Raspberry Pi Forums

Hello! I have purchased a Raspberry Pi 3 and am having some interesting power difficulties, some of which I suspect may be related to the USB sound card I have installed. Is there a better way to get headphone-jack-style line-in and line-out than one of these devices? Is there a hat for the Pi 3 that will do it? (Is there a case for the combination?) Or is my USB sound card the best option, and I just need to wait for a better microUSB cable and a proper power supply before I can use it? Thanks in advance!

The AudioInjector Stereo card plugs in to the RPi GPIO pins and has high quality stereo sound inputs via RCA jacks. It also has high quality stereo output by another pair of RCA jacks. Prices are in the $20 US range on Amazon and an active forum featuring quick support from the company answers any questions one might have about using the card. I am very pleased with mine and with the support I have received from "flatmax" on the forum. See http://www.audioinjector.net/. The output quality is equivalent to a good CD.

As for the power issue, if you are using an inadequate power supply, all sorts of problems are possible. The recommended supply for the 3B is 2.5 amps at 5 volts. In most cases, 2.0 amp supplies work well but if you have loaded up your USB ports, you need to get either a good supply or an outboard USB expander with its own power supply. Also consider the connecting cable as it may cause a voltage drop if too long or too small a wire gauge. Power switches in the connecting cable can also cause voltage drops.