But if it’s only usable with the Si4689 HAT, doesn’t matter.
In short, I’ll have to stop being lazy and research it some more. I’ll report back if I come up with something that works.
piradio.local:8686 is equivalent to using <ip_address>:8686 on most local networks. One of my local networks won’t do mDNS lookups, so I always have to use IP addresses on that one.
Yes you are right and a usb sdr key is better for noise reduction…
For radio I use welle.io (radio station at 48khz) and for ham gqrx software
These device are really fantastic ☺
Not directly relevant but not far off – you might find foonerd’s brcmfmac-iovar GitHub repo of interest @Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)
Here it reads “Supported SBCs – Raspberry Pi Zero 1/2, Raspberry Pi 4/5”
On raspiaudio.com/product/digital-radio/ it reads “Compatible with Raspberry Pi boards featuring the standard 40-pin header, including Raspberry Pi Zero, Raspberry Pi 4, Raspberry Pi 5, and other compatible Raspberry Pi models.”
So I guess Zero 1/2 and Pi 4/5 are examples, not limitations.