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• Closing notes

  Tobias • 08/16/2026 at 23:02 • 0 comments

  This project has actually been finished for a while, but now I've finally gotten around to uploading the files and instructions.

  I won't go deep into the details of software, as this seems most in flux. The one thing I do want to pass on is how to set up the drivers for the Respeaker 2-mic hat to work with Raspberry Pi OS. The hat uses the WM8960 I2S DAC/ADC codec, which I believe is pretty old now, and the last time I tried the official drivers (https://github.com/respeaker/seeed-voicecard) just aren't compatible with any recent linux kernel. Thankfully there are some great people who are keeping the drivers up to date, as well as building a user-friendly installation script. As of about 6 months ago, the version I used was Wartem's fork (https://github.com/Wartem/seeed-voicecard) which is a fork of Hintak's (https://github.com/Wartem/seeed-voicecard) fork of the original code. If this stops working I recommend just browsing all of the forks for something that is recent and starred.

  Another reason not to go into detail is that I don't think this version of the Respeaker hat is available anymore, and has been replaced with version 2 which uses the newer TLV320AIC3104 codec. This is a really interesting chip, but that is a completely different project...

  One thing that I have completely skipped is the Neopixels - without a lot of custom code, these will never do anything in Rhasspy. I may come back to this, but to be honest I don't really use them

  Finally, the thing that I'm really proud about in this project is the fabric cover. It's the kind of thing that is standard in even the cheapest HiFi speakers, but without an assembly line (with frames, jigs, glue, clamps, etc) is normally hard to do. I'm pretty happy with the system I designed - even if it does take up a bit more internal space and use a few extra screws. I actually really like the appearance of the finished product.

  So that's all for now...

• Prototype iteration

  Tobias • 01/30/2025 at 05:02 • 0 comments

  I've just received my order of speaker grill fabric, so I can now show you a bit more of the intended design:

  The goal was always to have the top of the case covered in speaker fabric, but the challenge was how to achieve this without making the assembly too fiddly. The design idea was to use a kind of clamping ring to hold the fabric stretched and in place, which so far works really well. Here's an idea of how assembly goes:

  I still want to add a neopixel-style LED ring to the design, and I'm waiting on this to arrive at which point I can do more fit checks and design revisions and then upload a set of STL files, as well as detailed assembly instructions. Stay tuned!

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