Any Arduino and speaker nerds here?

[COVRTDESIGN]

I can built and design a lot of things, electronics and speakers are not one of them.

I want to set up an arduino with multiple audio files, attach that to some sort of speaker, and install that into a case that I have 3D printed. I'm not sure where to start other than purchasing the arduino and a wired speaker that can fit into the enclosure.

What I don't know is what other parts that I would need to attach that speaker and arduino to a power adapter, etc.

Anyone have some thoughts or the ability to build something for me? Obviously I would pay for any work done and can send the enclosure to you.

Cheers

The enclosure is a NASA squawk box that was given to the wives of the Apollo astronauts wives during missions so that they could listen into mission control.

Screen Shot 2021-12-25 at 5.17.32 PM.jpg

[robin3mj]

I have nothing to add except those boxes are beyond cool. Would look amazing on any kind of mid century modern table/cabinet.

Good luck with the project.

[spopepro]

I can help. Probably.

Are these playing music, or sound effects?
If audio, how much bass and how good do you want them to sound?
Do you want battery power, or should they be plugged in?
Are you dedicated to arduino? A raspberry pi is more conventional here.
Do you want any other inputs? Like Bluetooth or aux?
Can you solder?

[sk_tle]

I would rather use a raspberry pi zero wireless + one of the quality dac hat out there.I am not sure an arduino is powerful enough to decode compressed audio files and a pi zero basically only require you to write a micro sdcard with an image of a dedicated linux distro without having to do any programming.

These projects basically provide all the software shit for you:

https://www.pimusicbox.com/
https://volumio.com/en/get-started/

[pomole]

Sk_tle gives good advice: ras pi is the tool you are looking for if audio playback is your intent. You may need some kind of amplification depending on how you want it to work.

Those cases are REALLY cool. Good luck with the project!

[rec head]

Those cases are REALLY cool. Good luck with the project!

Yeah, that will make really cool speakers.

[sk_tle]

I chime in again.

There are many resources to build speakers, as a teenager I had a book on how to design your speaker. It allowed you to do some calculation on the box size depending on the room they were intended for as well as choosing between bass reflex or not, 1, 2 or 3 ways.

The thing is to tackle your project you also need to take into account the amplifier, and the player. Thanksfully there are also ready made amplifier boards, some that even include volume knobs and bluetooth module which would allow you to stream the music from a computer or a smartphone. It can be very simple or complicated depending on the level of patience and curiosity you can dedicate on the subject.

Then there is the other option if you are lazy and all you want is to reproduce this design. Find existing active speakers with a very close form factor (think studio monitors speakers), disassemble them and cram everything on those boxes or find a way to mount the front panel to them if dimensions are close enough. Easiest way to embed a player on them is to embed/mount a digital audio player to it. Think old ipod or similar.

[Blakey]

If you don't need much amplification, look at the pirate audio 3W amp version
https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/p...-3w-stereo-amp

If you have an amp, get the line out version
https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/p...audio-line-out

Pair this with a raspberry pi zero W 2, and run mopidy to manage audio. You'll get easy browser control of the media/streaming on a computer/phone/etc and also a few tac buttons on the device for volume / play-pause / next track

[COVRTDESIGN]

I can help. Probably.

Are these playing music, or sound effects?
If audio, how much bass and how good do you want them to sound?
Do you want battery power, or should they be plugged in?
Are you dedicated to arduino? A raspberry pi is more conventional here.
Do you want any other inputs? Like Bluetooth or aux?
Can you solder?

It will just be recorded audio files only from a screen record.
Bass is not much of a factor as it is all mission control and Apollo module spoken word and a lot of static.
I think plugged in would be best with maybe an internal rechargeable battery or always plugged in.
I only like arduino because I don't want to spend $150 to build a speaker that is doing very minimal work. Unless I add bluetooth support for my mother to use this speaker for phone calls and to listen to music and movies.
I can solder.

[COVRTDESIGN]

I chime in again.

There are many resources to build speakers, as a teenager I had a book on how to design your speaker. It allowed you to do some calculation on the box size depending on the room they were intended for as well as choosing between bass reflex or not, 1, 2 or 3 ways.

The thing is to tackle your project you also need to take into account the amplifier, and the player. Thanksfully there are also ready made amplifier boards, some that even include volume knobs and bluetooth module which would allow you to stream the music from a computer or a smartphone. It can be very simple or complicated depending on the level of patience and curiosity you can dedicate on the subject.

Then there is the other option if you are lazy and all you want is to reproduce this design. Find existing active speakers with a very close form factor (think studio monitors speakers), disassemble them and cram everything on those boxes or find a way to mount the front panel to them if dimensions are close enough. Easiest way to embed a player on them is to embed/mount a digital audio player to it. Think old ipod or similar.

Any links to parts that you are talking about?

[COVRTDESIGN]

If you don't need much amplification, look at the pirate audio 3W amp version
https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/p...-3w-stereo-amp

If you have an amp, get the line out version
https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/p...audio-line-out

Pair this with a raspberry pi zero W 2, and run mopidy to manage audio. You'll get easy browser control of the media/streaming on a computer/phone/etc and also a few tac buttons on the device for volume / play-pause / next track

I like the idea as I can hide the screen in the back to keep the retro look. Unfortunately I do not want to spend $150+ for a raspberry pi and other boards for some old Apollo audio only.

[Blakey]

I like the idea as I can hide the screen in the back to keep the retro look. Unfortunately I do not want to spend $150+ for a raspberry pi and other boards for some old Apollo audio only.

If you only want to play Apollo recordings, there are certainly cheaper and lower quality options, but the pirate audio is ~USD$22 and a pi zero W / non W is USD$10/5. Nowhere close to >$150.

[spopepro]

It will just be recorded audio files only from a screen record.
Bass is not much of a factor as it is all mission control and Apollo module spoken word and a lot of static.
I think plugged in would be best with maybe an internal rechargeable battery or always plugged in.
I only like arduino because I don't want to spend $150 to build a speaker that is doing very minimal work. Unless I add bluetooth support for my mother to use this speaker for phone calls and to listen to music and movies.
I can solder.

Sweet. I’ll get a full parts BOM for you when I get home, but here’s the direction I think you should go:

Pi zero W: https://www.adafruit.com/product/3400
Pi zero 3W audio board: https://www.adafruit.com/product/3346
Then either the small adafruit sealed speakers: https://www.adafruit.com/product/1669
Or something like this: https://www.parts-express.com/GRS-3F...-4-Ohm-292-436

If you choose the former the enclosure doesn’t matter (but sound will be iffy). If you want to put a better driver in I’ll need the internal dimensions of the box to match a driver for best results. Also will need to know what will fit.

Supply chain madness is going to make sourcing difficult, so some patience might be required.

[COVRTDESIGN]

Sweet. I’ll get a full parts BOM for you when I get home, but here’s the direction I think you should go:

Pi zero W: https://www.adafruit.com/product/3400
Pi zero 3W audio board: https://www.adafruit.com/product/3346
Then either the small adafruit sealed speakers: https://www.adafruit.com/product/1669
Or something like this: https://www.parts-express.com/GRS-3F...-4-Ohm-292-436

If you choose the former the enclosure doesn’t matter (but sound will be iffy). If you want to put a better driver in I’ll need the internal dimensions of the box to match a driver for best results. Also will need to know what will fit.

Supply chain madness is going to make sourcing difficult, so some patience might be required.

This is exactly what I was looking for, thanks!

That's the part that sucks, finding any of these parts right now.

I think that I am going to go with a JBL bluetooth speaker and 3D print the enclosure around it for the time being while I source the parts.

Thank you!