WT588D Standalone / Arduino Sound Player

by mattotone

50K4623

Intro: WT588D Standalone / Arduino Sound Player

This tutorial is for the WTD588D-U to be used in standalone mode

In this instructable i will show you the necessary tools and steps to load a few sound files and have them play on key press.
Perfect for testing the module before adding it to your Arduino projects.

There are a few different versions of the WTD588D, the -U has an onboard USB programer and is very cheap less than £3 from china, Other versions require an external programmer but have the benefit of being a smaller package size.

STEP 1: Download Required Software

Before we begin you will need software to prepare your audio files to ensure your audio file doesn't clip and to Export at 22khz bit rate, I recommend Audacity (link Bellow

The WT588D rar file contains manuals and the upload software required to push your audio files to the chip.

AudacityPrepare audio files and export as a 22khz Wav File.

WT588D Software Google Drive LinkUpload WAV audio files to the onboard flash.

STEP 2: Prepare Audio Files

  1. Load or Record your audio files direct into Audacity.
  2. Ensure the audio files peaks do not clip by using the normalization tool located under effects.
  3. Change the project rate to 22000
  4. Export your audio file as a WAV

STEP 3: Change Language to English

To change the language to English press the 2nd button from the Right.

STEP 4: Load Audio Into Upload Software

Now we have our audio prepared we can load into the WT software.

Right click the left hand window and load your audio clips you are going to use within the project.

  • (If you intend to use an Audi clip multiple times within the project you only have to load it in ONCE as we can reuse the clip multiple times)

STEP 5: Organise Your Audio

Now that we have the audio loaded we now have to organise it into slots.
Each slot can be selected to play individually via the Arduino or the first 4 slots can be selected by hardware buttons in standalone (KeyMode)

You can add multiple audio clips into a slot that will play after each other, you can reuse a clip over and over again without it taking any additional space.

Changing the flash size to match the size of chip you purchased will give you an indication of how much space you have avaliable.
Remeber the flash size is quoted in bits and not bytes, there are 8 bits in a Byte so your 32mb flash size will hold 4MB

STEP 6: Setup Your Modules Control Options

For this tutorial we will be using keyMode, this is the simplest Setup and will allow us to trigger audio by pressing hardware buttons.

STEP 7: Compile the Settings and Audio Clips

Once we have loaded our audio clips, Set-up our slots and set our settings we now need to compile all of these into a single file ready to upload into our WT855D.

STEP 8: Upload to the Module

  1. Plugin your WT588D-U into your computer, wait for the necessary drivers to install.
  2. Select your flash size
  3. Press connect
  4. Press oneKeyDownload - Wait for the file transfer to complete
  5. Press Cut to disconnect.

STEP 9: Test

The module should now be uploaded with your config file and the audio clips.

Whilst testing the 5V can be supplied via USB

  1. Connect busy led to pins 22 + and 21 -
  2. Connect Speaker between pin 9 and 10
  3. Connect a push button between pins 19 and Gnd (14)
  4. You may repeat for pins 18 17 16 to trigger slots 2, 3, 4 to GND(14)

If not powered via usb you may connect a 5V supply to pin (22) and GND(14)

17 Comments

dh33556 3 years ago

If I want to disable the sound on this controller all I need to do is cut either pin 9 or 10, correct?

guruhm 4 years ago

Can i put class D amplifier on a speaker out?

OsniF 6 years ago

2 questions:

1. Can play 2 or more sounds at same time?

2. I can change trigger in Pin 19 for a MPU6050 sensor and add more triggers with this? my purpose its make a soundboard for a lightsaber replica, plays sounds with movements, shakes, clashes, etc, etc.

Good tutorial. Thanks!

goldenshuttle 8 years ago

The software comes in Korean language. How did you get it in English my friend ?

TLF2 6 years ago

The software is indeed in Chinese. I once googled and found a guide by ehouse.com.

wooduino 6 years ago

Many thanks for the tutorial. I have three of the WT588D-U32M devices and I cannot get any of them to work as the USB drivers seem to fail. Any suggestions??

TLF2 6 years ago

I had the same driver-not-detected problem when using Windows 10. I asked the manufacturer and they told me that their driver only works for Windows 7 or below. So I tried again on my old Windows XT notebook and everything works smoothly.

NickM. 6 years ago

Try using a PC running windows 7.

I tried using Windows 10 and apparently it doesn't install the right drivers.

Tried on Windows XP and it worked like a breeze. I heard it should work on Windows 7 too but haven't tried.

judas79 7 years ago

Can somebody post a link to a tutorial on how to use a 3x8 matrix to control this module or some similar sound module? It would be nice to be able to utilize more than 4 channels.

bigzak 7 years ago

the wt588d software is not in English tried clicking the 2 icon from the right still not in english? help

judas79 7 years ago

If you download the software posted here it has the option for English after installation, at least it did on my win 7 and win 10 machines. If you downloaded the software else ware, like let say where you bought the module, it will not have the "English" option

judas79 8 years ago

Thanks for the instructable I would have never got the module going without it. I actually bought this module, my first sound module, because I saw this tutorial. A small suggestion you may want to add to step 5 to clarify what is going on in the corresponding picture: is to right click in the large box on the right side of the program and insert the wav file(s) that you uploaded in the left side box. Being a newbie I just figured the wav was automatically loaded and got nothing as far as playback or even the LED busy light.

After messing with the program I notice you cannot skip slots, it will only play slot 00H if you only put a wav, as an example in 00H and 02H and or 03H. If you insert a ms delay in the empty slot then it will work.

Any chance you will make another tutorial on how to use this thing with an arduino? I want to stick it in my modified rumble robot for my niece.

tar1127 8 years ago

when I try to hit compile in the wt588d software I get an error saying filename.wav.rbf and filename.wav.rbf.h (where file name is the name of the wave file) can not be found. I was wondering if you know of any solution to this? Thanks for the great tutorial

thelonederanger 8 years ago

Thanks for a great tut.

Does anyone know if there is OS X software for the chip please?

BlakeT2 8 years ago

Hello, out of curiosity where you ever able to get this module to work in three line serial mode? I haven't been able to get it to play a peep in three line, although I have been able to make it work in key and one line modes. Thanks for the tutorial!

seamster 9 years ago

Thank you for sharing great tutorial!

Welcome to the site, by the way. I hope we see many more great projects from you!