I’ve used quite a few of your MP3 triggers and shields before. I recently bought a Qwiic MP3 player and I’m struggling to get it to work properly.
I tried using the manual triggers and it is triggering sporadically and often only playing part of the track.
I tried hooking it up with an arduino and having issues with it not communicating properly.
I don’t have a Qwiic wire so I was using jumpers between 3.3v, gnd, on arduino uno and sda/scl to A4/A5. Have I got this all wrong?
I basically have a small prop which when triggering an rfid sensor combined with a relay should send an input pull-up on arduino low which should play a single MP3 track.
No too complicated but I’m struggling. Can you help?
I think you may have things connected incorrectly if you are just trying to use the trigger pins. You will only want to use the I2C connections if you are using the [Qwiic MP3 Trigger Arduino Library and using the I2C read/write commands from that library.
If you are just trying to toggle the trigger input pins, you will want to connect those directly to the I/O pin on the Arduino you are using (along with 3.3V and Ground) and then drive them LOW to toggle the track and HIGH to end it so you do not have multiple pins pulled low at the same time, causing it to try and play a different track than what you intend. Here is a quick sketch that triggers 4 MP3 tracks for 10 seconds to demonstrate that:
void setup() {
// put your setup code here, to run once:
pinMode(2, OUTPUT);
pinMode(3, OUTPUT);
pinMode(4, OUTPUT);
pinMode(5, OUTPUT);
}
void loop() {
// put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
delay(1000);
digitalWrite(2, LOW);
delay(10000);
digitalWrite(2, HIGH);
delay(1000);
digitalWrite(3, LOW);
delay(10000);
digitalWrite(3, HIGH);
delay(1000);
digitalWrite(4, LOW);
delay(10000);
digitalWrite(4, HIGH);
delay(1000);
digitalWrite(5, LOW);
delay(10000);
digitalWrite(5, HIGH);
delay(1000);
}
Sorry for the confusion here. I wrote that up really quickly as a demonstration. You do not need to hold the pin low for the track to continue. It will play through the track once triggered or until another trigger pin is activated by pulling it low. I just added the delays so the next track would not start for 10 seconds. If you trigger a new track, that will interrupt the current track and will start the track associated with that trigger pin.
If you want to use the I2C commands without a Qwiic cable, just solder some headers or wire to the GND, 3.3V, SDA and SCL pins on the Qwiic MP3 Trigger and connect them to the corresponding pins on your Arduino. From there, you will want to use the Arduino Library I linked in my previous post to control the Qwiic MP3 Trigger. We have some examples in that library to get you started and we have the Command Set listed with descriptions in [this section of the Qwiic MP3 Trigger Hookup Guide.
I hope this helps clear up any confusion here and gets you started using the I2C library. Reply to this post if you continue to have issues or have other questions about the Qwiic MP3 Trigger.](Qwiic MP3 Trigger Hookup Guide - SparkFun Learn)
3.3v to 3.3v, gnd to gnd, sda to A4 and scl to a5 on uno. Using the wire library but it isn’t communicating properly.
After that I tried manually triggering and it would play sometimes but when it did it would only play a segment of the track and I wasn’t triggering anything else.
Hmm, the Qwiic MP3 Trigger might be defective but before we reach that conclusion, can you please take a few photos of the top and bottom of the Qwiic MP3 Trigger and the circuit you have it in? Please do your best to make sure they are clear and well-lit. Also, what example(s) are you trying to use from the MP3 Trigger library?
Leave that with me…I’ll send some photos tomorrow, it’s nearly midnight here.
But I’ve got to say, customer service here is pretty shocking!
I started out with an email three days ago…before that I tried live chat…now I’m on a forum (as the previous methods directed me to) and because of the time delay being on the other side of the world coupled with getting one reply a day its going to take a VERY long time to get resolution here.
I’ve actually ordered a different part to use instead because I need this live in a customer facing prop in the next couple of weeks and I have plenty of other things to be working on.
There are two points I’d like you guys to take from this…
Bring back your tech email desk
supply hookup diagrams for each of the iterations of uses (ie arduino i2c, arduino manual trigger, other dev board i2c, other manual trigger etc). That would have answered my question to begin with but now three days after asking the question I have to prove to you that I did exactly what I worked out through research was the correct thing to do.
I understand your frustration here. We are still working out some kinks in this transition to try and make the process more efficient and less taxing for our customers. Once you are able to take a few photos of your Qwiic MP3 Trigger, we’ll be able to identify what the issue is and hopefully, resolve your issue quickly and satisfactorily.
If you have any comments, questions or concerns about the SparkFun Forums, please send a private message to the [TS-Feedback Moderator and we would be happy to help address any concerns about this process.
I’m wondering if the qwiic mp3 board is drawing too much current from the 3.3v rail. The Arduino’s regulator is rated at 150mA max. Can you try powering the qwiic mp3 from a separate 3.3v supply?
I’m wondering if the qwiic mp3 board is drawing too much current from the 3.3v rail.
Unless you've damaged the board or connected it incorrectly, it should not draw 'too much' current from the 3.3 volt rail.
Can you try powering the qwiic mp3 from a separate 3.3v supply?
Yes, you can. Please see the [[hookup guide](https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/qwiic-mp3-trigger-hookup-guide#hardware-overview) for information on how to power the Qwiic MP3 Trigger with an external supply.
Please send some photos or links to photos of your setup so we can identify what the issue you’re having is. We really can’t do much else for you without those.](Qwiic MP3 Trigger Hookup Guide - SparkFun Learn)