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Amp2 Outside

Phill Dupper

September 09, 2019 00:17

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I'm planning to build/mount three separate 3b+'s with the Amp2 to drive three sets of outdoor speakers around the yard. (2 on one side of the house and 1 on the other.)

I've got 3 waterproof ABS project boxes and plan on mounting all the components including power supplies inside and running speaker wire to outdoor rated speakers...

I have few questions I'm hoping the community / hifiberry support can help me with.

First, I'm a little worried about heat inside the box.  Any ideas on what might be generated and how to handle it?  I live in Southern California... It can get really hot here in the summer.

The Pi's will have WiFi going (separate usb adapter and antenna) to connect to my network and run shairport-sync...

The next challenge is the power supply.  What should I do there?  I know there is a thread on power supplies, but I'm looking for something that will live in a plastic box outside mounted to a wall outside...  Something that will power the Pi, Amp2, WiFi and the speakers...

The speakers I'm going to use are Polk Audio Atrium 4's... They are 8 ohm and up to 80w per channel... I realize the Amp2 is only 30w per channel, but I don't think I'll need all that given the coverage I'm planning...

Anyway, anyone have any thoughts or maybe have done something like this already?

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4 comments

• 0
  
  HiFiBerry team September 09, 2019 05:49

  Hi,

  I can't give specific recommendation, but you might have a look at waterproof aluminium cases. These will better dissipate heat than plastic cases. Also use one that is as big as possible, this also help a bit. 
  If this works on hot days? I can't say, you need to try by yourself.

  Best regards,
  Daniel

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  David Archer November 23, 2019 06:22

  Daniel / HiFiBerry team:

  I have similar concerns about Amp2 and the Pi4B.  I've done a few multi-room Amp2 + 3B installs for friends and only had one that overheats and craps out (lol -- my own!). I have had to leave the case lid off to stop the Pi/Amp2 package from overheating. 
  
  Now that the Pi4B is the main-line board, I'm concerned about how to cool the Amp2/Pi kit to avoid throttling or worse: damage.
  
  There are fans that can be powered via the HAT pins but the ones I've found seem to use the same pins as I2S boards which kinda nixes audio projects, no?

  Any info / news on elegant solutions to this issue would be super to hear about.
  
  Best,

  -- David

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  HiFiBerry team November 23, 2019 07:37

  Hi David,

  throttling isn't really a problem. The Pi4 has enough power to even provide enough performance if the CPU throttles. We're working on steel case for the Amp2 that should dissipate heat better than the universal plastic case.

  Best regards,
  Daniel

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  Jonathan June 16, 2020 23:41

  Hey Phil. I’m about to setup the same equipment outdoors, and wondering how you netted out? I bought at 25mm fan to put in the new steel case, so i’m hoping between the steel dissipation and the fan i should be okay. I also saw 4” fans on amazon and thought maybe i could put one of those in the box to help. What type if box did you go with? Which power supply are you using? How’s it working?

  Thanks!

  Jonathan