Hi lovely Core Electronics team! I am in need of advice/help. My dad -who was a pilot for his whole life - has fallen to the dementia devil and is now in a locked ward in an aged care unit. However he is in early stages and has been building a model spaceshuttle (complete) and now building a launch pad and rockets from things we are bringing into the ward. He’s built things his whole life so its the only thing he wants to do. He now almost has a complete tool cupboard as we have slowly stocked him up over 12 months. I’m talking saws, power drills, wood, etc. All in this small room in a aged care home. The staff don’t seem to mind. 
We are getting to the end stages of the project which has taken over 12 months. I suggested we could put a little speaker box hidden in the stand so when he presses a button he could hear an audio recording of a spaceshuttle taking off. - Simple you’d think? Not for me. I have looked on amazon and found the cheap “greeting card” type things - but am just unsure. what i need is a recordable thing so i can put the audio file on, a push button to make it play and speaker so it can be heard - dad can design how he has them appearing out from the model. Can I buy a ready made kit from Core Electronics - or could someone help me build a simple one please? I’m pretty handy with stuff - but am not that interested in this becoming a hobby !! Thanks everyone so much in advance. Katie
Perhaps something like these
Or perhaps
Speakers would also be required, and maybe an amplifier, depending on how much noise you want.
Hi Robin - thanks for your response. So if I purchased the first one - the DFPlayer - can you please tell me what other parts I’d need to complete a unit (speaker, battery, and pushbutton?). Then would I wire them altogether? Sorry for my ignorance? And how would i “get” the audio on there? Thanks Katie
The product description of the DF Player has links to a number of documents, including a user guide covering how to connect it to a micro controller, or as a standalone switch operated device. Dad should be able to understand it.
If this is all the electronics to be used then you could power it with either a 3xAA battery box, or a single cell LiPo battery, but you would need to consider how long you need to be able to run before replacing/recharging the batteries. If using rechargeable batteries, you will also need a charger.
Switches come in many different sizes, from 3x6 mm to 12x12 mm are fairly common. Larger switches can also be fitted with coloured caps to distinguish different functions. How nimble are the fingers operating the device?
To fully configure the DF Player takes 20 switches, but in this case you will probably only need a few. You will still need the resistors that form the voltage divider that drives the inputs, and a breadboard and jumper wires to get it setup, at least in the initial testing. Designing a circuit board to mount all the components is another exercise.
The DF Player is capable of driving earphones, or speakers up to 3W. This is easily audible, about the same volume as a small portable radio.
Sound files are stored on a micro SD card. The directories/folders need to be named 00, 01, 02, etc, and the sound files are stored in the folders, and named 001.mp3, 002.mp3, 003.mp3 and so on. Set up the SD card on your PC.
Download the user guide and have a read. You can search the store for components when you have a clearer idea of the project.
Good luck!
Thanks -wow - I think this is out of my league. Unfortunately dad has dementia so he is struggling with even basics now. I will see if I can find someone to build it for me. Thanks anyway.
Katie
