Build a customised Raspbian image for vlc radio.

[pirateradiohack]

Hello,

I use my Pirate Radio to listen to streams with the help of the scripts in the vlc radio project.
Since I use my pirate radio only for that purpose, I don't need to install scripts on an already existing OS. I prefer to flash an image on an SD card for the purpose of the Pirate Radio. I find it more convenient and a common thing to do for embedded devices.

So I have forked the RaspberryPi tool they use to generate Raspbian images and added a step to configure the OS to work as the scripts do in the vlc radio repo. There should be no difference in the results of this build and the modifications done to the OS by the classic install. This will result in a ready to use image to flash on the SD card and enjoy the Pirate Radio.

The repo is here: https://github.com/pirateradiohack/PiRadio
The code I have added on top of official Raspbian is here: RPi-Distro/pi-gen@master...pirateradiohack:master

cheers

[Gadgetoid]

Great idea! And thanks for sharing. This would be far easier for people to build upon/modify than my super minimal read-only PiratePython-based distro.

[pirateradiohack]

@Gadgetoid I have made a second release. This time I have changed the application layer. I have replaced VLC with MPD which I find a better fit for the job. And I also changed the init scripts and daemons for systemd services which I find more practical.

So I have departed from the original project, hopefully for the best.

Here is the new release: https://github.com/pirateradiohack/PiRadio/releases/tag/2019-06-15-PiRadio

(The original one was: https://github.com/pirateradiohack/PiRadio/releases/tag/2019-05-25-PiRadio)

[Gadgetoid]

Interestingly we've also made the shift from VLC to Mopidy with our Pirate Audio boards, since the VLC solution was a bit meh.

More interestingly- the Mopidy team/community (a few key individuals in particular) have been super helpful with helping us get stuff up and running.

I think we learned the hard way - from pimoroni/pirate-audio#9 - that some kind of stable image or container-based install for the whole Mopidy stack would have served us well.

[ksaj]

I always get errors on the vlcradio version, and have tried so many different ways to get it working. The closest I ever got was the UV meter working, but without sound. Another "solution" left me without USB, and only the power button seemed to do anything. In every case, Googling the problem led to many other people having the same problems, but each one full of people suggesting the other non-working solutions.

So I'm going to install this one later today, and I'll be incredibly joyful if it works. Of course, I'll update my comment here as well, because I bet a LOT of people are frustrated as heck about their pirateradio, even though it's essentially a nice project, and it seems the software is at fault. Must be incredibly off-putting for youngsters trying it out for the first time.

[pirateradiohack]

ho great! yes please let me know. I'd be happy to improve it.

[pirateradiohack]

@ksaj I have tried to build the image following the instructions on https://github.com/pirateradiohack/PiRadio and it worked great. I have burnt the SD card and booted to a fully working radio.
I may update the operating system although it works fine as is.
Any feedback is welcome.

[pirateradiohack]

I have updated the underlying operating system and it seems to work fine.