Mp3 Player/USB stick connected to your printer port

Paragon (1121)

02-03-2006, 08:53

Hello all,

Ive got a great idea.
How about connecting your mp3 player or usb stick to your printer port.
You all know these usb/mp3 players that have an additional switch in the wiring to change the volume/song.

Is there a possibility to make these switches interact with an out command when connected with the printer port?

Imagine a usb stick with 10 songs (for a game with 10 levels),
then whenever the player dies, an out command to the printer port makes to current song STOP, and the PLAY again <<

then there is no more need for msx music, just connect the usb/mp3 player to your stereo, and use psg for soundeffects.

Anybody interested in helping me getting this to work????

(I got the idea when Martin (mafcase) told me about a connexion board with some leds on it, connected to his printer port. With some 'out' instructions to the printerport he could make some leds light up. He was even talking about feeding a power source (220V) with it.)

By cax

Prophet (3737)

02-03-2006, 10:43

How'd you control the generic mp3 player ? There are so many various models...

By norakomi

Paragon (1121)

02-03-2006, 16:05

How'd you control the generic mp3 player ? There are so many various models...Like I said, the mp3 player will be controlled through the printer port, using out instructions.
I would have to get in contact with some companies in order to see if they can provide what I need.
I guess I would need some kind of switchboard, that controls the mp3 player.

Can someone tell me some more about the out port of the printer, how does it work, how many pinns are conected to it, .... and martin, if you read this, can you give me some more detail about how your 'led'-connexion works...

At this moment I have only this idea, but if I obtain more details&knowhow about making such a device, I think it would be a very cool and revolutionary devellopment.

By NYYRIKKI

Enlighted (5917)

02-03-2006, 17:58

Most easy way to buid a led display is to take 8 leds and connect flat sides of the leds to printer port pin 14 and connect each of the other legs to pins 2-9. From now on I call the led connected to pin 2 as LED1, pin3 as LED2... pin9 as LED8

To controll the leds, you can use following BASIC program:

10 ?"Press a number of led, you want to switch on/off"
20 OUT&H91,A
30 i=val(input$(1)):ifi=0ori=9goto30elsei=i-1
40 a=axor(2^i):goto20

You can also get 9th led, by using strobe line, but I think, this should get you started.

> I think it would be a very cool and revolutionary devellopment.

"revolutionary" is maybe not the correct word for this. Maybe "good first home project" is more close.

I remember, that I saw back in -84 or -85 an article in a local magazine about "how to controll your home lights on MSX" Unfortunately I don't remember what magazine it was, but it contained some simple relay controll logic connected to printer port. Ofcource this same board could be used to controll MP3 player, electronic lock system or grass irrigator as well.

By NYYRIKKI

Enlighted (5917)

11-03-2006, 20:05

I think, this could be interesting page for you to read:
www.taprk.org/eng/general/cmri.html

By norakomi

Paragon (1121)

11-03-2006, 21:16

Thanks, Im gonna try to contact those guys !

By HansO

Paladin (672)

11-03-2006, 21:42

There are good books and many magazine articles (alas, dutch, but you can read them ) on interfacing the MSX to the outside world via joystick, printerport and home made interfaces in the MSX Info -Books and magazines section

By ibanezman1990

Resident (40)

15-03-2006, 08:04

For the mp3 player you might take a look at http://www.pjrc.com/store/mp3_pcb_kit.html ,
Then solder instead of a play button two wires to a toggle relay. connect the relay to the printer interface.
Just use this interface http://www.funet.fi/pub/msx/mirrors/hanso/hwdoityourself/looplicht.pdf,, and solder instead of leds mini 6V toggle relays and connect one of them to the play button of your mp3-player.
Good-Luck

By NYYRIKKI

Enlighted (5917)

15-03-2006, 15:51

The description in the PDF file is a bit overkill just to controll LED's. I agree, that some resistor between pin14 and LEDs might be good idea, but why all those AND gates and resistors??? It works just fine even without them...

To controll relays this is a whole different story... I don't think, that circuit in the PDF is cabaple to pull relay switces and by connecting them directly to MSX printer port, you'll propably burn your MSX. Note that MSX printer port output is not designed for massive power consumption. Maybe someone with more experience can give you tips, how to do that. I think, that you'll need to use triacs in front of the relays.

By cax

Prophet (3737)

15-03-2006, 17:06

I still don't understand one thing - do you want to build a single device for your personal usage only or you are targeting various mp3 players so anyone of us can build the similar device himself and use it with the game you are going to program ?

By norakomi

Paragon (1121)

15-03-2006, 19:42

Maybe its a better idea to have this mp3 player connected to the cardrigde port of the msx???????

@cax:
I was more thinking like this: Konami buildin an scc chip in their ROMs.
I would like to have a mp3 player for my game.
I was thinking about creating some cardridges with the game on it.
And maybe those cardridges could have a mp3 player connected to them.

At this moment the game works with scc, meaning that if the game would be released on floppy that one still needs to enter an scc cardridge in their slot for music support.

If however, the game would be released on cardridge which has a mp3 player inside, then one could easily connect their audio cable to the cardridge, connecting it to their stereo and have great sound.

So either a game on floppy and the audio(mp3) via printer port
or
the game on cardridge and the audio(mp3) via the cardridge

Because it is very possible to have an mp3 player connected to your msx, this could really make games interesting, because then the music can be really studio quality without slowing down the game at all (just one or two out instructions to play/stop the song)