Voice alerts test build

OK, there have been small but maybe crucial changes since then. Please update to the most recent nightly (04-04-2017),as soon as it is available tomorrow, it will have the most recent voice code.

OK will do and do some testing this weekend hopefully...

upgraded to the latest nightly but could only upgrade the firmware cause the library keeps giving the Bad State Machine error so i reloaded the library i was currently using..

Marty, thank you.
I finally hear voices. Lol



However, my dfplayer starts playing when I turn on the tx, and seems to run thru every allert nonstop.
I've tried switching the tx rx lines but no dif.
Do I have something configured wrong in my tx?

Most likely a short between pin 10 and 9 or 11 on the dfplayer module

Any updates to the voice alerts in the latest nightly build 4-7-17 ? Currently running the 4-4-17 build..

No, nothing changed since then. Have your problems disappeared?

I believe so but plan on doing some more testing later today if wind lays down a bit...

I finally finished my internal build of the DFPlayer for voice alerts in the Devo 12e. I was happy to be working in my Devo 12e because it gave me lots of space to try different placement. The solution I've come up is based on a desire to have a fully functional system that can be easily maintained within the normal system. So in addition to the ability to use the Deviation voices, I wanted to be able to edit or replace voice files without opening the TX, I wanted to be able to listen privately if needed, and I wanted to be able to use the PPM port for other purposes when appropriate. As a bonus, I also wanted to be able to see when the board was active.

The solution included these basic parts:

• DFPlayer Mini MP3 Player
• Pololu Step Up/Step Down power supply, Pololu part S7V8A, set to 4.2v
• Speaker (Knowles 2403-260-00001, 15mm x11mm micro speaker)
• Headphone Jack (mono -- I tried a stereo jack but it didn't seem to work)
• USB Jack (I chose a Micro USB female)
• Indicator LED (I figured Blue to match my sticks!)
• plenty of 30 gauge wire and Micro JST 2.0 PH 2-Pin Connector, M/F pairs

In post #61032 I posted the design for a micro speaker enclosure. The enclosure with speaker installed is just 15mm long x 11 mm wide x 11mm deep. After staring at the insides of my Devo I realized there is a cavity just under the antenna on the front that normally houses just the buzzer. The speaker enclosure fit nicely on the back of that board. That area has about 15mm clearance; the front has about 9mm clearance, so the enclosure would not fit on the front (I may try a new speakerbox). I mounted it with double-sided tape. I added the Blue LED to the same board and it nicely illuminates the Devention logo on the front when the voices are silent.


I struggled a bit for placement of the headphone port and USB port. Installing a USB port means I can connect to my PC and edit the SD card on the DFPlayer when I need to edit voices or other files, and it saves me from having to position the DFPlayer board to gain SD card access. While there is quite a lot of real estate in the back shell, I wanted to keep the wiring short and out of the way of any other functionality. I ended up putting them next to the Game port, and this also allowed me to easily tap the TX line. I chose to use the Switched TX line from the Game port. Under normal circumstances the switched TX line and TX line are connected, and if I insert a plug into the Game Port, the switched port is disconnected. This means I can use PPM In/Out without worrying about my voice module. Of course that also means that I cannot hear the voices when the jack is in use... which may be an issue if you are using a head tracker or perhaps a ppm-connected TX module (like the LRS). In the short term I won't have that issue, and I will deal with it when it comes up.


Once I had positioned the speaker, LED, and headphone and USB jacks, I just needed to position the DFPlayer and power regulator. Again, In the 12e there is lots of room and it's convenient to put them near the center down by the battery compartment.


The last item to connect was power. For simplicity I chose to install a header into the debug port Vcc and GND holes. In retrospect it would make sense to use something polarized, and the combined height (off the board) of the header and connectors actually touches the back shell. Not the best approach, but workable.


The end result works beautifully. Please let me know if you need more details.

Very nice work..Looks like it came factory installed..

Didn't have any spare time to work on voice, but with the upcoming u7e mod in which I will finally internally mount my dfplayer (I really tried hard to resist... ) I was wondering how voice is working out for you all in daily use? Any other wishes besides the ones posted above? Any bugs that have shown up?

First, it works great. I can't express how nice it is to have my Deviation tx talk to me as I tiny whoop around the house. Hearing the timer countdown and switch setting announcements frees me up to (try to) concentrate on improving my FPV skills.

I'm using the nightly from last week. The only glitchy thing is on my 12e when it binds to my E010 and E011 (reinit). At the end of the screen countdown, the voice stutters and plays "Finished b..Finished Binding". I haven't tried it yet on my 6s and hope to this weekend. If I find any thing else I'll let you know.

Not related to the software, I'm struggling to find a source for a cheap micro SD card. We only use a few megabytes, but the smallest cheapest I can find is 4gb at nearly $4.00 each. Banggood had some at $3. but they sold out. I'd love to find a pile of 512mb or 256mb chips, cuz once it's in the voice module it'll stay there. My quest continues...

Moeder wrote: Didn't have any spare time to work on voice, but with the upcoming u7e mod in which I will finally internally mount my dfplayer (I really tried hard to resist... ) I was wondering how voice is working out for you all in daily use? Any other wishes besides the ones posted above? Any bugs that have shown up?

Haven't been able to fly much but so far all is working well..Only thing i am kinda waiting for is more alert messages for assigning to switches ..Or perhaps the Web based builder you mentioned earlier

Good to hear. Bind voice issue is most likely due to clock stops in the protocol, won't dig into it...
Web voice message builder is very feasible, but I lack of time, php knowledge and a host to do it in a reasonable time. Maybe someone else will jump in. In the meantime I will generate the messages from the spreadsheet above to offer a broad message set in English.

I enjoyed the pictures and description of the 12e install. I have both a 12e and U7e. Is it possible to solder a control wire to the mcu in the 12e like can be done in the U7e? If so what is the pin and does anyone have photos. I have soldered to pins with success so that isn't an issue.

Well, unfortunately the usart pins in devo10/12e are all in use by either trainer port, display, switch inputs or other things.

So reuse the trainer port serial line. That's what the original voice alerts build did, and it should always be an option. It means you can use an external speaker by plugging into the trainer port.

Of course, all current nightly builds support voice commands via trainer output, but for two transmitters we have additional options:

Devo7e-256 (a.k.a. U7E): Solder directly to UART5 pin of MCU
Devo12/S: UART1 output is NOT wired to Trainer port in this model, but rather available on a nice pin header inside - how comfortable...

Is there some reason the pin isn't part of the hardware.ini info? I believe that's the direction we should be taking things if we want to support hardware modders and DIY transmitter boards, something I really want to do.

mwm wrote: Is there some reason the pin isn't part of the hardware.ini info?

It is configured in hardware.ini, it just doesn't use the naming scheme of the rf modules, as we don't have to many options unless we bitbang the output to other pins.
Besides that I agree a rework of a fully configurable hardware.ini where all inputs are set is overdue.