| Electronics > Projects, Designs, and Technical Stuff |
| Picking the right microcontroller/mini computer for my project |
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| Youkai:
I'm working on a night light project which is based on the "Wishing Tree" from the Netflix show "True and the Rainbow Kingdom". I'd like to have a button on the light that when you press it will play one of a selection of audio clips. In the past I was able to get something like this to work by having an Arduino send serial commands to a Raspberry Pi when buttons were pressed. Then I had a small battery operated speaker plugged into the 3.5mm audio port on the Pi. It worked but there has got to be a better way. Notes on the build: * The project is going to have some RGB LED that I need to control. Probably a few that need to be controlled separately but I can chain together NeoPixels and control them from a single pin if necessary. * There will be at least one button I need to monitor, possibly a few. * It doesn't need to be loud (like an alarm clock). I just want a person standing next to it to be able to clearly hear the sounds. * I'll be planning on using a wall plug to power the thing. * The tree sits on a "hill". I'll put the bulk of the electronics in the hill and I'll be able to make as big as I need; within reason. So I don't need to keep everything micro sized but I do want it to be reasonably small. What is the best way to control all of this? Is a micro controller right? Or is something like a Raspberry Pi more what I need? You can view my build journal for more info: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d1cgzCqczD67msppKzNe46_WDqtxqITs4bIEhIbP3HY |
| james_s:
Definitely a microcontroller, I see absolutely no reason to have a fullblown computer running an operating system to do something so simple. You can get little boards that play audio files off a SD card for just a few dollars. You can control them with an Arduino or any other microcontroller. |
| Youkai:
Ok. That's good to know. Do you have a search term I can use to google this? |
| Domagoj T:
While Arduinos based on AVR mircos don't have the umpf to play audio themselves, there are compatible mp3 boards that you can plug into them that can. Such as this one: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12660 RPi is an overkill. |
| james_s:
Search for arduino sound player, or mp3 player. Some very cheap solutions like this that might work, I have not tried one of these specific boards. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1pcs-WT588D-16p-voice-module-Sound-modue-audio-player-For-Arduino/201430043660? |
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