Main Restorations Software Audio/Jukebox/MP3 Everything Else Buy/Sell/Trade
Project Announcements Monitor/Video GroovyMAME Merit/JVL Touchscreen Meet Up Retail Vendors
Driving & Racing Woodworking Software Support Forums Consoles Project Arcade Reviews
Automated Projects Artwork Frontend Support Forums Pinball Forum Discussion Old Boards
Raspberry Pi & Dev Board controls.dat Linux Miscellaneous Arcade Wiki Discussion Old Archives
Lightguns Arcade1Up Try the site in https mode Site News

Unread posts | New Replies | Recent posts | Rules | Chatroom | Wiki | File Repository | RSS | Submit news

  

Author Topic: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion (Finished!!!!!!)  (Read 22524 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

drventure

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4152
  • Last login:June 25, 2023, 02:23:57 pm
  • Laser Death Ray Bargain Bin! Make me an offer!
Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion (Finished!!!!!!)
« on: November 12, 2011, 08:00:25 pm »
In my never ending quest to delay my buffet cabinet build as much as possible (or so it would seem), I picked up an old console radio shell (no working radios will be harmed in the construction of this build  :) , and am doing a jukebox build.

I'm +hoping+ this build will be a far simpler build than my other excursion.

The cabinet is an old Majestic console. Given the fact that it's got legs and is not a solid cabinet all the way to the floor, I'm guessing it's a late 20's/early 30's model. In other words, Good an' old!

Anyway, a few pics.

Stripped and starting the sanding process



The base taken off (the legs are quite wobbly)



Ah, that'd explain the wobbly legs. This is the way they fixed things in the old days, just LOTS of nails (I counted 12 (yes twelve) nails in to top of 1 leg alone).
I'm pulling it completely apart and glueing/clamping everything. Then, all corners will be reinforced with hardwood corner brackets and screws.



The base, newly bare and cleaned up.



Brand spankin' new teak veneer for the top (I shoulda taken photos before, but the top was +wrecked+, water stains, veneer peeling and chipped, etc).



That's it for now, not much so far, but I have some interesting plans for the touchscreen that's going in there.


« Last Edit: April 14, 2012, 07:58:59 pm by drventure »

Meph

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 157
  • Last login:February 19, 2024, 05:40:34 pm
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #1 on: November 12, 2011, 08:09:13 pm »
Looking forward to watching what you do with it Drventure.  I'm about to wrap up my first radio build and I plan to jump right into another.  Haven't decided on a cabinet style yet.

Turvey

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 129
  • Last login:Yesterday at 08:50:15 am
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #2 on: November 13, 2011, 11:05:49 am »
Very nice.

If it turns out half as nice as your other project it will look the nuts :)

What do you use to strip it back? Or did you 'just' sand it?

Nacimroc

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 303
  • Last login:October 20, 2015, 03:46:25 pm
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #3 on: November 13, 2011, 08:34:16 pm »

I'm +hoping+ this build will be a far simpler build than my other excursion.


 ;D ;D  Had to go and jinx yourself by saying that! Shame!

Looking forward to watching this.  :applaud:

drventure

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4152
  • Last login:June 25, 2023, 02:23:57 pm
  • Laser Death Ray Bargain Bin! Make me an offer!
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #4 on: November 13, 2011, 09:23:54 pm »
@Turvey

I used Jasco Premium Paint and epoxy stripper. The stuff is powerful, but wear gloves. Get a little on you and it'll burn like mad.

However, yeah, I'm still having to do quit a bit of scraping and sanding. But that jasco definitely works, esp on the large flat areas where you can just scrape it off easily.


@Nacimroc

Oh, I've already jinxed it. My first inclination was to do a tilt up top like my buffet, and have the monitor swing down. But that's not +nearly+ hard enough  :)

So now my plan is to have the entire top rise up on rails via linear actuator, with the touchscreen pivoting out as it rises (to give it good angle for use).

That way, I can leave whatever I place on top of the unit, on top.

But other than that....



Turvey

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 129
  • Last login:Yesterday at 08:50:15 am
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #5 on: November 14, 2011, 05:49:28 am »
Another recommended product we can't seem to get over here  ::) :D

I think Nitromors might be the way to go over here.

Loving the sound of the monitor raising project. WAY above my levels of DIY  :notworthy:

ami-man

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1085
  • Last login:July 19, 2020, 01:22:45 pm
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #6 on: November 16, 2011, 05:24:21 am »
Hello,

I use a mixture to strip polished/varnished surfaces that I mix myself.

One part meths
One part white vinegar
One part white spirit or turps
Half a part of boiled linseed oil

The mixture is shaken well before being applied with fine fine wire wool.

Regards
Alan Hood
ami-man
UK

drventure

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4152
  • Last login:June 25, 2023, 02:23:57 pm
  • Laser Death Ray Bargain Bin! Make me an offer!
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #7 on: November 18, 2011, 06:31:59 pm »
Got a big order out today for some of the remaining parts.

First, an led light bar system that t3systems used in a wall mount jukebox. It's ostensibly for cars, but with 4 light bars that are sound activated, it'll work perfect for lighting underneath and behind the juke (to create wall wash effect).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I04Z7Q/ref=oh_o01_s01_i02_details

Next, some maroon speaker cloth. Yeah, I probably could have gotten some a little cheaper (no shipping) locally, but a few calls showed that black and grey were the only colors available locally. Meh.

Some 14" heavy duty drawer slides, to keep the top lined up straight when it lifts (think of the top as a sideless, bottomless drawer that opens vertically)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DD4A7/ref=oh_o01_s01_i01_details

A Pyle 2x75w mini amp. It's small, but should be strong enough to drive 2 small kenwood speakers and a sub. I'm not into cranking it terribly loud either.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001P2R1RW/ref=oh_o01_s00_i00_details

a Logitech k400 wireless keyboard/touchpad, gotta have a keyboard somehow, right?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DKZTMG/ref=oh_o01_s01_i00_details


I'm going to try and scavenge an old mobo, video card, and harddrive from my box o' parts. I REALLY dont want to buy an HD right now. Ugh. Besides, I won't need much space. I'm not planning on actually storing any MP3s etc on the machine. I'll access everything stored on my SAN server through wireless networking. Heck, I might even try running winxp off a USB key. Pretty sure I have a powersupply floating around too.

The only other key element is a linear actuator. An email to a cheap supplier tuned up squat (he no longer sells them), so I'm still looking for that piece.

greyhnds juke has some great looking VU meters in it. I'm seriously considering a pair of them, just not sure yet.

And of course, more pintuck burgundy taffeta.


You can't have enough of that stuff.   ;D

fa001

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 133
  • Last login:November 14, 2023, 11:17:08 am
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #8 on: November 19, 2011, 01:39:27 pm »
stereo noob question:

You mentioned that you were going to use the Pyle 2x75w mini amp to power two speakers and a sub. However I do not see a sub output on that amp. How are you powering the sub?

drventure

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4152
  • Last login:June 25, 2023, 02:23:57 pm
  • Laser Death Ray Bargain Bin! Make me an offer!
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #9 on: November 19, 2011, 02:44:59 pm »
The sub I happen to have looks like an "inline" sub (I guess that's what you call it).

You wire speakers from output into sub and then from sub out to the speakers.

There's no power to the sub itself. I'm guessing it's not going to be a super powerful subwoofer (It's from a set of 5.1 kenwood surround system that included a receiver). I'm using the receiver for something else but have the speakers and sub left over.

It might sound like crap, and if so, I'll have to find a powered sub with a crossover somewhere.

I think... I'm no stereo expert, but any stretch!

Nacimroc

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 303
  • Last login:October 20, 2015, 03:46:25 pm
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #10 on: November 21, 2011, 08:31:44 pm »
@Nacimroc

So now my plan is to have the entire top rise up on rails via linear actuator, with the touchscreen pivoting out as it rises (to give it good angle for use).

 So looking forward to stealing ammm blatently plagerising  learning from you!  :applaud: :applaud: I always wanted to try something with actuators but more for a arcade cab build but never had the guts to try. Might give it a go after you solve all the problems first!  :lol

drventure

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4152
  • Last login:June 25, 2023, 02:23:57 pm
  • Laser Death Ray Bargain Bin! Make me an offer!
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #11 on: November 21, 2011, 10:35:34 pm »
Quote
after you solve all the problems first

The assumption there is that I will ;)

For a juke, shouldn't be a big deal since the actuator will be controlled by a switch, not by the cabinet (in my buffet, though, the actuator will rotate the screen, so it'll have to be controlled via software, that's a whole different animal.

DaOld Man

  • Trade Count: (+4)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5139
  • Last login:December 13, 2023, 12:03:14 am
  • Wheres my coffee?
    • Skenny's Outpost
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #12 on: November 24, 2011, 07:05:42 am »
This is going to be a good one.
looking forward to watching the progress.

drventure

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4152
  • Last login:June 25, 2023, 02:23:57 pm
  • Laser Death Ray Bargain Bin! Make me an offer!
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #13 on: December 12, 2011, 05:36:59 pm »
A little progress over the weekend

First, I got my 14" slide rails in, so I drilled them and bolted on some angle brackets to attach the top to.


Then, I got the LED set I'd ordered in, so I hooked it up to test. It's a set that's intended for auto interiors, so it's 12vdc, and it has a little control module with it. Works great, super bright LEDs. I'm going to put 2 tubes on the back of the cabinet facing the wall, and two on the bottom facing down. The goal is for a "wall and floor light wash" effect, but to be completely invisible when you turn things off.



The music sensor works ok, not great, but it should be good enough for this application.

What's nice about this unit is that the control module retains it's last setting from power off to power on, so once it's set in "music" mode, it'll stay that way. a Requirement for a cab like this.

Blatantly copying Paying homage to an idea from Gryhnd's Rat Rod, I picked up these VU Meters and a controller board, to add a little retro flair. Yeah, it's not period, but neither are those LED tubes  :)



Then, I had a little time to even further disassemble the back massager that will eventually (hopefully) become my linear actuator, cabinet auto opening mechanism.



I spliced into the wires that I guessed were controlling the motor. Presto! I guessed right.

Looks like about 24vac on those wires, and to reverse the motor, you just switch polarity.

What's even more fortuitous is that the way this particular unit works, when you plug it in, if it doesn't +sense+ that it's at the bottom of it's travel, it automatically tries to "go home"

This means that with literally no additional work, the powersupply in the unit itself can be used to drive the motor.

All I have to do is wire up 2 limit switches in series with a 3 way toggle switch and I'm good to go.

Unfortunately, I thought I MIGHT be able to use the geared shafts (that normally drive the little spinning "massage fingers"), and I could. Except that at .6 rpm, it'd take almost 5 minutes for it to lift up the required 13 inches  :D

Sooo. I'll be disassembling the gear motor part and driving the threaded rod of my actuator directly from the motor axle. Considering no one will ever be sitting on top of the unit when it raises, i'm guessing that motor will have enough torque.

Next up will be pics of the refinished cab. It's in the middle of the "apply poly/let dry/steel wool/repeat" cycle right now, so it's not much to look at.

Once that's done, it can come inside from the garage and be much more pleasant to work on.

DaOld Man

  • Trade Count: (+4)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5139
  • Last login:December 13, 2023, 12:03:14 am
  • Wheres my coffee?
    • Skenny's Outpost
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #14 on: December 12, 2011, 05:47:13 pm »
I like the VU meters, and the robotic opening of the top, well, what can I say?

drventure

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4152
  • Last login:June 25, 2023, 02:23:57 pm
  • Laser Death Ray Bargain Bin! Make me an offer!
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #15 on: December 12, 2011, 05:51:24 pm »
@daoldman

Thanks. This has been a bit simpler build than my other (although I still don't have that top completely figured out yet, but at least I can manually lift and lower it so I +was+ able to get the rails square!)

Hopefully, it'll come together quicker, too!


drventure

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4152
  • Last login:June 25, 2023, 02:23:57 pm
  • Laser Death Ray Bargain Bin! Make me an offer!
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #16 on: December 12, 2011, 06:10:02 pm »
A few more pics I'd never uploaded

These are the knobs I ended up finding on ebay. Dirty as hell when I got them, but they cleaned and polished up nicely.



I was able to restore the original front panel brass grommet (I guess that's what you call the thing), it turned out quite nice.
I found an old steel knob from a piece of surplus military equipment my dad had in his garage, so with a  strip of the army green paint that was on it, and a quick spray coat of metalized gold, it even matches.



A couple of donor PCs (one was a 1.7 ghz P4, the other was a total piece of crap, the case had been dropped from the attic and was badly busted up, but some of the internal bits were still good.





The Kenwood speakers I'll be using (at least for right now, I'm not completely sold on how they sound. Personally, I think the Altec Lansing 2.1 computer speakers I used in my buffet sound better, but we'll see). You can also see the little pyle Amplifier in the background.



And finally, my workbench with the PC/touchscreen setup and getting a fresh coat of XP



The tangle of mice will (hopefully) be connected to the front panel knobs for things like volume control, playlist selection, etc. I've already got the AHK script necessary to read the three mice independently and map each to different functions.

drventure

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4152
  • Last login:June 25, 2023, 02:23:57 pm
  • Laser Death Ray Bargain Bin! Make me an offer!
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #17 on: December 25, 2011, 10:04:17 am »
Got a little time over the xmas break.

Finished up the hack job on 3 mice and got them mounted.



You can also see the back side mounting (the copper thing) for the miniature TV that replaces the old tuning dial visible from the front. Not sure exactly what I'll do with that, but it looks cool!

For the mice, I basically used plain old optical mice with a mechanical rotary encoder for the scroll wheel.

I desoldered the scroll wheel encoder, and wired some extensions over to new encoders I picked up from Digikey.



These are kind of nifty because they have a button built right in. All I had to do was run 3 wires for the encoder and 2 for the button back over to the mouse board. Presto, 3 front mounted knobs that can be pushed (via middle mouse button), and spun just as if they were mouse wheels.

(I should note, I didn't pick up +exactly+ the right encoders, but I used them anyway. These encoders are 20 detent clicks per revolution, the original mouse encoders were 24, and the quadrature offset is not 90' so I had to use a little clever Autohotkey coding to reduce the "double scroll hits" I was getting. Not a big deal, but not EXACTLY like the original mouse behaviour.

Got the subwoofer and rear LED lights mounted



Also mounted a set that will light up the inside of the speaker grill. However, i'm actually hiding the speakers behind ANOTHER grill cloth. My eventual intent is to put a bunch of wires and gears and tubes and pipes in there so that when turned on, it "looks" like you're looking into the guts of the machine. We'll see how that goes....

And here's the unit from the front, closed up.



I'm still on the fence about the radio knobs. They're a tad larger than I had envisioned. It's easy enough to swap out knobs, So I'm not too worried there.

There will also be a large jeweled ON lamp, as well as 2 VU Meters, just don't have them mounted yet.


BobA

  • Trade Count: (+14)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5943
  • Last login:July 11, 2018, 09:52:14 pm
  • What Me Worry?
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #18 on: December 26, 2011, 11:12:54 am »
Nice looking build.  Sort of Retro with new age components.  Great work  :applaud: :applaud:

drventure

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4152
  • Last login:June 25, 2023, 02:23:57 pm
  • Laser Death Ray Bargain Bin! Make me an offer!
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #19 on: December 26, 2011, 12:29:30 pm »
Thanks

Yeah, I'm trying to take a bit more restrained approach on this one. Hopefully, when closed up, it'll look more or less completely original.

When open, it'll be more modern, but not quite as "steampunky" as my buffet...


Nacimroc

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 303
  • Last login:October 20, 2015, 03:46:25 pm
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #20 on: December 26, 2011, 12:43:06 pm »
 :applaud: :applaud: Looks real nice! I like the hack with the mouse.

gryhnd

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 639
  • Last login:May 22, 2018, 10:48:58 am
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #21 on: December 26, 2011, 05:52:41 pm »
Blatantly copying Paying homage to an idea from Gryhnd's Rat Rod, I picked up these VU Meters and a controller board, to add a little retro flair. Yeah, it's not period, but neither are those LED tubes  :)

 :applaud:
In progress: Rat Rod Jukebox ** 99% Complete **
Completed: The Island Cocktail, and here
Completed: No Name Upright

drventure

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4152
  • Last login:June 25, 2023, 02:23:57 pm
  • Laser Death Ray Bargain Bin! Make me an offer!
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #22 on: January 13, 2012, 06:19:24 pm »
Ok, time for an update on this gizmo....

First, I finally dismantled the drive motor (from an old Back massager chair thinggee).



First, i flattened the shaft witha  grinder so i could use a setscrew on it.



I mounted the motor to a board, trimmed it to fit and screwed everything in.



The motor shaft is coupled to the threaded rod (that lifts the top), via part of a concrete anchor bolt. It's the only thing I could find that would mate the smooth motor shaft to the threaded rod and not vibrate everything to hell.

The lift itself is a piece of copper tube with a nut soldered into the end.

The nut rides up and down the spinning threaded rod, lifting the top as it goes.

The wing shaped wooden plates help stabilize the copper tube and reduce vibration.



I still need to smooth things out a bit, and it's not a silent operation, but it does work...

Next, I got the VU meters, knobs and trim plate all mounted.



You can't really tell in this picture but that flat spot in the middle of the brass eschutcheon is actually a mini tv screen. Got that all mounted too.

And finally, I REALLY wanted to use as much of the original hardware as I had available, and there was sweet little "Distant/Local" tuning toggle switch on the side that I had to use somehow.

Presto! Make it control the lift mech!

Here it is from the front



The switch was only the front part, the actual switch mechanics were long gone.

So, I picked up a DTDP mini toggle, drilled a hole in it, and used some creative wire bending skills to connect the old toggle front piece to the real toggle switch, then mounted them both on some bent scrap copper.



And It Works!

With any luck, this weekend, i'll get it wired up and get some video of the mechanism in action.








drventure

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4152
  • Last login:June 25, 2023, 02:23:57 pm
  • Laser Death Ray Bargain Bin! Make me an offer!
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #23 on: February 20, 2012, 04:53:21 pm »
A little more progress on this project.

First, I hooked up the speakers to a little mp3 player to take it for a test drive and discovered there was just a little too much soundbox vibration for my taste.

So I pulled some tar vibration dampener that I used on my Volkswagen and applied it liberally to the inside.



And Installed



With that in place, the sound was much richer, not near as "speaker in a thin wood box" echoey as it was before.

I already had my monitor bracket built up and the left mechanism in place, but I didn't have a good way to pivot the monitor forward once it's all the way up. This was important because the ELO touchscreen I have has a VERY limited range of viewing angles.

After a lot of head scratching, I ended up with a simple cable stay tied to an angle bracket bolted to the hinged monitor frame.



You can see it toward the top of the pic, the silver bracket, a clip and a small turnbuckle to adjust it all.

The wire cable is tied to the turnbuckle and runs to the bottom of the cab, it's slack when the screen is lowered, but goes taught just before the screen is all the way up, causing it to pivot out slightly.

The screen ends up a tad "bouncy" but it's workable. I suppose I could have used 1 or 2 linear actuators to pivot it forward as well, but controlling the timing (it can't pivot forward too early or it'll bang into things) was critical.

Here you can see the space I have to work with behind the monitor (the tied-on USB hub is mainly for maintenance, there's no CD drive or floppy, so it'll be hidden inside).



And here, in FRONT of the monitor.



If it pivots out too soon, mangled monitor  :) or worse....

The next step is to sew up the curtain that will surround and hide all that inner hardware.

Here you can see the inner frame that all the gear is mounted to. There's about a 1" gap all the way around that the curtain can drop down into when the screen is lowered.




The biggest challenge so far has been making sure that, given the tight space involved, and the use of mechanical components, nothing will end up bumping into electrical elements and shorting, and nothing will fold into moving parts and jam or trash itself.

All things considered, going the lift top way will be nice, but it complicated things much more than I anticipated.

gryhnd

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 639
  • Last login:May 22, 2018, 10:48:58 am
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #24 on: February 21, 2012, 12:20:22 pm »
 :applaud:

Your stuff always goes to 11  :laugh:
In progress: Rat Rod Jukebox ** 99% Complete **
Completed: The Island Cocktail, and here
Completed: No Name Upright

TopJimmyCooks

  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2097
  • Last login:March 26, 2024, 01:18:39 pm
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #25 on: February 22, 2012, 01:57:18 pm »
I like the cable tilt mechanism.  keeps it simple.  less actuation gives less headaches and maintenance. 

drventure

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4152
  • Last login:June 25, 2023, 02:23:57 pm
  • Laser Death Ray Bargain Bin! Make me an offer!
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #26 on: February 22, 2012, 02:27:27 pm »
Exactly, I just had to make SURE that that cable didn't bend around and touch in circuit boards accidentally while the cab was closing up. I think I'm all good there now,though...

drventure

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4152
  • Last login:June 25, 2023, 02:23:57 pm
  • Laser Death Ray Bargain Bin! Make me an offer!
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #27 on: February 24, 2012, 11:57:55 am »
A minor update on progress

One thing I ran into once I actually powered this thing on is I was getting some vibrational noise.

I started poking around and discovered that the CPU fan (just a stock cooler, nothing special) was, itself, noiseless, but it caused a vibration, that given the way the MOBO had to be mounted was being amplified by the whole cabinet.

I thought about picking up an alternate cooler, but this being a cheap build. I went with a lower tech approach  :)

I found some foam insulating tape and just glued it to the fan mount and then to the fan itself. Works perfect, no fan noise anymore! and free!





I worried a little about vibration noise from the Harddrive and powersupply, but, I've mounted both with industrial Velcro (that stuff is fantastic!) and it effectively damps any vibration there is.




the velcro is mounted to the HD rails, not the hd itself (or at least not to any circuit boards etc) and there's plenty of space for ventilation.

Nothing particularly special, just a handy and quick way to resolve the problem.



drventure

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4152
  • Last login:June 25, 2023, 02:23:57 pm
  • Laser Death Ray Bargain Bin! Make me an offer!
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #28 on: March 06, 2012, 06:40:34 pm »
While I've been waiting for an acme screw couplings from McMaster Carr (the threaded rod/nut combo from home depot I used, just flat isn't going to cut it. It chatters like a train coming through the house), I decided to put a little time on the software.

Originally, I +really+ wanted to use J River Media Center. They have a "Theater Mode" which is fairly easy to skin and works quite nice.

Unfortunately, it's really tailored for an actual HTPC. It +works+ with a touch screen, but works is being pretty generous. Sucks too,because that app is quite nice, lots of remote control functions, addins, etc.

After looking at Greyhnd's RatRod again, I decided to grab the demo of AlbumPlayer.

While it's certainly not as capable as JRMC, it's definitely got two things going for it.

1) It's EASY to skin, and very easy to make alterations to the existing skins, much easier than JRMC.
2) It seems designed from the ground up to work with touchscreens.

And as a bonus, the included skins are fantastically high quality and span a nice range, from Juke style, to antique, to sleek modern.

I took the "Nostalgica" skin and made a few minor mods (debranded it, and changed some background textures).

This is what I've ended up with at this point.



That's actually the 1024x768 size (the size of my touchscreen).

What I REALLY like about AlbumPlayer over JRMC is that it puts virtually everything you're really want to commonly use right up front, and yet it doesn't feel crowded.

It's not cheap (about 47$ us), but I think in the end, it'll work better in this particular case.

Meph

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 157
  • Last login:February 19, 2024, 05:40:34 pm
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #29 on: March 06, 2012, 07:23:31 pm »
Have you tried E-Touch?  I use E-Touch on my jukes and creating custom skins can be a bit difficult, there are a lot of custom skins out there already.  The link below shows just some of the v7 skins released.  If you become a lifetime supporter you get access to the private skins and your selection of skins triples.

http://www.freeboxjukebox.com/Forum/index.php?board=32.0

drventure

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4152
  • Last login:June 25, 2023, 02:23:57 pm
  • Laser Death Ray Bargain Bin! Make me an offer!
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #30 on: March 06, 2012, 08:59:24 pm »
Yeah, Etouch might have worked except they really seem to almost be trying to make it difficult to check out their software.

They kind of hide the download link on the etouch main page (I only now happened to see it as a "more" link in the announcements area, and the link you posted you only get access to if you're registered (and maybe a paid member, not sure). And the screenshots page doesn't list anything at all.

The screenshots that I did happen to find didn't really do much for me. Not saying it's not a good package. A lot of people swear by it.

I went with AlbumPlayer mainly from what I saw on Greyhnd's thread, and grabbing a demo was really easy.

There are a few things about it that seem to be missing, but I'm going to roll with it for a while and see how it goes.

Meph

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 157
  • Last login:February 19, 2024, 05:40:34 pm
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #31 on: March 07, 2012, 06:44:42 am »
I have to agree with you about the website.  He does a great job with updating his software and there is usually at least one new beta build daily.  He's really on top of fixing things you want but his website is horrible, his ordering process is horrible, and the fact that most of the good skins aren't available unless your a "lifetime" supporter is kinda crap.

http://www.freeboxjukebox.com/Forum/index.php?topic=3540.0

That is the skin I currently use because I love the clean look to it.  I took a look at AlbumPlayer that you linked and I might check it out.  I have been getting the itch again for more projects and I have a shipment of 5 ELO touchscreens coming tomorrow so I guess its time to check out some other software.  Is AlbumPlayer fully functional in the trial version?

drventure

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4152
  • Last login:June 25, 2023, 02:23:57 pm
  • Laser Death Ray Bargain Bin! Make me an offer!
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #32 on: March 07, 2012, 08:02:47 am »
Yes, Albumplayer is a fully functional demo.

The only limit that I know of is that after 15 minutes of play, it'll just stop, and you have to press play again. Very reasonable for a demo package.


drventure

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4152
  • Last login:June 25, 2023, 02:23:57 pm
  • Laser Death Ray Bargain Bin! Make me an offer!
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #33 on: March 07, 2012, 11:04:17 pm »
Interesting note about ELO touchscreens (at least the one that I have, and older 15" model).

If you enable the Windows "Power save" mode to turn off the monitor after so many minutes, when it comes back on, the touchscreen is dead.

You can either reboot or unplug the USB cable to the monitor and reconnect it.

Ugh.

Fortunately, the blank screensaver will black the screen, although it doesn't shut the light off. But it doesn't disable the touchscreen either.

Meph

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 157
  • Last login:February 19, 2024, 05:40:34 pm
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #34 on: March 08, 2012, 06:36:42 am »
I had a lot of problems with 2 different USB ELO Touchscreens.  Powersaving was off but I would continually lose my touch controls.  Sometimes it worked for hours, sometimes for minutes.  Some times reconnecting worked, others didn't.  I eventually gave up on the USB versions and bought the Serial ones instead and have had no problems at all.  I still have one USB version sitting around that randomly disconnects that I might pull out and mess with again sometime.

drventure

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4152
  • Last login:June 25, 2023, 02:23:57 pm
  • Laser Death Ray Bargain Bin! Make me an offer!
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #35 on: March 08, 2012, 07:42:52 am »
Ugh. Here's hoping that's not what I've got. I know there's a software way to "simulate" yanking and replugging a USB device. I'd just rather not have to go down that path.

But I've only got the one touchscreen right now.

So far though, if I don't enable the powerdown mode, everything seems to stay working right.

gryhnd

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 639
  • Last login:May 22, 2018, 10:48:58 am
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #36 on: March 10, 2012, 10:08:40 pm »
Have you tried E-Touch?  I use E-Touch on my jukes and creating custom skins can be a bit difficult, there are a lot of custom skins out there already.  The link below shows just some of the v7 skins released.  If you become a lifetime supporter you get access to the private skins and your selection of skins triples.

http://www.freeboxjukebox.com/Forum/index.php?board=32.0

When I was building the Rat Rod a couple years back now, I really tried hard to make E-touch work for me. I liked the concept, but it was a P.I.T.A. IMO. The website sucked...it was basically a huge forum with no way to (easily) find the actual product to download. When I finally did it seemed OK at first until I tried to load my MP3s in. None of them came up with any artwork, etc automatically. That was not acceptable to me. Sure, maybe I missed something and with some messing around I could have figured it out. But it should have worked O.O.B. to be an acceptable solution.

Album Player did that. Downloaded the demo and within 20' I was running full on.

For the family to be able to use this and load songs easily was key, and AP fit the bill.

Plus I liked the retro skin  ;D
In progress: Rat Rod Jukebox ** 99% Complete **
Completed: The Island Cocktail, and here
Completed: No Name Upright

gryhnd

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 639
  • Last login:May 22, 2018, 10:48:58 am
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #37 on: March 10, 2012, 10:11:14 pm »
Interesting note about ELO touchscreens (at least the one that I have, and older 15" model).

If you enable the Windows "Power save" mode to turn off the monitor after so many minutes, when it comes back on, the touchscreen is dead.

You can either reboot or unplug the USB cable to the monitor and reconnect it.

Ugh.

Fortunately, the blank screensaver will black the screen, although it doesn't shut the light off. But it doesn't disable the touchscreen either.

My screen runs the entire time...no power saving mode. I've not had any problems either with the touchscreen going out or with any sort of burn in fwiw. Maybe it's just me, but I do not want my juke screen to go blank  ;D
In progress: Rat Rod Jukebox ** 99% Complete **
Completed: The Island Cocktail, and here
Completed: No Name Upright

drventure

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4152
  • Last login:June 25, 2023, 02:23:57 pm
  • Laser Death Ray Bargain Bin! Make me an offer!
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #38 on: March 10, 2012, 11:23:14 pm »
I'd rather not have the screen blank either. This particular unit I believe was from a bank teller machine. I'm pretty sure those devices are displaying something 24hours a day, but there was no noticeable burn in or shadows on the screen.

I just didn't necessarily want the screen "on" 24hours a day if I left the machine on, because it's pretty bright

I don't really want to have to power it up and down each time I want to use it because the old MOBO i'm using takes almost 30 seconds just to get past the initial bios boot screen.

It may just have to stay on all the time...

drventure

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4152
  • Last login:June 25, 2023, 02:23:57 pm
  • Laser Death Ray Bargain Bin! Make me an offer!
Re: Another Antique Radio->Jukebox conversion
« Reply #39 on: March 10, 2012, 11:30:09 pm »
Ugh.

Well, I gave it the ol' college try, but my home made linear actuator just sucks. It rattles so bad, it sounds like a train or a helicopter coming through the room. It literally woke my daughter up in her bedroom, upstairs, at the other end of the house.

If the HD was powered on, there's no telling what platter scrambling effects it'd have.

 :'(

So, I bit the bullet and ordered a proper actuator



This one is from surpluscenter.com
http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?item=5-1773&catname=electric

it's not cheap, but it's not ridiculous either, it's 12vdc so I've already got a PS available to drive it, and it'll plug right into all the control wiring I used for my scratch built unit.

Next time, I'll just go with a full on actuator in the first place.

I suppose it was an interesting process though  ::)