20W Voice Playback Module, PEMENOL DC 6-35V Sound Board USB Downloadable Music Player 24-bit DAC Output MP3 WAV Support TF Card 32GB Max for Broadcast Device Electronics Present Electronics DIY

After reading many reviews, I was initially confused by the conflicting reports about its functions, how it plays files, how content should be loaded, and which file types it supports. In my experience, this board is very functional and easy to use. I loaded my MP3 files from my Windows 11 Pro PC onto an 8 GB micro SD/TF card, numbered the files starting at 00001 and up, and made sure they met the required format. I initially had a power issue due to reversed polarity from a scavenged power supply, but once that was corrected, everything worked exactly as expected. One side of a momentary 12-volt push-button switch (2-pin, normally off) is wired to the corresponding trigger location on the board, while the other side of each switch is soldered to a single negative wire running from the board. With the DIP switches set to 1-off, 2-on, and 3-off, pressing a button plays the corresponding file once and then stops. Some have criticized the sound quality, but I think that depends greatly on the speaker you're using. For my project it was acceptable with a small 4 ohm speaker. The instructions mention sound files sampling frequency (KHz) : 8/11.025/12/16/22.05/24/32/44.1/48. I resampled all of my files to 44.1 with no issues. IMO - If you want better quality use a better speaker. This board is small and the soldering was tough on old eyes but it works great for me, and I’m ordering another one to have on hand for a future project.

Works good! The PDF file linked/provided on the Amazon product page is pretty good documentation IMO. I used Win 10, micro-USB cable, cheap earbuds & a cheap 32GByte TF micro-SD flash card (see pic). Win 10 recognized the flash card & I loaded 4 MP3 songs & 2 short wav sounds. Numbered them 00001.mp3 & 00005.wav, etc. When I disconnected the USB from the PC, I plugged it into a power-block to power the board back up. Listening with earbuds, I can hear each file played when requested by shorting the wire from the ground pin to the trigger pin. In the pic you can see I used a handy 10-Ohm resistor, but you could use a simple wire to trigger. In my project I plan to use pushbuttons to trigger the files. I didn't check the speaker-output or the power-input or the volume control. Notes: 1) There is PDF file documentation, as of today it is linked on the Amazon page, you may have to scan carefully to see the link. 2) You can power the board from USB, but if the USB cable is attached to Windows, the board will be in flash-drive mode, so you must switch to a USB power block, after you have copied your files in place. 3) The 3 DIP-switches select 8 different trigger modes. Read the docs carefully to decide which one you need. I tested all the discrete (button) modes, but not serial/UART modes. Lots of fun for Arduino fans. 4) I used a cheap 32-GigaByte TF/micro-SD card & I did not format it, so it seems to me the board handles this huge capacity standard format ok, but of course I have only loaded up a few MBs so far, so there may be some limits on capacity. I was able to play both MP3 & WAV files.

Had a little trouble at the start. Could not get mp3 files to play, but that could be my files. Converting the files to wav worked. The headphone jack seems to work with my 12v source and USB power. It wasn't like 100% easy, but it's not the worst time I've ever had in my whole life. 8/10 lol.

Worked perfectly for my Halloween project and it's pretty loud... Loudness can be subjective. If you had this turned up in a 10 by 10 room people could talk over it without yelling. But in that situation, if you were trying to have a conversation. It would be a little annoyingly loud. You're not going to throw a party with this, but it's loud for its size.

The snijder library was p-ing me off. I found the 'datasheet' on the web (it's even amazon's). I made my own UART (serial) routines, pretty easy. Include everything in the checksum. If placed in the microSD root, the files have to be 5digit with leading zeros (00010.mp3, 00002.wav, etc). I haven't tried using 'path' -- assuming that's for accessing content in file folders. It can be pretty danged loud with 12V. It is a 3V device, so level-shift to the Input (RX) if you're using a 5V dev board. A resistor divider will do well. There's a normally high 'BUSY' pin - goes low when it's playing a track (HI, idle; LO, busy). They probably should have soldered pins for the arduino-kids. https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/A1qP5OvjqpL.pdf

The most frustrating aspect is the lack of documentation. I can find nothing on the internet in way of a manual. I've wasted hours trying to get a sound out of the audio or speaker port. I can plug the board into my Mac and it recognizes it, but what format should I use on the SD card? I've tried them all, MSDOS, MACOS, EXFAT, etc. with no success. I've loaded MP3 files with the naming convention with no success. Is it too much to ask PEMENOL to publish a manual? I don't like returning hobby boards, but I've wasted way too much time on it. My next move is to buy a board that has a manual.