SparkFun Forums

[JT1044]

Hi there,

I'm very new to electronics and such. The only reason I even tackled this particular project was because I had help, but now I'm stuck at a place that simply requires a specific function, that I can't find.

I'll explain the whole project at the bottom, just for completeness, but at this point...I really can;t change anything about the rest of the project, and so need to find something that will serve this function.

I need to be able to record a short sound 5 seconds long at the most, that as soon as given power, it will playback that sound with nothing extra required.

I have found lots of devices that record and play sounds, but the last one I had (which is dead now) required it to have power, then have the play button pushed.

The reason I need this specific function is that I want to have a single button, currently a Momentary SPDT (switches are cheap enough I could change this if someone has a better idea), that when in neutral will feed power to a set of EL wires. When the button is pressed, it will change to a different circuit with a new EL wire and this sound effect. Since the EL wires are only controlled via being given power or not, all the SPDT switch is doing is giving or removing power from each different EL circuit. But when I put the sound effect into the mix, that's the tricky part. Previously, I was using a simple voice recorder from radio shack. When two sides of the play button circuit were connected, it would play. This only worked, unfortunately, if power was previously on. So i couldn't hold down play, and then give it power. Power first, then play. My previous help suggested I create the "play button" circuit connection through the momentary switch as well. But since the momentary switch is feeding power, even dropped down to 3v through a regulator, it added too much juice and friend the circuit.

Someone suggested a DPDT Momentary switch, but all of those I can find have neutral position as "all off", instead of "side 1 on". If I can find a DPDT momentary that puts neutral as a single side on, then that would probably solve my problem (Once I buy a new voice recorder chip).

But I'm also open to other suggestions, such as if someone happens to know something (preferably cheaper) that will play the recorded sound as soon as given power (minor tinkering with play button acceptable).

Thanks a lot.

Since this is kind of an odd request, if anyone is interested or willing to discuss this on facebook, here's mine.... https://www.facebook.com/joshua.taylor.568

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

[lyndon]

The absolute dead simplest way I can think of to do this is with a cheap MP3 player and an equally cheap Arduino. The MP3 player will play the sound as you would expect, and the only job of the Arduino is to "press" the play button on power up. The only concern I can think of would be finding a player that has easy access to the circuit board.

I actually automated something similar to this and it is really easy to do. You will need some minor soldering skills and an MP3 player from Walmart or whereever.

Now, there are technologically more "advanced" ways to do this like build a circuit to record and playback sound or use an MP3 shield, etc. But since MP3 players are $10 (and even free if you have a few old ones like me), I think my way is simplest.

[robertsonics]

Not sure what your budget is, but the WAV Trigger can be easily programmed to play (single or looped) on power up.

[lyndon]

I'll agree that for minimum hassle, something like a WAV trigger is probably easiest, especially if you don't feel comfortable digging around an unknown MP3 player.

Didn't you have a cheaper version available at some point? I thought I remembered one that was around $25 or so.

[robertsonics]

Not me. MP3 Trigger and WAV Trigger have always been the same price.

[JT1044]

I found a DPDT On-On switch that should do the trick, took a lot of digging. Most DPDT Momentary's are On-Off-On.

So my current plan, is to keep the recorder plugged to power at all times, 9v battery. One side of the DPDT switch will control the power flow to the EL wires on both "phases". The other side of the DPDT switch, unconnected to power, will only be used to connect the two sides of the chip, activating "play". The difficult part will be successfully soldering the connections to the board, without screwing it up.

If I'd had the knowledge I do now when I started this project, I would have done many, many things differently. Most of them involving an Arduino as you've all mentioned. I plan on learning how to use one ASAP for any future projects. This project has been a lesson in frustration and headaches.

Thanks for your suggestions. If anyone cares, I will let people know how it goes when i finish.