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Raspberry Pi Music jukebox

Recommended boards:

  • Raspberry Pi 4 Model B

  • Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+

You will need:

Component Purpose
Raspberry Pi Main computer
MicroSD card (32GB+) Operating system
Power supply 5V 3A
Speakers Audio output
USB DAC or amplifier Better sound quality

Optional Upgrades

These make the jukebox much cooler:

  • Touchscreen display

  • Arcade buttons for song selection

  • Rotary knob for volume

  • LED lighting

  • Wooden jukebox-style case

  • Large USB drive for music storage

 Install the Jukebox Software

The easiest software for this project is Volumio.

It is designed specifically for DIY music streamers and jukeboxes.

Step 1 – Download Volumio

Download the image from:

https://volumio.com
Step 2:

Install Raspberry Pi Imager or balenaEtcher.

Flash the Volumio image to the SD card.

Steps:

  1. Insert SD card

  2. Open flashing software

  3. Select Volumio image

  4. Select SD card

  5. Flash

Insert the card into the Raspberry Pi.

4. First Boot

Power on the Raspberry Pi.

Wait about:

2–3 minutes

Volumio will automatically create a network interface.

5. Access the Jukebox Interface

From any device connected to the same network:

Open a browser and go to:

http://volumio.local

or

http://<raspberry-pi-ip>

You will see the Volumio music interface.

6. Add your Music Library

You can add music several ways.

Method 1 – USB drive

  1. Insert USB drive

  2. Volumio automatically scans it

  3. Music appears in library

Supported formats include:

  • MP3

  • FLAC

  • WAV

  • AAC

  • OGG

Method 2 – Network storage

You can mount:

  • NAS drives

  • Shared folders

  • External servers

Go to:

Settings → Sources

Add a network share.

Method 3 – Upload music

Some plugins allow direct uploads from the web interface.

7. Connect Speakers

Option 1 – HDMI audio

Connect the Pi to a TV or receiver.

Option 2 – 3.5mm headphone jack

Simple but average quality.

Option 3 – USB DAC (Best audio quality)

Use a USB audio adapter or DAC.

Common examples include:

  • AudioQuest DragonFly Black

  • HiFiBerry DAC+

These significantly improve sound quality.

8. Enable Internet Radio

Volumio includes thousands of stations.

Go to:

Browse → Web Radio

You can also manually add stream URLs.

9. Enable Spotify

Install the plugin:

Settings → Plugins → Spotify

This adds Spotify Connect.

Your jukebox will appear as a device in Spotify.

10. Make It a Real Jukebox

You can connect physical buttons to GPIO pins.

Example controls:

  • Next song

  • Previous song

  • Play / Pause

  • Volume

Python script example:

import RPi.GPIO as GPIO
import osGPIO.setmode(GPIO.BCM)
GPIO.setup(17, GPIO.IN, pull_up_down=GPIO.PUD_UP)

while True:
if GPIO.input(17) == False:
os.system(“mpc next”)

This lets you build arcade-style controls.

11. Add a Touchscreen

Add a display such as:

  • Raspberry Pi 7-inch Touchscreen Display

Mount it in a case and run the Volumio interface full screen.

This creates a self-contained jukebox interface.

12. Auto Start Music

You can configure playlists to start automatically.

In settings:

Playback → Startup Options

Example:

Play random music at startup

Perfect for parties or background music.

[mai mult...]

Wireless USB flash drive using Raspberry Pi

1. What this Project does

You will create a portable Wi-Fi storage device that:

  • Acts like a USB flash drive over Wi-Fi

  • Lets phones, laptops, or tablets connect wirelessly

  • Allows file upload/download

  • Can create its own Wi-Fi network

  • Runs from a power bank

Final result:

Phone / Laptop
│
Wi-Fi
│
Raspberry Pi
│
USB Flash Drive / SD Storage

2. Hardware Requirements

You need:

Core components

  • Raspberry Pi Zero W (best for portable)

  • MicroSD card (16–32GB recommended)

  • USB flash drive (optional for extra storage)

  • Micro USB OTG adapter

  • Power bank or USB power supply

Optional but useful

  • Case

  • Heat sinks

  • Small OLED screen for status

3. Install Raspberry Pi OS

Download Raspberry Pi OS and flash it.

Step 1 – Install Raspberry Pi Imager

Download:

Install Raspberry Pi Imager

Step 2 – Flash the SD card

Choose:

Raspberry Pi OS Lite

(Lite version is best for this project)

Configure before writing:

Enable:

  • SSH

  • Wi-Fi

  • Username/password

Insert the card into the Pi and boot.

4. Update the System

Connect via SSH:

ssh pi@raspberrypi.local

Update everything:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

5. Attach the USB Flash Drive

Insert your USB drive and check:

lsblk

Example output:

sda1 64G

Create mount point:

sudo mkdir /mnt/usb

Mount it:

sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/usb

Make it permanent:

sudo nano /etc/fstab

Add:

/dev/sda1 /mnt/usb vfat defaults,nofail 0 0

Install Samba:

sudo apt install samba -y

Edit config:

sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf

Add at bottom:

[USB]
path = /mnt/usb
browseable = yes
writeable = yes
create mask = 0777
directory mask = 0777
public = yes
guest ok = yes

Restart Samba:

sudo systemctl restart smbd

7. Create a Wi-Fi Access Point

Install required tools:

sudo apt install hostapd dnsmasq -y

Stop services temporarily:

sudo systemctl stop hostapd
sudo systemctl stop dnsmasq

Edit:

sudo nano /etc/dhcpcd.conf

Add:

interface wlan0
static ip_address=192.168.4.1/24
nohook wpa_supplicant

Configure hostapd

Create config:

sudo nano /etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf

Add:

interface=wlan0
driver=nl80211
ssid=PiFlashDrive
hw_mode=g
channel=7
wmm_enabled=0
auth_algs=1
wpa=2
wpa_passphrase=raspberry123
wpa_key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
rsn_pairwise=CCMP

Tell hostapd to use the config:

sudo nano /etc/default/hostapd

Change:

DAEMON_CONF=”/etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf”

Configure DHCP

Backup original:

sudo mv /etc/dnsmasq.conf /etc/dnsmasq.conf.orig

Create new config:

sudo nano /etc/dnsmasq.conf

Add:

interface=wlan0
dhcp-range=192.168.4.10,192.168.4.50,255.255.255.0,24h

8. Enable Services

Start services:

sudo systemctl start hostapd
sudo systemctl start dnsmasq

Enable on boot:

sudo systemctl enable hostapd
sudo systemctl enable dnsmasq

9. Test the Wireless Flash Drive

  1. Power the Raspberry Pi

  2. Look for Wi-Fi network:

PiFlashDrive

  1. Connect using password:

raspberry123

  1. Access storage from:

Windows:

\\192.168.4.1

Mac/Linux:

smb://192.168.4.1

You now have a wireless USB flash drive.

10. Optional Improvements

Web file manager

Install FileBrowser for browser uploads.

Add battery monitoring

Useful for portable setups.

Enable internet sharing

So the Pi acts as Wi-Fi storage + internet router.

Add SSD storage

For large capacity wireless storage.

11. Powering the Device

Use:

  • 10,000mAh power bank

  • 5V 2A output

Runtime:

6–12 hours

depending on model.

12. Final Result

You now have a DIY wireless USB drive that:

  • Works with phones

  • Works with Windows / macOS / Linux

  • Requires no cables

  • Can hold hundreds of GB.

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Stop using pie charts in Excel: build this dynamic bar chart instead

You’ve finalized your Excel spreadsheet and want to visualize your numbers. A pie chart is a tempting option: it takes 20 seconds to create and makes you look sophisticated. However, it often causes more confusion than it solves. To truly impress your coworkers and make your data pop, ditch the circle and build a bar chart that updates itself.

Once you move past three or four slices, pie charts become unreadable, often requiring messy legends and manual labels that clutter the screen. More importantly, even if you sort the underlying data feeding a pie chart, the circular format makes the hierarchy difficult to follow—leaving your visuals in a jumbled mess. By taking the hallmarks of a pie chart and applying them to a dynamic bar chart, you solve all these problems—no legends, no clunky labels, and no confusing order.

A side-by-side comparison of a pie chart marked with a red 'No' symbol and a clean, sorted bar chart marked with a green checkmark.

[mai mult...]