When creator mattb_138’s parents were cleaning out their house, he came across an old cassette player and decided to upgrade it with MP3 capabilities and an RFID interface.

The newly-enhanced device uses an Arduino Nano for control, along with a DFPlayer Mini module to play songs stored on a microSD card. An RC522 reader enables him to select tracks based on RFID cards, printed with their appropriate album art.

The cassette player’s internals are kept largely stock, using a potentiometer to adjust the volume of the original speakers. Two buttons are also implemented with long and short press functionality, allowing for pause/play, skip, shuffle, and selection between A/B “side” of each card.

You can find more details on the upcycled project — which was inspired by the Juuke RFID player — in mattb_138’s Instructables tutorial.