LittleBits WiFi Music Player

Wirelessly control this music player with your phone or through a variety of IFTTT channels.

Use Cloud Control (on your phone or your computer) to advance from from song to the next or try IFTTT’s Date & Time Channel to make a customized musical alarm clock (you pick the song!).

IFTTT (if this then that) is a service that lets you connect to different web apps through simple conditional statements. You browse the IFTTT channels to find other fun interactions to play music in response to.

*Note: The MP3 player module is not yet released. Stay tuned!

Make this project with littleBits
littleBits is the easiest and most extensive way to learn and prototype with electronics. We are making hardware limitless with our award-winning, ever-growing library of electronic modules, ranging from the very simple (power, sensors, LED) to the very complex (wireless, programmable). This project uses the littleBits cloudBit (TM). The cloudBit lets you connect any device to the internet, turning any object into an internet connected device in a snap – no soldering, wiring or programming required. Instructions for setting up the cloudBit can be found here.

How it works:

This music player can be controlled two ways - either through the internet with the cloudBit or with the press of a button. A double OR (or XOR) module makes these two input interactions possible. In “next” mode, when the MP3 Player module receives a signal either through the cloudBit or from the button, it will skip from one song to the next. The sound will play out through the speaker module.

For the custom alarm clock function, the MP3 Player is set to “once” mode, and we set the time of the alarm through IFTTT’s Date & Time Channel. You can adjust the volume of the MP3 player by pressing both “forward” and “back” buttons at the same time, and for even more volume control, try adding a dimmer before the speaker.

Bits You Will Need:

littleBits cloudBit™ x 1

littleBits double OR x 1

littleBits MP3 Player x 1

littleBits Speaker x 1

littleBits USB Power x 1

littleBits Wire x 1

Other Materials Used:

⅛ thickness Masonite (a.k.a. hardboard)

1⅛ thickness plywood

1⅛ Nut

Adhesive Shoes x 1

SD Card Adapter x 1

Through-Hole Weld Studs, Plain Steel, 6-32 Screw, 5/8" Length x 1

white leather x 1

wood glue x 1

M4 Weld Nut (Metric Plain Steel Round-Base Weld Nut, M4 Size,.7mm Pitch, 18mm

Base Diameter, 6.3mm Barrel Height) x 1

Tools

laser cutter

ruler

scissors or X-acto knife

Files You Will Need:

wifi_music_player_circuit.jpg

wifi_music_player_laser_cut.ai

wifi_music_player_laser_cut.pdf

Visit the littleBits project page for more DIY project ideas.

Laser cut all the pieces using our attached cut template [Wiifi Music Player Laser Cut].

Feel free to alter these files as you see fit. You will see in the file that some pieces a cut from hardboard, and others are cut from plywood.

First, glue the the plywood pieces to their corresponding hardboard pieces. These panels will become the front side and back side of the music box. We used the plywood to cover up the unfinished look of the hardboard. Next, glue up the rest of the box. However, don’t glue the back side on yet, as you will need to open it frequently in the next steps.

Cut the leather into a long strip. It should measure 33 inches by 2 inches.

Punch holes on the leather strip.

Wrap the leather strip around the music box and mark where the holes are on the sides of the music box on the leather. Then punch holes where you marked.

Note: when wrapping the leather, we made sure the end of the leather strip ended up on the bottom of the music box so that the edge was not visible. Also, be sure to leave enough room to create a small handle on top of the music box.

We glued the strip down first, making sure to leave space for the handle. Then we secured it down further with nuts and bolts.

See the circuit diagram in the image gallery and in the PDF [wifi music player circuit diagram] below.

Set up your cloudBit if you haven’t already. You can find information about how to do this here: littlebits.cc/cloudstart.

You will also need to load a few songs/sounds onto the SD card in your MP3 player. You may need an SD card adapter to do this. Test out your circuit by pressing the button on the front and also by pressing the Cloud Control button on your phone or computer. If the MP3 player is in “next” mode, the song should advance to the next every time you send a signal.

Use littleBits Adhesive Shoes to stick the modules inside the music player box.

Note: You should stick the button in the center of the box first to determine the placement of the rest of the modules.

In “next” mode, when the MP3 Player module receives a signal either through the cloudBit or from the button, it will skip from one song to the next. The sound will play out through the speaker module.

For the custom alarm clock function, the MP3 Player is set to “once” mode, and we set the alarm to play birds chirping at 7am with IFTTT’s Date & Time Channel.