Good news! Finally, after a long wait, we are ready to start selling the new Zynthian V5.1 Kit. If you are interested in it, you can visit the zynthian shop at:
As you probably know, the new Zynthian V5.1 is based in the Raspberry Pi 5, what doubles the processing power and increase the loading speed. The upgrading process has been longer and more complex than thought due to the huge differences with the Pi4. We have modified the aluminum case and the main board, including an optional angle mount gadget that brings a better angle view when working with the zynthian V5.
The Zynthian V5.1 works only with the latest zynthianOS version, Oram Bookworm 64, that will be released in the next days. The Oram is 64 bits and include a huge amount of improvements. You already can download Oram as a testing version, but by the time you receive your V5.1 kit, Oram will be the new stable version of zynthianOS.
But, in the shop, the link to the building guide point to the v5 and not to the v5.1
And maybe an extra section at the end of the assembling guide on how to add a NVMe drive could be helpfull.
I was about to ask the same question about adding an NMVe drive.
I’ve got my pi5 zynthian “work in progress” set up like that.
And ordered the 5.1 kit yesterday.
Are there enough of the appropriate 3D models in the github repo to be able to work out where there might be space to fit the drive plate in the case?
It looks like it would have to be adjacent to the pi itself? instead of attached to the back.
I did find some 50/80mm pcie-port extension cables on Amazon/Pimoroni that will probably be useful for this.
Super
I have the Pimoroni base adaptor already, but the GeeekPi one is also available on amazon uk with the same item code as on es. “One way or another, you’re coming with me”
Ok, so I received the 5,1 kit and have assembled it, with the NMVe drive and that system part works fine.
Other than needing to invert the screen and find a suitable power supply because I didn’t spot it was 24v. (I didn’t order one with the kit!)
What isn’t working are the buttons/encoders… (no lights).
I’ve updated the system (via ssh) and zynthian (from the webconf ui).
What should I set for the Hardware Kit/Audio/Wiring, please?
The system cannot be updated via ssh (apt update, apt upgrade). The tool in webconf is enough for all updates (the equivalent is the system update item in the UI admin menu)
EDIT: From wiki - When new updates are available, the green heart is replaced by the green recycle symbol and the update entry is shown. Please note that the update entry is not shown in the admin menu if no updates are available (aka you are updated to the last).
This wasn’t a fresh image - I started with the build from 2024-05 and installed it on a bare pi5 with an NVME drive a few weeks ago for testing some other emulated instruments.
Going from a bare pi5 to the 5.1 case, I set Kit=v5, Audio=v5 ADAC, wiring=v5/v5 Zynface(?).
The buttons I got working by checking the connector cable and finding it the wrong way around…
The individual audio outputs started working after fiddling with the audio mixer.
I found a spare laptop power supply that works. But have also ordered an official one.
As for general feedback about the 5.1 case
“It would be nice to…”:
Have a power light for when it starts up and the screen is blank.
Access to the pi5 reset button.
A brighter screen! (it is set to 100% brightness and the official 7" rpi screen on my pi4 build is brighter)
A 7" version!
Maybe an option of minijacks for the MIDI sockets?
and what are the extra HDMI/Display connectors on the main board for??
Thanks for the feedback! I hope there is some thing you found right
We could put the display splash earlier, but the total boot time would be increased.
I prefer faster boot and black screen. Anyway perhaps we try in the next release…
It’s in the list, but space in the back side is totally exhausted and we should make the case bigger.
It works quite well in most studio/rehearsal/stage, but yes, there is room for improving.
I will comment your request with our provider …
Or 9", or 11" … but we are modest manufacturers and we can’t produce as many versions as users would like. We choose 5" because is small and cheap. Using 7" would mean a much bigger device, with bigger case, bigger packaging, heavier to ship, etc. It would be more expensive.
Anyway, it’s in our roadmap too, but not for tomorrow.
This has been discussed internally, and sooner or later we will change to mini-jack for supporting legacy MIDI. DIN-5-minijack adapters are cheap and back-side space is precious for adding other elements like HDMI output, soft-reset push buttons, etc.
This connector is for a custom display that we produced internally, in small quantity. The display uses a custom FFC connector that includes HDMI + I2C for touch. It works nicely while the display cable is short enough. HDMI signal can’t travel long distances without twisted pairs and it’s noisy.
It’s a nice story that one of these days i will tell
