You can use an AZ Nano and physical controls to adjust your PC’s master volume, microphone, or individual apps with deej. The AZ-Delivery tutorial describes a rotary-encoder build; deej’s standard documented build instead uses analog slider potentiometers. These approaches need matching firmware and wiring, so do not assume one sketch works with both.
How the AZ Nano and deej work together
This is a hardware interface paired with a desktop client, not a standalone mixer. Firmware on the board reads the physical controls and sends their values over USB serial. The deej program on the computer reads that stream and applies each control to a target specified in config.yaml. The AZ-Delivery tutorial, published May 5, 2025, describes the encoder approach as a way to control overall volume as well as individual programs and audio devices (AZ-Delivery tutorial).
There are two distinct hardware paths. The AZ-Delivery example uses rotary encoders and an encoder-oriented sketch. The upstream deej documentation describes a standard build with analog slider potentiometers and its vanilla sketch (deej README; deej FAQ). Choose the controls first, then use the corresponding wiring and firmware.
Choose rotary encoders or linear faders
| Build | Documented controls and firmware | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| AZ-Delivery encoder build | Rotary encoders with an encoder-oriented sketch using Encoder.h; the tutorial gives three encoders as an example. |
Encoder pin assignments, library, emitted serial format, value scaling, and compatibility with the deej version installed on your computer. |
| Upstream deej fader build | Analog slider potentiometers read by the vanilla sketch; the README recommends linear rather than logarithmic sliders. | Analog input pins, wiring, number of controls, and matching firmware and configuration. |
The documentation does not establish a controlled comparison of cost, durability, responsiveness, or user preference between the two types. Their practical difference here is how they feel to operate and whether their firmware matches the chosen controls.
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Parts and board compatibility
For the AZ-Delivery rotary-encoder example
- AZ-Nano USB-C or AZ-Nano V3 board
- Rotary encoders
- Breadboard
- Dupont wires
The tutorial’s example connects three encoders to digital pin pairs 3/4, 8/9, and 11/12, and uses the Arduino Encoder.h library. It says the number of controls can vary, but the sketch and deej mapping must be changed consistently if you use a different number.
For the upstream fader build
Use linear slider potentiometers, wired as voltage dividers between 5V and GND, with their output connected to the analog inputs the sketch reads. The vanilla sketch targets five potentiometers on A0 through A4 by default; changing the count or pins requires editing the sketch.
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“Nano” refers to a family of boards, not a single electrically identical design. Arduino’s Nano family documentation notes differences in pin layout and operating voltage (Arduino Nano family overview). Confirm the exact board’s pinout, voltage, USB-to-serial behavior, and firmware support before substituting another Nano-family model. The classic Nano uses Mini-B USB and breadboard-friendly headers; Arduino lists its dimensions as 45 mm by 18 mm and its weight as 7 grams (Arduino Nano hardware page). Those are product specifications, not deej performance measures.
Install, upload, and check the firmware
- Install the desktop client. Get a deej release appropriate for your operating system from the upstream deej project. The AZ-Delivery article describes compiling deej yourself for non-Windows systems; check current project documentation for current release and operating-system support.
- Prepare the sketch for your control type. Use the encoder-oriented sketch and its library for the AZ-Delivery build, or the vanilla analog-potentiometer sketch for the upstream fader build. Check the control count, pins, value range, and serial format rather than mixing firmware from the two paths.
- Select the board and port in Arduino IDE. Connect the board and choose the matching board and active serial port. If an older Nano-like board will not upload, the AZ-Delivery tutorial suggests trying ATmega328P (Old Bootloader); the correct processor option depends on the actual board.
- Upload and inspect serial output. Open Arduino IDE’s Serial Monitor and move or turn each control. Values should change and be separated by vertical bars in the documented deej stream. Close the Serial Monitor before starting deej, because only one program can hold the serial port at a time.
- Configure deej. Set the serial port and baud rate in
config.yaml, then define a mapping for each emitted control index. The AZ-Delivery example sketch usesSerial.begin(9600), so its matching configuration must use 9600 baud.
Check the encoder example’s output before relying on its scaling. The AZ-Delivery page describes a 32-step-per-revolution encoder, says values are capped at 4096, and also describes the transmitted range as 10-bit. Those claims do not establish that the sketch’s output matches every deej version. The upstream FAQ documents the potentiometer build’s serial reading range as 0 to 1023. Verify the actual output and the installed client’s expected format rather than treating encoder and potentiometer values as interchangeable.
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Map each control to an audio target
In config.yaml, control indexes begin at zero and correspond to the positions in the firmware’s emitted stream. The AZ-Delivery example maps index 0 to master volume, index 1 to spotify.exe, and index 2 to deej.current (the currently focused app on Windows). The process name and mapping syntax should follow the configuration format supported by your installed deej version.
Documented targets include master volume, microphone input, individual applications, several applications grouped on one control, unmapped applications, the currently focused Windows app, named audio devices, and Windows system sounds. When selecting a particular audio device, use its full device name. The AZ-Delivery article also describes inversion and noise-reduction options; consult the applicable configuration documentation for their exact syntax.
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Troubleshoot upload, serial, and control problems
“I’m unable to connect to my board in the Arduino IDE”
- Confirm the correct board, processor option, and port are selected.
- Reconnect the board and check the port again; it can change after reconnecting.
- Check whether the board requires a manufacturer-provided driver. For Linux, use the full device path in the deej configuration.
- If upload fails on an older Nano-like board, check whether ATmega328P (Old Bootloader) is the appropriate processor setting.
“How do I know that I uploaded the deej sketch correctly?”
Open the Arduino IDE Serial Monitor at the sketch’s baud rate and move each control. A working sketch should emit changing values separated by vertical bars. If the output is missing or does not respond, check the control wiring, pin assignments, and whether the selected sketch matches the hardware.
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deej does not respond or values look wrong
- Make sure the configured serial port is the board’s active port and the configured baud rate matches
Serial.begin. - Close the Serial Monitor and any other program using the port before launching deej.
- Compare the number and order of values in the serial stream with the indexes in
config.yaml. - For potentiometer builds, small line-to-line reading fluctuations are normal. Large jumps can indicate a wiring problem; verify each potentiometer is wired as a voltage divider between 5V and GND.
- For encoder builds, verify that the emitted value range and format are accepted by the installed deej client; the encoder example’s published scaling descriptions are inconsistent.
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