Broad questions, thanks for help

[scienceuser]

I have a few questions and I hope I don't step on any toes asking them. I am willing to learn and I know most of these questions will be revealed by simply digging in and reading for myself and I have no problem with that. I would, however, like to become active on a forum, dealing with the issues I'm bringing up. So, in advance I would like to say that I'm new to this area of expertise and appreciate every bit of information you're willing to offer.


I'm attempting to build something and I would love if any of you could point me in the right direction for the information I will need.

I would like to build a very small, inexpensive MP3 player. The memory wouldn't need to exceed one gig and it doesn't need a display, or anything fancy. More importantly, I would also like to build a trigger, or switch that would control the player. So, something that would trigger, for instance, the next track, or the previous track.

I'm attempting to build this for my younger brother, who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Yes, the "Steven Hawking disease", or " Lou Gehrig's disease". Since his movements are extremely limited (he is only able to wiggle some toes and fingers) he isn't able to do much on his own. He has told me that he would like to have the ability to scroll through tracks on an MP3 player. This is basically impossible with any MP3 player on the market and it seems that I'll have to build him one from scratch. The problem is, he can't hold it in his hand or use his finger to depress the small buttons. The only way I've been able to think of is some sort of small lever that he could use to go forward and backward through the tracks. I would like to attach the MP3 player to the arm of his chair, then I would be able to strap his arm to the chair and he could then have the ability to use this small lever.

I know I might get some responses of pity, or maybe even some trolls, but I just want to say that I'm doing this because he wants some sense of independence, even if it's a very small amount. In his life, he relies on other people almost 100% and so the small things really count. I'm determined to help him achieve this and in the words of Jeff Goldblum "Life, um, uh, finds a way".

Thanks!

[scienceuser]

So far I've found this: MP3 Trigger v2 - SparkFun Electronics


Seems like it might be possible to attach some sort of switch to it and viola!

I really hope it's that simple.

[singa]

Hi, It seems life has answered you or whatever you choose to call it.
This gadget requires that you learn about microcontrollers,interfacing and
programing I think.I have no experience about this but just by reading
about them.There is a learning curve if you want to do this.

Perhaps it might be "easier" if you could employ other type of sensors
like those that can detect brain signals and interface it with a pc tablet
to play mp3 tracks.BTW welcome to the forum. singa

[scienceuser]

I see that this device only accepts a FAT16 microSD flash card. I'm having the hardest time trying to find this!

If anyone could explain why this is such a hard item to find, that would be great.
If anyone could point me to where I can buy them in 1GB size, that would be even better.

Thanks!

[Mooly]

Originally Posted by scienceuser

I see that this device only accepts a FAT16 microSD flash card. I'm having the hardest time trying to find this!

If anyone could explain why this is such a hard item to find, that would be great.
If anyone could point me to where I can buy them in 1GB size, that would be even better.

Thanks!

From your other thread,

FAT16 microSD flash card