Oops! There goes another Mountain Juke Box! (*05/04/2009*) Update

[javeryh]

Do you have any interior shots with the computer installed? 

Also, did you use construction paper or something to trap the light behind the marquee above the monitor?  I'm thinking about a similar solution because the thing is heavy enough and I don't want to make it any heavier by adding more MDF, if possible.

I've been reading over this thread again - your juke is really sweet.

[DaOld Man]

Thanks jthompson!

Javeryh, thanks for the kind comments..
I used black poster board for the marquee back.
I didnt attach the led strip to the poster board, I attached it to the wood dowels that I used for front to back spacers.
The poster was left over from my rotating monitor project, I think it was 1/8" thick. Got it at Hobby Lobby.
Here are a few pics of the computer, I will try to get more later, I should get a good chance when I replace the powermate with a regular pot.



Notice how the poster board droops down? I plan to fix that too.

This is a shot of the hard drive, before DVD rom is installed.



Here is the DVD rom installed. (Pic is a little blurred).



I will try to get more pics later..

Edit: These pics got deleted by Saint because of something being corrupted.
Let me know if anyone wants to see them, I will re-post.

[javeryh]

Thanks for the pics!  I was curious because I'm trying to figure out how to cram everything inside.  I have the room but it's not working out exactly how I planned (nothing ever does).  How did you attach the posterboard?  It looks like there is a strip of tape on each side - are you concerned about that failing over time?  I think I'm going to go the posterboard route - I just need to think of how to mount the novamatrix light and allow for access to the volume knob.... just in case.  Also, is there a concern about heat and the paper catching fire?

[parag0n]

Is the marquee spelling of Rhythms intentional (regional) or a typo?

Fantastic work with the juke, just bought a touchscreen myself to make myself one

[DaOld Man]

Thanks for the pics!  I was curious because I'm trying to figure out how to cram everything inside.  I have the room but it's not working out exactly how I planned (nothing ever does).  How did you attach the posterboard?  It looks like there is a strip of tape on each side - are you concerned about that failing over time?  I think I'm going to go the posterboard route - I just need to think of how to mount the novamatrix light and allow for access to the volume knob.... just in case.  Also, is there a concern about heat and the paper catching fire?

I tried tape to hold the ends up, but it didnt work, so the tape is doing nothing.
The poster board is attached with two screws to a mdf rib that I installed earlier:





I hope this helps. You can probably just glue the back piece of mdf (rib) to the inside of the skin then attach the poster board in the same fashion. I wouldnt attach the light strip to the cardboard though, but if your rib is deep enough, you can attach it to that. Right now, the bottom of the poster board rests on top of the monitor, but it is sagging, so I plan to do something different. (Run a thin piece of wood across the two dowels to hold up the cardboard.)
Im not worried about fire, everything is pretty cool. The big grill in the back, the small one at the bottom back, and the fan pushing air from the speaker box seems to keep everything cool.

[DaOld Man]

Is the marquee spelling of Rhythms intentional (regional) or a typo?

Fantastic work with the juke, just bought a touchscreen myself to make myself one

Thanks! And good luck with your juke. Eyes will be watching!
 
About the rhythms. Yeah thats a typo. I had planned on getting someone to professionally redo the whole thing for me later because I ran out of build time, but the wife wont let me. She says it adds character to it. (Is that a good thing??)
I should never get in a hurry on these projects, but I always do.

[DaOld Man]

JH,
I dont think I posted this picture before, but here is the led strip before attaching the black cardboard.
I used L brackets. I attached the LED strip to the L brackets, then fastened the L brackets to the wood dowels with wire ties.
I also lined the mdf rib with aluminum duct tape. Worked out pretty good as a reflector.
The bottom edge of the led strip is just about even with the bottom edge of the mdf rib.

[reko19]

DaOld Man,
What kind of glue you were using to attach the skin, was it the carpenters glue? Thanks.

[DaOld Man]

Yes, I used Elmers Carpenter's Wood Glue.

[DaOld Man]

Finally got around to doing some needed updates on this juke.
First of all, I removed the very un-reliable Griffin powermate and replaced it with a 50K ohm dual audio pot from mouser.



I then bought a PC audio extension cord from Radio Shack  (#42-2492).



I then laid out the lengths I would need from the motherboard's audio jack to the pot,
and cut the cable.

I then stripped the outer jacket off both ends. I removed the aluminum foil shield, being careful not to cut the drain wire (ground). The lead on the left still has the foil on in this pic.



I then cut the wires to the length I needed. I slid heat shrink tubing over the ground wires.



Here is the wires soldered to the pot.
The grounds attach together on the pot tabs. The red and black wires from the female plug attach to the center posts of the two pots. The red and black wires from the male plug attach to the outside tabs. (This is very important.) I also insulated the connections with heat shrink.



Here is the pot before soldering the wires. the pot is mounted where the powermate originally did. I'm also using the powermate knob. It fits this pot perfectly.



I then made the backlight out of a piece of acrylic. I cut a (almost) round circle, then drilled holes to mount 3 super bright leds through it. I then attached the leds in series, along with 2 resistors. I used some of the PC audio extension cable to connect the leds to 12 volt power.
Here is a picture with everything installed. The leds are very bright, you can see the blue shining through the led lead holes.
I also used the bracket I used to hold the mirror behind the powermate.



Here is the light from the front, with the knob removed. very bright.



Here is a shot of the dell speaker bar plugged into the female cable.



Here is a shot of the front. The knob hides most of the light.
(but it looks a lot better in real life.)



And here it is from the side. picture came out blurred.



I also reprinted the marquee.
The pot works much better than the powermate. It works everytime.
The powermate, not so.
I turned the volume on the dell speaker bar all the way up. i also turned the volume on the windows audio all the way up.
I also had to replace the feet. I used some rubber pad thinggies, but they collapsed under the weight, so i bought some that are made out of hard rubber. much better.
Sorry about the quality of these pictures. The juke looks a lot better in real time.

[Fordman]

Looks Great!   

Too bad I didnt have the Griffin Powermate figured out and the install tutorial done a little sooner!

Great job on the Jukebox! 

Fordman