Troubleshooting the Spectacle Sound Kit

Sensors Sound & Audio
1

Hi,

I recently purchased the Spectacle Sound Kit to make a basic “push button, get sound” toy for my kid. Before complicating things with the button board, I wanted to just get the Audio Board up and running. I followed the Audio Board hookup guide verbatim, but cannot get any audio to play out of the speaker.

One of the downsides of such an accessible ecosystem is an inability to troubleshoot the individual boards. Any tips or guidance would be greatly appreciated before throwing in the towel and RMAing.

Here are some steps I’ve taken/observations made for debugging:

  • The audio file is named 00.ogg and was exported to OGG Vorbis using Audacity as per the guide. I can play the audio on other devices

  • The hamburger speaker is on and able to play audio from other audio sources

  • The Director Board enters programming mode successfully and reports successful programming (I think). It gives me 8 flashes after programming, but maybe it should give 10?

  • I’ve switched the included TRRS cables around in case there was a dead cable.

  • The microSD is FAT32 formatted

  • The audio board has 1 solid red LED and 1 flashing red LED

  • When resetting the boards, I hear a pop from the speaker indicating that there is at least a closed circuit and no loose wires or broken traces

I’m having trouble figuring out if my failure is between the PC and the director, the director and the audio board, the SD card and the audio board, or the audio board and the output speaker. Is there any way to start crossing things off the list?

I’m happy to provide pictures if that would help, but it is set up exactly as in the Hookup Guide. I’ve unplugged and reassembled multiple times to hopefully rule out “being an idiot”.

Thanks,

Doug

2

Hi Doug,

I think the issue here may be related to the Director Board not taking the program properly. You should be seeing 10 distinct blinks of the STAT LED on the Director Board after programming. Make sure your Director Board is in Programming Mode and you have the volume turned all the way up on the device you are using to program the Spectacle board and have no other audio programs open. In my experience, it sometimes takes a couple of tries but you should be seeing those 10 blinks after the program has uploaded successfully.

Try re-uploading and watch to make sure you see the 10 blinks and if, after verifying the program is uploaded, you are still having trouble playing audio, let us know and we can troubleshoot further.

3

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the help, and sorry for the delay getting back to you over the holidays.

I’ve tried swapping TRRS cables around and installing from 2 PCs and one smartphone, all with volume maxed out. When I hit the “Install” prompt, the director board continues it’s 3x blink indicating it is still in programming mode. After about a minute, it blinks 10x. But, it will also blink 10x after 1 minute even with no cables connected, so my assumption is that there is some kind of time-out that is kicking in.

Ultimately, it sounds like your assessment that the Director Board is at fault is correct. No matter what I do, I cannot get it to react to the installation.

Please let me know if you have any suggested next steps.

Thanks again for the help.

4

Hi again Doug,

No need to apologize. We’re all a bit behind from the holidays! Now, for your issue, does resetting the Director Board after you see the 10 blinks help at all? The process should be: Place Director Board in Programming Mode, upload via the App, watch for 10 blinks and then reset the Director Board to run the code. Even when you’re seeing the 10-blinks with no cables connected, does resetting the board run the code or does it simply go back to a weird state where it can randomly blink the STAT LED 10 times?

5

Resetting the board results in a single green LED that blinks every 1 second + the red pwr led. As best as I can tell, no code is running.

6

Hmm, at this point I think it would be best to try a replacement Director Board. If you purchased the Sound Kit directly from SparkFun, please fill out the form on [this page and in the “Why do you want an RMA?” box, fill in a brief description of the issue and include a link to this thread. We’ll follow up with further information about the process.](Return Policy - SparkFun Electronics)

7

Hi again,

I received the replacement board, and there’s some progress, but not a lot.

Now here’s what happens

  1. I enter programming mode by pressing RST for 3 seconds, also pressing PROG for another 3 seconds, releasing RST and waiting 3 seconds, releasing PROG.

  2. The board now gives a series of 3 flashes indicating that it is in programming mode

  3. I install the script (Audio Board: play file 01 when channel 1 is activated > Virtual Board: Random input on channel 1)

  4. I get 10 flashes! Yay, the code is accepted

  5. Press RST

  6. After restart, I get single flashes every 1 seconds for about 10s

  7. Director board starts flashing 5x, wait 1s, flash 5x, wait 1s, continuing

KO) Nothing is playing from the Audio Board

  1. I hit reset again

  2. I get 2x flashes, wait 1s, 2x flash, wait 1s, 2x flash, wait 1s, 3x flash, wait 1s, 3x flash, wait 1s (acting like it’s in programming mode again)

  3. I hit reset again

  4. 1x flash, wait 1s, 1x flash, wait 1s, continuing

I have no idea what any of these codes mean. Is there a reference or something that can provide some insight?

Please let me know what you think the next step should be.

Thanks,

Doug

8

Bump. Anything?

9

I’m having the same issue with mine! I had successfully programmed it once but wanted to make an update to the sound and LED programming. However, now my director board:

  1. I get 10 flashes! Yay, the code is accepted

  2. Press RST

  3. After restart, I get single flashes every 1 second for about 10s.

Any guide or advice?