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An awesome 80s car deserves awesome 80s music. My 1983 E24 door chime now plays an 8-bit version of Aha's "Take On Me."

Here's the successful bench test of the final unit: https://youtu.be/4XPU_Blq0Z8
Here's a video of the installed unit: https://youtu.be/LQB6dLAqXFo

Here is the whole sordid tale, plus (eventually) some instructions on how to DIY.

I HATED the original door chime on my E24. It just grated on my nerves. So, I decided to change it. Then, I stumbled across this dude, Chris NG, who modified his Volvo to Play Toto's Africa (https://boingboing.net/2018/03/14/this- ... plays.html). Did some looking, but Chris NG's version was going to be way too hard for me to pull off. I'm super impressed by his approach, but it took some skills I don't have. Kept looking around, and found this guy (https://www.reddit.com/r/cars/comments/ ... os_africa/). This guy didn't exactly provide instructions, but a little cyber stalking, and I got enough information to get started. It was SD card based, so literally any audio file you can put on an SD card will work. I am sticking with 8 bit 80s tunes from 8 Bit Universe (https://8bituniverse.io/), but the possibilities are endless.

Working on schematics, parts lists, and all of that good stuff, so stay tuned.

OK, so here's the shopping list. 1 through 7 are required, the rest are optional.

1. You'll need a soldering iron suitable for small electronics + solder. I had one sitting around.

2. DC-DC converter to drop 12v down to the 3-5v required - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MQ ... UTF8&psc=1

3. 3 cm x 7cm PCB boards (this seems to be the best size) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JD ... =UTF8&th=1

4. Mini MP3 Player TF Card Module https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D1 ... UTF8&psc=1

5. Speakers (3 watt, 4 ohm, 4O3W-JST-PH2.0) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0822 ... UTF8&psc=1 I am certain that other speakers work, but these worked the best.

6. Steady 12v power source - you can use all kinds of things, including batteries of the right voltage. I have used 12v power tool batteries, but a variable power supply is way better - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08GH ... UTF8&psc=1 - This kind of power supply is also really helpful for bench testing electrical E24 components. Have more than gotten my money out of this thing.

7. Small gauge wire, preferably in a couple different colors. I cannibalized some bread board jumpers - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GD ... UTF8&psc=1

8. SUGGESTED - I highly recommend a breadboard and jumpers for testing purposes - make sure it works before you solder it together. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KG ... UTF8&psc=1

9. SUGGESTED - I would also suggest header terminals: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CW ... UTF8&psc=1 - these make assembly a lot easier.

Welcome rjreaves

Once you put that parts list, schematic and whatnot together, you should post it in the "Tech Articles" forum

For now, I am going to move this post to the "Interior" forum, where you will likely get much more viewing

The workshop forum is just for that purpose, what new tools you bought, what type of compressor you need, etc.

Ah, thanks. Wasn't quite sure if it made sense in the interior section.

Working on posting details of the build, so should have those soon.

OK, everyone, I posted a PDF with all the information, including schematics, installation instructions and a more complete parts list.

You can download it here: https://app.box.com/s/nagfofe977jm3ftkt82g65nioc34rj02

Happy soldering!