Insert a cassette and it plays
Spole is a small cassette player without tape. Each cassette has a tag inside, and you decide what it starts: a radio station, a series, an album or a playlist. Behind the window in the front, the reels turn while the music plays. Take the cassette out and the music stops.
No screen
Insert a cassette to play. Take it out to stop.
The reels turn
They stand still on pause, and wind fast when you change track.
You make the cassettes
Print them yourself, and print the cover on plain paper.
Plays in any room
A cassette starts the music in the room you choose.
Made for children
No menu and no phone. One cassette is one choice.
Light in the slot
A light strip behind the slot shows that the cassette was read.
A window in the front
The cassette sits behind a clear pane, like in a cassette player from the 80s. You see the cover and the reels all the time.
The cover is yours
Print the cover on plain A4 paper and put it inside the cassette. It is held in place without glue, and you can change it any time.
The cassette
Two loose reels, an NFC tag and a magnet that holds it down. The cassette has no power and no music in it.
Inside
An NFC reader, a small motor with a belt, a light strip and an ESP32. Everything clicks or slides into a printed case.
The cassette decides what plays
The cassette holds no music. It only tells Skjold what to play, and Skjold plays it on your system.
Print a cassette
Stick an NFC tag in the cassette and put it in the player.
Link it in the app
Choose what the cassette starts, and in which room.
Make the cover
Print the cover on A4, cut it out and put it in the cassette.
Insert it
The music starts. Take the cassette out to stop.
One cassette, one thing to listen to
Radio stations
One cassette for each station you listen to.
NRK series
Radio plays and podcasts. The cassette continues where you left off.
Albums and playlists
From your own library in Navidrome, or from Music Assistant.
Routines
A “good night” cassette that starts calm music and turns the volume down.
The reels are driven by magnets
Behind the slot are two pulleys with magnets, driven by a small, quiet motor. The magnets pull the reels in the cassette around through the wall. So the cassette needs no contacts and no gears. The reels turn slowly while music plays, stand still on pause, and wind fast when you skip to the next track.
Why Spole?
“Spole” is Norwegian for reel, and for winding a tape back to hear a song once more. Here the reels turn behind the window, so the player is called Skjold Spole.
Technical specifications
- Size
- 120 × 62 × 72 mm. The cassette is 50 × 70 × 10 mm
- Enclosure
- 3D printed, with a clear pane in the front
- Reader
- NFC (PN532). An NTAG215 sticker in each cassette
- Reels
- Two loose reels per cassette, driven by magnets from an N20 motor with a belt
- Light and sound
- Light strip with 5 LEDs behind the slot. Small buzzer (optional)
- Cover
- Printed on plain A4 paper, 15 per sheet. Held in place without glue
- Computer
- ESP32-S3 with Wi-Fi
- Power
- 5 V USB-C
- Starts
- Radio stations, NRK series, Navidrome albums and playlists, Music Assistant and routines
- Requires
- A Skjold device on the same network (S1, Node, Touch or Core)
- Price
- Not for sale. The files are free to download
Not for sale yet
There are no finished units to buy yet. Leave your name and email, and I will let you know if there is a small batch or a kit.