Last update on 25/04/2020

Recycle MP3 Player

Introduction

This page describes an idea how to recycle an old MP3 player.

I had an MP3 player with broken screen and also a low quality speaker from a low cost market. So, I decided to reuse both of them and to make a Fairy Tail Speaker for my daughter. It could be a good alternative to musical books or children musical phones.

What I needed:

  • MP3 player

  • speeker

  • USB cable

  • several push buttons

  • 7-pin connector

  • USB battery (optionnal)

Put Things Together

The idea is very simple:

  • put the things together

  • add some buttons to be able to navigate between stories

  • add a connector for supply and for MP3 download

The diagram of connections: uml diagram

Inside of my Old MP3 player:


I soldered buttons and fixed them to the speaker case:


The 7-pin connector which I use in every DIY project. I cut a mini USB cable on two parts: one part goes from an USB battery to the connector, another one goes from the connector to the player:


I added some stickers to reconize the commands:


And the final look after a month of use:


Conclusion

So, the Fairy Tail Speaker works! I download up to 10 stories at the same time to facilitate navigation by buttons.

I won also a Li-ion battery from the MP3 player which can be reused in another DIY project.