The 8-bit Jukebox is a chiptune music box powered by littleBits’ new Arduino module. The module is programmed with 4 different songs that playback with a retro, video-game-styled 8-bit sound.
How it Works
To select which song you would like to play, just insert one of the 4 song cartridges into a slot on top of the box. Embedded in each cartridge is a light filter with a different opacity. Inserting the cartridge triggers an LED to shine light through the filter and onto a light sensor. The Arduino reads the light value from the light sensor and determines which song cartridge was inserted.
The Circuit
The left side of the diagram shows the song cartridge card reader, and on the right, are the audio controls and the speaker. The envelope and delay knobs can be adjusted change how the music sounds.
Build it!
The housing for the jukebox was made with laser cut cherry wood and MDF. Find the template files on the littleBits project page.
For the song cards, we experimented with translucent materials in our shop, including regular printer paper and the silver anti-static bags that our modules ship in. The important part was to make sure that each card had a different level of translucency.
The Arduino Sketch
Check out the sketch here. The code is programmed to play 4 different songs that correspond to four different analog input values (from the light sensor). To create the songs, this sketch uses the pitches.h library. The individual notes for each song are stored in an array called melody. The durations for each note (i.e. quarter note, half note, etc…) are stored in an array called noteDurations. A value of 8 produces an eighth note, a value of 4 produces a quarter note, and so on. Interested in translating sheet music into values like we did in sketch? Check out this great tutorial from GarageLab.
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
