Mountain Juke for mom (Upd. 12-Apr-09 Final Pics and Movies, Finished)

[Martijn]

Hi

I got this impossible idea to give my mother a juke media player in mountain style for Xmas and for her new home.

It will be done when its done 

She and my dad sold their old house where i grew up 

And now she has a nice smaller home. She always loves my multimedia home. So i thought i give her this to use.
My dad cant even handle a VCR, so he also must be able to start it and select a radio channel or album he likes.

If it wont finish before Xmas i will give it when the moving is done, should be 10 of January.

I read all the mountain juke topics and wrote down all your steps and combined the build with the best simple steps to get it done. (more copy past then actually writing

Specs

- ELO TOUCHSYSTEMS ET1545L-8UWC-1 15" LCD got it off eBay, more expensive in Europe then in the us
- AMD CPU Athlon X2 4550e 2.5GHZ 45W
- Conceptronic Remote Control for Windows Media Center
- 250 GB S-ATA II Harddisk Western Digital 7200 (16MB)
- SlimLine CD/DVD to IDE converter (slimline-ide-dvd)
- Emko 090FLS - 90W 220V - Passive PSU
- NEC DVD-RW Slimline Black AD-7633A LF (LabelFlash,Slot-in,Bulk)
- Jetway MB JNC62K Mini-ITX
- Kingston DIMM DDR2 800 CL5, 2 GB (1 x 2 GB)
- Creative X240 sound

As you can see i will implement a slot in DVD drive somewhere. 

Space is very important, i already saw a nice place in their home on a shelf for its resting place.
And i get a free piece of laminate the same color as their furnature and kitchen. Also the kitchen has some silver accents
So chrome t-molding is an option, but don't know for sure.

The piece of laminate gives me a very small juke. I drawn the juke out many times in google sketchup and i should fit with the 15 inch screen.

the juke will be rotatable and the speaker will be in the bottom section. The speaker set is a 2.1 audio set. it was a in discount and it sounded OK for that price. don't know if the sub will like it when i take it apart.

Here some pics..

The free piece of laminate i got


My balcony with a temporarily setup.


Here we go.


Costum jig..


After day one..


That's it for day one of the build

the bottom part is already cut to size and laminated now and drying.

Everything is ordered except for a volume knob..

[drawfull]

Sounds cool Martijn. I'm thinking of  using a x240 set I have to replace the blown speaker in my mrs juke. Haven't hooked them up yet (bought for another project) - what do you listen to / what do they sound like? I noticed the satellites are not really dismantalable unless you sacrifice the back cover - what are you going to do about that or re you going to make them fit? (I can't do that)...

 

[Martijn]

taking apart the satellites is normally a bad idea, if you remove them the quality goes bad quickly. then they sound like 1 euro shop speakers At least it think that because i have done it with other systems.

mine fit in the bottom section. the satellites are 6,5cm width so i based the bottom secton on that
bottom plate + speaker width + top plate = 8,1 cm

i wont use it but my parents will think it will sound great.

also i will hook it up to the stereo they have for when its disco time

[Franco B]

Looking good buddy!

I see you have the been bitten by the building bug good and propper then?

The cd/dvd drive is a good idea, is it just the slot loading type or tray loading?

[Martijn]

slot in i think it will look great. i have some left over slot in light and parts for wii case modding. a case mod comes with 4 different slot lights and i will hook it up to the drive led somehow. also it has a nice dust cover in front so you wont see anything

i was hooked on this unit when mountain started. i always wanted to build one

worst part is collection nice items for it. in USA there are way more shops who sell everyting, from router guides and circle jig to laminate 

[waveryder]

It seems that after a cab everyone goes for a jukebox! And boy are they all coming out well. Must be the building bug! If this is even half as good build quality as your cab your moms gonna be blown away. Cant believe how many lucky other halves/family members are getting a "project" for  Christmas. At least the recipetent of yours doesn't read the boards....Some of us have been working on our christmas projects for months in secret

[Martijn]

ill do my best , but it will be just more of the same, laminated. plexi front
same monitor.

Maybe you can create a marquee for me ?

[waveryder]

Maybe you can create a marquee for me ?

After Xmas thats no problem. Avoiding this kind of artwork until after then
Are you going to use a griffin powermate for the volume control?

[mountain]

Looks good Martijn, you got a lot done on your first day! 

[Martijn]

thnx

the clamps where only 75 cents for 2 pieces !! on discount!!
they work great

I need a aluminium or metal or best chrome volume knob !!!

impossible to find

i have been browsing the net for days now and nothing like the quality of a powermate
but as i wont use it, its to expensive to buy it and take it apart.


Oh my screen got in today !! so i can make it fit this weekend. Its much harder then i thought it would be.
strange little wires for x and y axes on top of the glass etc..

[Martijn]

here is a picture of my current status.

Top piece is laminated and the front and back are removable for mounting.
The bottom box is build and laminated.

Not the best of pics because a lot of protective plastic everywhere.
but you get the idea.

[DaOld Man]

Great job Martijn...
You work very fast.

[Martijn]

holy crap what a day

worked 5 hours on it

still need to make pictures. but enjoying a bottle of wine with my girlfriend and ambient Xmas lights in my house

what i got done.

- back panel for input output
- front speaker frame
- monitor frame cut and also the marquee

this was the harderst part i am sure.

it all went great and am very pleased with the progress...

still need to find a volume knob and rotating device

i found this , would this work OK without the top unit wobbling around when the touchscreen is pressed



its with ballbearing and can be screwed on top and bottom.

back to the red wine 

[Martijn]

I found a free rotating device i will get it tomorrow.

i cant continue my work now because i am waiting for the plexi to arrive.
the one they send was transparent and i need black !

here some pics

The front frame, the volume knob part is gone, i will add this part a little later.



Speaker holes


Bottom of the jukebox, with openings for the fan and woofer


Top of the speaker box, with opening for wires and airflow, ready and waiting for the ballbearing turning device.



that's it for now.

Now i need to wait for my plexi to arrive, then i can make the monitor flush with it and then it will come together quickly

[Martijn]

oh forgot the back 

[Martijn]

Finally finally i received my plexi..

Because it was 1 week late i am never gonna be able to finish it now in time for Xmas 

oh well..

better late then never..

Here a little pic of the front panel before Plexiglas



and started to plexi all the parts..



also the CPU i ordered isn't made anymore or something he said, so he gave me a faster one for free 

[Martijn]

Little update..

Finished the pc panel.

Airflow will come from the bottom over the harddisk , psu and mainboard.

[DaOld Man]

Looking good buddy!
I am going to have to get me one of those mini itx boards.

[Martijn]

Yeah they are great and small

here are some pics of the plexi cutted and 45 degree bevel.

Also the DVD slot is cut, this was hard because i don't have router cutters with bearing that fit inside the slot for 45 degree bevel.

Front plexi cut and beveled


2 holes for 2 buttons and the DVD slot


DVD slot 45 degree beveled


i am happy it worked out in one go..

[shrunkenmaster]

Newbie question - what are you using to cut the plexi? And also, what do you use to do the bevel? Looking great so far, by the way!

[Martijn]

a router with the correct bits

[Martijn]

Small update with dark pictures   

Started on polishing the plexi, its going OK. still not shiny enough
i have 600,1000,1600,2000 grid and polish wax

Do i need to make the sandingpaper wet?



I also got the monitor fitted.







That's all for now.

[Franco B]

Looking good Martijn 

I only went up to 1200 grit when polishing (320>600>800>1200). It looks like you have a good even finish with no scratches but obvioulsy its not glossy shiny. I imagine that the polishing wax you are using isn't quite doing the job. I got a Novus polishing kit sent over from the US and its really does work well. I had similar results to you after polishing up to 1200 grit but as soon as you use the first polishing solution in the Novus kit the shine really appears which is then enhanced by the second solution.

[This] is the kit I bought from US eBay. They also do a [smaller] kit too.

What router bit did you use to do the bevel on the CD slot? 

[Martijn]

hi and thank you for the tip.

Ill search for this product. or i didnt use the wax properly, ill test some more tonight.

i placed the router with 2 pieces of wood on both sides so i could slide left and right without moving up or down.

then cut the slot with the smallest



 then use this bit for the bevel. it worked out great

[Franco B]

I didn't think you would be able to get a roundover or chamfer bit with a bearing small enough to follow the profile of the slot but I didnt realise you did it with a plain chamfer bit. I would never have though of that, I guess you just set the chamfer bit central to the middle of the slot? Good job 

[Martijn]

yes, after the slot cut then just replace the bit and dril to the correct dept and lock it and slide left and right

[Martijn]

ok Franco B , i found Novus on local webshops in my country. ill order some.

[Nvts]

I found my Novus at the local Harley shop for $20, which was less then I could order it with shipping online.

I used a Micro-Mesh Pen Sanding Kit to do the non rough sanding, and it worked great.  it was shiny before I got to the Novus.  I did wet sanding.

[Martijn]

Thanks Nvts ill look into that too.

Here some pics of some hardware modding Its a test setup, nothing permanent, thats why the claw is there

I got a spare wii case mod what comes with 4 different slot in DVD light with black curtens material so you wont see a hole for the DVD slot.



The voltage was the same of the wii console and the DVD drive led, so installing was a breeze.



When the drive is busy the light turns on, during boot (post) it is on and then turns off its pretty cool.

when its accessing the drive it doesn't flash on / off fast, it just stays on until its done accessing the drive





My mom likes red and has red accents in her home, that way i choose red for her.

[Franco B]

Nice touch 

[thatitalian]

SWEET!

[reko19]

Martijn,
Looks very good. What are the round openings on the sides of the DVD drive for, just curious. Is Nintendo Wii mode plugs into the DVD drive or did you just solder in wires for the LED light?

As an FYI for everyone, Novus is available from any on-line pinball parts store, it is often used for polishing a play field. My favorite is www.pinballlife.com, but there are many more.

Regards

[Martijn]

hi,

the openings are for 2 buttons, i soldered the wiidrive led to the led on the dvd drive (removed the dvd drive led)

I sell displex display polish in my shop and tried it out. its vert shiny now. i think i will settle with it.

[Bender]

Love the light up drive
Nice touch!

[Martijn]

using displex really shined things up. its hard to make a good picture. the beveled edges now match the material 

[thatitalian]

That thing looks like shiny t-molding! Awesome job bud!

[mountain]

The polish made a world of difference. Looking great so far!

[jthompson]

Looks great! I can vouch for that displex stuff too, worked great to get the scratches off of my cell phone display.

[Martijn]

unfortunately my girlfriend broke her ankle. so i need to take care of the children more now until she is up again.

this project is down for the moment 

but gives me more time to think things out and maybe some great new ideas

[Martijn]

Done some things to the juke

polished everything with novus 1 2 and 3 



The drive led has been mounted



Stole Daoldman idea about a led behind the volume knob.

the idea is not finished yet, and the volume knob isn't positioned for its final resting place.

the knob will be more close to the plexi so less light bleeding.

the light you see is more intense on the pictures then in real time.







That's it for now

[reko19]

Martijn,
Could you please elaborate on how this is done, how many LEDs behind? Also, did you nail down volume control you are going to use.

Thanks.

[Bender]

Awesome!

Yeah, how did you do that?

[Martijn]

1 bright red led does this job, just make a hole 1,2 cm off the center of the knob, 5 mm led i used
because there is plastic inside the knob the glow surrounds great

i removed the protection plastic a little to check in black plexi and it is een better then i thought !

[Bender]

so there is no hot spot?
and your not diffusing the light in any way other than reflecting off the back of the knob?

[DaOld Man]

Man, great work on the volume knob LED!
Thats what I was wanting for the griffin led, but the mirror idea didnt work.
My griffin fails to start probably 1 out of 3 times now, so I see a downward trend.
Im beginning to shift into the planning stage now of replacing it with a pot. So then I can install leds like you did and light up my world.
If anyone else on here is panning to build one of these jukes, I highly recommend you try to find a powermate type knob and use a pot. The powermate is way to expensive to work like it does.
Although I do like the push to mute function. I am still thinking of going that route with the pot.

[Martijn]

Thanks OldMan

Here some more better pics with protection plastic peeled





i love it 

here 2 videos of the dvd drive in action. its mounted and buttons are working and dvd drive led is done.

NOTE : The red light around the drive is more visible in real life. The blogcam is a crap videocam

Demo in the dark

! No longer available

Demo in the light

! No longer available

[Martijn]

Little update as where i am

pc is working and placed
lazy suzan type of device is mounted

tested printed some art work

screen is mounted and working
power button and eject and leds all work



bit messy, just for testing purposes



some classical musical tones as art fits nice in my old peoples home

[AcidArmitage]

looks amazing so far


Where did you find that volume knob?

[Martijn]

Its a griffin PowerMate

http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/powermate

has many cool features. you can press the knob for a command and press and turn left for another command for example

[AcidArmitage]

aww I thought you found a knob like that I wanted a powermate until i saw the problems they gave a lot of people. I hope yours gives you good luck though

[Martijn]

Update.

Everybody seems to be updating, so i cant stay behind 


I finished the backplate with painted chrome grill and the input output back panel

Here some shots

Plexi back is finished here with beveled edges and steel grill chrome painted





Its a dark room so it doesn't really shine here, but the beveled edges really shine now with the novus material 

The finished box



I/O panel holes all beveled and shined up



Front speaker panel done, its made of black plexi just like the front. Also beveled edged 



And here the finished I/O panel.

Features

- Bass level control knob for the subwoofer
- HDMI output with digital sound through hdmi, this connector is costum build by me
- Red and Black analog audio out connectors
- 2 x USB 2.0 Connectors
- RJ45 LAN adapter 1000Mbit
- Power connector
- Power switch

it turned out nice i think









its a bit dusty , the black plexi attracts dust like a magnet 

[javeryh]

Very cool I/O panel!  I like how everything is the same shape!   

[Martijn]

Here i am with the current status.

Its almost done building wise.  (is it ever)

Then just more multimedia filling and configuring software.

I still need to finish the backplate, the plate bended itself , i don't know why or how, i can fix it simply by adding screws to hold it flat. But then my just clicking in the backplate idea is gone.. 

Here some pics















and final best shot i think



I have to say. Respect to all who build one by hand. its a terrible job...

Also big thanks to mountain with his idea, and respect to the speed of the build as you also had to create the whole idea

My lazy suzan thing or how you call it to rotate the bottom box and top part is different then yours i think
i don't need magnets or anything, its strong as a house and no shacking at all.

i have a picture of it if anyone wants to see it.


next update will be when i finish up the backplate problem and done configuring the set

it will post up a video of it when its done

i got the radio working, and movies, pictures, Mame touchscreen games and of course music

[billpa]

looks phenomenal!!!

What juke software are you using?

[javeryh]

I would also like to know the juke software you are running.  Configuring everything is going to be the hardest part for me.  Nice job!!   

[reko19]

where did you get the round panel mounted USB connectors? thanks.

[Martijn]

Hi and thanks

I use meedios www.meedios.com its a nice mediacenter app.

I dont know if it will run smooth and fast on a atom proc. i use a dualcore 2.5ghz setup

the usb are Neutrik NA USB-B

[mountain]

Looks really good Martijn. Your attention to detail is top notch. The contrast between the wood and the black plexi looks nice.

Well done.

[Martijn]

He thanks mountain. I am glad you like it.

It was really hard to build because of some points

i think i have the smallest build from all the jukes. Height and width wise

- the width is so small i coudnt make t-molding cuts. i needed to cut of the T from the zilver molding and then just glue it on
And when i cut out the screen shape for making it flush to the plexi i had to remove everything from the mdf front panel on the sides to get it flush.

And thanks for the great idea

[thatitalian]

That thing is so sexy!

[kizer]

What skin are you using that supports your touch screen so well?

I run xbmc on my xbox and pc, but I use a remote and would like to tinker with a touch screen friendly version as well. This might suit my needs for an experiment.

[Martijn]

hi and thanx

i use www.meedios.com with chrome v2 skin and customised it

[javeryh]

I love the CD slot on the front of this thing.   Everything really came out great.   

[DaOld Man]

Great job, buddy!

[beanboy33]

I'm looking for a CD drive that has the slot instead of the drawer. 
What is the make and model of yours?

Also the buttons that are on each side of the CD drive.  Is one for power and one for CD eject?

[Martijn]

NEC DVD-RW Slimline Black AD-7633A LF (LabelFlash,Slot-in,Bulk)

yes 1 for power of the pc and montor
and 1 for eject

[Martijn]

Just to inform people who care.

I will be giving the juke on April 11Th. The whole family will come there for Easter, great time to give it and show it to everyone.

Before i will give it ill show some more pics on the finished backside and a movie running the OS

 

[mountain]

Great! Looking forward to it 

[beanboy33]

I just got a cd/dvd player and the xbox light bar that you used.  I can't figure out how it mounts to the cd/dvd player.  also how were you able to mount the whole assembly to you frony panel.  would you explain please?

[explorerman]

Martjin,

That juke came out awesome.  I can only hope that if I ever get mine finished that it will come close to the quality the you, Mountain and the others have shown.

Explorerman

[Martijn]

Ok, the metal pieces to hold the backplate straight did not work. The wood won from the metal 

I now removed the metal pieces and just hollowed all the wood from the backplate. 

Seems to do a lot better.

Final pics and movie comming before the 11th !! ( or on the 11th  )

[javeryh]

Ok, the metal pieces to hold the backplate straight did not work. The wood won from the metal 

I now removed the metal pieces and just hollowed all the wood from the backplate. 

Seems to do a lot better.

Final pics and movie comming before the 11th !! ( or on the 11th  )

hmmm... this does not bode well for me... I laminated most of the inside of the back panel (at least where I could but not around the top).  It is sitting under a stack of plywood right now hopefully straightening out.  I'll know more this weekend when I take it out from under there.  Mine isn't too warped but it was enough that I thought it might be a problem down the road.

[mountain]

Ok, the metal pieces to hold the backplate straight did not work. The wood won from the metal 

I now removed the metal pieces and just hollowed all the wood from the backplate. 

Seems to do a lot better.

Final pics and movie comming before the 11th !! ( or on the 11th  )

Maybe you could epoxy a few strategically placed pieces of 1/2" - 3/4" angle iron/aluminum to force it straight.

[Martijn]

my backpanel is plexi and wood, u removed the wood in the inside everywhere except around the edge. i think this will do the trick. i know tomorrow. i dont have the juke here...

[Martijn]

Hello,

As promised. here are the final outdoor pics. Including pics of the backside.

I will make a movie tomorrow before it will go to its final resting place to be used 










  Its me !




Dont mind the dust and stain, i was out of time for a good clean 




DVD Drive slot


Speaker Grill with cloth



Next picture isn't good for your juke  But i wanted to show the bottom

Not pretty but you get the idea, The woofer is inside its own box inside the bottom part



That's enough 

As you can see, no screws visible on the backside

Just a move left to make for all of you of how it works (OS) and opening the backside (ugly)

[Encryptor]

It's very nice. Great Job.    I'm sure your Mom will love it.



Encryptor

[Martijn]

As promised some videos, you can click HQ for a better viewing experience 

Simple rotating movie


Backside rotating movie and back panel removed and reinserted


Wiring the system up with just one cable.


Startup video, as you can see it also has a remote controll
Meedios startsup automaticly and the music plays from last time running meedios


Some game demonstration (Bejeweled, N64 Emulator(started to wrong rom), Touchmaster)



Main menu and Audio demo (youtube removed the audio for this movie due to copyright or something 


Disc insertion demo


Thats all for this juke 

[Martijn]

Here it is being enjoyed for its first time

[javeryh]

Awesome!  I really like the way things are set up - you have easy access to the music AND games and other stuff.  I might have to check out Meedios when I start configuring mine... which should hopefully be in the next two weeks or I hope Meedios is user-friendly. 

Very nice job!   

EDIT: How are you controlling the N64 games?  Is there a wireless USB adaptor for the PC or something?
EDIT2: Haha - nevermind - I see the PS2 controller in the other vid.  Nice.

[GameKing]

respect very cool