[mikkojay]

Nice links! I have had great success with the TDA amplifiers. If you hook them up to a decent quality speaker and a sufficient (2 amp+) supply, you will be AMAZED at the sound quality. I hooked one channel of a TDA7297 to a single one of these:

The sound just floored me! These can be had for $30 a pair shipped.
This brings me to comment, "why do so many haunters neglect quality sound?"
I believe that money spent on quality audio is very well spent. I see people spend hundreds on prop controllers, pneumatics, latex props, etc, only to finish off their scene with dime-store quality audio. The items you have linked to are the best of both, high quality sound and a very low price- awesome!
Thanks, Mike

 

[mikkojay]

They spent $50,000+ developing a prop that sells, complete, for over $15,000 but ran out of money when it came time to do the sound. It sounds like they sent somebody out to agitate a dog inside a fence and record it on cassette tape.

That's a great example- I think you know what I mean. It is not that people consciously want to neglect sound, it is that it is more of an afterthought after all their money, time, and resources have been exhausted on the rest. A really freaky environment can be created with dim light, great sounds, and virtually no props whatsoever.
-Mike

 

[mikkojay]

Hey Fletch, do you know if the MP3 board remembers its last volume setting at power up, or does it begin playing at a 50% volume level?
The reason I ask (and that this topic is dear to my heart) is because I have been on a quest for various small audio players for quite some time.
I just recently tried one of these- it is called a "music angel". They can be found on Ebay for about $7 as well.

I was able to make it play at power up by disconnecting the internal battery, then I would leave the on/off switch in the ON position. Then, when power is applied to the USB mini 5v connector, it would begin to play at 50% volume- after a small delay similar to the one you mentioned above. The sound is not stellar, but it would probably be OK for a very small prop.

I just found a seller of the MP3 board you mentioned on AliExpress that sells them in lots of 10 for $19.55, so under $2 a piece!
I have bought other items from AliExpress before with good luck, so I went ahead and ordered some of these just now.
I have a couple "Perfect Storm" sound-sensitive lightning boxes, and I think these modules would be great for streaming a continuous thunderstorm audio track from a tiny little package.
Thanks again for finding them!
-Mike

 

[mikkojay]

If you are going to use Arduino for more precise control, I have had much luck with the Catalex Module.
The seller offers a small discount if you buy 5 of them, making them just under $6 with free shipping.

This is the audio module I am using in the FourBanger project, so if you download the main zip package, you will find the Arduino source code I use to call the major functions of the module via serial control. I also threw together some info (manual, .Net test app, Arduino code) into a zip and dropped it HERE.

It sounds like you have some fun projects going on!
Thanks, Mike