I'm completely new to Arduinos, and I was hoping to get some help on a project that I'm working on. Basically, I'm trying to connect the Arduino to an iPod speaker dock to stream audio in real time. An example of an application for this is a mini "PA system":
Sound source --> Mic --> Arduino --> iPod speaker dock
For starters, how do I get my Arduino to be recognized as an Apple Accessory when I connect it via USB-to-30pin cable?
P.S. The ultimate goal is to have the Arduino act as a universal interface that allows me to connect any sound source (digital and analog) and playback through any iPod speaker dock via USB connection.
The 30-pin plug that goes into the bottom of older iPods includes stereo audio. To feed music to your dock you would connect a line-level audio source to a female dock connector and plug that onto the male dock connector on the dock. It is not a USB connection. The dock is almost certainly not a USB device.
The dock may have controls that send commands to the iPod for Pause/Play, Skip Forward, Skip Backward... See the previous reply for how to send those commands from an Arduino instead of a dock. For RECEIVING those commands sent by the dock to an Arduino it thinks is an iPod you will need the reverse of the above protocol.
Your first step is finding a female 30-pin connector. Perhaps a dock extender cable will be a good source:
cukaracha:
When you say I need to "reverse the protocol", what exactly does that entail?
The 'arduinapp' sketch allows an Arduino to control an iPod. Since your Arduino will be connecting to a dock in place of an iPod you may want to let the dock control the Arduino as if it were an iPod. Same protocol but different direction. Instead of sending commands to an iPod (like the arduinapp shetch does) you would want to receive those commands. Of course if there is nothing you need those commands for you can skip the whole thing and you don't really need the Arduino.
I should clarify that for my purposes, I need the dock to recognize the Arduino as an Apple Accessory rather than just some mass storage device. I'm guessing that the communication protocol is what cues the dock that the Arduino is an iPod, but can someone clarify this?