my projects

Antique MP3 JukeBox Streamer

2010-02-01T21:18:00.000-08:00

this old radio was my grandfathers, he always talked about fixing it, we even went on all-day expeditions through old warehouses looking for just that right part, catalog, or schematic, needless to say we never did find it so this beautiful piece of history just sat collecting dust.

the brain is a uncased and modified Omnifi DMS1
the amplifier is an old Sony 2ch "Television audio extender"
the lcd is a second hand 7" headrest monitor
misc switches, lots of stripped cat5 wire, chopped cables
speaker are 10yr old Polk R1's

the amp like all old stereo equipment used sliders for vol, bass, trebble all made that scratchy sound during adjustment, this was actually good news because i needed to switch them over to a remote located turn potentiometer, all 3 in the project are the same, 10K single turn audio taper pot. i extended the IR receivers to the side of the lcd just out of sight behind the glass,i melted both of them and had to find 2 new ones of the right variety. i moved the jog dial and the SMD switch under it onto the proto board so it could be located in the original spot for the Tuner knob. this took several tries to get everything to fit exactly right. i counted about 120+ solder joints including the test pieces and final connects, and i only burned myself once. for the front switch panel after 3 attempts i have finally turned out something i like, got the switches at Tanners, might be overkill for this, but oh well, better than the cheapy green plastic ones.
in the end i am happy with the result, it sounds and looks nice and i learned alot thoughout the project.

Zenith Console Streamer

2010-02-01T20:00:00.000-08:00

so i have this old radio, it was my grandfathers, since i have been alive it has sat un-working in the living room. he always talked about fixing it, we even went on all-day expeditions through old warehouses looking for just that right part, catalog, or schematic, needless to say we never did find it so this beautiful piece of history just sat collecting dust.
i have always wanted to make it work in some faction, my grandfather was a filmmaker and as part of those skills he was wiz with electronics, made me a light up robot costume when i was 6 (it was cool to be the only kid in the 80's whose home made costume lit up) i would give anything to have inherited his parts and pieces, it filled 2 car garage with little bins and parts..
anyway, about 11 years agao now he passed on, and 5 years later his son gave me the radio.
and again 5 years later i finally gathered all the parts to convert it into a working MP3 jukebox / streamer

getting started

2010-02-01T19:59:00.001-08:00

so like most i got wrapped up in working on this and forgot to take any pictures of the original parts prior to being disassembled, but we will start somewhere anyway...

the amp i used was an old Sony 2ch amp, worked great but like all old stereo equipment the sliders for vol, bass, trebble all made that scratchy sound during adjustment, this was actually good news because i needed to switch them over to a remote located turn potentiometer, all 3 in the project are the same, 10K single turn audio taper pot.

can't lose the screen controls

2010-02-01T19:58:00.000-08:00

so this might be over kill because i really only needed access to the power button and the IR sensor. i extended the IR receiver to the side of the lcd just out of sight behind the glass..
interesting note, i have to move the IR for the streamer and the screen, they do not take heat well,i melted both of them and had to find 2 new ones of the right variety, luckily "Good Ole Tanner Electronics" in Carrolton had just the part (they always do)
and it was only $.99 .

remote located the player controls and IR

2010-02-01T19:57:00.000-08:00

same as on the screen, but all the pads and switches are much smaller, also this is when i moved the jog dial and the SMD switch under it onto the proto board so it could be located in the original spot for the Tuner knob. this took sever tries to get everything to fit exactly right, i remember ruining at least 2 boards before i was happy with it.

finally getting to mount some parts in the case,

2010-02-01T19:56:00.000-08:00

finally i get to see some of it come together after de-soldering, re-soldering and soldering again for hours, i counted about 120+ solder joints if you count all the test pieces and final connects, and i only burned myself once, not bad for all 24ga wire and smaller

just lying around

2010-02-01T19:54:00.000-08:00

had been thinking about building custom speaker cabs to fit the opening a little closer, but decided not to re-invent the wheel this time, pull some older Polk R1s' out of the closet and found that they fit perfect, and they are polk so i knew they would sound great.

got the Pots and knobs all wired in

2010-02-01T19:53:00.000-08:00

so all the knobs are wired up and working in the spots they belong, not happy about the bass and treble knobs, they do not match the time period, so i am looking for a couple old knobs to make it all match up.
also building a switch panel to go into this opening so i will have play, stop, rew, ffwd...
oh, and the remotes work great!!
yes, remotes plural... i have a remote for the screen but it is only good for power in this configuration, so ti stays put away and i just use the power switch i wired to the back of the case.

almost all done, sounds good

2010-02-01T19:52:00.000-08:00

all wired up and making a loud and clear test run, everything sounds great, turns out i wired the volume pot backwards, not sure if i am going to fix it or not.. kind of think it adds character...

rear cover cut and installed

2010-02-01T19:51:00.000-08:00

not the nicest looking, but highly functional, all i need is right here for the screen, couple of lighting buttons to be added soon

making the front switch panel

2010-02-01T19:50:00.000-08:00

so i have all this extra plexi glass, so i figured why not..
so after scrapping 3 attempts i have finally turned out something i like, again got the switches at Tanners, might be overkill for this, but oh well, better than the cheapy green plastic ones.
shown here, clear with the switches and two amber leds running at 2.25v (test supply is 4.5v, final will be 5v = 2X-2.5v)
then with the paint on the back, i think it adds a nice effect, and matched the original Zenith trim bezel