SDRBERRY does not see the Bluetooth connected speaker

[buddyrm]

I can not figure why SDRBERRY does not see any bluetooth speakers, the speaker is visible to all other apps except SDRBERRY, it only shows USB connected and default headphone jack. wpctl shows the bluetooth speaker as the default audio but SDRBERRY does not see it. Looks like a bug in the app.

[paulh002]

Sdrberry uses linux alsa to connect to audio drivers. Alsa does not support Bluetooth audio. Linux bluetooth audio connections are supported by a higher level layer like pulseaudio or pipewire.
I have tested Bluetooth audio before, even with Bluetooth headsets. But the experience is not good. Bluetooth adds to much delay to the audio so if you tune the frequency with an optical rotary controler the audio is delayed to much.
But if you really want to use Bluetooth you have to configure some higher layer audio driver.

[romanjmelnyk]

Understand, I have tried to use alsa to play through the bluetooth speaker and it works using the command "aplay -D bluealsa:DEV=00:6A:8E:16:C2:A7,PROFILE=a2dp ./test.wav" and it works. But the question is how to get the sdrberry to pipe toa this device as mention. Where are you calling for audio available devices, maybe I figure out from there how to bridge it. I am buddyrm if there is any confusion on the username.

[paulh002]

The dropdown list in the setup page (gui_setup.cpp line 251) is populated based on the method AudioInput::ListDevices()
(AudioInput.cpp line 64)
This function calls getDeviceIds() from the audio library RtAudio.
I remove Default Alsa device and PulseAudio Sound server from the list these are mostly not correct configured.
All other devices are added to the dropdown list in the setup page.

To get bluetooth audio working you can do the following
Configure bluealsa as default device and remove the filter I have in the gui_setup.cpp for the default device.

defaults.bluealsa.device "XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX"  # Your Bluetooth device MAC
defaults.bluealsa.profile "a2dp"              # or "sco" for HFP/HSP

pcm.!default {
    type plug
    slave.pcm {
        type bluealsa
        device "XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX"
        profile "a2dp"
    }
}

I don't see other options it seems that RtAudio probe devices (RtAudio.cpp line 7890) does not see the bluealsa devices. I did not test this.
Other option is to use pulseaudio and remove the filter for pulseaudio from the gui_setup.cpp code

[romanjmelnyk]

Not to much of an expert on coding, can you give which lines I should comment out for the filter. I would appreciate it.

[romanjmelnyk]

Not to much of an expert on coding, can you give which lines I should comment out for the filter. I would appreciate it.

[paulh002]

I can make it configrerable, should be a small fix

[romanjmelnyk]

That would be fantastic, I really appreciate it. Let me know when the version is available for test. Thank you so much

[paulh002]

I added a switch to keep the default audio device in the dropdown list.
Add default_devices to sdrberry_config.cfg and set to 1 then the devices will be available.

[Audio]
default_devices = "1"
device = "USB Audio Device"

To get this patch you have to install the build version of sdrberry

cd sdrberry/build
git checkout build
git pull
make -j4
sudo make install

[romanjmelnyk]

All is well, works perfectly, thanks so much. No issues on my side. Hope this makes it the standard release. :-)

[paulh002]

Yes, will keep this change. Only the default behaviour is to switch it off. Many people do not know how to configure the default audio device.
Did you configure the default device as described before? Or made some change? If you want can you describe the steps you took? Then I can add a wiki page "bluetooth audio"

[romanjmelnyk]

Did not do anything, just connected to the bluetooth speaker, set the trust on for that device, wireplummer automatically sets the device as the default sink, then in your app, just selected default Alsa output. Then it works. You can still change back to the audio interface on the Pi4 which the option is still there. There is pulseaudio selection for those on the old pulseaudio system. But I have not tested it because I have legacy pulseaudio server installed. So another user will have to test it. No config changes or added files to set the sink. Super easy. Works like a dream, honetly I do not see any real delay when scanning the frequencies, it's pretty fast the streaming, seems the new wireplumer and pipewire with bluetooth works real well for streaming, no breakups or distortions. A+. I work for DXRADIOZONE.com, small company that is developing a new QRP radio based on the radoberry and preamp on the PI4B platform with integrated 7 inch touch screen. Custom designed case with cooling and even integrated 3 watt audio amplifier and speaker. Looks really slick. Should be ready to sell to the public in about a month. I can send you pictures of the final product. Also developing a custom transportation case and can be paired with our external portable LFP filter for those wanting to transmit leagally in the field. Output is 5-6 watts output, perfect for driving an additional amplifier. Users can use sdrberry, pihpsdr and sparksdr, based on their preference. It all works well. We can preconfigure the unit to the customer needs if they so want or DIY install. Comes with Raspberry PI OS preconfigured for all hardware.

[paulh002]

I am happy to hear that it works without to much delay, that was the main problem I had.
I had support build in for headsets, so you could set volume and switch between rx and tx.
But removed it because of the delay. Maybe to check again.
A complete kit based on radioberry is nice, makes it more accessible for people.
If you can share picture, you can find my email in qrz.com

[buddyrm]

Great I will keep you posted. We will test with a headset bluetooth, let you know if we run into delay issues.