Amazon’s Alexa can do a lot, from powering your home to ordering a pizza, but the $180 price tag may not be worth it to some.

Luckily the e-commerce giant has published a do-it-yourself guide for running the voice service in a homemade device that won't break the bank.

All you need is a Raspberry Pi, a USB sound card, an external speaker and a push button, which should cost $60 total.

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Luckily the e-commerce giant has published a do-it-yourself guide for running the voice service in a homemade device that won't break the bank. All you need is a Raspberry Pi, a USB sound card, an external speaker and a push button, which should cost $60 total

WHAT DO YOU NEED FOR THIS PROJECT? A new Pi Model 2, a micro SD card to load the software on, a mini mic and an Ethernet cable. In addition to the five parts, you will need a mouse, keyboard and monitor, but hopefully you have these laying around. There are several steps to building your own machine, but for those knowledgeable in basic programming and shell it shouldn’t be too difficult. The coding part of this project requires a series of software integrations such as Google Cal/iCal, Wolfram Alpha, a to-do list app, IFTT , Wunderground and more. Advertisement

‘This project demonstrates how to access and test the Alexa Voice Service using a Java client (running on a Raspberry Pi), and a Node.js server,’ the firm said.

‘You will be using the Node.js server to get a Login with Amazon authorization code by visiting a website using your computer's (Raspberry Pi in this case) web browser.’

There are several steps to building your own machine, but for those knowledgeable in basic programming and shell it shouldn’t be too difficult.

And it is crucial that you don’t skip out on the push button, because the Alexa Voice Service does not allow coders to use the voice activation commands directly.

This means you have to push the button before putting in a request.

In addition to the five parts, you will need a mouse, keyboard and monitor, but hopefully you have these laying around.

The first steps of this project requires you setup the Raspberry Pi by plugging in the newly purchased hardware.

The Raspberry Pi is a low cost, credit-card sized computer that plugs into a monitor or television, and uses a traditional keyboard and mouse.

The Raspberry Pi is a low cost, credit-card sized computer that plugs into a monitor or television, and uses a traditional keyboard and mouse. This little device allows people to learn how to program and possess the same capabilities of a regular desktop computer

In addition to the five parts, you will need a mouse, keyboard and monitor, but hopefully you have these laying around. The first portion of this project requires you setup the Raspberry Pi by plugging in the newly bought the hardware

This little device allows people to learn how to program and possess the same capabilities of a regular desktop computer.

Amazon’s Alexa can do a lot of neat tricks, from powering your home to ordering a pizza, but the $180 price tag may not be worth it to some.

It can also interact with the outside world and has been implemented in numerals digital maker projects, from music machines and parent detectors to weather stations.

Developers will need to power their Raspberry Pi using Raspbian and be patient because the installation process will take some time to finish.

Once it's complete, you will need to log into Raspbian -- the default username is ‘pi’ and password is ‘raspberry’.

The coding part of this project requires a series of software integrations such as Google Cal/iCal, Wolfram Alpha, a to-do list app, IFTT , Wunderground and more.

Once you’ve barreled through the high-tech stuff and your Alexa voice is running on the Raspberry Pi, simply register the device and create a security profile on Amazon, then finally obtain authorization login with Amazon.

Although your gadget is DIY, it will still have some of the same capabilties of the Echo.

Your device can listen to music from streaming services and control things around the house such as lights, switches, heating and air conditioning and other compatible smart devices.

And of course it can answer questions about traffic, the weather, news and more.

There has been an ongoing debate among developers on Reddit about the trial and errors while constructing their device. Some have had issues with Amazon Music or the Pi reading offline altogether. If you find yourself stuck readers on the site will try and help the best they can

If you're having issues like those listed on Reddit, Novaspirit Tech has created a detailed video with instructions for your homemade Echo and Jasper, the open-source platform that focuses on developing voice-controlled applications, is more than happy to assist

There has been a thread among developers on Reddit discussing some of the problems they have faced after completing their DIY device.

Some have had issues with Amazon Music or the Pi was reading offline altogether.

The coding part of this project requires a series of software integrations such as Google Cal/iCal, Wolfram Alpha, a to-do list app, IFTT , Wunderground and more. Once you’ve barrelled through the techy stuff and your Alexa voice is running on the Raspberry Pi, simply register the device and create a security profile

If you find yourself struggling, Novaspirit Tech offers a detailed video with instructions for your homemade Echo on their YouTube channel.