The project goal is to make a wireless sound effect trigger system for use on stage, to let actors/performers control sound from the stage (preferably without the audiece noticing…)
This project consists of two parts, the software and the hardware.
For the hardware my plan is, as always, to make it as simple and cheap as possible. I plan to disassemble a wireless gamepad and connect external buttons (like this) that could be placed anywhere (i.e. the tips of the four left hand fingers to be discretely pressed by the thumb, or hidden in the clothing). I was thinking on using a keyboard button interface used in mame cabinets (like this), but since I also want wireless the wireless joypad seemed simpler. I will try this with my cheap wired joypads before buying a wireless one.
For the software I have written a kind of ugly program in pyGame, a python wrapper around SDL. I chose this because (1) it has sound and joypad support right from scratch (and great example programs!), (2) it is sufficiently lightweight and platform independent and (3) I have looked into it before not so long ago and feel quite comfortable using it. The current program is quite ugly, with hard coded playlists of sounds mapped to the buttons. I will write a better software, but since I can adjust it to my needs it is sufficient for now.
Here are the files that I use. Works for now. Contact me if you need any help using it. The playlist syntax should be pretty straight forward.
- pyTrigger.py – the program
- playlists.txt – the configuration