roon-extension-keyboard-remote

Roon Extension to control playback via keypresses, and hence via any remote control that can generate a keypress. This includes Harmony Hubs and many cost-effective RF remotes. It's designed to be installed on (and probably makes most sense with) players running DietPi and Roon Bridge, although may work on other Linux platforms with a recent NodeJS and systemd.

IMPORTANT:

• After installation, the main systemd service for this extension will autostart and start receiving keypresses on the second virtual console. A second service will, five seconds after boot, automatically switch the active virtual console to the second one. If you need to login directly on the physical console, you will need to switch back to the first to see a login prompt. To do this, use Alt+F1, or Alt+Left. To switch back and resume remote control, use Alt+F2, or Alt+Right.

• Ensure that you have not enabled 'PSU noise reduction' enabled in dietpi-config > Audio options. It isn't on by default, so you would have to have done this deliberately. If it is enabled, it will disable HDMI, including the virtual console. Boot-up will not complete, because this extension needs the console to operate, and you won't be able to SSH in. If you find yourself in this situation, to recover take out the MicroSD card and, on another computer, edit dietpi.txt in the root directory. Find the line:

  rpi_hdmi_output=0
  

  and change it to:

  rpi_hdmi_output=1
  

  You will then be able to boot once with HDMI on. Log in, start dietpi-config, go to Audio options and turn off 'PSU noise reduction' to fix the problem.

• If you're installing this extension on multiple endpoints, you'll need to set different hostnames using dietpi-config > Security Options > Change Hostname. This way, multiple extensions (with the hostname in brackets) will appear in the Roon > Settings > Extensions, enabling independent configuration.

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Installation on DietPi

1. Install Node.js from dietpi-software > Software Additional

2. Download the Keyboard Remote extension.

   apt-get install git
   cd /opt
   git clone https://github.com/mjmaisey/roon-extension-keyboard-remote.git

3. Install the dependencies:

   cd roon-extension-keyboard-remote
   npm install

4. Install to start on the second virtual console automatically on startup

   mkdir /etc/roon-extension-keyboard-remote
   cp changevt.service roon-extension-keyboard-remote.service /lib/systemd/system
   systemctl enable roon-extension-keyboard-remote.service
   systemctl enable changevt.service

5. Reboot

   shutdown -r now

   The extension should appear in Roon now. See Settings->Setup->Extensions and you should see it in the list.

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Using a Bluetooth keyboard with a Raspberry Pi

1. Enable Bluetooth in dietpi-config > Advanced

2. Run bluetoothctl and pair the Bluetooth keyboard, which should look something like the following (with different device addresses, of course)

   [NEW] Controller 11:22:33:44:55:66 dietpi [default]
   [bluetooth] agent on
   Agent registered
   [bluetooth] default-agent
   Default agent request successful
   [bluetooth] scan on
   [CHG] Controller 11:22:33:44:55:66 Discovering: yes
   [NEW] Device AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF Harmony Keyboard
   [bluetooth] pair AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF
   Attempting to pair with AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF
   Pairing successful
   [bluetooth] connect AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF
   Attempting to connect to AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF
   Connection successful
   [bluetooth] trust AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF
   Changing AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF trust succeeded
   [bluetooth] exit
   

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Using a Harmony Hub as a bluetooth keyboard for a Raspberry Pi

1. Create a new 'Windows PC' device in the Harmony app

2. Create a new Activity using the device in the Harmony app (and any amp you'd like to control). This should then prompt you to pair, at least in the iOS app - this doesn't seem to work in the Harmony desktop app. Do the pairing on the Raspberry Pi as above.

3. You'll need to alter the buttons on the activity, as Harmony's default media key mappings only seem to result in a null keypress on a Raspberry Pi. I found space for play/pause and left/right direction keys for previous and next track respectively work well.

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Enabling and programming the extension

1. Open Roon on any device (PC, Mac, iPad etc.)

2. Go to Settings > Extensions

3. Enable the Extension. The status should change to 'Program - press Next'

4. Press the relevant keys on your control device (currently Next, Previous, Play/Pause) in response to the prompts

5. Go into the extension settings and select your controlled zone, then click 'Save'

6. The status should now read 'Controlling zone '. Enjoy.

If you do not have particular keys on your control device, going into the settings and entering a dash into the fields for the relevant key and pressing 'Save' will result in the key being skipped during programming.

If you wish to reprogram any key, simply delete the contents of the field for the key(s) in the extension Settings and it will go back into programming mode for the keys.