Libreelec fan control for a Raspberry Pi 4 + HifiBerry Amp2 shield

• ideal for video streaming
• quiet
• metal case
• external WiFi antenna
• temperature controlled PWM of fan
• simple, only few additional hardware components are required

hardware

• Raspberry Pi 4 4GByte with U.FL antenna connector e.g. from geeks-r-us
• WLAN Upgrade Kit Raspberry Pi / ESP8266 5dBi e.g. from geeks-r-us
  • drill an additional 6.5 mm hole for the RP-SMA socket into the metal case next to the fan opening
• Hifiberry AMP2 shield e.g. from Reichelt
• power supply LEICKE 72W Netzteil 12V 6A e.g. from Amazon
• metal case for Raspberry Pi 4 & HiFiBerry AMP2, black e.g. from Reichelt
• very quiet 25mm fan with ball bearing EBM Papst 255M axial flow fan 5 V/DC 2.3 m³/h (L x B x H) 25 x 25 x 8 mm e.g. from Conrad
• heat sink 40 mm x 30 mm for Raspberry Pi 4 e.g. from Reichelt
• spacers, screws as appropriate
• loudspeaker and speaker cables, e.g. Polk S10E
• TV or monitor, e.g. Philips Monitor BDM3270QP/00
• for the fan control
  • 2N 7000 FAI MOSFET, N-CH, 60V, 0,115A, 0,4W, TO-92 e.g. from Reichelt
  • resistor 10kOhm e.g. from Reichelt
  • resistor 100Ohm e.g. from Reichelt
  • diode 1N4148 e.g. from Reichelt
  • schematics of fan control:
  • solder as floating wiring, ensure that all components are isolated by insulation tape
  • as reference, the GPIO pinout of a Raspberry Pi 4 is available e.g. here
  • used Raspberry Pi 4 GPIO pins:
    • +5V power (#2)
    • GND ground (#6)
    • BCM24 (#18)
    • note: do not use GPIOs that are used by the Hifiberry AMP2, see here

software

• Libreelec 11 Rpi4 nightly build e.g. this one (may not exist anymore) (worked for me, please check for the latest available RPi4 nightly builds at https://test.libreelec.tv/11.0/RPi/RPi4/: LibreELEC-RPi4.arm-11.0-nightly-*.img.gz)
• replace the Rapberry Pi 4's config.txt:

  • connect to the Raspberry Pi 4 via ssh:

    • enable ssh access in Libreelec

    ssh root@<raspberry_pi4_ip_address>

    • the default ssh password is: libreelec (if not changed yet, it is strongly recommended to change the default password!)
    • the /flash boot partition is read-only by default, so we need to remount it in read-write mode:

    mount -o remount,rw /flash

    • now execute the following commands at the command line

    cd /flash

    wget https://github.com/FUEL4EP/Libreelec_Raspberry_Pi4_Fan_Control/blob/master/config.txt

    • then set the /flash partition back to read-only mode:

    mount -o remount,ro /flash

    • and reboot for the changes in config.txt to be applied:

    reboot

• install / update the following addons to the latest version if streamings are suddenly stopping, this may happen after an update of LibreElec image
  • InputStream Adaptive
  • Inputstream FFmpeg Direct
  • RTMP Input
• the fan control software is derived from here. Many thanks to internauta37 !

  • installation procedure for the fan control (derived from here.)

  • major change is that the fan is turning at 'turn_on_speed (default: 65%)' speed for 1 second after each change of the fan speed

  • to make the fan working on LibreELEC it is necessary to perform the following steps:

    • install the Addon Raspberry Pi Tools in LibreELEC

    • connect to the Raspberry Pi 4 via ssh:

      • enable ssh access in Libreelec

      ssh root@<raspberry_pi4_ip_address>

      • the default ssh password is: libreelec
      • check that all the libraries by Raspberry Pi Tools have been installed correctly:

      ls -la /storage/.kodi/addons/virtual.rpi-tools/lib

      • download the python script that starts and manages the fan:

      mkdir /storage/.config/fan_controller

      cd /storage/.config/fan_controller

      wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/FUEL4EP/Libreelec_Raspberry_Pi4_Fan_Control/master/fan_controller.py

      • create the autostart.sh file and let his start the python script that takes care of controlling the fan:

      touch /storage/.config/autostart.sh

      chmod +x /storage/.config/autostart.sh

      nano /storage/.config/autostart.sh

      • adding to it:

      (python3 /storage/.config/fan_controller/fan_controller.py)&

      • save it
      • if you want to have the audio muted after the boot of LibreElec, then use the provided autostart.sh instead
      • now all that remains is to restart the Raspberry and enjoy the fan running:

      reboot

      • ensure that the fan is turning after the reboot
      • experts can observe debug messages by invoking from the command line after setting 'debugFlag=True' in the python script 'fan_controller.py':

      python3 /storage/.config/fan_controller/fan_controller.py

      • please do not forget to set 'debugFlag=False' afterwards
• I got some Mediathek addons working properly by installing the following VideoPlayer InputStream LibreELEC Addons:
  • InputStream Adaptive
  • Inputstream FFmpeg Direct
  • RTMP Input
• without these 3 addons the seeking forward and backward is not working!
• CURRENTLY NOT WORKING DUE TO NOT MAINTAINED releases.json FILE: for manual updates inside Libreelec please define in Settings => LibreElec => Updates:
  • automatic updates: manual
  • user defined channel 1: https://test.libreelec.tv/releases.json (currently not properly defined!!)
  • Update-Channel: LibreELEC-11.0
• then select the latest update in 'available updates'
• alternative manual update via ssh is as follows:
  • login into Libreelec by ssh
  • cd /storage/.update
  • wget -c <URL of latest LibreELEC-RPi4.arm-11.0-nightly-*.img.gz> in https://test.libreelec.tv/11.0/RPi/RPi4
  • e.g wget -v https://test.libreelec.tv/11.0/RPi/RPi4/LibreELEC-RPi4.arm-11.0-nightly-20220718-3a651c4.img.gz
  • reboot

final step

• seal the SD card opening of the case with black adhesive tape in order to avoid a bypass of the air flow. Keep the fan opening free.

migration to LibreELEC 12 (Kodi 21)

• I've successfully migrated my LibreELEC 11 system to LibreELEC 12

• if you want to migrate your LibreELEC 11 system to LibreELEC 12, please follow these steps:

  • create a backup of your LibreELEC 11 system
    • Settings => LibreELEC => Backup
  • store the backup data on an USB stick
  • keep your LibreELEC 11 SD card, don't overwrite it, and keep it if your LibreELEC 12 migration should fail!

• flash the latest official LibreELEC 12 nightly build from here to a NEW SD card having at least the same size as your LibreELEC 11 SD card

• insert the new SD card into the SD card slot of your Raspberry Pi 4

• boot the system

• restore the LibreELEC 11 backup created as above

• replace the Rapberry Pi 4's config.txt:

  • connect to the Raspberry Pi 4 via ssh:

    • enable ssh access in Libreelec

    ssh root@<raspberry_pi4_ip_address>

    • the default ssh password is: libreelec (if not changed yet, it is strongly recommended to change the default password!)
    • the /flash boot partition is read-only by default, so we need to remount it in read-write mode:

    mount -o remount,rw /flash

    • now execute the following commands at the command line

    cd /flash

    wget https://github.com/FUEL4EP/Libreelec_Raspberry_Pi4_Fan_Control/blob/master/config.txt

    • then set the /flash partition back to read-only mode:

    mount -o remount,ro /flash

    • and reboot for the changes in config.txt to be applied:

    reboot

• if everything ran smoothly, continue as follows:

• replace the LE 11 Python script for the fan controller, since LE 12 requires some modifications:

• connect to the Raspberry Pi 4 via ssh:

ssh root@<raspberry_pi4_ip_address>

• the default ssh password is: libreelec

• download the LE 12 python script that starts and manages the fan:

cd /storage/.config/fan_controller

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/FUEL4EP/Libreelec_Raspberry_Pi4_Fan_Control/master/fan_controller_LE12.py fan_controller.py

• now restart the Raspberry and enjoy the fan running:

reboot

• ensure that the fan is turning after the reboot
• experts can observe debug messages by invoking from the command line after setting 'debugFlag=True' in the python script 'fan_controller.py':

python3 /storage/.config/fan_controller/fan_controller.py

• please do not forget to set 'debugFlag=False' afterwards
• update the LibreELEC addons (usually not needed)
• enjoy
• install the latest official LibreELEC 12 nightly builds from here as available, follow the LE 11 instructions above

migration to LibreELEC 13

• after having successfully migrated to LE 12, you can also update to LibreElec 13 as usual
• the LE 13 daily updates are here

disclaimer

• use of these instructions is on your own risk! No liability by the publisher!
• ensure that the fan is turning after installation
• ensure that your raspberry pi4 is not overheating due to a wrong installation
• it is strongly recommended to make a backup of your SD card before you upgrade the Libreelec nightly build

download

• you can download the files of this repository from here as a zip file.

hints for Smart Home integration

• for a Smart Home with RaspberryMatic a DIY power switch for demand switch power supply has been developped: HB-UNI-SenAct-4-4-RC_DS. A fitting PCB is described here HB-UNI-SenAct-4-4-SC_DS_FUEL4EP.

donation

• if you like my contribution, please feel free to spend me a coffee:
• 

license

Creative Commons BY-NC-SA
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