Hi all newbie here. Been lurking around here for a while and I must say alot of knowledgeable people here. All this reading has inspired me to start my first project. I'm looking to build a little sound device. Basically I have music in mp3 format. I would to make a device which at the touch of a button will play the mp3 file. I was told by someone that in order to burn mp3 files to an eprom chip the data must be in binary or hex format. Is this true? If so, what program do I use to convert mp3 or wav files to binary or hex format so I can burn to a chip? Any diagrams available for this?
If you want to use the MP3 format you need a MP3 player which is quite complex. You can buy a little card from futurlec that will play the music. All you need to do is interface to it.
If you do not need MP3 quality you can use one of several voice recording chips on the market.
All the sound effects I have are already in mp3 or wav format and are really good quality. I'm not sure how to go about accomplishing my goal which is to have a device where I push a button and the sound files play.
The card from futurlec looks really good. How would I store my sound effect to this device? Does it come with software?
I guess the other possiblity is to burn these files to a chip. How can I accomplish this if my source files are currently mp3 or wav files and need to be burned to a chip?
You could do this with the board or chips I suggested in my first post. If you must have mp3 quality it will have to be the board. To use the board you are going to need to know more them a little about micro controllers.
This is not a good first project.
Go to your local electronics store and see if you can find a small MP3 player that can be setup to do what you need.
My experience is in the IT field. My friend is my electronic guru but he has never worked with an eprom programmer.
Neither he or I having any knowledge on burning chips. I have been told by someone that I will need to convert the mp3 or wav files to binary or hex files before I can burn to chip. Is this true? If so, which software would do that?
It's a very advanced project and an EPROM programmer is so 1990. You'll need some mad skills before you even attempt such a project.
Read this, it tells you how build an MP3 player. MP3 Player, How To Use The STA013 MP3 Decoder Chip
The chips record from analog sound. They can use a mic or a line out. Futurlec (the place with the board) has the chips, do a search for voice. You may not want to buy them there as it takes 2 weeks min.
Radio shack used to sell a voice chip that you could control with switches instead of a mico controller. Do not know what they are currently selling.
I think the card from futurlec is just the VLSI VS1002 MP3 Chip and the discrete parts it needs to work. You still have to use a microcontroller to store the sounds files and stream them to the board.
"You still have to use a microcontroller to store the sounds files and stream them to the board."
The sound files I have are in mp3 / wav format. Will these files need to be converted to binary / hex before burning to chip or will I just burn then to chip in its current format that being mp3/wav format?
"You still have to use a microcontroller to store the sounds files and stream them to the board."
The sound files I have are in mp3 / wav format. Will these files need to be converted to binary / hex before burning to chip or will I just burn then to chip in its current format that being mp3/wav format?
Recording is done by the voice chip. You either press a button or toggle some bits to get it to record. You need to start reading data sheets. On the futurlec site search for voice. That will give you a list of some of the voice chips available and their datasheets.