FPP Install

 

What is FPP and why do I care?
FPP (Falcon Pi PLayer) is the light show hobbies ultimate Light Show Player with everything from advanced scheduling through audience interaction features and much more! FPP works with virtually all light show controllers and protocols and is integrated with xLights. Here are a few of my favorite FPP features/plugins:

 

  • FPPMon – monitor and control FPP and your light show from your smart phone.
  • Remote Falcon – let your audience choose or vote for the next sequence to be played from their smart phone.
  • TP-Link (Kasa) – use the show scheduler to power up and down your controllers via Kasa smart plugs.

About this Page

This page documents the basics of installing FPP on a Raspberry Pi using a tested list of parts and documentation that has helped many ligh show enthusiasts.

 

Step 1 – Buy Parts

 

Notes about Parts

  • If the Pi case or power cord is included in a kit then you do not need to purchase them separately.
  • There are lots of Pi cases. It is a good idea to get one that comes with 3 hinksinks and a cooling fan.
  • The Soundblaster Play! 3 sound card will improve audio quality.
  • Keeping the Pi within a few feet of the FM Transmitter will reduce the length of 3.5mm audio cable.

 

Other Parts

  • CAT5 or CAT6 network cable(s) to hook up Pi and show controllers to Network Switch.
  • 3.5mm Audio cable to run between Pi/Soundcard and FM Transmitter/Speakers.
  • If running LED Panels from FPP to a “Colorlight 5A-75B card” then purchase the following adapter which is compatible:

    UGREEN USB 3.0 to Ethernet Adapter Gigabit Network Adapter

Step 2 – Install FPP Software

Download the latest FPP Manual and follow the “Installing FPP Software” chapter (pages 10-17 in the Falcon Player Manual v8.x). 

 

NOTE: FPP does not install like regular software, it is an image file with the Linux OS and FPP software bundled together. You must follow the instructions for formatting and burning the image file to the the Micro SD card.

 

Plug the Rasberry Pi into your home network with a network cable.

 

Once you have FPP installed on the SD card you insert the card into the Pi and power it up.

 

TIP: Before you boot the Pi/FPP it is a good idea to have speakers or headphones plugged into Pi’s built-in audio jack. FPP will verbally read out the IP Address over the audio port so you don’t have to guess at the initial IP address. You will use this IP address to manage FPP via a web browser from a computer, so you’ll want to write it down.

 

Step 3 – Grow File System

From a computer open a web browser and enter the initial IP address that FPP read out during Step 2. This will bring you to the FPP web based interface.

 

To take advantage of the full storage space on the Micro SD card you will need to “Grow the FileSystem”. Follow the steps at the bottom of page 28-29 in FPP Manual.

 

This concludes the FPP installation guide.

 

Next steps include:

  • Initial setup of FPP one-time config items (timezone, etc.).
  • Setup a light show network.
  • Pushing configuration, sequences, and audio files via xLights FPP Connect interface.

* Big thanks to @WolfCreekIslandTemecula for use of the Networking 101 deck from the March 2023 webinar sponsored by Christmas Expo.