Minimalistic Duet setup

[jakobmagnusson]

Hi!
I would like to setup my Logitech Duet at my cottage. There is no internet there and I would like to have as small and compact setup as possible, with as few boxes as possible. Everything is in one room and I will only have one Receiver/Player.

I have the following equipment:
1 Receiver/Player
1 Remote
1 server running on a Sheeva plug (I think it's an ARM processor with Linus OS). No WLAN or bluetooth inbuilt.

Can I connect the receiver/player directly with ethernet cable to the server? Crossover cable needed? DHCP? ??
Can I run the system without access to Internet? (I think there is a stage in the setup where I need to log into squeezebox.com or something similar)?

Or other suggestion to do a minimalistic setup... I want it to be as robust as possible...
(Since it is a compact system sitting next to the amplifier, is it beter to use a music player on the server and connect it with a USB audio interface directly to the amplifier??)

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,
Jakob

[w3wilkes]

You will need to have a (wireless) router. You could do it without a wireless router if you set it up so the receiver is the access point for the controller. The biggest problem I'd see is getting it all set up without an internet connection. There are those that say it can be done, but when I tried I "couldn't get there from here" (this internet requirement needs to be removed). If you had the router and set the whole thing up ahead of time with static IP's for the receiver, controller and Sheeva Plug you could then take it down, disconnect the router from the internet and start it all back up again and see if it stayed configured.

[w3wilkes]

Hold the phone, just had a thought... You could install router software on the sheevaplug, configure the receiver so that it's the bridge for the controller and you should be good to go (again, if you can get past the internet requirement during Duet setup).
Sheevaplug router software;

https://newit.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=214.0

Duet configured in bridge mode;

http://support.logitech.com/en_us/article/11912

[Swiftie]

If you have a cellphone which can connect to the Internet via mobile data (via your nearest cellphone mast) and which also supports wifi hotspot (your phone creates a wifi network, connected via the mobile data) then you should, in theory, have all you need to do the initial setup in the standard way. My old Galaxy S4 would work just fine.

However, your controller will need a wifi network whenever you use it, as wifi is its only practical connectivity. So, you're going to have to setup a wifi network, somehow or other.
This is why I bought a Synology NAS for my setup; the wifi network is built into the Synology NAS model that I bought. I haven't set mine up yet, though.

You can setup a wifi network with almost any old router... I'd bet that most of us here have one lying around from when we last upgraded to some funky new network connectivity (I have at least two such redundant routers, for example).

[jakobmagnusson]

Hi,
Thanks for good answers, both of you. Obviously the Duet is a complex product to handle complex solutions.

For now I've hooked up my old iPod gen 5 to the active speakers with a long cable. As simple as it can get and works ok.

It would still be nice to have stationary solution with Harddisk, D/A with cable to the amplifier, small server and a remote(operating on any wireless technology). Is there any such simple and hassle free system on the market?

Regards,
Jakob

[karlek]

Raspberry Pi with Logitech Media Server (LMS) and SqueezePlay or SqueezeLite.
Look for piCorePlayer or max2play.
You can even use your controller.

[tcutting]

Looks like you have what you need...

Based on the discussion, it looks like you have what you need for a "minimal" setup with the PogoPlug, Receiver and Controller. The tricks are setting up the ethernet directly between the ShevaPlug (running LMS) and the Receiver, and also setting up the "ad-hoc" connection between the Receiver and controller:


By adding a basic wi-fi router, this all gets much easier. It will be easier to setup the ethernet settings between the ShevaPlug and LMS, and you can use regular wifi served from the router. It also opens up the use of 3rd-party control solutions (iPeng on iOS; orange squeeze or others on Android):

[RonM]

Although my memory is a little vague, and it won't apply to your situation given the hardware you are using, for a couple of years I took my music with me via Squeezeboxen when on vacation in the tropics. Difference is I used a laptop I was taking with me anyway and a Boom.

I used an ad hoc wifi connection between the laptop (with the server and music) and the Boom, no router involved. I suspect you could do this with the Receiver, so long as it was all set up at home with an internet connection. I'm quite sure that my receiver at home worked fine when the internet was down, a not uncommon situation where I live in the country.

I should add that ad hoc connections with the Windows version I was using at the time were a bit of an adventure. In subsequent years I actually took an old router, and given the very low cost of these that might be the best option.

R.

[jakobmagnusson]

Raspberry Pi with Logitech Media Server (LMS) and SqueezePlay or SqueezeLite.
Look for piCorePlayer or max2play.
You can even use your controller.

Thanks! Sounds interesting.

Reading the web page, it says "piCorePlayer is a dedicated Squeezebox player (like a Duet receiver)".

So what you are saying is that I add the LMS server SW + the hard disk with my music on the same Raspberry PI and I have the whole system in a box?

Can I use my controller if I also install a WiFi dongle?
Is there a need for internet connection during LMS setup?

/Jakob

[kidstypike]

So what you are saying is that I add the LMS server SW + the hard disk with my music on the same Raspberry PI and I have the whole system in a box?

Yes

Can I use my controller if I also install a WiFi dongle?

Yes

Is there a need for internet connection during LMS setup?

Yes, LMS needs to be downloaded

[jakobmagnusson]

Yes, LMS needs to be downloaded

Thanks!
Is internet connection still needed for the setup of the LMS, i.e. the connection to the squeezebox.com account?
/Jakob

[kidstypike]

Thanks!
Is internet connection still needed for the setup of the LMS, i.e. the connection to the squeezebox.com account?
/Jakob

I'm sorry, I think I may have mislead you, you would still need some kind of wireless network at the cottage, to control your player(s).

If you don't use mysqueezebox.com at all, then you can just skip the initial mysqueezebox.com setup page, but you would need an internet connection if you wished to install any non native plugins etc..

I don't use mysqueezebox.com at all, in fact with max2play there's a box you can tick to run LMS without mysqueezebox.com.

[Grumpy Bob]

My suggestion would be to get one of the Western Digital Passport Wireless drives, and set up LMS on it as described in this post.

I have set this up, and take it to my office where it connects wirelessly to a Raspberry Pi running piCoreplayer, so no reason why it wouldn't work with a Duet. It seems pretty robust and has space for 2Tb of music files. I mostly run it via a tablet with SqueezePad, but you can use the regular LMS web page or the Duet's Controller.

Robert

[jakobmagnusson]

Hi again,
I think what I'm looking for is something simpler:
A small server with A/D and WiFi router capability running a music server which is remotely controlled (over WiFi) from a Android device. Possibly the remote could run over Bluetooth?
See picture below to give an idea.
Not having any other WiFi avalable. No internet.

Any ideas on how to get this working? I'm not a Linux expert but can do some basic stuff and follow how-to's...

[Grumpy Bob]

I think the Wireless WD Passport setup I linked to above fits the bill:
- 2Tb storage (on the model I have)
- two WiFi cards
- runs as a WiFi server
- can install LMS on it
- you can take a backup of your main music library on it
- you can use iPeng or SqueezePad on an iPad/iPhone as controller, or a laptop using the normal LMS web interface
- you can link a Receiver or other player to it

I set mine up at home, using my internet connection for the Mysqueezebox.com bit, then took it to work where it does great service with a Raspberry Pi player.

I paid just under £150 on Amazon.

Robert