Plex Radio Player - I2C LCD Display

Overview

The Plex Radio Player Client serves as a hardware client for Plex Radio. It requires a 16x2 I2C LCD display and five physical buttons to function.

Hardware Requirements:

• 16x2 I2C LCD Display (REQUIRED)
• Raspberry Pi or compatible GPIO system
• I2C interface enabled
• GPIO pins for buttons (configurable)

The application consists of:

1. Radio Core (radio_client.py) - Handles audio playbook, API communication, and button interactions
2. Display Manager (display_manager.py) - Manages the I2C LCD display

Quick Start

Running as a Service (Recommended)

For automatic startup on boot and crash recovery, install as a systemd service:

# Install and start the service
cd service
./install-service.sh

# Use the service manager for control
./radio-service.sh start    # Start service
./radio-service.sh stop     # Stop service
./radio-service.sh status   # Check status
./radio-service.sh logs     # View logs

Installation

1. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Enable I2C on Raspberry Pi:

   sudo raspi-config
   # Interface Options -> I2C -> Enable

3. Configuration: Copy example_radio_server_config.yaml to radio_server_config.yaml, provide the plex-server-api URL and GPIO pin configurations

4. Run the application:

   python3 radio_client.py

Features

Display Modes

• Radio ON: Shows channel name and current song with marquee scrolling
• Radio OFF: Shows live clock (24-hour format) and date (MM/DD/YYYY)
• Volume Control: Temporary screen showing current volume level
• Channel Change: Temporary screen showing channel name
• Error Messages: Clear error display for troubleshooting

Controls

• Power Button: Toggle radio on/off
• Volume Buttons: Adjust system volume by 5% increments
• Channel Buttons: Navigate through available channels
• Channel Persistence: Remembers last selected channel

Dependencies

The application requires only these essential packages:

• gpiozero - GPIO button support
• i2c-lcd - I2C LCD display driver
• requests - API communication
• PyYAML - Configuration file parsing

File Structure

plex-radio-player/
├── radio_client.py      # Main application
├── display_manager.py   # Display manager
├── clear_screen.py      # LCD clear utility
├── example_radio_server_config.yaml          # Configuration file
├── last_channel.txt     # Channel persistence
├── requirements.txt     # Dependencies
├── service/             # Service management files
│   ├── install-service.sh     # Service installation script
│   ├── radio-service.sh       # Service management utility
└── README.md            # This documentation

Troubleshooting

I2C LCD Display Issues

1. Display corrupted or frozen:

   python3 clear_screen.py

2. I2C LCD not detected:

   • Ensure I2C is enabled: sudo raspi-config
   • Check device permissions: ls -la /dev/i2c-*
   • Verify LCD is connected and powered
   • Test I2C detection: i2cdetect -y 1

3. Permission denied on /dev/i2c-1:

   • Add user to i2c group: sudo usermod -a -G i2c $USER
   • Logout and login again

4. Application fails to start:

   • This is expected behavior if no I2C LCD is detected
   • The application requires hardware I2C LCD to operate
   • Check that i2c-lcd Python module is installed

Common Issues

1. Import Error for i2c_lcd:

   pip install i2c-lcd

2. GPIO button not responding:

   • Check GPIO pin configuration in config.yaml
   • Verify physical wiring matches configured pins
   • Ensure GPIO permissions are correct

3. ffplay not found:

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install ffmpeg

4. API connectivity issues:

   • Verify API URL is correct in config.yaml
   • Ensure Plex Radio server is running and accessible
   • Check network connectivity

Getting Help

For hardware-related issues:

1. Test I2C connectivity with i2cdetect -y 1
2. Use the screen clear utility to reset display: python3 clear_screen.py
3. Check system logs for I2C/GPIO errors

For API connectivity issues:

1. Verify the Plex Radio server is running
2. Test API endpoint manually: curl http://your-server:5000/channels
3. Check firewall settings

Note

I absolutely used AI to write this because I am shameless and just wanted to listen to my tunes.