USB knobs? AKA Fiddler's Pre-WWII iTunes Radio Jukebox

[Zealous zerotype]

http://groups.google.com/group/lemswap/ ... f1f2920be3 grab that dmf before it is too late

[DaMadFiddler]

http://groups.google.com/group/lemswap/ ... f1f2920be3 grab that dmf before it is too late

Thanks. I actually ended up talking the $250 guy down to $200 with a CRT monitor thrown in (I was shooting for $150, but 200 is all right).

Anyway, I finished stripping the red crap off the console today and sanded the top and face pieces.



This was a little tricky; both have veneers on them. Thankfully the main body is a mix of plywood and solid wood, so I don't have to be quite as delicate. The downside is that all the ridges and other design work make it difficult to scrape the paint off without gouging the wood. I took my first pass this evening, and I'll attack it with a second round and sandpaper tomorrow, while I wait for the stain and finish to dry on the other pieces. I still have to strip the small decorative piece that goes across the speaker grille, and that's going to be even more tricky.

Starting to get an idea of what the finished product will look like, though. I've got a dark walnut stain for the case once I finish sanding, and I'm going try to salvage some gold-ish grille cloth from an old speaker to strike a contrast. (This is also consistent with the original factory color scheme). Here it is temporarily set (loosely) back together:

[DaMadFiddler]

Incidentally, my stripping agent is absolute garbage for trying to get the paint off the main body. I got a really mild one so that I wouldn't damage the veneer on the other pieces, but it's giving me trouble with the thick coat of paint and complex surfaces on the frame.

[Code-Red]

Looks good DMF. Depending on how red/brown the wood becomes after treatment, the gold should be a nice contrast on it.

I'd almost suggest getting a small LCD screen to fill that hole up where the tuner was, if you arent using it that is.

[DaMadFiddler]

Looks good DMF. Depending on how red/brown the wood becomes after treatment, the gold should be a nice contrast on it.

I'd almost suggest getting a small LCD screen to fill that hole up where the tuner was, if you arent using it that is.

That's actually what I'm planning to do. Probably a Mimo 710, if I can't find anything cheaper (any suggestions, folks?). The opening for the dial is exactly 6"x3", though, so it's going to be hard to find something that's a perfect fit.

I don't mind if a little bit of the top and bottom get cut off (the computer is set to boot directly into Front Row, and that's all it'll ever be used for), but I definitely want the screen to fill the entire area. Actually I think a CRT would look best, but finding a tiny widescreen CRT display has pretty much no chance of happening.

And yes, I am using a rich dark walnut stain for the case, which is (1) approximate to the case's original color, (2) a nice contrast to the brass trim, and (3) consistent with the color of our living room furniture. (Our living room is furnished with mostly Mission style pieces, the most predominant of which are two bookcases and a sofa which all have a dark walnut stain).

I'm debating whether to reuse the original brown Bakelite knobs for the front controls, or get some new brass ones. The brass might look nicer, but the Bakelite will make the "radio" look more authentic.

[DaMadFiddler]

Sanded and stained. Currently waiting for the stain to dry so I can finish the case and move on to the electronics.

[DaMadFiddler]

...And the case is finished! I haven't glued the top down yet, because I'm going to need to take it off again to help install the monitor when I get it.



Here it is reassembled and moved inside, with two of the knobs temporarily mounted:

[MulletMan13]

If you have room, you could always get a standard 15" LCD... it looks like it would be pretty centered on that shelf. You could then set the resolution to a lower one, and set your LCD so it doesn't stretch to fill the edges. Or, you could run CenterStage (or anything other than FR in a window.

Come to think of it, these are pretty bad ideas-- the MIMO sounds like a safe bet.

[Zealous zerotype]

Don't forget, you can mod a psone screen to accept vga signal.

[DaMadFiddler]

That's not a bad idea. Do you happen to know what the dimensions are? (horizontal and vertical... not diagonal)

[Zealous zerotype]

I believe 4"x3" with 5" diag, but (it should not be a problem for your application) the pcb board is a little bit bigger I don't remember by how much and I can not currently find my screen :/

edit: I just saw your dimensions and you could put nice 1" trim on the sides of the screen that would make it work well/be flush. You could probally find a faux wood look or since it would not match the wood go for a marble print or something just shooting ideas at you.

[DaMadFiddler]

Not a bad thought. I may look into that for my screen solution... the other option I am pursuing is finding a used 7" portable TV... they fit the opening almost exactly, and now that everything's switched to digital broadcast, a lot of people are left with more or less useless TVs.

[Quzar]

Finding an old 14-15in LCD screen would probably be the best/cheapest/most flexible option. It would let you fill up the whole area. A smaller screen would probably look better (higher resolution) but would be more expensive (and possibly harder to mount).

Does the mac mini have two video outputs? If so it would look awesome to mount a second screen under the top and add hinges =P

[Zealous zerotype]

Only the newest mac minis have dual video out (unless you use a usb video output thing, but those are expensive).

Also, to use one of those old tvs you would need it to be able to take a signal from the mac mini and I don't recall an adapter that can do coax or rca (if the portable could even take that) cept again ones that are expensive. You should also consider at that size it might be a decent bit fuzzy and hard to read.

If your soldering skills are good go for the psone or if you can find a good deal/ have the room go for an old lcd (I can get 15"ers for 30bucks each at this reseller warehouse I go to).

[DaMadFiddler]

Finding an old 14-15in LCD screen would probably be the best/cheapest/most flexible option. It would let you fill up the whole area. A smaller screen would probably look better (higher resolution) but would be more expensive (and possibly harder to mount).

Probably so, but there's not room for something that big inside. It would get in the way of the knobs and the disc drive.

Does the mac mini have two video outputs? If so it would look awesome to mount a second screen under the top and add hinges =P

Nice thought, but it wouldn't work. First off, the Mini only has one video out (a DVI port, with a DVI > VGA adapter included in the box), though if I do end up getting the Mimo 710, that is USB-driven so I could still use the actual video out. However, the top would not hinge well. It would be really ugly (there are peg holes on the underside of the top, and the top edge of the cabinet shows the division of the plywood), plus these old radio cabinets don't have a back, so I would have to rig up special rod hinges on the back corners of the side of the cabinet... which would eventually tear out due to stress.

[DaMadFiddler]

Well, never mind the Mimo. Apparently the drivers only support Intel-based Macs.

[MulletMan13]

How about ripping apart a portable DVD player? Pretty sure some of them have some sortof inputs, and I know they make 7" models.

[DaMadFiddler]

How about ripping apart a portable DVD player? Pretty sure some of them have some sortof inputs, and I know they make 7" models.

I investigated the option of repurposing a portable TV/portable DVD player this week. However, there are a few problems:

1. The pixel count is really low. Most of these only have 234 vertical lines, which can make the menus hard to read.

2. Interface. For almost every device I looked at, the power is a soft button, and the device always defaults to the TV tuner or DVD player (depending on what it is) upon power-up. I'd prefer something with a hard power switch... and if I have to switch to the A/V input every time, that's a deal-breaker. It would completely ruin the usage aesthetics.

3. Composite input. Most of these devices only have composite input, which significantly reduces the video quality and requires an extra adapter. I'm looking to keep expenses down... I'll buy the adapter if I have to, but I'd prefer either a VGA or DVI interface.

There do appear to be some 7" monitors (that are actually intended as monitors) out there, but most of them are USB based. Most of the USB monitors don't work with Macs, and *NONE* of the USB monitors work with PowerPC Macs.

I have managed to find a few 7" monitors with VGA input, but most of them are from cheap no-name Chinese companies... and I haven't had any luck trying to find one with a hard power switch. (The hard power switch is important so that I can leave both it and the amplifier "on," and have them both come on instantly when I throw a master power switch such as one on a surge protector. This is important for building the aesthetic of having this be one cohesive unit, rather than just feeling like a bunch of random gadgets thrown into a wooden box).

[Quzar]

It would be seriously cheaper and easier to just find a 12-15in monitor and go from there. Most monitors that I know if, if you keep the power button pressed (for soft-on) will automatically turn the monitor on. What I mean is you could most likely tear out the soft power switch and simply jumper it (forced on) for it to work as a hard switch would.

[DaMadFiddler]

It would be seriously cheaper and easier to just find a 12-15in monitor and go from there. Most monitors that I know if, if you keep the power button pressed (for soft-on) will automatically turn the monitor on. What I mean is you could most likely tear out the soft power switch and simply jumper it (forced on) for it to work as a hard switch would.

The jumpering idea isn't bad, if it'll work... which unfortunately, there is no way of knowing until I buy something and tear it apart. And I know it would be much cheaper to go find an old 14 or 15" LCD. There's just one problem, which I stated earlier: it will not fit. Something that large would protrude both above the top edge of the case and down into the space where the knobs are to be mounted. I need a screen 8" or less for what I'm trying to do, period, because of space restrictions. A 7" widescreen fits the opening almost perfectly. (The opening for the dial is 6"x3")

* * *

However, I may have found a solution for the speakers. I have a nice pair of 40 watt Pioneer bookshelf speakers I got from a former college roommate; I'm thinking I can mount them down in the speaker compartment, and connect them to something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Pyle-PCA2-40-Watt ... 215&sr=8-5

...from which I would remove the housing, and use various lengths of wire to run the knobs over to the knob holes in the case. And, since the speakers would just be wired in normally and mounted inside the case, that would leave them upgradeable at a later point in case I decide to put in something bigger/louder.

I have also played with the idea of sticking truer to the spirit of the original radio, and putting one higher-quality mono speaker in. The downfall, of course, is mono sound (not that there would be a whole lot of stereo separation with the bookshelf speakers right next to each other anyway...).

Either way, this would leave everything resolved except the eternal question of the display. I'm really annoyed that the Mimo doesn't work with PPC Macs.