# Philips PSC805 Aurilium with Linux?

## Maxwells Silver Hammer

Hey!

This might be the stupidest question ever asked in this forum. My apologies beforehand for any high-class programmer I have insulted with this.

Situation: I got a Philips PSC805 Aurilium (External Stereo -> 5.1 Sound converter) for Christmas. I have not found any Linux drivers yet and the CD comes only with Windows XP/2000 drivers. It is an external card (packed in nice-looking little tower) connected via usb.

Question: While looking for drivers I have found

(a) one person who says it works great with Linux [no details or contact info though  :Sad:  ] and

(b) a report that describes how this thing works (http://www.linux-usb.org/Philips_PSC805_HID_Reports_1.4.pdf).

Can I possibly program my own driver? The thing doesn't seem to be too complicated...

Where could I find information on how to do this?

Greetings & Thanks

----------

## NeddySeagoon

Maxwells Silver Hammer,

I found a page that suggests that it works with snd_usb_audio.

Try building the ALSA USB sound device as a module and all the OSS emualtion modules as mentioned here http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/alsa-guide.xml

The page didn't say what 'works' means.

This page http://www.linux-usb.org/introduction.html doesn't mention it at all.

If snd_usb_audio won't load because it can't find the device, it may just need the VendorID and ProductID added, which is a one line change.

----------

## Maxwells Silver Hammer

Thanks for the hint!

I'll try that.

----------

## Maxwells Silver Hammer

Hey,

doesn't work  :Sad: 

Could you possibly send me the link of that page? I can't find a module names snd_usb_audio, only snd-usb-audio (I guess they are the same). 

Any other hints?

Thanks for the help

----------

## NeddySeagoon

Maxwells Silver Hammer

Heres the link that says it works.

http://www.qbik.ch/usb/devices/showdev.php?id=2399

snd_usb_audio on its own is just the hardware layer module. You will need the rest of ALSA and the OSS emulation layer to make it do something useful. I had assumed you knew about ALSA.

Make all the sound parts of the kernel as modules. Its much easier to fiddle with that way.  

Do you have working USB?

snd_usb_audio depends on a working USB subsystem.

Where do you want to start?

----------

## Maxwells Silver Hammer

ok, I believe my kernel should be set up correctly. Here are the relevant parts:

 *Quote:*   

> # Advanced Linux Sound Architecture
> 
> CONFIG_SND=m
> 
> CONFIG_SND_TIMER=m
> ...

 

I loaded snd_usb_audio.

By the way, the lights on the PSC805 box are on, so it definitely gets power from the usb channel.

/etc/init.d/alsasound is up and running. Computer plays sound normally but not with the speakers...  :Sad: 

What now?

----------

## NeddySeagoon

Maxwells Silver Hammer,

What usb root hub drivers are you using?

Please post the output of 

```
lsmod 
```

and 

```
lspci
```

 The content of 

```
/proc/bus/usb/devices
```

 will also be interesting.

Your sound and USB settings are right as far as you posted but are not enough to get USB working

----------

## Maxwells Silver Hammer

```
bash-2.05b# lsmod

Module                  Size  Used by

ds                     14084  4

yenta_socket           18688  0

pcmcia_core            56836  2 ds,yenta_socket

audio                  45120  0

soundcore               7520  1 audio

e100                   31424  0

bash-2.05b# lspci

0000:00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corp. 82855PM Processor to I/O Controller (rev 03)

0000:00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corp. 82855PM Processor to AGP Controller (rev 03)

0000:00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corp. 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 01)

0000:00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corp. 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 01)

0000:00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corp. 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 01)

0000:00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corp. 82801DB/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-M) USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 01)

0000:00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corp. 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev 81)

0000:00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corp. 82801DBM (ICH4-M) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 01)

0000:00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corp. 82801DBM (ICH4-M) IDE Controller (rev 01)

0000:00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corp. 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) SMBus Controller (rev 01)

0000:00:1f.5 Multimedia audio controller: Intel Corp. 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) AC'97 Audio Controller (rev 01)0000:00:1f.6 Modem: Intel Corp. 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) AC'97 Modem Controller (rev 01)

0000:01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Radeon Mobility M6 LY

0000:02:00.0 CardBus bridge: Ricoh Co Ltd RL5c476 II (rev aa)

0000:02:00.1 CardBus bridge: Ricoh Co Ltd RL5c476 II (rev aa)

0000:02:00.2 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Ricoh Co Ltd R5C552 IEEE 1394 Controller (rev 02)

0000:02:02.0 Network controller: Intel Corp. PRO/Wireless LAN 2100 3B Mini PCI Adapter (rev 04)

0000:02:08.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corp. 82801DB PRO/100 VE (MOB) Ethernet Controller (rev 81)

bash-2.05b# more /proc/bus/usb/devices

T:  Bus=04 Lev=00 Prnt=00 Port=00 Cnt=00 Dev#=  1 Spd=12  MxCh= 2

B:  Alloc=  0/900 us ( 0%), #Int=  0, #Iso=  0

D:  Ver= 1.10 Cls=09(hub  ) Sub=00 Prot=00 MxPS= 8 #Cfgs=  1

P:  Vendor=0000 ProdID=0000 Rev= 2.06

S:  Manufacturer=Linux 2.6.9-gentoo-r13 uhci_hcd

S:  Product=Intel Corp. 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) USB UHCI Controller #3

S:  SerialNumber=0000:00:1d.2

C:* #Ifs= 1 Cfg#= 1 Atr=c0 MxPwr=  0mA

I:  If#= 0 Alt= 0 #EPs= 1 Cls=09(hub  ) Sub=00 Prot=00 Driver=hub

E:  Ad=81(I) Atr=03(Int.) MxPS=   2 Ivl=255ms

T:  Bus=03 Lev=00 Prnt=00 Port=00 Cnt=00 Dev#=  1 Spd=12  MxCh= 2

B:  Alloc=  0/900 us ( 0%), #Int=  0, #Iso=  0

D:  Ver= 1.10 Cls=09(hub  ) Sub=00 Prot=00 MxPS= 8 #Cfgs=  1

P:  Vendor=0000 ProdID=0000 Rev= 2.06

S:  Manufacturer=Linux 2.6.9-gentoo-r13 uhci_hcd

S:  Product=Intel Corp. 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) USB UHCI Controller #2

S:  SerialNumber=0000:00:1d.1

C:* #Ifs= 1 Cfg#= 1 Atr=c0 MxPwr=  0mA

I:  If#= 0 Alt= 0 #EPs= 1 Cls=09(hub  ) Sub=00 Prot=00 Driver=hub

E:  Ad=81(I) Atr=03(Int.) MxPS=   2 Ivl=255ms

T:  Bus=03 Lev=01 Prnt=01 Port=01 Cnt=01 Dev#=  2 Spd=12  MxCh= 0

D:  Ver= 1.10 Cls=00(>ifc ) Sub=00 Prot=00 MxPS= 8 #Cfgs=  1

P:  Vendor=0471 ProdID=0155 Rev= 4.14

S:  Manufacturer=Philips Electronics

S:  Product=Philips PSC805

C:* #Ifs= 4 Cfg#= 1 Atr=80 MxPwr=500mA

I:  If#= 0 Alt= 0 #EPs= 0 Cls=01(audio) Sub=01 Prot=00 Driver=audio

I:  If#= 1 Alt= 0 #EPs= 0 Cls=01(audio) Sub=02 Prot=00 Driver=audio

I:  If#= 1 Alt= 1 #EPs= 1 Cls=01(audio) Sub=02 Prot=00 Driver=audio

E:  Ad=01(O) Atr=09(Isoc) MxPS= 576 Ivl=1ms

I:  If#= 2 Alt= 0 #EPs= 0 Cls=01(audio) Sub=02 Prot=00 Driver=audio

I:  If#= 2 Alt= 1 #EPs= 1 Cls=01(audio) Sub=02 Prot=00 Driver=audio

E:  Ad=82(I) Atr=0d(Isoc) MxPS= 192 Ivl=1ms

I:  If#= 3 Alt= 0 #EPs= 1 Cls=03(HID  ) Sub=00 Prot=00 Driver=(none)

E:  Ad=83(I) Atr=03(Int.) MxPS=   3 Ivl=10ms

T:  Bus=02 Lev=00 Prnt=00 Port=00 Cnt=00 Dev#=  1 Spd=12  MxCh= 2

B:  Alloc=  0/900 us ( 0%), #Int=  0, #Iso=  0

D:  Ver= 1.10 Cls=09(hub  ) Sub=00 Prot=00 MxPS= 8 #Cfgs=  1

P:  Vendor=0000 ProdID=0000 Rev= 2.06

S:  Manufacturer=Linux 2.6.9-gentoo-r13 uhci_hcd

S:  Product=Intel Corp. 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) USB UHCI Controller #1

S:  SerialNumber=0000:00:1d.0

C:* #Ifs= 1 Cfg#= 1 Atr=c0 MxPwr=  0mA

I:  If#= 0 Alt= 0 #EPs= 1 Cls=09(hub  ) Sub=00 Prot=00 Driver=hub

E:  Ad=81(I) Atr=03(Int.) MxPS=   2 Ivl=255ms

T:  Bus=01 Lev=00 Prnt=00 Port=00 Cnt=00 Dev#=  1 Spd=480 MxCh= 6

B:  Alloc=  0/800 us ( 0%), #Int=  0, #Iso=  0

D:  Ver= 2.00 Cls=09(hub  ) Sub=00 Prot=01 MxPS= 8 #Cfgs=  1

P:  Vendor=0000 ProdID=0000 Rev= 2.06

S:  Manufacturer=Linux 2.6.9-gentoo-r13 ehci_hcd

S:  Product=Intel Corp. 82801DB/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-M) USB 2.0 EHCI Controller

S:  SerialNumber=0000:00:1d.7

C:* #Ifs= 1 Cfg#= 1 Atr=e0 MxPwr=  0mA

I:  If#= 0 Alt= 0 #EPs= 1 Cls=09(hub  ) Sub=00 Prot=00 Driver=hub

E:  Ad=81(I) Atr=03(Int.) MxPS=   2 Ivl=256ms
```

Hope this helps...

----------

## NeddySeagoon

Maxwells Silver Hammer,

Your USB root hun drivers are installed and working but they do not appear in lsmod. Therfore they must be built in.

Your sound items are all modules but lsmod shows they are not loaded. I think the module audio is OSS related.

Try the following, we'll automate it later.

```
modprobe snd-usb-audio

modprobe snd-mixer-oss

modprobe snd-seq-oss

modprobe snd-pcm-oss
```

```
lsmod
```

 should show a list of modules named snd.... now.

```
alsamixer
```

should show a usb device too.

thats your PSC 805, I hope.

You need to fix your  /etc/modules.d/alsa to automate all this but you really don't want a mix of ALSA and OSS on your PC, so you need to move to all ALSA.

----------

## Maxwells Silver Hammer

ok, snd-seq-oss wasn't compiled. I compiled it and loaded it. Here is the output of lsmod:

```
bash-2.05b# lsmod

Module                  Size  Used by

snd_intel8x0m          15176  0

snd_intel8x0           29224  0

snd_ac97_codec         69776  2 snd_intel8x0m,snd_intel8x0

snd_mpu401_uart         6208  1 snd_intel8x0

snd_pcm_oss            49064  0

snd_seq_oss            32064  0

snd_seq_midi_event      6080  1 snd_seq_oss

snd_seq                49808  4 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi_event

snd_seq_device          6344  2 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq

snd_mixer_oss          17920  1 snd_pcm_oss

snd_usb_audio          61536  0

snd_pcm                86024  4 snd_intel8x0m,snd_intel8x0,snd_pcm_oss,snd_usb_audio

snd_timer              21508  2 snd_seq,snd_pcm

snd_page_alloc          7560  3 snd_intel8x0m,snd_intel8x0,snd_pcm

snd_usb_lib            11008  1 snd_usb_audio

snd_rawmidi            19620  2 snd_mpu401_uart,snd_usb_lib

snd                    47908  13 snd_intel8x0m,snd_intel8x0,snd_ac97_codec,snd_mpu401_uart,snd_pcm_oss,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq,snd_seq_device,snd_mixer_oss,snd_usb_audio,snd_pcm,snd_timer,snd_rawmidi

ds                     14084  4

yenta_socket           18688  0

pcmcia_core            56836  2 ds,yenta_socket

audio                  45120  0

soundcore               7520  2 snd,audio

e100                   31424  0
```

Alsamixer doesn't show a USB device though  :Sad: 

Here is a condensed output of amixer:

```
bash-2.05b# amixer

Simple mixer control 'Master',0

Simple mixer control 'Master Mono',0

Simple mixer control 'Headphone',0

Simple mixer control 'PCM',0

Simple mixer control 'Line',0

Simple mixer control 'CD',0

Simple mixer control 'Mic',0

Simple mixer control 'Mic Boost (+20dB)',0

Simple mixer control 'Mic Select',0

Simple mixer control 'Video',0

Simple mixer control 'Phone',0

Simple mixer control 'Aux',0

Simple mixer control 'Mono Output Select',0

Simple mixer control 'Capture',0

Simple mixer control 'Mix',0

Simple mixer control 'Mix Mono',0

Simple mixer control 'External Amplifier',0

Simple mixer control 'Stereo Mic',0
```

Maybe that helps...

----------

## NeddySeagoon

Maxwells Silver Hammer,

I was expecting your lsmod to show snd_usb_audio used, not totally unused.

It look like you have a snd_intel8x0 device as well, so /etc/modules.d/alsa will want a bit of fine tuning.

Just for now make a copy of /etc/modules.d/alsa somewhere outside of the /etc/modules.d/ directory. We will want to get back to that later.

In the /etc/modules.d/alsa file (not the copy) change snd-intel8x0 to snd-usb-audio. It appears once 

```
alias snd-card-0 snd-intel8x0
```

What this does is to put the snd-usb-audio hardware driver under your working sound setup.

Run

```
 update-modules
```

and reboot to clear out all the rubbish.

Now what?

You will get some complaints from ALSA when it tries to restore your settings but I think you will have a new sound card with everything turned down and muted.

Have a fiddle with the alsamixer controls. What luck?

----------

## Maxwells Silver Hammer

Hmmmmmm............ doesn't work  :Sad: 

Here some code that might help:

```
root # /etc/init.d/alsasound start

 * Loading ALSA modules...

 *   Loading: snd-card-0...                                               [ ok ]

 *   Loading: snd-seq-oss...                                              [ ok ]

 *   Loading: snd-pcm-oss...                                              [ ok ]

 * ERROR: Failed to load necessary drivers                                [ ok ]

 * Restoring Mixer Levels...                                              [ ok ]

root # /etc/init.d/alsasound stop

 * Storing ALSA Mixer Levels...

/usr/sbin/alsactl: save_state:1061: No soundcards found...                [ !! ]

 * Unloading ALSA...                                                      [ ok ]

 * Unloading ALSA modules...                                              [ ok ]
```

Here my /etc/modules.d/alsa:

```
# Alsa 0.9.X kernel modules' configuration file.

# $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo-x86/media-sound/alsa-utils/files/alsa-modules.conf-rc,v 1.4 2004/11/16 01:31:22 eradicator Exp $

# ALSA portion

alias char-major-116 snd

# OSS/Free portion

alias char-major-14 soundcore

##  ALSA portion

##alias snd-card-0 snd-usb-audio

##alias snd-card-0 snd-intel8x0

alias snd-card-0 snd-usb-audio

##  OSS/Free portion

alias sound-slot-0 snd-card-0

## OSS/Free portion - card #1

alias sound-service-0-0 snd-mixer-oss

alias sound-service-0-1 snd-seq-oss

alias sound-service-0-3 snd-pcm-oss

##alias sound-service-0-8 snd-seq-oss

##alias sound-service-0-12 snd-pcm-oss

alias /dev/mixer snd-mixer-oss

alias /dev/dsp snd-pcm-oss

alias /dev/midi snd-seq-oss

# Set this to the correct number of cards.

options snd cards_limit=1
```

Thanks a lot for all the help!  :Very Happy: 

----------

## NeddySeagoon

Maxwells Silver Hammer,

Does 

```
dmesg
```

 add anything about what went wrong?

You may need to reboot, depending on hown much has gone into your log since last boot.

----------

## Maxwells Silver Hammer

On /etc/init.d/alsasound start: *Quote:*   

> usbcore: registered new driver snd-usb-audio

 

On /etc/init.d/alsasound stop: *Quote:*   

> usbcore: deregistering driver snd-usb-audio

 

During boot:

```
usbcore: registered new driver usbfs

usbcore: registered new driver hub

[.....]

usbaudio: device 2 audiocontrol interface 0 has 1 input and 1 output AudioStreaming interfaces

usbaudio: valid input sample rate 48000

usbaudio: device 2 interface 2 altsetting 1: format 0x80000010 sratelo 48000 sratehi 48000 attributes 0x01

usbaudio: device 2 interface 1 altsetting 1 unsupported channels 6 framesize 2

usbaudio: registered dsp 14,3

usbaudio: constructing mixer for Terminal 3 type 0x0301

usbaudio: feature unit 2: OSS mixer interface does not support more than 2 channels

usbaudio: registered mixer 14,0

usbaudio: constructing mixer for Terminal 7 type 0x0101

usbaudio: registered mixer 14,16

usb_audio_parsecontrol: usb_audio_state at dfba0d80

usbcore: registered new driver audio

drivers/usb/class/audio.c: v1.0.0:USB Audio Class driver
```

----------

## NeddySeagoon

Maxwells Silver Hammer,

That all looks good but you may only get stereo.

What does 

```
alsamixer
```

 have to say about it.

Looking at the error again, only one module failed to load, so you lose some functions, not all.

Just maybe its for functions the device does not support anyway.

----------

## Maxwells Silver Hammer

I can't run alsamixer:

```
$ alsamixer

alsamixer: function snd_ctl_open failed for default: No such device
```

Also it doesn't let me use the sound card... For example the output of XMMS when trying to play a file:

```
** WARNING **: oss_open(): Failed to open audio device (/dev/sound/dsp): Input/output error
```

Somethin' ain't right...

Thank you once again for sticking with me  :Smile: 

----------

## Maxwells Silver Hammer

Any more ideas?

----------

## NeddySeagoon

Maxwells Silver Hammer,

Can you post the output of

```
lsmod
```

 with your Philips PSC805 plugged in and after you have failed to run alsamixer.

Are you a KDE user ?

Also a listing of 

```
/dev/snd
```

 and 

```
/dev/sound
```

 will be informative

----------

## Maxwells Silver Hammer

Hey,

something happened that I can't really explain. I fiddled around with it a little bit and I believe it's almost working. (Still no sound).

Ok, here's my /etc/modules.d/alsa: *Quote:*   

> alias char-major-116 snd
> 
> alias char-major-14 soundcore
> 
> alias snd-card-0 snd-intel8x0
> ...

 

The output during '/etc/init.d/alsasound start': *Quote:*   

>  * Loading ALSA modules...
> 
>  *   Loading: snd-card-0...
> 
>  *   Loading: snd-seq-oss...
> ...

 

When playing something seems as if it was sending it over the usb port, it doesn't use the other speakers anymore. Even alsamixer says that it's using *Quote:*   

> Card: Philips PSC805
> 
> Chip: USB Mixer
> 
> Item: PCM

 

I turned them all up but I still can't hear anything... Here my lsmod: *Quote:*   

> # lsmod
> 
> Module                  Size  Used by
> 
> snd_pcm_oss            49064  1
> ...

 

Listings of /dev/snd and /dev/sound: *Quote:*   

> mtx # ls /dev/snd
> 
> controlC0  pcmC0D0c  pcmC1D0c  pcmC1D1c  pcmC1D3c  seq
> 
> controlC1  pcmC0D0p  pcmC1D0p  pcmC1D2c  pcmC1D4p  timer
> ...

 

I am a fluxbox user, but I have KDE and Gnome installed if needed.

Thanks for all the help!

----------

## NeddySeagoon

Maxwells Silver Hammer,

You need to fix /etc/modules.d/alsa because you have several sound cards. I have stripped most of the comments

```
# ALSA portion

alias char-major-116 snd

# OSS/Free portion

alias char-major-14 soundcore

##  ALSA portion

alias snd-card-0 snd-intel8x0

alias snd-card-1 snd-usb-audio

##  OSS/Free portion

alias sound-slot-0 snd-card-0

alias sound-slot-1 snd-card-1

# OSS/Free portion - card #0

alias sound-service-0-0 snd-mixer-oss

alias sound-service-0-1 snd-seq-oss

alias sound-service-0-3 snd-pcm-oss

alias sound-service-0-8 snd-seq-oss

alias sound-service-0-12 snd-pcm-oss

#  OSS/Free portion - card #1

alias sound-service-1-0 snd-mixer-oss

alias sound-service-1-3 snd-pcm-oss

alias sound-service-1-12 snd-pcm-oss

alias /dev/mixer snd-mixer-oss

alias /dev/dsp snd-pcm-oss

alias /dev/midi snd-seq-oss

options snd cards_limit=2
```

Don't forget modules-update

You may want to swao which device is which here too

```
##  ALSA portion

alias snd-card-0 snd-intel8x0

alias snd-card-1 snd-usb-audio
```

Everything else looks sound

----------

## Maxwells Silver Hammer

Still doesn't work. When using audio, programs tell me something like /dev/sound/dsp, Input/Output error.

xmms doesn't play anything at all, mplayer uses the built-in soundcard, but still gives the error about /dev/sound/dsp.

----------

## NeddySeagoon

Maxwells Silver Hammer,

Does /dev/sound/dsp exist ?

What else is in /dev/sound ?

----------

## Maxwells Silver Hammer

/dev/sound/dsp exists.

```
/dev/sound:

adsp  dsp  mixer  mixer1  sequencer  sequencer2
```

```
/dev/snd:

controlC0  pcmC0D0c  pcmC0D1c  pcmC0D3c  seq

controlC1  pcmC0D0p  pcmC0D2c  pcmC0D4p  timer
```

----------

## NeddySeagoon

Maxwells Silver Hammer,

Turn you speakers down low and send somw whire noice (sounds like static) to /dev/sound/dsp

```
cat /dev/urandom > /dev/sound/dsp
```

can you hear it, if so, from which sound card. If there is an error message, please post the error.

You may wan to play with 

```
alsamixer -c 0
```

and  

```
alsamixer -c 1
```

to unmute things an set levels

----------

## Maxwells Silver Hammer

```
mtx # cat /dev/urandom > /dev/sound/dsp

bash: /dev/sound/dsp: Input/output error
```

alsamixer -c 0

opens

Card: Intel 82801DB-ICH4

Chip: Analog Devices AD1981B

Item: Master

alsamixer -c 1

```
mtx # alsamixer -c 1

alsamixer: function snd_ctl_open failed for hw:1: No such device
```

----------

