2024-08-11, 11:16 PM
Yeah, Bluetooth is the way these things are typically done unfortunately. Some headphones have those janky little inline controls, but they're often quite limited (and Tangara doesn't have the hardware to support them anyway).
I do think you could make a device like you're describing that works well with Tangara tho! Tangara literally already exposes a USB serial console over the USB-C port; we mostly use it for some special development/debugging commands, but you can also get access to a Lua environment over this console that includes all the usual system bindings. This is how, for example, Hailey's companion app (https://github.com/haileys/tangara-companion) is able to change Tangara's volume (screenshot here https://hails.org/@hailey/111889509622928744)
The main roadblock you'll encounter is your little remote/dongle/thing will need to be able to self-power, as Tangara doesn't provide 5V over its USB port. But that should be a pretty easy solve!
Another option that might help that I've been meaning to explore, is using wired headphone output for audio, but a Bluetooth connection just for remote control. Could be a really nice way to get the best of both worlds!
I do think you could make a device like you're describing that works well with Tangara tho! Tangara literally already exposes a USB serial console over the USB-C port; we mostly use it for some special development/debugging commands, but you can also get access to a Lua environment over this console that includes all the usual system bindings. This is how, for example, Hailey's companion app (https://github.com/haileys/tangara-companion) is able to change Tangara's volume (screenshot here https://hails.org/@hailey/111889509622928744)
The main roadblock you'll encounter is your little remote/dongle/thing will need to be able to self-power, as Tangara doesn't provide 5V over its USB port. But that should be a pretty easy solve!
Another option that might help that I've been meaning to explore, is using wired headphone output for audio, but a Bluetooth connection just for remote control. Could be a really nice way to get the best of both worlds!