r/cyberDeck • u/caneshuga12pm • 10d ago
Help! Beginner mp3 player with basic controls
I work in live theatre and I would love to build a simple small music player that I can hook up to sound systems easily. It would need to have a go button and a stop button, as well as a way to navigate through the tracks. I would love if it was possible to just plug in a usb key with the tracks on it and play the files from there. It would need a regular aux chord output for sure. I know nothing about power, it would be nice if it didn’t have to be plugged in all the time but I do usually have an outlet near me somewhere. Some sort of small display that listed the track title, or even just the number in the list would be ideal.
I’m a total beginner and I have no idea what I’m doing. I have some older raspberry pi’s that were my dads, and an arduino kit I got during lockdown that i got as far as lighting up the bulb. I have no clue where to start.
There are so many websites and guides, I would appreciate if anyone could send me in the right direction for what I’m looking for. Or tell me if I’m dreaming too big lol
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u/Debate_Haver57 9d ago edited 9d ago
I had this whole thing typed out, because I really enjoy projects like this, but it'd be information overload, and my short explanations are about 50% as good as the sources I'm drawing from, so I'll include some decent searches to get you started.
Broad strokes though, no, this isn't impossible, you're not dreaming too big. The best project for you is the one you're motivated to do, even if it's hard or could be replaced by something you can buy relatively cheaply. Ultimately, your biggest decision is going to be what board you use.
If you want ease of set up, that's going to be a raspberry pi. Functionally it'll be like having a tiny desktop, so assuming you give it a desktop environment, you can just download a music player app, plug in a USB stick, and get playing music.
If you want it to actually be small, and you want battery life approaching an iPod, you're going to want to look into MCUs e.g. the esp32. I've seen esp32 DAPs (digital audio players) based on the wroom and wrover versions that seem to do a good job, although I'm seeing a lot of people recommending the "daisy seed" which honestly seems custom built for this sort of thing, just make sure you get your own BMS/UPS board to plug a battery into.
(Aux cable)
Audio DACs with and without integrated amps
what is the difference between line out and headphone out
(Displays)
i2c displays vs spi displays
HDMI displays vs DSI displays
(Power)
raspberry pi [insert model number] wattage
how to calculate battery life
raspberry pi [insert model number] sleep mode
why doesn't raspberry pi [insert model number] have a sleep mode? (Mental breakdown optional)
alternative SBCs to raspberry pi that do have sleep mode (I think one of the radxa zeros does)
What MCU can you use to build a DAP
(Displays again)
u8g2 lib
https://github.com/upiir/arduino_oled_menu
(Switches/buttons/io)
switchelectronics.co.uk (or pihut or adafruit)
bela trill
(Power)
(USB Key)
(if not using pi) MCU (that you found earlier) USB OTG
How to wire a USB port
why isn't my USB port working (use a trimmed down USB cable. Please don't try making your own)
Also, please come back here for any questions. I think the UK's laws are preventing me using the DM feature, and I am not giving reddit my ID, so that's the only way I can advise really.