I have just assembled my first Raspberry Pi (4B) and I am using it as a music streamer for my hi-fi.
I have downloaded the latest version of Volumio (3.611 at the time of posting), and Spotify works flawlessly, which I’m really happy about.
Unfortunately when I listen to web radio streams (I have only tried BBC in the UK so far), I keep experiencing frequent audio cut outs for a fraction of a second at a time.
Another symptom of the problem is that the track progress bar on the /playback web page doesn’t seem to work properly. It is slow to count, and keeps restarting itself (often at the same time the audio cuts and restarts).
I am using a HiFiBerry Digi+ HAT and the only plugin I am using is Spotify.
I am using a wired ethernet connection and I have noticed that the green ethernet light blinks off/on frequently, even when I am not playing music. I assume this is normal but I would like to confirm that is the case!?
I am brand new to Raspberry Pi and I’m not an IT guy, so I haven’t attempted generating any logs yet.
Any help appreciated as I cannot enjoy the radio until this is fixed!
I have tried the prepopulated stations and they seem to work fine.
Is the workaround to find a streaming URL from a third-party website? This is what I did originally, and I have just tried another stream URL but experienced the same issue.
Green blinking of the Network is what it should do, so no worries. If Orange blinks that is a sign of problems.
An accurate progress bar during radio streaming is a dream state, as there is no end time with a stream. It just runs.
It will indeed reset, when the stream gets interrupted, as for Volumio it started a new stream.
Not sure why Volumio is so sensitive on radio streaming. I have two other devices (different SW) using the same endpoints and they don’t get these interruptions.
I also had the same issue for weeks with 3.611 and the previous release. It was happening on nearly all radio stations I had saved as favourites and was unlistenable. I tried several things, but what seemed to sort it out for me was to turn off (unplug) the wired network and use wireless only. I also set a static IP address.
As I said, this worked for me, and everything is now stable, but it looked like some network issue was causing the problems.
Thanks guys. I feel like we’re getting closer now…
I have now switched to a WiFi connection, which should be strong as my router is right next to my Pi.
I’m just not so sure about configuring the static IP…
I understand this can be done via the router, but I would like to test it using the Volumio settings first.
If I turn the Automatic IP setting toggle off in the UI for the Wired Network, the Static IP and Network fields are prepopulated, but the Gateway field just shows 0.0.0.0
If I toggle the Wireless Automatic IP setting off, the Static IP value is undefined, but the Netmask and Gateway fields are unpopulated.
What values should I use when setting the Wireless Network static IP connection?
I don’t fully understand what I’m doing so don’t want to risk losing the connection entirely and having to do a full reinstall if I can help it!
Assuming you are using your computer’s web page to access Volumio if you go into network settings you should see at the top left the wireless icon which gives you the IP address.
Scrolling down the page you’ll see “Wireless Network” - turn off “automatic IP”
Insert into static IP the same address as appears at the top left.
Netmask is 255.255.255.0
The default gateway is where it could get interesting - I am using a router and the default gateway is 192.168.0.1 on my setup which is a fairly standard address but it might be different in your case.
After any changes you make it might be worth doing a restart.
Like you, I only sorted out the radio dropouts by trial and error.
You can try your Plusnet settings of 192.168.1.254 to see if that works and yes type it as it’s written as the gateway address in the Volumio network settings.
I’m no expert and only share what worked for me after several very frustrating months with constant and at times prolonged dropouts which I only sorted out a few days ago.
Maybe others here on the forum with more expertise can be of help.
The track length remains at 0:06 in the bottom right, and every 6 seconds the number at the end of the track name increases by 1.
For example after 6 seconds, 266820970.ts becomes 266820971.ts. After another 6 seconds it becomes 266820972.ts. Each time the number increases, I get a very short audio drop out.
