CD changer emulator for Audi radios on MK ATtiny13. CD changer emulator - can you make it yourself? Digital CD changer emulator yatour

Music is not mathematics and arguing about its quality is practically useless. Especially with a professional. Go prove that Yngwie Malmsteen plays such and such a passage better than Stevie Ray Vaughan. Pipes. These will be subjective opinions. But sound quality is a real scientific discipline that can even be measured. Therefore, it’s easy to say that this sound is better and cleaner, while that one is dirty and soapy. And if necessary, prove this with numbers, that is, with a frequency response. What are we talking about? About car sound, or more precisely, about a device called a “CD changer emulator.” But first, let's briefly look at car audio formats.

In the photo, a CD changer for a car is a convenient and necessary thing for a music lover

Car audio formats

The highest quality and purest audio signal is reproduced by a vinyl record. Yes, an ordinary gramophone record. And CDs are still very, very far from achieving its quality. Of course, a lot depends on the player, preamplifier, power amplifier and speakers. But today we are not talking about them. It became inconvenient to carry records in cars, reel-to-reel tape recorders were also too big, and then a new miracle of comfort of the mid-20th century appeared - the cassette tape recorder. The compact device quickly took root in the car, and it’s not going to give up yet, because just a couple of years ago the wonderful Chinese company Changhe produced minicars with a standard radio and cassette recorder. So that. The Chinese know a lot about sound quality.

Despite this, at the end of the century the public began to switch en masse to CDs. Their sound quality was inferior to good cassettes, but the compacts were convenient, small, easy to store, but accumulated very quickly, because they had one big problem - a limited amount of information that could be recorded on them. The same 90 minutes of sound as on the Agfa or TDK cassette. The glove compartments were filled to capacity, the discs got tangled, scratched and became unusable due to damage and cracks.

Video review and installation of the YATOUR YT-M06 emulator

To somehow mitigate the situation, car radios began to be equipped with CD changers. They solved the problem of changing discs that could be charged in advance, and after the disc ran out, the next one was played. But changers are not holy devices either. In some car models they took up a good half of the trunk. It’s good if it’s the trunk of an Opel Senator, but if it’s a tiny Toyota Yaris... Then the question arose about using real computer digital audio formats in cars. This would provide maximum compactness with substantial amounts of information.

There are only three digital audio formats:

sound without compression and without loss of quality (WAV, AIFF);
compressed sound, but without loss of sound quality (APE, FLAC);
compressed and lossy audio formats (mp3, ogg).

CDs had the same sound quality as uncompressed and lossless sound. Therefore, the WAV format remains the most voluminous and highest quality digital sound. The FLAC format is slightly inferior in quality, but the MP3 format has become the champion in popularity. It can be compressed to the extreme and then the sound will be greatly reduced in frequency, or it can have quite acceptable compression. Thus, the quality of MP3 is assessed by the size of the data stream, which is measured in kbit/s. The maximum value is 320 kbit/s. It is digital audio recording formats that have made it possible to reduce the linear dimensions of storage media while preserving a large amount of musical information.

CD changer emulator

After the entry of digital audio formats into the market, changes also occurred in car players. Almost all modern radio tape recorders can read the MP3 format, which made it possible to abandon bulky containers with CDs and CD changers, which took up an unreasonably large amount of space. For comparison, one CD compressed into MP3 format takes up only 250-300 MB on a digital storage device - flash memory or MP3 player. It would seem that the issue with bulky and clumsy CDs has been resolved. But the problem remains with how to adapt car radios that are designed for listening to CDs. Their control scheme does not have options for managing digital media; they can only flip through and play tracks on CDs. Of course, you can connect digital media through an additional parallel input, aux, but then you will have to control both the standard radio and the digital additional player. And this causes additional inconvenience - extra cords, extra power, extra devices.

To solve this problem for standard radios that do not support the MP3 format, a device was developed that connects to the radio, and it defines it as a CD changer with all the capabilities for changing discs, changing tracks, and full playback control, which is no different from CD management.

The emulator is connected quite simply using the attached diagram, and all the work can be done with your own hands. The YATOUR YT-M06/M07 emulator, for example, supports 999 tracks of any digital format. Folders on digital media are marked like disks - CD1, CD2, etc. Each disk can store 999 tracks, and the number of virtual disks is limited only by the capabilities of the standard radio. Basically, radios of Toyota cars, VAG alliance cars, Mercedes, Honda, Chevrolet, support playback of up to 99 such virtual CDs. Moreover, for YATOUR emulators you can buy additional digital media that are connected to it via USB or via the analog aux input. Thus, by installing an emulator adapter, you can preserve the original standard head radio and provide it with all the modern functions and capabilities of the latest devices. And the sound quality of music in the car is now up to the owner. The standard radio allows you to equip the interior with any speakers with any sound density.

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The device is designed to use standard Audi radios as an audio amplifier. The radio activates the amplifier's AUX input only when a CD changer is connected to it, the role of which will be performed by this emulator. This device was tested with an Audi Concert radio, but will also work with other models (for example, Chorus, Symphony), since they have the same data exchange protocol.

The circuit is very simple: its basis is the ATtiny13 microcontroller. The microcontroller is powered through a 78L05 stabilizer. Reverse polarity protection using 1n4148 diode.

The printed circuit board is small in size - only 17x26 mm. The assembled device looks like this:

The emulator is connected to the CD changer connector as in the picture below:

If desired, inside the radio, on its printed circuit board, you can identify the corresponding contacts by dialing and solder to them, placing the emulator inside the case. If the device is correctly assembled and connected, after power is applied to the radio and the “CD” button is pressed, inscriptions will appear on its display, indicating that the radio has recognized the emulator as a CD changer:

Now you can use the radio amplifier by connecting a telephone, MP-3 player, etc. to the AUX input...

A firmware microcontroller with a full version of the firmware for making a CD changer emulator can be ordered here: ordering a firmware microcontroller. Before placing an order, you should test the emulator for functionality with a specific radio model.

In order to check the device in action, in the archive attached to the article there is a demo version of the firmware, which allows you to turn on the emulator 5 times, lasting 1 minute, after which the firmware is blocked, and the MK needs to be re-flashed again, having first completely erased it. Fuses are set as follows:

When flashing fuses, the microcontroller is reset several times, so to prevent the power-on counter from filling up, it is important to first flash the fuses, and then upload the firmware. The attached archive also contains a PCB file in Sprint Layout format.

List of radioelements

Designation	Type	Denomination	Quantity	Note	My notepad
U1	MK AVR 8-bit	ATtiny13	1	SOIC-8 package	To notepad
U2	Linear regulator	L78L05	1	Case TO-92	To notepad
D1	Rectifier diode	1N4148	1		To notepad
C1, C3	Electrolytic capacitor	100uF 16V	2		To notepad
C2, C4	Capacitor	0.1 µF	2	SMD 0805	To notepad
R1, R2	Resistor	470 Ohm	2	SMD 1206 or 0805	To notepad
R3	Resistor

Many car owners are faced with the fact that the standard radio does not correspond to modern realities, cannot work with USB drives, cannot interface with a smartphone, or even simply receive sound from an analog input, etc. But now it’s convenient to store information on portable digital devices, including carrying your favorite musical compositions with you.

Therefore, the standard player either simply stands in its place, so as not to spoil the appearance of the dashboard with its absence, or is used only as a radio receiver.

Of course, replacement with more modern equipment is possible, but the price of the solution does not always meet expectations. Therefore, all kinds of devices and components appear on the market that make it possible to fill the missing functionality of a standard player.

One of these tricky devices is a CD changer emulator.

What is it for?

The essence of the device's operation is as follows:

1. Many radios can work with external CD changers, that is, they have the necessary interface for this (hardware input that accepts a specific data exchange protocol).

2.The emulator connects to this interface and sends a code that corresponds to a real CD changer.

3.The most popular analog signal jack, AUX, is used as the input point for external devices.

4.Now, by transmitting an analog signal from your smartphone (MP3 player, etc.) to the emulator input, you can play music on your native radio without replacing it or radically altering it.

CD changer emulators have one serious drawback - they only work with certain brands of car radios. The fact is that manufacturers use different data exchange standards.

Of course, on the Internet you can find ready-made emulators with various functionality that implement the ability to read files from external USB drives, connect via Bluetooth, etc.

But we will focus on the simplest options, which you can implement with your own hands without much difficulty.

General algorithm

1. It is best to design a unit based on a programmable microcircuit, this way you will be able to implement almost any data exchange protocol, regardless of the brand and manufacturer of the car radio.

2. The microcircuit must send a specially generated response code that corresponds to the real response of the CD changer. The protocol can be found on manufacturers’ websites or on thematic forums.

3.The emulator can be placed behind the radio or even inside it by connecting to the correct output.

4. On the front panel of the radio, you need to find a place for analog input equipment (this can be a 3.5 mm mini-jack connector or analogue).

DIY CD changer emulator for Toyota Corolla

So, directly the diagram of the external node.

Rice. 1. External node diagram

It implements a connection using the AVC-Lan multimedia bus protocol. The unit is connected and recognized as a CD-changer, which has only one disc.

Only AUX is used as input.

The end node might look like this:

Rice. 2. Appearance of the end node

The circuit is based on ATMega8.

To flash it, you will need WinAVR (in the example, version 20040720 was used) and AVR Studio (4.12.462 Service Pack 1 was used).

The raw files (source codes) of the firmware are in the attachment.

The following can be used as ready-made printed circuit board layouts.

Rice. 4. G Complete PCB layouts

In the attachments you can find compiled firmware modified for Avensis 2000-2002.

For Audi Concert CD

In this case, nothing other than the Arduino pro mini board is required.

It can be powered and connected directly inside the radio (due to its miniature size). True, an external programmer is required for flashing the firmware.

Rice. 6. An external programmer is required for firmware

A really working sketch can be found in the attachments. The pinout is indicated in the source code (can be changed if necessary).

The code was created based on reverse engineering of a radio emulator for VolksWagen, AUDI, SKODA, SEAT.

What is it and why is it needed?
If the radio in your car has an input for a CD changer, you can connect a similar adapter to it, it will fool the radio and it will think that a changer is connected to it, and instead of discs, a regular flash drive with music is used. The adapter can be controlled by standard means, including control from the steering wheel.

There have already been several reviews of similar adapters on Muska, the most famous being the Chinese Yatour.

I decided to go an unconventional route, I decided to try the Russian Trioma Flipper 2.
Overall rating - excellent, satisfied with the purchase, recommend.

For details please see below

Preface

I have a simple desire - I want to listen to music in the car. There’s not always something suitable on the radio; I’m tired of carrying around a bunch of CDs and constantly recording them.
In my Peugeot 407 2007 there is a GU (Head Unit), later called simply a radio tape recorder, without USB, bluetooth, and even without the usual AUX input.

If your car has a regular radio that is not connected to controlling any functions of the car, the easiest way is to just buy a new radio. A branded radio with a USB input can be purchased for around a hundred euros. Another amount will have to be spent so that it understands steering wheel controls.

You can hack it and attach an AUX (audio) input, but you will still need a sound source, and you will have to forget about steering wheel controls.

I abandoned the options with FM transmitters a long time ago - I tried a couple of different transmitters, the sound quality was not very good.

There is another way: connect an adapter to the radio at the input of the CD changer, which will allow you to listen to music from flash drives, controlling the adapter using the standard means of the radio, including from the steering wheel. You can find similar adapters from different manufacturers with different parameters and differing in quality, reliability, convenience or price.
The most famous adapter is Yatour. The coolest, perhaps, is the American Grom Audio, which plays, among other things, FLAC. Well, there are a few more devices - Audiolink, Xcarlink, DMC, Dension.

First of all, I started looking at yatour. On Ali it costs from $50. But reviews on the Internet dampened the enthusiasm a little. The adapter has a linear output with a fixed level, so on many radios the volume level is noticeably lower than from the radio. Sometimes unstable operation, freezes, criticality to the presence of foreign files on the flash drive. Number of supported directories - how many disks the radio supports, in my case it is 6.

Yatour does not have an official website; Yatour's websites on the Internet are sellers' websites. And the information has to be collected bit by bit in different places, mostly those who installed it themselves write back, but their experience is not always suitable for your radio.
But I was lucky, I came across a Belarusian seller yatour Sergei aka SSD, who answered all my questions, including the features of working with my radio.
In general, it works, but there may be problems with volume and unstable operation. It was from Sergei that I first heard about Grom Audio and Triome, which he also sells.

Grom Audio on Android, supports FLAC, but there is no model for my car.

But Trioma Flipper 2 interested me. First of all, the ability to adjust the output level (volume). In addition, it has a much more convenient organization of folders and there can be many more of them. And it's much less buggy.
Po borrowed a nice comparison table between Yator and Trioma

Clarification on Yaturs:
1. Extraneous files do not interfere with playback. At least on some firmwares.

So, I made my choice. Trioma!!!
When purchasing such an adapter, be sure to choose the model for your car. More precisely, under the car radio of your car. Different radios may have different connectors for the changer that are not compatible with each other.

Where can I buy Trioma?

On the manufacturer's website there are companies that sell Trioma products. There are no problems with purchasing an adapter in Russia or Belarus. And in Europe, where it’s easier for me to buy and I don’t have to go through customs clearance and pay VAT, prices are twice as high, from 120eur excluding delivery costs.

I started looking for friends who could bring me an adapter from Russia or Belarus. Found!!! I found a friend from Russia who ordered and already brought me an adapter at the beginning of February! Oleg, thank you!

And here is the adapter at my home!

The kit includes the adapter itself, a cable for connecting to the radio and a USB cable.
The length of the cable for connecting to the radio is only 40 cm, which immediately imposes restrictions on the location of the adapter in the car - it has to be placed directly behind the radio, you can’t even reach the glove compartment with it.
The adapter is about the size of a cigarette box. A simple plastic box with a protruding cable for connecting devices or an AUX cable. However, after I connect the adapter to the radio, no one else will see it.
Additionally, I took an AUX cable with a minijack at the end (+500r)

A few more photos

Connector for connecting additional devices, AUX cable or bluetooth adapter

Mom on adapter

Dad on cable

Connector for radio RD4

Do not open, guarantee

Installation

Radio tape recorder RD4, unscrew the two screws with a hexagon and take out the radio tape recorder.

There are two suitable connectors at the back, one of them will not work - checked;)
The photo shows the required connector. It already has wiring for connecting the changer, so we pull out the installed connector and turn on ours.

We connect the cable with the adapter, turn on the ignition and miracle - everything worked immediately!!! Moreover, the volume level is approximately the same as from the built-in CD.

But then we begin to think about where to connect the USB cable. The easiest way in my case turned out to be to route the cable under the steering wheel into the small glove compartment to the left of the driver.

The adapter itself was put into a niche behind the left of the radio. There is not much space there; after installing the radio in place, the adapter was clamped there with cables, so there was no need to secure the adapter additionally.

On all forums they write that the radio requires activation of the changer in the service. For me, everything turned out to be much simpler. After turning on, the radio itself determined that a changer was connected to it and it became possible to select it through the input switch (radio/CD/changer).
As it turned out, activation is needed not for the radio, but for the display so that it can reflect information for the changer.
But six months ago I and the Chinese, well done, sent a display with all the activated functions. So everything worked for me without additional activation.

Adapter operation

Sound quality. Comparable to a CD player. The standard acoustics in the car are quite mediocre, so you definitely won’t hear the difference with the standard CD player in my car.
Switching speed. Less than a couple of seconds after turning on the ignition on a flash drive with a couple of dozen catalogs. They write on the forums that with several hundred directories the speed is lower. The adapter remembers where it was playing before it was turned off and starts playing from the same place. This property is valuable for those who like to listen to audiobooks. The adapter remembers the location from the last 4 flash drives/
Switching tracks. In a fraction of a second, there is no difference whether the track is located in the same or another directory. There are no extraneous sounds during switching.
Replacing a flash drive. With the radio running, take out the flash drive and insert a new one. It is detected within a couple of seconds and immediately begins to play. During replacement, a very quiet short trill may sound.

The adapter understands 32 directories, which can have 32 subdirectories, each of which can contain up to 99 files. But I soon realized that my disc switch only switches the first six discs. Although in Random mode the adapter sees all directories.

I asked a question on the Trioma forum, support responded very quickly and offered options for organizing directories. The problem turned out to be that on the RD4 the buttons, although they perform the Disc+/Disk- function, in reality they send commands to directly select disk 1-6 to the adapter. So these buttons can only switch 6 root directories or 6 subdirectories.
And it’s not possible to manage 1024 directories on my radio. You can manage only 32*6=192 directories;)

The description says that the FF/FR buttons perform a dual function - changing directories/subdirectories and rewinding.
But on the RD4 Track+/Track- are combined with FF/FR and for the adapter these buttons have a triple purpose:
1. Short press - Track+/Track-
2. Press for 2-3 seconds, release when the sound from the current track disappears - switch directory
3. Long press >3 seconds, there is an accelerated muffled sound - rewind
The time is approximate, you need to focus on the sound

Even before the purchase, I assumed that I would store one large megaflash drive with hundreds of catalogs. But now I see that it is more convenient to have several flash drives with different selections.
I have this now:
1. Russian pop music 80-90s
2. Foreign pop music 80-90s
3. Instrumentals

Total. For relatively little money, I got a glitch-free adapter with good sound quality and simple, intuitive controls. I am very pleased with the purchase, Trioma - well done!!!

Additional links

Mini FAQ

Some questions remained outside of this review; I decided to include them in a separate minifak. I will also add questions that arise in the comments here.

What needs to be done in order for the names (file names, tags, or anything at all) to be shown on the display?
Triom adapters certainly “see” tags, file names, and folder names. Where possible, they display text strings on the standard displays of radios: BMW and all cars with an optical MOST bus. Perhaps soon text output will be implemented for some Toyota/Lexus devices.
CD changers do the job without any problems.
I'm afraid you are mistaken: we do not know any external changers other than the models listed above that cope with this task. Changers built into the head unit are a different matter, where the text is output directly to the display controller - this is a completely different mechanism.
Is it possible to connect additional devices to the Trioma Flipper 2 adapter?
You can connect either an AUX-minijack 3.5 male adapter cable to the adapter

I'm planning to buy +23 Add to favorites I liked the review +21 +46

Many modern cars continue to use cassette and CD car radios. They are not highly functional, which is why many car owners change their head units. However, standard systems often surpass many Chinese analogues in sound quality, so those car enthusiasts who want to save money use a CD changer. What kind of device is this and how to choose it - find out from this material.

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Car audio formats

Today there are three car audio formats:

WAV. This format represents sound without compression and loss of quality, that is, the purest option.
APE, FLAC. In this case we are talking about compressed sound, but there is no loss of quality.
One of the most popular options is MP3 or OGG. This is a format with quality compression and, accordingly, certain losses.

As you know, traditional CDs usually worked with WAV formats, that is, they provided sound without loss of quality and compression. So this option is considered one of the highest quality and most voluminous. The next option - FLAC - is slightly inferior to it, but in principle, the loss of quality is insignificant. As for MP3, despite the fact that this format is of lower quality than all others, it remains one of the most popular. Thanks to MP3, developers were able to reduce the size of storage media, while providing the ability to store more information.

Purpose and features of the CD changer emulator

What is it - an emulator of CDs and USVs for standard ones? The emulator represents a device used to connect to a standard audio system. The car radio, in turn, defines this device as a CD player, and one that has all the necessary characteristics and capabilities. In particular, we are talking about changing songs, storage media, and fully managing the operation of the system. In general, using an emulator does not distinguish a car radio from controlling traditional disks (video author: Anton Annenkov).

Selection options

How to choose the right device:

First you need to decide on the cost. In accordance with the available financial budget, you will form a certain range of emulator models, among which you will choose the appropriate option.
The purchase of a CD changer emulator must be carried out in accordance with the car radio model installed in your car. And we are talking specifically about the audio system, and not about the vehicle model. The purchased gadget must fully comply with the features of the installed radio. This is very important, since many cars are equipped with steering audio controls and steering column switches for the radio. If the changer model does not match the features of the audio system used, it is likely that control of the steering column or steering column switches will be impossible.
Also keep in mind that you can also find universal devices on sale, but when buying such a gadget, you have no guarantee that it will work correctly. Therefore, if the seller tries to tell you in colorful terms about the advantages of universal emulators, do not believe it.
The device must be made in a high-quality and durable case. Take the emulator in your hand before purchasing and check that there are no gaps in the case. If you squeeze the case a little and hear a creak, then it is better not to buy this device.
Miser pays twice. As you know, cheap goods are very rarely of high quality. Therefore, you should take into account that too low prices are most likely associated with the low quality of the device.

Instructions for making a device yourself

In order to make a changer emulator with your own hands, you need to have certain skills in the field of electronics and electrical engineering. Moreover, building such a device is not an easy task at all, and not every professional electrician can cope with it. To manufacture, you need to make a diagram or download it from the Internet, in accordance with which the production of the device will be carried out. We will not describe this process in detail, since the procedure is individual for each individual car radio and for each individual board.

Let's take a brief look at the manufacturing process:

First, the board itself is selected. Read reviews from car owners who have already made a changer emulator to understand which board options are the most optimal. In such matters, always take into account the model of the car radio used in your car.
In accordance with the diagram, solder all the necessary elements to the board. We are talking about audio output, input for the audio system itself, capacitors, resistors, etc. All components must be soldered with the highest quality and reliability. Please note that the emulator will work in vibration conditions, so all elements must be securely soldered.
You will then need to install the board into an appropriately sized case. The device must be firmly mounted in a plastic shell. After all assembly steps are completed, the emulator's performance is diagnosed. If the sound produced by the radio is not clear, then you need to check the entire circuit and, if necessary, resolder its elements.

Photo gallery “Making an emulator”

Issue price

Depending on the model, the cost of a CD changer emulator may vary. Cheap Chinese devices can cost the buyer 1000-1500 rubles, but there can be no confidence in the quality of their work. Mid-price gadgets today cost about 2,500 rubles. You can also find more expensive options; their cost will cost the buyer approximately 4-5 thousand rubles.

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