| |
04/02/06 - Finished!
The digital MP3 touchscreen jukebox project has reached completion....
Front View, Lid closed
Lid open
CDrom and Multiport.
Jukebox Software View.
See below for the build log.....
03/03/06 - Today starts the process of turning the old analog console radio into a Digital MP3 jukebox. I have put much thought into how I am going to control the jukebox. Out of all methods of control, a touchscreen LCD panel was the best choice. My only problem with the touchscreen LCD was cost, all touchscreen panels are expensive, and a touchpanel overlay would cost similar in the end. I was hunting through the mass of EBay auctions and found one that was relatively cheap. The auction was for a 17" ELO Entuitive LCD touch panel, model ET1725L. The auction stated that they have no power supply and are unable to test the LCD and as such, it is considered non-functional. Since this was a possible DOA LCD bids remained low. I decided that I would take a chance and bid on the auction, if all else fails, I could gut it for the touchpanel. I won the auction for around $75 after shipping. The LCD arrived today and I looked it over.
Front of the LCD
Back of the LCD
First observation of the LCD panel is its heavy, and large. The touchpanel adds glass to the LCD which makes it much heavier then a normal LCD. The LCD panel has a Serial interface for the touchpanel, a D-SUB connector for video and a power port. Unfortunetly the LCD panel does not have a standard power plug as I had hoped, that means its time for dismantle...
Back Panel Removed
Removal of the rear cover revealed that the touchpanel controller and associated guts are isolated from the rest of the LCD panel. If the LCD proves to be junk, I can still gut the touchpanel from the display and use it on another LCD panel. My first step is to determine the pinout of the power plug. I removed the metal sheild covering the video contoller and power PCB.
Video and Power Board exposed
I removed the screws attaching the PCB to the back of the panel and looked at the inverse side to trace the power pins of the power adapter. I decided that it would be too difficult to locate a plug that would match the socket, so I went ahead and soldered a pass thru computer power plug to the appropriate locations on the PCB. The LCD run on 12v and draws around 3A, this allows me to run the LCD off the computer power supply since it will all be contained inside the jukebox cabinet.
IDE power passthru soldered to PCB
Assembled and ready for testing.
I hooked up the powersupply, tester shows 12 volts, hit the power button... And nothin. I tested for resistance across the power input and found that there was a load. I knew the problem had to be further in the power supply board. I remembered that the seller didnt have a power supply to test the unit. I thought that if they used the wrong power supply it could have burned up a component, or better yet a fuse. I looked the board over for a fuse and located a 4 amp fuse not far from the power header.
Fuse
Testing showed that the fuse had no resistance and was open. I didnt have a fuse of this type laying around so I decided to just short the fuse to find out if its the problem before I bother getting one. Shorting the fuse if there is another problem, will only cause something else, (more expensive), to fail. Im very impaitient, so I connected the points of the fuse with some solder.
Soldered Fuse
I applied power, hit the button, and wholla, a Green light.
Windows Booting
I let it run for a bit and no smoke or fire, looks like someone just hooked the wrong PSU up to it and blew the fuse. Now its time to test the touchpanel.
I installed the drivers from ELOs website. The drivers found the touchpanel on COM1. I followed the calibration wizard and the touchpanel function works flawlessly.
In windows
Looks like everything is set on the interface side of things for the jukebox. Ill do a temporary assembly of the LCD panel for now to prevent damage to something. I will need to dismantle the LCD again when I customize it for the jukebox cabinet.
03/20/06 - I finally got some time off work, which means I have time for the jukebox project. I un-buried the radio and brought it out to the garage.
Front of the radio.
Lid open
8-Track, Turntable, and Radio
Back of Radio
Rear panel removed
Radio Guts
First thing that needed to be done was to remove all the old radio parts. These will have no use in the jukebox.
Turntable and Radio removed.
8-Track removed
Rear view all cleaned out.
Pile of junk removed
I found a blank panel for the 8-Track area laying inside the radio, this will keep me from having to make a custom panel to mount the CD-Rom bays. The panel has all the screw anchors in place already and fits perfectly into the existing cutout.
Extra panel found in radio.
The LCD needed to have all the extra plastic and other framework removed so that it will take up less space in the radio cabinet.
Removing the plastic gloat will also allow me to mount the LCD so that it looks like it belongs in the radio.
LCD stripped of extras
I decided that the LCD should be mounted on a slight angle to improve visibility and to be more natural.
Oak LCD mounting rails
Dry placement of LCD
I had some extra oak trim laying around from a bathroom remodeling project which happend to fit the LCD nicely. Since the LCD has several layers to it with the touchpanel, I needed to build up the trim to allow a proper fit. I used a bottom layer of 1/4" x 1" oak to cover the LCD mounting rails. I then used some oak moulding to overlap the framework of the LCD and touchpanel glass. The two layers were glued together and will be mounted via screws to the LCD panel rails.
Lower LCD Frame
Dry placement of lower LCD frame
Upper LCD Frame
Assembled LCD Frame
Dry placement of assembled LCD frame
Angle view
I had some old AT cases laying around that have no use other then taking up space. I took one of the cases apart and stripped it of uselessness. I cut the 5.25" bays, 3.5" bays and PSU mounting plate from the framework.
Old AT Case
Stripped AT case
I took the spare wood panel from the radio, and cut a square hole in it for the 5.25" drive bays. The 5.25" bays will house a CD-Rom and Memory card reader/USB 1394 Hub. I installed the Lie-On drive, but haven't recieved the multi panel for the 5.25" bay yet. I installed the wood panel to make sure everything is gonna fit. I found that the Lite-on drive has only millimeters of room to spare when the tray is open.
5.25" drive bay cut from AT case
Placement of rails on spare panel
5.25" rails mounted to spare panel.
Front view of spare panel with 5.25" rails mounted.
Spare panel mounted in radio cabinet
LCD frame, wood panel, and lite-on mounted in Panel.
Lite-on Combo
Lite-on is a Close fit
The way the 5.25" rails are designed leaves the CD-Rom drives protruding from wood panel slightly. I decided to solve the issue with a frame built from 1/4" rounded trim. I mounted an extra CD-Rom into the bay for a reference point to build the frame.
1/4" trim for drive bays
Front view of 1/4" trim
Drive bay trim being glued
After all the custom wook items were complete I prepared them for stain. I used special walnut stain, as this appeard to be the closest match. The radio is a combination of varnished venier and pressed particle board colored to look like wood. The digital camera brings out the red in the old varnish, but to the human eye, the old and new wood look pretty close. After the stain dried, I applied a few layers of semi gloss poluyeurathene.
Wood parts ready for stain
Stained wood parts
While the stain and polyeurathane dry, I decided to mess around with placement of the computer hardware. I decided that the use of a scrapped out mobo tray would be most logical so that I could easily replace the mobo with something better in the future. A mobo tray would also hold the AGP and PCI cards securely. To keep the cpu cool, and reduce noise I used a over large heatsink with a 80mm fan. The fan will spin slowly and keep the large surface of the heatsink cool with little noise. Next I needed something to drive the speakers, the soundcard wouldn't provide nearly the power needed to drive the speakers. My original plan for amplification was to use the guts from a houshold 4 channel pioneer amp. I had previously gutted the amp to use it for a divx streaming box for the entertainment center. After closer examination, I found that the amp would require alot of soldering and would require me to build a switching system to turn the amp on and off with the computer. The lazy side of me kicked in and said I would have to find something else. I dug in my box of random crap and found a cheap old car amp from way back. The car amp would work perfectly as it ran on 12 volts, low level inputs, and gain adjustment.
Rough placement of components
Cheap amp
Mobo tray
Large CPU heatsink
To mount the PSU I used the PSU backplane from the AT case. I mounted the PSU so that it would pull air from inside the jukebox and exaust it out the back. I plan on having a intake vent or fan at the bottom of the jukebox that will blow air past the amp and harddrive rack. Im hoping that the two fan design will provide adequete ventalation with minimal noise.
PSU mount from AT case
PSU bracket mounted to Radio
PSU mounted to bracket
The harddrive rack was also scavenged from the AT case. I applied a layer of closed foam to the bottom of the rack to prevent vibration resonating thru the jukebox, and to protect the harddrives from vibration from the speakers.
Foam applied to 3.5" bracket
Rough placement of 3.5" rail
3.5" bay with foam
Mounted 3.5" rails and drive.
The existing speakers from the radio were functional but sounded like what you would expect from a radio of this age. The radio had 3.5", 4" and 8" speakers, of which, the 8" were MIA. Since this was supposed to be a cheap project, I decided that buying replaceemnt speakers would cost to much as these are uncommon sizes these days. I recalled that I had some brand new Pioneer 6x9s unopened in the junk room from years past. Using the Pioneer 6x9s would save me alot of money, but would require me to build new speaker panels. Looking at the old speaker panels, I decided that giving the speaker panels a new look wouldn't hurt a bit. I got some sanded plywood to replace the existing panels, and cut holes for the 6x9s. I picked up some speaker cloth from the local Joann Fabrics store for $3.50 and some spray adhesive. I glued the smooth side of the plywood and pulled the fabric tight across the panels. I left about 2" of extra cloth around the edge so that I could fold it over and glue it to the back for extra strength.
Old speaker Panel and Speakers
Front of old Speaker panel
Replacement speakers
Cut plywood for replacement speaker panels
Holes cut for speakers
Speaker cloth and glue
Adhesive for speaker cloth
Glued front
Back of panel ready for glue
Cloth pulled and glued to back of panel
Back of finished speaker panels
Front of finished speaker panels
Comparison of new and old panels
I screwed the panels into the jukebox and installed the 6x9s. Building the replacement panels went much smoother then I thought and definitly looks better then the old ones.
Speaker panels installed into radio
6x9 speakers installed onto panels
Front view of new panels installed in radio
The polyeurethane dried on the wood components and it was time to do the final assembly of the LCD trim. To keep dust and debri out of the LCD and also prevent damage, I placed some foam around the inside edge of the LCD framwork. I still needed to figure out what I was going to do with the LCD panel controls. My original plan was to mount the controls into the side of the jukebox opening with custom buttons. After further investigation, I discovered that it would be dificult to find the buttons I would need, and it would add extra cost to the project. I decided that the panel controls would rarely be needed, and that I would mount them under the LCD trim. I cut up the old LCD framework and mounted the buttons into a gap below the LCD panel. The buttons will be accessable during installation and maintainence, and will prevent people from messing with them. I can remove the LCD trim with 4 screws and access the buttons if needed.
Foam for LCD trim seal
Foam installed into LCD trim panel
Mounted LCD controls
I installed all the wood trim and panels to make sure everything was operational and still fit. I still need to build the rear panels, properly route the wires internally, find a power switch I like, and install the multi panel for the 5.25" bay. For now, here are a few photos of the jukebox in almost completed stage.
Trial run with trim panels installed
Jukebox in action
Trim panels in place
Angle view of jukebox
Everything was pretty much functional; I decided that the Pentium III wasn't going to be enough to run the jukebox the way I would like so I ordered a new cpu and motherboard. Until the new stuff arrives I cleaned up the wires a little.
Neat Wires
USB, CDrom and Firewire Cables
Noise filter, Speaker and Lowlevel cables
Done for now
I needed to figure out the best approach to run the Ethernet cable outside of the jukebox. The motherboard tray is set inside of the jukebox cabinet to hide all the wires. I decided to run a Ethernet cord from the motherboard to a cat5e jack mounted in the back of the juke. I mounted the jack to the cabinet using a piece of plumbers tape and a couple screws and washers. Mounting the jack to the jukebox will allow for easy removal of the rear panels when needed.
Plumbers Tape
cat5 Jack and formed tape.
Tape put onto jack.
Jack mounted into place.
Jack mounted into place.
The old rear panel of the radio was in pretty rough shape, so I decided to make new ones. I used 1/8" pine plywood for the rear panels. The panels will completely seal off the rear of the jukebox to control noise levels. Air flow will enter the bottom of the cabinet and exit the power supply at the top, providing a good air channel in the jukebox.
Rear Panels
Fan and Grill for rear
Panels cut and dry fit
03/30/06 - New cpu and mobo arrived today, I got a AMD Sempron64 Palermo, 500Watt PSU, Gigabyte socket 754 mobo and 512mb PC3200 Ram.
Sempron
PSU
Mobo
Board, Ram, cpu and Firewire card installed.
PSU installed
Instead of staining the rear panels to match the radio, I decided it would look better and be easier to paint them flat black.
Rear panels painted and installed.
04/02/06 - Well the jukebox project is finally finished. Ive installed Windows XP as the operating system and after multiple trials with other software, Nordbeat's Jukebox 3.1 is the software of choice hands down , all I have to do now is put some albums on it.
Front View, Lid closed
Lid open
CDrom and Multiport.
Jukebox Software View.
Jukebox Specs
CPU: AMD Sempron64 Palermo 2500+
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-K8U
Ram: 512MB PC3200 DDR
OS: Windows XP Pro
Display: 17" ELO LCD Touchscreen
Video: MSI Geforce MX4000 128MB DDR 8X AGP
Storage: 260GB Maxtor 7200RPM IDE HDs
Sound: SBLive X-Gamer
Software: Nordbeat's Jukebox 3.1
Mp3 jukebox touchscreen touchpanel digital mp3 album player classic console radio lcd touch screen touch panel Nordbeat's mp3 music jukebox touchscreen software |
|
|
