# Found mp3 players - look good for props.



## hedg12

I was Googling for an audio solution for my Technological Terror contest prop & came across a couple of interesting possibilities.

MDFly (never heard of them - hope they're on the up and up) lists this player that accepts both SD cards and flash drives. Power and control are through pins on the bottom of the board, and looking at the hookup diagram it appears that it could probably be triggered by a prop controller fairly easily. At $8.50 it's pretty cheap, too.

Of more interest (at least to me) is this board. It only accepts SD cards, but is controlled by TTL level RS-232 signals. According to the documentation, you can access up to 199 different tracks either directly or randomly. I would think a Picaxe could control this without too much difficulty. Not bad for $9.95.

I have no idea how well these work or what quirks they may have, but they do look promising. I've ordered one of each - I'll update this when I know more.


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## DarkLore

I like the fact that the first one can be trigger to play by simple switch contact. Now if we could find a solid, cheap amplifier to go with these.


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## ScaryTinker

Nice Find! I've ordered a couple as well. We cab compare notes when we get them.


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## sluggo

Yes, please report back on what you find. These products look very promising.


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## pshort

They look interesting...


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## Jaybo

Looks like their website has gone down.

But they do have an eBay store here.


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## robp790

*cool site!*

I also ordered two TTL level mp3 boards. They have a lot of amazing finds. a four channel remote control relay control for $12.95. wow!


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## joker

DarkLore said:


> I like the fact that the first one can be trigger to play by simple switch contact. Now if we could find a solid, cheap amplifier to go with these.


Would they work with powered PC speakers?

I'm still looking for a solution for starting 3 audio files simultaneously from one trigger.


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## scream1973

hmmm excellent..


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## DarkLore

joker said:


> Would they work with powered PC speakers?
> 
> I'm still looking for a solution for starting 3 audio files simultaneously from one trigger.


I'm sure they would work with amp speakers. In my case, I would prefer to surface mount a speaker driven with a small amplifier (or amplified player) mounted inside a prop.


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## hydehaunt

Did anyone ever try hooking any of these up? Diagrams/instructions? Thanks, HH


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## hpropman

I went to order both but they only have the SD player card only - will have wait for them to restock so that I can get both boards to play with. The Rs232 boards sounds like the Vmusic2 module but 1/4 the price


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## hedg12

I've received mine, but haven't had a chance to try them yet. Gonna try to get to them this weekend, but no promises.


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## hedg12

OK, I've had a little time to play with the .mp3 boards. The SD/Flash drive card that I received only had 2 headers, instead of the 5 pictured on the web site. Not a problem, since all the inputs and outputs are covered. Mine also included 2 pigtails that fit the headers.







(sorry for the crappy pic)

This board performed just as advertised. I used a FAT16 formatted 2 Gb SD card with 3 .mp3 files named 001.mp3, 002.mp3, and 003.mp3. Momentarily connecting pin 5 to ground alternately starts and pauses playback, so if it's used with a trigger you'd have to interrupt it with a timer or a retrigger will stop the playback. Once playback is started, it will play the tracks consecutively. Pin 4 and ground advances to the next track, pin 3 and ground calls the previous track, pin 4 and pin 3 together increase the volume, and pins 5 and 3 decrease the volume. According to the documentation, pins 5 and 4 toggle between the SD and USB inputs, but I didn't test it.

I didn't have as much time as I would have liked to test the TTL board, but I did play a little.








Using the same .mp3 files (same SD card) and a picaxe 08m on a rev-ed proto board, I was able to send the random command (000) to the board & it responded with random playback. I also sent direct playback commands for each file (001), (002), and (003), and it played just that file. 
This board really looks promising.


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## fritz42_male

Nice find and thanks for the review - very helpful. They do international as well so I'll be ordering a few of these.


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## Restless Spirit

Thanks for the review, hedg12. Looks like both could have some uses.


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## Otaku

This is good info, thanks! Looks like the non-TTL board behaves like the old $5 cheapo player. You had to use a timer to prevent it from repeating or playing the next file, and a second Play button press put it in Pause mode.
I'd say the TTL board is much more useful for one-shot or selectable sounds. The other board would be a good ambient sound player, though.


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## robp790

Just got done trying mine out tonight. I ordered two of the TTL level boards. I made a six pin header to connect the player to my prop1 controller. It works well. I will have to practice controlling sounds but it does what I want to do.


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## hpropman

sounds like we will be seeing a lot of these boards this year


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## psyko99

These look promising. I just ordered two to play with. I was going to use these this year, but the ability to access multiple tracks adds much more flexibility. Also, you can't beat the price.


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## psyko99

I was finally able to do some testing with my boards. I didn't use a micro controller as hedge did, but I did connect a 5v power supply from a cell phone charger. I first tested it w/ just an old internal pc speaker. The sound level was very low. I then connected it to my powered computer speakers. The audio tracks played fine but I had three issues.

1) It seems that you can only use sound files of 100 KB or smaller, anything larger will not play correctly, or not play at all.

2) There was a fair amount of noise between tracks and at start up. I was able to cut the noise down a bit by wiring a capacitor in series w/ the audio output.

3) The clip did not play immediately when triggered, and there was noise before it started.

I also played with the 50 second USB recording module from Elecronics123.com. It had the same problem w/ noise, but it triggered quickly. You can use it to play a clip once or loop it until it is triggered again. The downside is that you can only have one clip.


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## jdsteel82

Dangit! I finally find what I have been looking for, and you guys bought up all the MDFLY mp3 players! They fit my budget too! better than farting around with $19 mp3 players from frys and hoping i can get them to work.


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## DarkLore

You know how newspapers post retractions when they find out their information was wrong? Well...here's mine. (Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. And Darklore can admit when he's wrong.)

I bought another of these 50 sec sound cards...figuring it to be an absolute waste of money. And was shocked to find the thing worked. Not wonderfully...but decently and definitely useable. I was totally amazed.

I don't know what the bleep was wrong with the first ones. Just bad cards or something, I don't know. I even showed them at a M&T for others to hear. Anyway...I've got another and it actually produces a useable sound without amplifying.

I took one of the others and amplified it, and it sounded like amplified crap. This one however...with the same sound file, seems to work and I didn't even amplify it.

I've asked Ranyaz if he can remove postings beyond my comments at #21. I no longer know whether folks should be buying the 50 sec rec/players or not. Maybe the first batch of cards I bought was flawed or badly manufacturer. I don't know.


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## fritz42_male

I must admit that I was surprised by your previous comments as the one I bought was definitely acceptable - I just put your comments down to your need for perfection as evidenced in your sketches and props!


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## DarkLore

fritz42_male said:


> I must admit that I was surprised by your previous comments as the one I bought was definitely acceptable - I just put your comments down to your need for perfection as evidenced in your sketches and props!


That's the Jekyl and Hyde in me. I need to learn how to keep that other dude bottled up....muh..ha..ha..ha..ha..ha.

I just wanted something similar to cheap props you find in a drugstore. This other card works just fine.


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## Otaku

Hey James, did you try changing the batteries on those poor-sounding boards? My experience with ISD chipcorders is that when the batteries get low, the sound quality goes south (garbled, scratchy, low volume). The chips on the USB boards may have similar behaviour.


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## DarkLore

Otaku said:


> Hey James, did you try changing the batteries on those poor-sounding boards? My experience with ISD chipcorders is that when the batteries get low, the sound quality goes south (garbled, scratchy, low volume). The chips on the USB boards may have similar behaviour.


I did not.

I'll stop at a store today to pick up a few and replace them. Thanks for the suggestion. (I pondered replacing the battery section of the board and wiring it to use non-button batteries. I think that board uses 1113 button cells but I don't think they are Lith.)

On a side note - I uploaded a continuous loop bubbling pot sound to the working board. Then tossed it inside the pot of my MourningWood Stew prop. (Sorry, there's no final images on that link.) It sounds just like bubbling stew. Question - if I don't turn off the sound board, how long do yall think it would play before the sound dies or becomes unusable?


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## fritz42_male

I thought that my 50sec USB board had died but it was the little battery pack. It's now wired to a 3xAA holder.


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## robp790

MDFLY.com has these modules in stock again. They had 9 of the TTL level players.


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## jdsteel82

two of the MDFLY TTL boards should be waiting for me on my door step when I get home!


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## dscrimager

*I've got one of each from MDFLY to hopefully try soon*

However I notice on the 'button only' board there is now a 3 pin header and it's marked for serial coms (tx,Rx,GND) ...maybe it'll also play with serial commands.
I'm assuming TTL but I'm going to try the basic functions with the 8 pin header.
BTW what is with that hookup diagram? it looks totally wack to me compared to the words at the bottom....

Freshly Doug


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## DarkLore

dscrimager said:


> However I notice on the 'button only' board there is now a 3 pin header and it's marked for serial coms (tx,Rx,GND) ...maybe it'll also play with serial commands.
> I'm assuming TTL but I'm going to try the basic functions with the 8 pin header.
> BTW what is with that hookup diagram? it looks totally wack to me compared to the words at the bottom....
> 
> Freshly Doug


I agree. That confused me as well when I first saw mention of those mdfly boards. Have any of you had a chance to try them out yet? I'm considering buying a couple to power a cowlacious skull.


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## dscrimager

*serial com on one board but not the other*

I did email back and forth with them and they said that the key press model did not work with serial coms, although the other one clearly does.

So I think I use the key-press type one for my simple background music or one sound that will loop and I use the other one for multiple prop sounds. I liked the Rogue Robotics cards but these are CHEAP!!!! I can have completely custom sounds on every prop.

Freshly Doug


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## dscrimager

*Got the push button MDfly device working*

It was pretty easy. It auto plays but it needs 192bps (i.e 16 bit I think) files on the storage device. It's a bit noisy between tracks. Its a perfect fit if you want something to cycle through the tracks on the storage so I am going to use it for my background music player.

The other device ( with serial control) I hope to test soon.

Freshly Doug


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## fritz42_male

I just got my serial control unit. Will have a play soon and report back.


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## JeffHaas

Any updates on the serial control units?

Sample code, even?


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## fritz42_male

Nope - been busy cleaning up & tidying my garage - will start next week. Can't see it being a big issue though.


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## dscrimager

*I have the serial control unit working*

I've got it triggered from an arduino but I have no idea of sound quality since I was monitoring output with my oscilloscope. It took me about 10 minutes to make it work.

I have to work on the serial link because it looks like it triggers from some noise occasionally but that may be my manky hook up.

But based on what I have seen so far I order a few more....

Freshly Doug


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## DarkLore

Has anyone configured one of these MLDFLY boards? I'd like to see a photo. I want to verify connections before I wire mine up. The site instructions didn't seem to match the board.


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## fritz42_male

Just be aware that the way it plays files is as an offset so you need to be careful in the way you store files - get a program called Drivesort. See this post here on the Picaxe forum. Also notice from this forum thread that the manufacturer has a number of modules including the same one but with USB as well.

I suggest reading the whole of the thread - quite handy

http://www.picaxeforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=16353&page=5


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## robp790

I received my mdfly board serial control style, some time ago I hooked it to my prop1 controller and it did every thing it was supposed to I had four sound files it played one, ran 10 second started another files, stopped ran another. I like it, I will order more to use next haunt season. I did not use one this year as I had no real prop use for it.


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## sluggo

Has anyone tried using the serial board in any of its other modes, such as direct play mode? The datasheet (the real one) talks about setting M0 and M1 before powering on, but the only references I see to M0 and M1 are tiny solder pads on the board. They don't seem to be connected to any pins or anything like that. Am I actually supposed to solder a wire onto that pad so that I can connect it to ground, or am I missing something?


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## JeffHaas

Communicating to a serial device, like these MDFLY boards, is new to me. Looks like you set one of the pins to a serial out and then send the correct info over it to the mp3 player. Am I right in looking at the following info?

Basic Stamp (search the PDF for SEROUT):

http://www.parallax.com/dl/docs/cols/nv/vol1/col/nv16.pdf

For Arduino:

http://arduino.cc/en/Reference/Serial


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## robp790

In my latest foray at connecting the mdfly AU-5121 TTL serial sound board to a Prop1 controller has yielded some surprises. First, the prop1 communicates at 2400 baud the sound board want 4800 baud. Second, we are talking about two separate board on this forum and the physical makeup is quite different. With my board the communication from the prop1 IS happening, but it seems to get garbled commands. It is expecting a hex command to play 002.mp3 (02) and because it is so slow it only receives "0" which is the hex command to play files in random fashion. I will include my photos in this post because if you have a prop2 or sx it should certainly work! I myself will attempt to make it work with a Picaxe controller when I get time.


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## JeffHaas

I've got a Prop-2 and a couple of those on order. Can you post your code? I can try it out in a few days when mine gets here.


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## robp790

Sure, I am no expert but after the lines for device and pbasic version.
pause 5000
SEROUT 7, t2400, (02)
pause 3000
SEROUT 7, t2400, (01)
pause 5000
SEROUT 7, t2400, (03)
pause 6000

If the board reads the commands correctly it should play 002.mp3 for 3 sec, 001.mp3 for 5 sec 001.mp3 for 6 sec. I dont know if each mp3 NEEDS to end before the next command or not, my experiece had it playing in a random manner but for some reason the timing seemed on. I formatted my card to FAT16 named my mp3 as 001.mp3, 002.mp3, 003.mp3.

I have installed the ULN2003 chip so pin7 is free of ULN interference, if you want communication to and from the board you may need to clip both sets of pins from the ULN2803. You will also need to change the baud rate to 4800. On a bs2 it appears to be SEROUT 7, 188, (02)

Things I have read say everything is transmitted in binary so no need to convert commands to hex but....... If things go weird I would try adding the converter in the command. SEROUT 7, 188, hex(002)

The six pin header and the 1 pin headers as well as the F-F connector wires were purchased from pololu.com


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## JeffHaas

Got my two TTL MP3 boards today, but doubt I'll have time before Thanksgiving to work with them. However, the Picaxe forum had a link to a better version of the docs:

http://www.warf.com/download/5029_9878_TDB380 datasheet V2.1 .pdf


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## jdsteel82

Grr! I can't get either two of my boards working right! I have the files loaded on the SD, and they have been drive sorted. When I power on the speaker hooked to the TTL board buzzes, then pauses with my pause command, and then ticks about every seconed sometimes skipping a tick or a few. On several occasions I had it play about 1 sec of my mp3 but then it stoped.

I am using a picaxe 18m2. Annoyed!!!!!


Edit! Hmmm... Guess the PDF for the board is wrong or I dont know what I am doing. I was using N4800, but I saw others using T4800 for the baud... Work now Great! Also kept adding the extra zero to the Hex so i was doing $003 in stead of $03.

Play time!


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## fritz42_male

I just took delivery of more units from Tenda (the actual manufacturer) including their video player unit. Their service and support is excellent.


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## robp790

I would like to hear more about their video player. I looked at the website, it seemed kind of short on info. Like cost, what it does, how it operates. As you learn, would you share?


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## fritz42_male

The video player is quite basic and is only switch driven - no serial control. PDF is here:

http://www.ipprofessional.com.au/MP4 Decorder V2.0 .pdf

I am waiting for an answer on whether they have a serial control version.


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## robp790

Holy cow! Yeah, can you imagine the possibilities with a serial controlled video player? Have you yet figured out how to connect a monitor to the pins? Or is there actually a VGA plug? what about DVI?


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## fritz42_male

Well they don't have a serial control version (yet)

I can't see a problem with a serial controlled version as it would probably operate like the MP3 player - play file 001, 002 etc

No VGA plug - but VGA and composite out on headers on the board. Certainly no DVI.

Bear in mind these things are CHEAP - $16 for the MP4 Video module and just $10 for the serial controlled MP3 module. You get what you pay for.

I've been looking for a cheap serial controllable mp4 player for a while - no luck so far.


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## robp790

I see no problem either, it would be great! Someday......

I would imagine The connections to a CGA or composite connector could be attached to the pins.

It appears your info is waaaay better than what I found on Tendaelectronics.com
There they just have a photo


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## fritz42_male

Yup, a serial controlled video player at these prices would be VERY handy!

If you have any questions, just email the address on the site and a guy called Mike replies VERY quickly.

Been impressed with their service so far.


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## jdsteel82

Anybody else Scope their MDFLY 5121? I thought spec was 200mV Pk-Pk? I am getting 1V Pk-Pk with mine with average about 300mV Pk- Pk. Nice since now I don't have to max out my gain past GBWP!


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## fritz42_male

This looks interesting for possible serial controlled video playback of media stored on an SD card:

http://www.4dsystems.com.au/prod.php?id=131


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## robp790

*Serial vga modules*

So COOL! I will have to play with this when I get extra money at years end. I am thinking stand alone asylum door.


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## dscrimager

*Looking for ages for serial controlled media player*

I've been looking for a media player like that for ages with Serial control or even simple switch closure play. Something small and easy to use. I've found a number but that are pretty expensive for a home haunter.

I want to do standalone changing portraits, moving video tombstones, etc but not try to hack and depend upon DVD players.

I can attest that the MDfly boards work, I used the simple switch closure one for my background music since it comes up in auto-play mode. The serial version I have hooked up and verified play but have not used any in a prop yet, but am soon. These are not as nice sound and build quality IMO as the Rogue robotics cards that I used but are so cheap I can get 10 to 1.

The MDfly boards only play files up to like 180Kbps encoding but that works fine for the quality.

Cheap amps that I use with these are at Parts Express, either the T-amps or the new SURE amps.

I didn't read ALL the way through the thread so apologies if this is all redundant.

Freshly Doug


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## fritz42_male

Tenda do a switch and remote controlled sd card and usb video player for under $20. Composite & vga out plus audio. Haven't tested mine yet but looks ok

The mdfly boards are by Tenda. Audio quality is apparently superb IF you put them through a preamp first. Extra cost though (bout $14 from Jaycar)


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## JeffHaas

Having trouble getting this to work with an EFX Prop-2 board (Basic Stamp 2).

Hooked up like in the photos earlier in the thread - Ground to GND, Power to V+, TXD to Pin 15. ULN replaced with 2003, jumper on pin 15 removed.

Converted the code to BS2 format, getting nothing out of the headphones. This should play files randomly, right?

SEROUT 15, 188, [000]


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## fritz42_male

Try replacing the 188 with T4800 - this is the Picaxe version but seems valid for the stamp as well. 

Also is Pin 15 the correct pin designation? Outputs and Pins on Picaxes are not the same thing - don't know about the EFX Prop 2


Here is an example program for the Picaxe - it should work if you just alter the pin numbers for your TX/RX pins and you need 15 files on the card.

high 0 ' set output 0 idle high
wait 5 'allow module to wake up and initialize(might not need that long)

serout 0,T4800,($EF) 'STOP module before doing anything

start:
for b1=$01 to $0F 'Setup playlist
serout 0,T4800,(b1) 'Play song
pause 500 'Allow module to respond
gosub busy 'Check if song is finished
next b1 'Play next song.

busy:
if pin2=1 then 'If BUSY is high then
return 'go back and play the next song
else 'Otherwise
goto busy 'Stay in this loop until pin2 IS high
endif


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## JeffHaas

Terrific, thanks. I'll give this a try later. Not sure about the "T4800" on the Basic Stamp 2, it uses a different and confusing method for setting the baud. I've read that section of the docs five times and still don't get it. See page 4 of this article:

http://www.parallax.com/dl/docs/cols/nv/vol1/col/nv16.pdf

One question...the two versions of the docs on the Tenda board have turned up conflicting info on the file names. What format are they in?

A000.mp3 or 000.mp3?


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## JeffHaas

Solved! Several issues here.

1. Incompatible SD card. I was using an old 32MB card which WinXP didn't want to format as FAT32. I swapped for a newer 1 Gig card, formatted that as FAT32, copied some files onto it, sorted via DriveSort and Tada! Music!

2. I tried naming the files both ways, and they both work. A000.mp3 or 000.mp3, so both versions of the PDF are correct.

3. How to set up an EFX Prop-2 (which has a Basic Stamp 2 on it) for use with the Tenda TDB380:
- Replace ULN 2803 with ULN 2003, leaving Pin 15 open. The ULN 2803 interferes with serial communications and will give unpredictable results.
- Remove Setup jumper for Pin 15.
- Pin 20 on Tenda board connects to EFX V+ (for 5 volts power, which works fine)
- Pin 19 on Tenda board connects to EFX GND and to GND of headphone jack
- Pin 18, 17 on Tenda board connect to left and right of headphone jack (see schematic of your headphone jack for connection details).
- Pin 16 is only necessary if you want the Tenda board to communicate back. I don't bother.
- Pin 15 on Tenda board (labelled RXD in the PDF) connects to W header of Pin 15 on EFX Prop-2. This sends serial commands to the Tenda board.

Wiring is as shown in the photos earlier in this thread, a page or two back if you need it.

Proper Basic Stamp 2 serial command format:

SEROUT 15, 188, [00]

SEROUT is "Serial Out" command
15 is Pin 15
188 is annoying Basic Stamp 2 code for baud rate of 4800/N/8 (see Parallax PDF linked above)
[00] is, finally, the command for the Tenda card. 00 is "play random file" (see Tenda PDF). 01 will play file 1, etc. Note that for Basic Stamp 2, you use square brackets, not parenthesis.

Example code in next post.


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## JeffHaas

' =========================================================================
'
' File...... Tenda mp3 board sound test.BS2
' Purpose...
' Author.... Jeff Haas
' E-mail....
' Started...
' Updated... Dec. 14, 2010
'
' {$STAMP BS2}
' {$PBASIC 2.5}
'
' =========================================================================

' -----[ Program Description ]---------------------------------------------
'
' Tenda TDB380 MP3 sound board test
'

' -----[ I/O Definitions ]-------------------------------------------------
MP3 PIN 15 'Pin 15 of Tenda TDB380 connects to Pin 15, W header of EFX Prop-2

' -----[ Program Code ]----------------------------------------------------

Main:

SEROUT MP3, 188, [233] 'Lower volume for headphones

SEROUT MP3, 188, [03] 'Play track 3
PAUSE 6000 'Pause 6 seconds before next command
SEROUT MP3, 188, [01] 'Play track 1
PAUSE 6000 'Pause 6 seconds before next command
SEROUT MP3, 188, [05] 'Play track 5
PAUSE 6000 'Pause 6 seconds before next command


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## fritz42_male

Nicely done mate. Just FYI apparently the actual filename doesn't matter it's the order of the files in the directory that controls which one plays back. Have a read here:

http://www.picaxeforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=16353&page=5

Use a free program called drivesort to organise the files the way you want them


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## JeffHaas

Thanks! I had read through that thread but didn't pick up on the point that the filenames don't matter at all. That's an annoying omission from the docs.

After all this work, someone should put together everything about this board in one organized place, with info for each microprocessor. I'm planning on taking a crack at the Arduino later, because I have a couple of those, too.


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## robp790

This is best part about the forum. Having someone to bounce these problems of of that probably have more knowledge than yourself.

Some of the file naming solutions I found on the picaxe forums after they were pointed out here. Some solutions or lack there of came from EFX-tek forums. Now some of us are getting this straightened out so others wont become hairless from frustration.

I really want to get the serial controlled video module and I KNOW that will be frustrating but I have 316 days to figure it out.

But, now I may have to order a BS2 controller just to simplify my life.


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## JeffHaas

Glad you found the info useful. The Picaxe forums have more detail on navigating the folders, etc but I probably won't ever need that.

I understand the position of the EFX-Tek guys...this isn't their product and all anyone has had to go on is a poorly-translated, incomplete spec sheet. 

I would highly recommend the EFX Prop-2 over the standard BS2, the support is excellent and the board has lots of included features that would take lots of effort to add yourself.

The guys who should be worried about this are Rogue Robotics...the Tenda module does most of what their mp3 module does for 10% of the price.


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## robp790

Dont get me wrong, I certainly am not faulting EFX-TEK for anything. I enjoy their products. I was pointing out that the sharing of info by all of us here has solved most of our woes. Those folks at EFX-TEK went the extra distance to tell me the issue betwixt the Prop1 and the Tenda module.


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## JeffHaas

I would really like to have a wiki where we can put all this stuff when we figure it out, instead of having to dig through two or three message boards to find all the bits and pieces. That would be a nice upgrade to one of these forums.


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## HalloweenRick

Just wanted to get some clarification on some points:
1) Jeff what you did was on the serial TTL MDFLY board only correct?
2) There is no way to connect either MDFLY board to an EFX-TEK Prop-1 as the baud rate differs, or do I read it as I can connect it but it will only play one file, not in an order or randomly?
I have been playing with the 50sec Electronics123 boards and got them done succesfully. Unfortunately I bought the NON serial MDFLY boards and hope that I can in someway use them in my props. If all else fails, can I hook them up to a Velleman IR Lightbarrier and have them trigger when the kid walks past, even if it only plays the one sound file over and over?
Thanks!


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## hedg12

JeffHaas said:


> I would really like to have a wiki where we can put all this stuff when we figure it out, instead of having to dig through two or three message boards to find all the bits and pieces. That would be a nice upgrade to one of these forums.


OK,here ya go.

I think a wiki's a great idea, not only for this but any and all Halloween tech. I haven't put anything up yet, but don't let that stop you. Feel free to add anything you think is pertinent.


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## JeffHaas

Rick,

1. I got the serial control Tenda board (from MDFLY). The other one didn't have serial control and was only a couple of bucks cheaper.

2. You're right, the Prop-1 is built around a Basic Stamp 1, which has a limitation in how fast it can communicate via serial. Unfortunately, this is too slow to talk to the Tenda board. All you'll ever get out of it if you use a Prop-1 and a Tenda board is a random file, because the Tenda board only sees the first "0" sent to it.

3. The 50 second boards look like you record only one sound on them and then play it back. So it's limited. You could have something else press the button on them...

4. I haven't used one of those Velleman IR light barriers, but it seems you could swap in a relay for the buzzer. See these posts on the Velleman boards:
http://forum.velleman.eu/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=5353
http://forum.velleman.eu/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4768
It's such a cheap kit that it's probably worth trying out. To make sense of the advice to add a diode, look at this page with a schematic for using a relay with an Arduino:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Connecting-a-12V-Relay-to-Arduino/step6/The-Schematic/

5. The non-serial Tenda board seems to be just an mp3 player. You could use it with a microprocessor (like a Prop-1 or Arduino) to play a single sound file when you wanted, but you'd want to make a small board with a relay on it; the microprocessor would trigger the relay, which would be wire to press the "Play" switch. This would also work with the 50-second board, just use the relay instead of the pushbutton.


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## robp790

When I connect my mdfly serial board to my prop1 it plays but it seems to be in a very erratic manner. I passed it off as to how I may have place the files wrongly on the card. So, it appears the baud rate being too slow is sending only a portion of the command (my theory)


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## HalloweenRick

I was hoping to hook up the 50 sec player by wiring in to the PINs. Can I just cut off the switch and wire one wire to a Servo wire-hooking up W and R to one wire and B to another. I had hoped to do the same with the non Serial MDFLY board. Will that work?


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## hedg12

HalloweenRick said:


> I was hoping to hook up the 50 sec player by wiring in to the PINs. Can I just cut off the switch and wire one wire to a Servo wire-hooking up W and R to one wire and B to another. I had hoped to do the same with the non Serial MDFLY board. Will that work?


To trigger the 50 second board, you'd need to provide a "dry contact" trigger - the servo connection won't work. A relay triggered by the controller would probably be the simplest option. I'm not too familiar with the prop-1 so I can't say exactly how you'd go about it.


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## halstaff

hedg12 said:


> To trigger the 50 second board, you'd need to provide a "dry contact" trigger - the servo connection won't work. A relay triggered by the controller would probably be the simplest option. I'm not too familiar with the prop-1 so I can't say exactly how you'd go about it.


Here's a thread detailing the solution Otaku came up with for triggering those boards - http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=22839
Darklore's explanation is easy to follow and the boards work perfectly.


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## JeffHaas

*Stuck on Tenda + Arduino*

I'm stuck getting the Arduino to talk correctly to the serial Tenda board.

I wired it up just like the EFX Prop-2. The Arduino seems to have some weirdness with its serial connections I don't get.

1. You set the baud rate with the command:
Serial.begin(speed), as in Serial.begin(4800). 
There is no way to set N/8/1 as far I can find.

2. This communicates to the Arduino but then it only seems to get the first character of the command passed. If you open the serial monitor window, you see a "0" repeated over and over. The following code results in the first file on the SD card played over and over, for only five seconds before starting again:

/*
Tenda TDB380 MP3 sound board test 
*/

void setup() {
// initialize the serial communication:
Serial.begin(4800); //Set to 4800 bps
}

void loop() {

Serial.print(000, HEX); // Play one file randomly
delay(5
000);

}

3. The Serial.print command only seems to send the first character to the board in this case. Try replacing it with (004) and there's no difference, the first file on the SD card plays.

Anyone?


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## JeffHaas

I'm tracking this one down...it seems the Arduino has "leading zero suppression" where the first zeros are dropped. So you have to add a function to the code to keep them. I do have some working code but it's not right.


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## JeffHaas

OK, I seem to have solved this. Probably missed the obvious doing this too late at night.

Wiring is same as for the EFX-Tek Prop 2, earlier in the thread. See the pictures if you need help.
- Power on Tenda connects to 5V on Arduino
- Ground on Tenda connects to Ground on Arduino and ground of headphone jack
- Pin 17, 18 on Tenda connect to Left and Right on headphone jack
- Pin 15 on Tenda, RX, connects to TX pin on Arduino

There are two more connections you can make but I haven't gotten to them yet. See the Picaxe forum for details on how some people use them.

When programming an Arduino, there are two key commands:

Serial.begin(4800); - This sets the serial communication to the right speed, in this case 4800 baud

Serial.print(0x00, BYTE) - This sends the commands to the Tenda board.

** You must use BYTE format, as part of the Serial.print command, to communicate to the Tenda TTL board. See this page for info:
http://arduino.cc/en/Reference/Serial

This example will play files randomly:

========

void setup() {
// initialize the serial communication:
Serial.begin(4800); //Set to 4800 bps
Serial.print(0xEF, BYTE); // Reset board
delay(2000);
}

void loop() {

Serial.print(0x00, BYTE); // Play one file randomly
delay(5000);

}

=====

Note that the random function on the Tenda board isn't that good and many times picks the same file two or three times in a row.

See next post for a more detailed bit of code.


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## JeffHaas

This code will change to a second folder, then play various files in it. When it's done it loops back to the top and goes through the files again. Note that it works without having to use hex numbering, although you may want to use it. 

See the Tenda PDF for details on the various commands.

===========

/*
Tenda TDB380 MP3 sound board test - for Arduino
*/

void setup() {
// initialize the serial communication:
Serial.begin(4800); //Set to 4800 bps
Serial.print(0xEF, BYTE); // Reset board
delay(2000); 
}

void loop() { 

Serial.print(0xF2, BYTE); // Change to folder 02
delay(5000);
Serial.print(1, BYTE); // Play first file
delay(5000);
Serial.print(15, BYTE); // Play second file
delay(8000);
Serial.print(0xEB, BYTE); // Suspend playing
delay(3000);
Serial.print(0xEC, BYTE); // Resume playing
delay(8000);
Serial.print(3, BYTE); // Play third file
delay(5000);
Serial.print(4, BYTE); // Play fourth file
delay(5000);
Serial.print(5, BYTE); // Play fifth file
delay(5000);
Serial.print(7, BYTE); // Play seventh file
}


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## robp790

fritz42_male said:


> This looks interesting for possible serial controlled video playback of media stored on an SD card:
> 
> http://www.4dsystems.com.au/prod.php?id=131


I just ordered this video player board and the serial controller key. It arrives after the new year. I will come back with some sort of review. I am hoping to create some sort of stand alone video prop where the video runs from an SD card.


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## Chambers_of_Horror

*video player board*

I was thinking about ordering one of these video player boards but for $100 for the board, USB cable and shipping, it's a bit pricy. Did you ever have any luck with the one you ordered? This could be a great tool for my Haunt, we use alot of video, and I'm tired of replacing DVD players every year.


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