Project: Haro, the iRadio mod

[|NQ|Squelsh]

Hey guys,

welcome to Squelsh's speedmodding (:
I thought it would be fun to have two mods going, so I can work on one while the glue or stuff on the other one is drying.

It's one month left till the DCMM, the German Case Modding Contests. There will be three contests: CaseCons, CaseMods and the customer electronics mods. One of the sponsors is NOXON. They produce the famous iRadio, a nice litle WLAN radio box. NOXON gives some of them away for modding projects which are then presented at DCMM. I always wanted to own one of those boxes so it was time to come up with a nice idea for a radio-mod.
Well, one and one came togehter: I had one big 40cm diameter sphere from my Orb project left and ran into the "Haro PC Case" on youtube. ==> Idea was born :banana:

http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/haro-pc-case.jpg

As I still have lots of work to do for my Orb (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9525), this mod needs to be something simple that can be built up quite fast. So it's gonna be a trade off between professional high precision work and a funmod. In this log I will also try to keep track of the time I put into the case.

I hope you will enjoy the story and come up with lots of comments and ideas, because there is absolutely no plan how that thing will gonna look like, when it's completed.

[|NQ|Squelsh]

So, lets get started:

Here are my ingredients for a new kind of web-radio-player:

The untouched NOXON iRadio:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro001.jpg

The little radio next to it's new huge case:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro002.jpg

Give it two eyes and a smile and you just have to hug it:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro003.jpg
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro004.jpg
Time for marking: 15 minutes - Sum: 0,25h

Cutting the ears and eyes:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro005.jpg
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro006.jpg
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro007.jpg
For that I drilled one million small holes and then teared out the pieces and sanded the edges. I think the result is nice.
Time for cutting: 45 minutes - Sum: 1,0h

The disasembled radio:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro008.jpg
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro009.jpg
I searched for a way how to mount the controls and where to connect the speakers.
Time for electronics: 15 minutes - Sum: 1,25h

My dad sponsored me two nice speakers. They will be mounted inside the ears. The radio panel goes into the back of Haro. But the radio can be remote controlled, so that is no disadvantage.
Time for disasembling the speakerboxes: 15 minutes - Sum: 1,5h

How do you like it so far?

[FrooP]

jeez... now ive gotta order one tooo

good luck dude, i want to see this thing live :banana:
+rep

[Computer-Geek]

This will be very cool ! I'm subscribed

[Xperiment]

Love your mods, they are always so unique - will be watching this one.

[|NQ|Squelsh]

Hey guys, thanks for your posts. I am glad you like it.
Here comes the next update:

I made the cut for the mouth. This is me with a biiiiig smile ;)
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro010.jpg

Haro sticking out it's tongue:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro011.jpg
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro012.jpg
Time for cuts: 30minutes - Sum: 2,0h

Those are the new control buttons:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro013.jpg
Time for marking and drilling: 30minutes - Sum: 2,5h

Last thing was the circuit board, where I started to solder new wires for the control-buttons:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro014.jpg
Time for soldering: 30minutes - Sum: 3,0h

Thats it for today. More to come tomorrow.

[Lord Ned]

This looks interesting, how are you gonna attach the feet and hands?

[|NQ|Squelsh]

@Ned: The wont be any hands. Dont know yet, if he will get feet...



Here we go again: I spent a whole afternooon working on Orb and Haro.

This is what I bought today: Two flower pots and some blue spraypaint.
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro015.jpg

And this is what I made of:

I glued the pots into Haros ears:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro016.jpg
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro017.jpg
To make them fit perfect I had to cut them on one side:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro018.jpg
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro019.jpg
Also connected them in the middle:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro020.jpg

Looks funny:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro021.jpg

Then I made a paperboard model of the speaker mounting to determine the right size:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro022.jpg

Fits perfect:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro023.jpg

For cutting exact circles I built a mounting for my Dremel so I could rotate the plastic sheet with the drillpress:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro024.jpg

Here is a vid of the process:
X4EgTzZRYqE

But after one hour of work it simply broke apart when I cut the inner circle for the speaker :dead:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro026.jpg

So I had to do that again, but this time I used the router. Results are even better:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro028.jpg
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro029.jpg

This is how it looks placed in the ears:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro027.jpg

In the next step I cut the pots flush with the sphere and added two hinges to the ears:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro030.jpg
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro031.jpg

Now it looks a lot like MikeyMouse :lick:

I don't know exactly how much time each step took, but I spent about 6 hours in the workshop today.
Makes a total sum of 8 hours till now.

Looking forward to your comments.

[Lord Ned]

Woah!

Sucks about them breaking, but I like the final result.

How's it look with the ears down?

[scar~face]

thats is pretty sweet lookin!

[|NQ|Squelsh]

Thank you Lord Ned and Scar~face.

Here is a pic with the ears closed:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro032.jpg

I need to add a kind of bumpers inside the ears, so they close flush with the sphere. Right now they fall into the sphere about 3mm.

Last night I added the hinge that connects upper and lower hemisphere and two guidances so the mouth can't move right or left.
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro033.jpg

Working time: 1,0h. Total: 9,0h

[|NQ|Squelsh]

Double post:
I spent lots of time with the electronics today, adding wires for external pushbuttons. I hate soldering SMD stuff! :unhappy:

I made a terminal board which will be glued to the original circuits board where I can easily connect the buttons to. The little black thing in the middle of the four SMD buttons is the IR-receiver. So this board will be placed behind Haros eyes where IR can pass through.
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro034.jpg

Also I desoldered the volume potentiometer so I can place it on the sphere. Formerly it was mounted on the lower right corner in the pic above. Fortunately the potentiometer has its own wires and is not using the cable that connects the control-panel and mainboard. That way I could connect the potentiometer directly to the cable:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro036.jpg

And finally I replaced the original cable between the control panel circuits and the motherboard by a regular IDE cable, which is a lot longer and therefore makes the placement of the boards more easy.
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro035.jpg

Time for electronics work and testing: 4h. Total: 13h

I hope the sun will shine tomorrow, so I can paint the sphere.

[|NQ|Squelsh]

Well, now it's a triple post.

After a bit of bondo and a lot of sanding I was ready to paint today.

http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro037.jpg
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro038.jpg
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro039.jpg

Time: 3h. Total 16,0h

Things left to do: Mounting stuff for LCD and circuit bords.

[FrooP]

sweet 8)

[Xperiment]

Great paint job , love the colour

[|NQ|Squelsh]

Thanx Froop and Xperiment. I almost got high while painting :wacky: because I had to do it inside in the basement because it was too cold outside.

Today I gave Haro it's eyes back after I painted them:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro042.jpg

I also glued in the mounting for the display and added the buttons:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro041.jpg
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro040.jpg

But I ran into the problem that the cable between the display and the mainboard is verry short. But I can't replace it, so tomorrow I will have to figure out how I can mount the mainboard...

Time: 1h. Total: 17h.

[FrooP]

But I ran into the problem that the cable between the display and the mainboard is verry short. But I can't replace it, so tomorrow I will have to figure out how I can mount the mainboard...

http://www.restaurant-giardino.ch/koishop/images/schere.jpg
:banana:

[Eclecticos]

I agree looks great! Very interesting way to make a circle. +Rep
Can't wait to see all the buttons lit up.

[|NQ|Squelsh]

Sorry, Eclecticos... Those buttons need 18Volts to light up, and the radio runs with 12Volts. So I have to disappoint you :no:.

Bad idea Froop... Even though I cut almost all stuff to make it suit my mods, I don't think I could solder those cables printed on foil :down: . Don't know, how to call them, see yourself:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro050.jpg

So what I did today:

2 clamps that hold the circuit bords:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro043.jpg
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro044.jpg

One for the front (IR-receiver behind the eyes):
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro045.jpg

And one in the back right above the display:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro046.jpg

The whole thing looks like that:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro047.jpg I had to install the board in that wonky way because of the mentioned cable to the display... The green angle in the center holds the WLAN antenna.

Little add on to the eyes: Two blue LEDs:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro048.jpg

Still workin?
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro049.jpg
Yeah :D And the sound is much better than with the original speaker.

Time put in today: 6h. Total: 23h

[|NQ|Squelsh]

I think I am too stupid to take good pictures. :think: Either way, this morning I finished my Haro mod and have to show you the latest photos :banana:

In my eyes he looks sad with the ears closed:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro051.jpg
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro052.jpg

The control buttons (btw: The green ones are for the five faourite stations, the ones left are navigation up down left right and the ones on the right are regular audio controls)
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro053.jpg
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro054.jpg

With ears open I have to think about a fat Playboy Bunny :rolleyes:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro055.jpg
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro056.jpg
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/Haro/Haro057.jpg

Well, the hardware is workin, the eyes are glowing and the sound is coming. It's time to box Haro for the DCMM so nothing can brake within the next 3 weeks.
I would like to keep this thread open till I come back from DCMM to show you some other iRadio mods if you like. And then move it to the finished logs.
Hope you had fun so far. I enjoyed this quick mod verry much and will now focus on The Orb.

See you, Squelsh

[Xperiment]

Its come out really nice - He does look alot happier with the ears open now you mention it lol

+rep

[chaksq]

Very nice man, done well. Definitely seems like he's happier/more interested with the ears open. Good luck at the modding contests.

[|NQ|Squelsh]

Thank you for your comments!
Here is the "final" pic showing Haro at the DCMM next to my Orb:
http://www.squelsh.de/spgm/gal/Casemodding/The%20Orb/TBCS/dcmm.jpg

Right now Haro found a place in a friends appartement.

You can see some nice iRadio mods in the Chatterbox (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=14280).

[TheGreatSatan]

Where'd the Orb come from?

[|NQ|Squelsh]

The Orb came from Venus :D

Sorry TGS, don't get the point. What do you mean?
Both are my projects. I went to the DCMM with two mods:
- Haro for the "Customer Electronics" section and
- The Orb (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9525) in the CaseCon section

[OvRiDe]

I think he was referring to the plastic white sphere you started with. What was its actual intended purpose in life... :D

[|NQ|Squelsh]

Oh, I see :)
Haro is made of an globe. I got it directly from a company making big globes. It had some bumps so they could not use it.

The Orbs sphere had been a garden-lamp. Bought it on ebay after month of research... I cut it in half and cut away the stand. That gave me the lower hemisphere and a quarter sphere for the upper cover.
The plexiglas for the visor came as hemispheres from a decoration manufacturer. I cut quarters from it and glued them togehter with spacers inbetween.

[Xtrykr]

Hey, this thing looks like Haro from Gundam!

[the__dark]

wow, nice iRadio :P hehehe it's been a while since I last posted here, got a bit caought up with many stuff x-P but i'll try to hang around here a bit more, and soon I might be posting my project too ;) I guess i'll open a thread.

Anyways, I liked this mod a lot :D nice work Squelsh +rep

Greetz and happy modding ;)
The__Dark

[|NQ|Squelsh]

Waaay...
After one year without pics, I finally put them online again.