Devices that play music

Hey all,

My coworker is looking for a device that will play a little tune. It's to test the intercom system on the assembly line. Do any of you know of a device that you can download a little .wav or .mp3 file to and it will either have a speaker on it that plays from a remote digital signal, or has a 3.5mm port that we can hook up a simple speaker to? It's got to be run from a digital signal.

Thanks!

Tony

Can you not simply use another person to do the test?

the intercom is activated and the operator listens to the speaker end. The music plays through it, and the operator listens to hear the tune. A $50 device is cheaper than hiring another operator. The whole checkout process is done by one operator.

You could probably hack a cheap old MP3 player with a relay across the "PLAY" button with some careful wiring.

When we need to use a pre-recorded MP3 file as an indication on a machine, we use Patlite brand voice annunciators:

http://www.patlite.com/product/category0008_000022.html

It's been interesting using synthetic female voices in various factory environments. We tried male voices but the lower pitch was drowned out by the white noise of the air handling system.

I've looked into this as a possible solution for a project that never got off the ground.

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13720

You can remotely trigger up to 256 tracks stored on a memory card. It provides an audio output via an 1/8" audio jack that would need to be patched into an external amplified speaker. Not bad for $50. May still get one to play with...

A Cmore HMI from automationdirect can play .wav files through a 1/8" audio port.

Most all HMI software has some kind of play sound function. Can you tie in an HMI PC somehow?

JaxGTO said:

Most all HMI software has some kind of play sound function. Can you tie in an HMI PC somehow?

Click to expand...

Good point. If you have a PC already available, PeakHMI could easily do this. Looks like Advanced HMI can do this too with some small amount of coding.

Check out Gilderfluke, that have a small device that does exactly what you want for (I think) under $200

Woo! Finally a subject I know about, in depth!

Gilderfluke gear is good. I have used a TON of it in my profession (themed attraction design). Doug is the owner and a very great guy to work with.

If you want something with an amplified output for a bunch less money, look at at a HauntBots E3 prop controller (http://www.hauntbots.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65&products_id=192)

You won't be using the control portion, but it has optoisolated inputs and an onboard amp that is powerful enough to drive a 10" live sound cab to uncomfortable levels (seriously, it's a solid 40W output). Pete is the owner over there and is one of the best guys I've ever worked with. To the point that he offered to have me stay at his house instead of a hotel, check out his shop, etc when I went out to a seminar at Phoenix Contact near his house a few months ago. I highly recommend this route. He also has some other boards that are capable of running via RS232, to trigger numerous different sounds instead of tying up a ton of I/O for that reason. I'm working on getting him to make a RS485 version for me.

Watch with the SparkFun and Adafruit boards. I've found them less than reliable. Also keep in mind you'll have to put a relay onboard as they do not use optoisolated inputs (which is an issue in and of itself in a live environment. I'm not a fan of hobbyist boards in these settings)

What about you go to thrift store and get a tape recorder, make sure it is on play and power it on/off?

How about a MP3 player playing a constant loop, then have your digital signal close a relay inline with the speaker and sound the tone for xx seconds the digital signal is on.