Nightmare with audio.......need assistance.

[john@thedevils-den]

 I am trying to figure out the best way to complete the sound effects in one of our many rooms and I have hit a road block.What I am trying to accomplish is this:

1.) Ambient sounds on a track that will get louder and louder as the scene progresses and then goes silent.(prop-1 and AP-8)

2.) Once ambient sounds go silent, I need to have a large home sound system turn on and play a pre-recorded sound( A very loud grandfather clock chime).

I am having trouble with how to control the large home sound system. Is there a way to have it idle and then have it play the pre-recorded sound on que? We are using a prop-1 to control our display and an ap-8 for the ambient sounds, but I want to be able to control the stereo system as well. Any ideas? We thought maybe use the ap-8 through the stereo system, just not sure what our best option is at this point.... the chime needs to be VERY loud, this is the reason we chose to use the home stereo with amp and large speakers. Can I do this?

[menehune]

Can you attach a servo to the volume knob of the amplifier and have the prop rotate the volume knob to vary the audio throughout the show and/or raise it up at the end of the show?

You could use a relay to control the power on to the amplifier with the volume knob set to the desired volume (I'm assuming an older, analog-type control knob) but you may get a "thump" in the speakers as the amplifier turns on.

[JonnyMac]

This is project where the Rogue uMP3 player might be a good choice -- it will store several files of any length and you can change the audio output level through the serial connection.  It takes two I/O pins, but the added features may be worth it.