B3
Posted May 14, 2026 at 10:14 GMT
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Beolab 3500 with MCL to PowerLink Convertor.
15 replies
Thanks for all the amazing feedback!
I think the first step is to fix the front panel and IR, because why not. Then it should work and I can install it. Might need you help @Madskp and yes I'm danish.
But I'm really intrigued by the idea of making a streamer which can communicated directly with the speaker over ML. I quickly ask Gemini if this could be possible with an ESP32, and the answer was yes. It suggest using the spotify connect API for the music streaming. I would prefer an home assistant integration so I could use music assistant, which I currently use with google chromecast audios. Thought the ML Interface the ESP should be able to select input and set volume. ESP would use the data pins to send so called "telegram" commends to the speaker. These commands are in a hex format. Although a voltage regulator is needed to take the ESPs 5v to 15v, which is the ML trigger voltage. The actual audio is sent analog. The ESP should be able to provide a high enough audio quality. For me this sound like the best option to "modernize" the speaker and others.
Also when searching using Gemini, I found out that the trigger volts with MCL should be 7v and not 5v. Don't know if others have tried that.
I have seen these Almando device, but never tried them, maybe one day. But good to know that the TIMER function was what Almando used, if i go down the ESP32 route.
I think the first step is to fix the front panel and IR, because why not. Then it should work and I can install it. Might need you help @Madskp and yes I'm danish.
But I'm really intrigued by the idea of making a streamer which can communicated directly with the speaker over ML. I quickly ask Gemini if this could be possible with an ESP32, and the answer was yes. It suggest using the spotify connect API for the music streaming. I would prefer an home assistant integration so I could use music assistant, which I currently use with google chromecast audios. Thought the ML Interface the ESP should be able to select input and set volume. ESP would use the data pins to send so called "telegram" commends to the speaker. These commands are in a hex format. Although a voltage regulator is needed to take the ESPs 5v to 15v, which is the ML trigger voltage. The actual audio is sent analog. The ESP should be able to provide a high enough audio quality. For me this sound like the best option to "modernize" the speaker and others.
Also when searching using Gemini, I found out that the trigger volts with MCL should be 7v and not 5v. Don't know if others have tried that.
I have seen these Almando device, but never tried them, maybe one day. But good to know that the TIMER function was what Almando used, if i go down the ESP32 route.
Location: Denmark
My understanding is the same as @Madskp - there is no "on-off" single voltage signal as there is on a Powerlink system.
If I have time tomorrow I'll check and see if the 3500 will respond to a few commands sent via Datalink. I'm now wondering if I mis-remembered activating it using Datalink, or a Beo4, and then just mistaking the data as being a relay of Beo4 commands from the 3500 over MCL2. The talk about needing the timer to be active makes me think it is not programmed to respond to all generic MCL2 commands via the Datalink pin.
That said, since the 3500's IR channel is also MCL2, if my experiment fails, there's probably a way to inject incoming Datalink signals via the IR gateway - without scouring over a schematic, Id imagine thats probably more trouble to engineer than it's worth.
If I have time tomorrow I'll check and see if the 3500 will respond to a few commands sent via Datalink. I'm now wondering if I mis-remembered activating it using Datalink, or a Beo4, and then just mistaking the data as being a relay of Beo4 commands from the 3500 over MCL2. The talk about needing the timer to be active makes me think it is not programmed to respond to all generic MCL2 commands via the Datalink pin.
That said, since the 3500's IR channel is also MCL2, if my experiment fails, there's probably a way to inject incoming Datalink signals via the IR gateway - without scouring over a schematic, Id imagine thats probably more trouble to engineer than it's worth.
Anything new here?
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