Volume Slider

[Frogboy]

I'm not trying to rush anything but I don't want the little stuff holding Pandora back especially since the GP2X F-800 is coming out real soon. :lol: :gp2x

Wait the what?

Where did they mention that? Got any links?


It was pretty much just empty rumors most likely in response to the anouncement of Pandora.

GP2X F-800 Rumor

 

[nubie]

There will be an analog volume control. You may think digital is cool because everyone does it, but after using some devices (including my laptop) that don't respond to the buttons when I would really want to turn the volume down at the last second (before powering down for example), it is annoying as hell! The Archos 605 blows hard for this very reason! If the screen is off, you have to press a button or tap the screen just to get it to respond AND THEN you have to hit the button again to adjust the volume. I'd rather have the freedom from software to adjust the volume whenever I want. Software volume control can be added on top of the hardware, but you just have to set the dial to whatever the maximum volume will be (dangerous if software suddenly screws up, but still possible to do).

If we go with this thicker battery, there is likely enough height to choose either a slider or a wheel and still slide a stylus in over top of the control. I think the majority of people voted for the slider though.

I would vote for Wheel if there was a vote. I don't really care for sliders. I think a wheel is more robust in general, and not dependent on the plastic on plastic of the volume nub for its smoothness and wear.

I hope that is a solution and the bigger battery comes with the wheel volume.

He is right, software (on the main processor) is not the place for the volume control. And I don't think adding a separate processor just for mundane functions is really the answer.

 

[MWeston]

Just wondering, when was there a vote for Slider versus wheel? Good to hear that the longer-life battery makes room for the slider/wheel. (whichever we do use) Also, I agree with teggun that a mute switch might be nice.

-God Ginra

Here: http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?showtopic=39989

It turns out I hadn't looked at it for a while and wheel won out. A wheel is likely to be easier as that means one less part in assembly.

There is a mute switch: slide the knob to left or spin the wheel to full attenuation...done

For some reason, I thought the DS's volume slider had 5mm of travel and so I decided 10mm was good. Now that I actually measured the DS at ~10mm, I would like to find one at 15mm.
If I'm not mistaken the DS (lite) DOES have 5mm of travel. 6mm to be exact. You want to measure the space left over AFTER the knob, not include the knob in your measurements.

You're right! I passed the ruler over my DS in haste and inaccurately saw 10mm.

so, wat do u think?

too expensive and possibly an extra part to hold up production. Less is more.

 

[quartercast]

So is anybody here willing to be the Chinese connection? I think we've all heard plenty of insightful opinions about volume control, but it seems what is needed is some physical/linguistic help. Sorry, I don't speak chinese or have any connections in the field.. all I know about is chemicals or glassware

 

[Yrx]

Yay wheel!

 

[trooper]

Yay wheel!

Seconded.

Trooper

 

[#1 GameMaster]

I think that Digital volume control might be the best because if you look at the GP2X problems the reason it would be used at all as some other button on certain things is because the GP2X didn't have a lot of buttons to be used on certain programs so they would use it for that reason. Now with the Pandora having all these buttons plus a key-board there is no reason that it would have to be used like that so digital volume control could actually work out.

 

[Eolair]

I'm relieved to hear that we get an analog volume control. "Digital" may be a cool word these days but not when it comes to volume controls!

The best thing would definately be a wheel as it provides the longest range possible. If you can't fit a wheel then you need to find a slider as large as possible. Anything less than 1 cm would be terrible (The DS's 1cm is already bad). You will end up tapping the volume back and forth to get it right, and setting the right volume while you're moving around will be next to impossible.

Yay wheel!

Seconded.

Trooper

Sign me up

 

[trooper]

I think that Digital volume control might be the best because if you look at the GP2X problems the reason it would be used at all as some other button on certain things is because the GP2X didn't have a lot of buttons to be used on certain programs so they would use it for that reason. Now with the Pandora having all these buttons plus a key-board there is no reason that it would have to be used like that so digital volume control could actually work out.

But it would be great to have a dedicated analogue volume wheel (with a click off position to act as a mute), On the outside, For those that will use the pandora with the unit closed. Such as an mp3 player in your pocket or while playing multiplayer games with a couple of joypads attached and connected to a tv etc.

Trooper

 

[fusion_power]

Yes, VOLUME WHEEL FOR PRESIDENT!

It's not that any of these parts are impossibly hard to find, it's more of a case of not speaking Chinese and it is hard to communicate with manufacturers.

Are there no cheap components/parts available outside of China?

Oh, and if the space into the case really is big enough to hide a Stylus, please don't forget a additional small hole onto the case for a wrist strap (mabye not so small like onto the GP2X :lol: ). So a stylus also could be bound with a string onto the Pandora, just to make sure not to loose the Stylus when it's not into it's holder.

 

[hans-wurst]

!Thumb-Wheel!

 

[God Ginrai]

Just wondering, when was there a vote for Slider versus wheel? Good to hear that the longer-life battery makes room for the slider/wheel. (whichever we do use) Also, I agree with teggun that a mute switch might be nice.

-God Ginra

Here: http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?showtopic=39989

It turns out I hadn't looked at it for a while and wheel won out. A wheel is likely to be easier as that means one less part in assembly.

There is a mute switch: slide the knob to left or spin the wheel to full attenuation...done


I though wheel had won out. ^_^ Anyways, I understand that you can effectively mute the sound by turning the volume down to the lowest setting, but the reason I asked for a mute switch is for if you don't want to lose the volume you had (for example, If you had found the perfect volume level for listening to MP3's or something, and then you had to mute it for some reason, you don't want to have to search for that perfect volume again). Also, a mute switch might be able to cut power to the speakers so that battery is not wasted. But a mute switch is not something we have to have, so if you see it as too much trouble, then there's no need to dwell on it.

-God Ginrai

 

[Spectralist]

Damn, volume wheel is my least favourite choice. Since it's the only one of the three ever to give me problems. Specifically the one on my original Gameboy. A big chunk of it got chipped off while it sat in my backpack oneday making it near impossible to turn if it got to the point where the chipped part was facing out. I'd have to get a pen and push one side in to get a grip on the other side.

Granted that specific wheel was made of very brittle plastic that just got worse with age. But i imagine a stronger wheel could just work as a lever and break the whole device off of the circuit board. :blink: Okay, thats probably not going to happen. Still though i prefer digital. The only possible problem with that is the minor inconvenience of the volume not being what you want it to be when you power on the system. As where both other choices have possible hardware failure.

Either way, though, it's a pretty minor issue to me.

 

[DaveC]

Just have two slightly indented buttons that are connected to GPIO. The kernel could handle all the volume and locking, so no other software need bother with the volume control. Also, this means that you could press both volume buttons as an instant mute, and press again to slowly increase volume back to original level. The mute could also be broadcast to other software, which could perform a pause functionality for when playing mp3's/etc.

I had a similar idea (buttons) in this thread and you didn't like it. I think you had valid reasons.

http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?showtopic=39989

It seemed back then the analog wheel and slider were more popular. In my implementation I left room to have the buttons directly tied to an analog circuit so that no software support would be needed. I think you brought up the point that it should still work if a linux replacement was used or a program was banging the hardware directly.

 

[Squidge]

But it would be great to have a dedicated analogue volume wheel (with a click off position to act as a mute),

Mute and volume control can be done in software. The hardware volume wheel can simply adjust the maximum amount of volume that the software volume control can produce

!Thumb-Wheel!

Doesn't look very surface mountable

I had a similar idea (buttons) in this thread and you didn't like it. I think you had valid reasons.

Yes I did. Howveer, I don't think many people are going to be doing homebrew without Linux in the background for a good while, so I changed my mind and though it would be ok to use a digital volume control as long as its done in the kernel. Wheel makes everything simpler however - no need to hack the kernel so much, and less bugs by doing so

 

[DawnOfTheRent]

Obviously after the GP2X fiasco I welcome analogue control, however, I'm assuming this will cause us to lose the ability to put the volume control on hold? And in the thread about the 3.5mm jack + expansion port, CraigIX mentioned having a remote.. What would it's volume control be like if the Pandora has an analogue set up? Obviously it could mute, but any variable settings would be relative to whatever the Pandora's volume slider/wheel was set at. (unless I'm horribly mistaken)

 

[Tobriand]

Just because you have hardware volume don't mean that software volume doesn't exist too - I imagine the remote would control that end of it. Possibly.

 

[Game_over]

Software can overrule the master hardware volume control so holding is alway is easy.

 

[Squidge]

Software can overrule the master hardware volume control so holding is alway is easy.

I wouldn't say "overrule", as it would never be able to create a volume higher than the set volume of the hardware wheel.

 

[mrsnature]

Software can overrule the master hardware volume control so holding is alway is easy.

I wouldn't say "overrule", as it would never be able to create a volume higher than the set volume of the hardware wheel.


and you wouldn't be able to hold the volume.

I'm actually not that bothered whatever they choose, as long as its adjustable to a reasonable degree, and doesn't get knocked about. As mentioned, putting a hardware control is an extra... software control will always be possible too (within the range set by the hardware control).