Simple solution for music play

[bhl777]

Hi All,

I have an mp3 file that contains all my favorite sound, which is around 3MB. I want to create a simple circuit to implement the following feature:

1. a physical button to play/stop or "ON/OFF".
2. when it is in "play mode", this mp3 file can be played in a repeated way.
When we press "stop" and then press "play" again, It is not necessary to start at the place before we pressed "stop", it is OK to start from the beginning of this mp3 file.
3. The sound does not need to be loud, but cannot be only compatible with earplugs.

I think an off-the-shelf solution like "buying an mp3 player device with an external speaker" could be an overkill. Can anyone here give me some advice on the product available or what I can make by myself?

Thank you!

 

[BradtheRad]

A homebrew amplified speaker is not too hard for hobbyist to build. Several commercial IC amplifiers can drive a speaker or headphones. You add a mere handful of components and a few volts battery power.

As for playback of one sound file, you might find an old iPod cheap via Ebay.

 

[bhl777]

A homebrew amplified speaker is not too hard for hobbyist to build. Several commercial IC amplifiers can drive a speaker or headphones. You add a mere handful of components and a few volts battery power.

As for playback of one sound file, you might find an old iPod cheap via Ebay.

Hi Brad,

The iPod solution is elegant. I have found another one with a built-in speaker since we can only use earplugs to connect to the iPod.

I have one follow up question on the homebrew solution. If the "music" I want to play is just the sound of a mechanical timer, like the sound in this video "

", is there any way I can use some mechanical parts (I do not know what it is to generate this sound) plus the speaker amplifier and the button to implement the homebrew solution?

Thank you!

 

[KlausST]

Hi,

* second hand MP3 player
* second hand PC speakers.

But I assume you forgot to tell some of your requirements.
Saying "would be an overkill" is no requirement, but the result of a (hidden) requirement.
Is it cost, size, delivery time, power consumption, environmental impact...
Please clearly say your reqirements with value and unit...

Klaus

 

[BradtheRad]

A microcontroller is frequently recommended by more than one of our experts here. Arduino, Raspberry Pi, etc. Cost is a dollar or two. Extremely versatile. Has memory (ram) to contain your sound file.

It can be programmed to interpret button presses as you wish.

Lacking hands-on experience with them I can only suggest that you watch here for replies during the week as more members visit this forum.

 

[betwixt]

MP3 is the stumbling block if you want to make the whole thing yourself. It is a difficult format of data to decode back to sound and licenses are involved.

If you want to start from scratch I would suggest you use a PWM format such as WAV because it is very easy to convert to sound. An existing MP3 can be converted to wav format with many audio utilities or you can record your own.

I have used PIC devices to play back up to 8 seconds of 'reasonable quality' audio from internal memory with virtually no other components. Getting high quality from a simple circuit is more difficult but I'm guessing you are not expecting HiFi from this gadget anyway.

Brian.