Touchscreen Jukebox Project

[david656]

Hi, its been a while since i finished the ol' quake machine, which i did learn a lot of 'what to do' and 'what not to do' !   but basically the time has come to do some more exciting projects ! and i have knocked together a basic 3D model of my plans... which *cough* are not based on Franco's Juke atall!

my initial plans was to go for a 12.1" because i didn't want to take up too much space but the prices are rediculous and since i saw http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/15-ELO-TOUCHSCREEN-MONITOR_W0QQitemZ320323800479QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_ComputerComponents_Monitors?hash=item320323800479&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1300%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318 on ebay i thought it would be my only shot at getting a decent priced relativly small touch screen in the UK

also what processor and ram would i be looking at to run just xp and wincab ... nothing else?

have a look at my basic mock up and tell me what you think... if the monitor is worth it i will get it but if not i will wait

PS ignore the wierd speakers on the side.... i want to go with the left design, 3 slits and then some red speaker cloth behind but im not sure how it would sound?

cheers in advance for all who look and comment    

[Franco B]

Looks like an interesting project 

If I was to (cough) build such a project I would decide on what components you are going to use and then make 3D models of each component and then make sure they fit inside the case.

You will want to look for a small PSU. I picked up a [300W Micro ATX Silent P4 PSU] for £14.53 from www.microdirect.co.uk. The same PSU is £40 in Maplins.

I'm using a 1GHz 512MB Mini ITX board with XP and it seem to handle it ok, i may upgrade the RAM to 1GB though.

That monitor seems like a good price for over here.

Good luck 

[Barry Barcrest]

If you want to keep it small you can use an intel atom board and porcessor bundle. That will run what you want, i know they are only $60 in the US so quite cheap too.

[kizer]

Man those atoms are small

http://www.ibase.com.tw/ib882.htm

[kizer]

Found this over on NewEgg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121342

[mountain]

Found this over on NewEgg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121342

You can get the Dual core for $10 more 

[david656]

Hi, im looking at that atom board from 'Newegg' and they are very impresive ! i thank 'kizer' for the links and of course 'barry barcrest' for the idea.

i have bought that monitor after finding some dimensions via google and it turned out to be 380mm x 296mm  D-72mm with out the mounting rack... which i thinks still a bit big but i supose i cannot be picky !

because of how big the monitor is i supose the case isn't going to be that small. i got 2 bare wire speakers at our local computer fair £2 and i rigged them up to my little stereo and to be honest they sound really good! they are only like a back up if the juke isn't connected to anything else anyway so i was very happy with them!

i have also got a 320gb 2.5" SATA usb ehdd thing for all the music which im quite happy with the quickness of opening the tunes even though they are FLACs.  the plan is to have a CF as the main hdd just to boot windows, does anyone know of some good links to check out and how long the CF lasts before it wears out ?

i won't be buying my motherboard till after christmas now due to im fast running out of money, due to a new laptop, a cheap trip to london that went badly wrong when i missed my train back and had to sit in a train station for 5 hours over night with no phone and no where to go !.... plus i was then billed £70 for a new ticket the next day !

i will however start the artwork i think....i was going for a bit of Black Sabbath but have been pursuaded Tails (of Sonic and Tails) would be a better choice... and also more fun looking 

thanks again for the links and input  i will go away and have a look round ebay and such which seem to be doing the board for about the same price with a bit of ram too

 

[david656]

humm my artwork post randomly froze

basically... i vectorised that... im happy with it ... its going on the jukebox... i would like some opinions and idea's from you guys on what kind of artwork to do... have been getting so sonic backgrounds from the levels etc..

if anyone would like a copy of my tails in vector AI CDR or EPS format .. i can see what i can do

 

[Franco B]

Personally I'm thinking Sonic on the left 'foot' of the juke and Tails on the 'right' foot (or vice versa).

Then possibly the Green Hill background on the front of the juke and find a good screen grab to base the graphic on so that the bottom of the screen has the hills etc and the rest of the screen is nicely filled with characters etc and so that it is an 'authentic' image rather than a mish mash of random sprites etc.

I also loved the Spring Yard Zone. That may fit your project too depending on your over all colour scheme. Obviously Green Hill would be a lighter coloured juke whereas Spring yard wold give you a darker scheme.

[leapinlew]

I like minimal artwork on a juke. Personally, I don't see the correlation of Sonic to a jukebox. Whats the gimmick? He make a cd or something?

[mountain]

Whats the gimmick? He make a cd or something?

Damn it Lew! You owe me 1/2 a Budweiser!

[david656]

I like minimal artwork on a juke. Personally, I don't see the correlation of Sonic to a jukebox. Whats the gimmick? He make a cd or something?

well.... its not for me.. the person its for is a big tails fan... also a big blacksabbath fan.... my original idea was just to have that 'blacksabbath jukebox' across the top and then maybe the upside down cross's on the side....minimal yet quite sleek... if you guys think i should go back to that then i will.....

in other news i have done a clean install of xp on one of my many hard drives in my desktop pc and the touch screen respones to wincab a lot better than when using VM on vista ! but i am looking into SK jukebox as well

on a serious not though, is it worth using a CF as the windows drive ?

  thanks for your input and questions 

[leapinlew]

I like minimal artwork on a juke. Personally, I don't see the correlation of Sonic to a jukebox. Whats the gimmick? He make a cd or something?

well.... its not for me.. the person its for is a big tails fan... also a big blacksabbath fan.... my original idea was just to have that 'blacksabbath jukebox' across the top and then maybe the upside down cross's on the side....minimal yet quite sleek... if you guys think i should go back to that then i will.....

in other news i have done a clean install of xp on one of my many hard drives in my desktop pc and the touch screen respones to wincab a lot better than when using VM on vista ! but i am looking into SK jukebox as well

on a serious not though, is it worth using a CF as the windows drive ?

  thanks for your input and questions 

Use a laptop hard drive. You'll get much more capacity.

Don't forget to check out freebox. www.freeboxjukebox.com. It's what I use.

Heavy metal old school Ozzy vs Tails the sidekick from Sonic the Hedgehog.... hmm...

[david656]

well i have a SATA laptop drive in a usb caddy (320gb) for easy removal and to easily add new music to the system .. and i thought if i have windows XP on a small 2gb highspeed CF it would absolutly fly yet still have the capacity and easy adding of music..

im looking at that freeboxjukebox and !! im liking the screenshoots.. but not liking the xp blue bar across the top... can you get rid of that ?

[leapinlew]

well i have a SATA laptop drive in a usb caddy (320gb) for easy removal and to easily add new music to the system .. and i thought if i have windows XP on a small 2gb highspeed CF it would absolutly fly yet still have the capacity and easy adding of music..

im looking at that freeboxjukebox and !! im liking the screenshoots.. but not liking the xp blue bar across the top... can you get rid of that ?

Yup. just set it to full screen in the options.

Windows won't most likely be much faster on your CF card. Either way, you don't need a lot of computer for freebox (or many of the other jukebox software apps).

[Malenko]

Whats the gimmick? He make a cd or something?

technically....

[david656]

Whats the gimmick? He make a cd or something?

technically....

ok Sonic CD !

ok... i have been looking into this freebox, its very impresive but seems stupidly slow to start ! maybe its ment to do that but... its also a extensive start up, and it doesn't appear to support flacs yet.

SK Juke on the other hand is exactly what i want ... except it has no page change button on screen, is there a way around this?

   thanks again

[BobA]

Put an answer re the page change button on screen in the Sk juke area where I found your question.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=87697.0

[dmworking247]

Maybe put Black Sabbath on the front and put a little Tails on the lower corner of the back panel, like a tattoo the ladies get at the bottom of their back

ie. there for people who want to know, but not plainly obvious to everyone

[david656]

Latest News:

I have got my atom motherboard... the gigabyte version and am VERY impressed! with 2gb ram its just flying  .
i have bought a outel remote ... this thing http://www.digitalreviews.net/reviews/accessories/outel-intelligent-remote-control-notebook-edition-rev.html which is im also quite pleased with..however the hole in the remote is annoying.

...i have nearly finished my custom skins for wincab which is what i have decided to stick with.

P.S will begin building this month so should be fun

 

[david656]

Update:

After a long time I am now (I hope) ready to continue this project. It is now my final A-Level technology project and therefore has to get completed  .

Over nearly the past year I have been talking with Chris (wincab creator) and Lars (SimpleTouch FE creator) and have managed to almost get 2 matching and complete skins created. I have also over the last week been learning how SolidWorks  works! and have created a new rendering of what my jukebox might look like.

I believe we have to start building at the latest January, so hopefully some more practical progress should be made soon.

Any comments are welcome 

cheers

PS My new model is based around this touchscreen (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/15-inch-USB-Panel-Kit-Set-Add-Touch-Screen-Function_W0QQitemZ290355765098QQcmdZViewItemQQptZComputer_Monitors?hash=item439a8d5f6a) does anyone have any experience with this seller and his products.

[Bender]

damn that thing looks sweet, and the render...    WOW!!!!

I gotta learn me some of that!

plus you gatta love the Bubba Ho-Tep

[Paladin]

Glad to see you back on it!  For those that don't know, his original render inspired me to make my own touchscreen bartop with Megatouch guts.  Good luck on your build!

[Silas (son of Silas)]

I had a look at the link for the USB touch screen panel you posted. Those panels are crazy cheap compared to the off the shelf price in the UK. Let us know how they work out. For the money, they must be worth a punt of anyones money?

[opt2not]

PS My new model is based around this touchscreen (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/15-inch-USB-Panel-Kit-Set-Add-Touch-Screen-Function_W0QQitemZ290355765098QQcmdZViewItemQQptZComputer_Monitors?hash=item439a8d5f6a) does anyone have any experience with this seller and his products.

What material would you lay that onto?  Plexi? I'm assuming you wouldn't put those touch pads directly onto your lcd monitor, for fear of people pressing too hard on the screen. Sandwiching a piece of plexi between this and the lcd would be ok, but plexi doesn't have any tactile response. It's not soft enough, if you care about that kinda thing.

[david656]

Right!   yes its been many months etc but finally its coming together, yes it doesn't look brilliant, but that's the protective plastic stuff. Yes one side is randomly MDF but that was a test piece until I got chance to make another proper side.

So far as you can see I have the touchscreen in there with the LCD , and speakers in 2, but I need advice.  The space inside is tight... but i've looked at it and the mini-itx atom should go in there no problem.. but it will be extremely close to a) the speakers, b) the LCD. how safe is this? how will the RAM get affected and how close is safe to have the hard drives.

edit: false alarm, the speakers appear to be shielded. Gotta rap this project up in a week  should be fine

[david656]

Hi,

Just to get some closure on this i thought i would post a few finished pictures for anyone that was interested. 

[david656]

Yes the observent among us will realise the speakers are not actually fitted in these pictures  it was the early hours of the morning and i just wanted to get it back together and photographed!

also the foam around the screen is just temporary until i can get some proper foam to do it with, however it did work fine in its current setup.

[kizer]

Thats pretty cool looking. I keep seeing more and more of these smaller builds and its making me want to gut my crappy looking box and build something small and make the large speakers remote style.

[drecain]

what is the black glass like material used on top of the board?

[BadMouth]

Also.....Touchmaster 8000 works great in MAME.  
(calibrate it like a light gun)

Paladin - I discovered this board through your Megatouch build thread.  I was googling LCD options for my Megatouch
             that had gone dark and your build thread came up.  I now have two, one with the same monitor you used
             squeezed into the original tabletop cabinet and another little 12" monitor with the guts hidden
             under my bar.  They both run Platinum XL off CF cards.  Thanks for letting people know what's possible.
              

EDIT:Just realized how old this thread is........ 

[Paladin]

Glad I was able to help you out!