Project: ROIO Jukebox

[Drum Thumper]

I've been kicking this idea around lately...alot. I've gone so far as to figure out what OS, what programs, and have put together a possible parts list.

As some of you know, I enjoy collecting and trading fan recorded audio concerts, which are also known as Recording Of Independent Origin (ROIO for short, hence the name of the build). While this is not the time nor the place to discuss the legality of these so called 'bootlegs', I feel that a computer designed and built for my collection (currently numbering 70+ concerts) is somewhat warranted. I say somewhat due to the fact that my wife and I are expecting our first child.

Moving on--what I am looking for is a semi-headless box that is stylish enough for an area such as a kitchen or den. My original plan was to build a trapezoidal shaped box out of MDF and make it luggable, but I have since scrapped that idea...for now.

Parts List

Rosewill RFA120L-R 120mm 4 Red LEDs LED Case Fan

Rosewill RFA80L-R 80mm Red LED Case Fan

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD4000AAKS 400GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Creative Sound Blaster SB0570 Audigy SE 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card

ASUS Black DVD burner with Lightscribe

Here's where this will get...tricky. I'm planning on running Linux for the OS, and a few programs to get the FLACs (and possibly MP3 files) to play. The centerpiece of the program list is IrMP3, a program that allows for remote control input and (if I am reading the sourceforge page right) this program also sends output to an LCD display (artist, song, etc). Said LCD screen would reside in the 3.5 floppy bay.

So the fun begins. You can see the beginnings of this mod here. I've still got to buy the fans and the hard drive (which is why they are not italicized yet). I have also acquired my parents old entertainment center since their new HDTV doesn't quite fit in this old thing. And of course, it'll be modded a bit as well. Once I get the rest of the goodies that I need from estreetplastics I will get some pictures up of it as well, most likely in this thread.

So sit back and grab a drink, the show begins NOW.

[Drum Thumper]

One thing I forgot to add--the LCD module for the 3.5" drive bay.

Crystalfontz CFA-631 USB LCD: $72.40

I wish I would have seen this before I made my trip to Spokane--these guys are in Spokane Valley. D'oh!

And the Mrs. gave me the ok to buy this in pieces...so I might just save up the cash and make one big order from Newegg in the future.

EDIT: I'm toying with the notion of using one of the 5 1/4 inch bays and getting a tad bit bigger of a screen. More on this at a later date.

[Drum Thumper]

I received the case that I am going to put this system in and will not be needing the low profile cards. As soon as I get more parts, I'll ask that this be moved to the worklog section.

[Eclecticos]

Looks like a good idea to me. Can't wait to see it!

[Drum Thumper]

I've updated my parts list to reflect what's left. The two items that are italicized will be here on Monday.

[Drum Thumper]

Alright, first post for the actual worklog. This will make mod number 4 in progress (which makes me think I might be either crazy or borderline ADD). Here's a few links of odds and ends and how-to's that I will be following for this particular mod:

How To Build an IR Receiver by Alessio Sangalli. I will not, however, be building this in a D-Sub box like she did. Rather, I will be building this on a small PCB and placing in a similarly small project box which will reside on the top half of my M40, with the IR chip somewhere on the front (I have a couple ideas for placement).

Speaking of the IR chip, here is a linky to it. I'll be buying a large portion of the needed electronics from Newark.com, as their shipping is a bit on the high side. Eck, if you have any other leads on one of these bad boys, lemme know!

Software:

Ubuntu Linux. Undecided as to which build yet.

IrMP3. The meat and potatoes on the software side.

FLAC123. As I have stated, this is for a ROIO jukebox. Plus I am most likely going to rip all my CDs into FLAC. No more lossy MP3 rips for me thank you very much.

LIRC code for my remote (which is in transit).

I have a PSU that will fit this case, but it's one of those dreaded rat's nest PSUs. Sadly, my modular will not fit. So I will be busting out the split loom and sleeving away soon. I'm thinking I'll use the red loom for this mod, as it'll fit nicely with the red LED fans that are going to be ordered soon.

Pics are in the review page, no need to double post them here. I will, however, post pics of the LCD screen in action hopefully sometime this weekend.

And finally...AGP cards are getting a bit hard to find. I've got a couple picked out, just waiting for newegg and zipzoomfly to (hopefully) get one of them in stock.

Hmm...Dsub to RCA...I wonder...

More to come...

[Vertigo]

In all seriousness, sounds like an interesting project. I'll be keepin my eyes on this one thumper.

[vastonecat]

Alright, first post for the actual worklog. This will make mod number 4 in progress (which makes me think I might be either crazy or borderline ADD).

If you have gone through 3projects and thinking on a 4th then you may be borderline Obsessive Compulsive not ADD cuz then you would have trouble fini

[Drum Thumper]

If you have gone through 3projects and thinking on a 4th then you may be borderline Obsessive Compulsive not ADD cuz then you would have trouble fini

exactly my point. Now, where's my bicycle?

[Drum Thumper]

Update time!

Brown showed up on my doorstep with a big ol box from newegg. And after some consideration, I have decided that the ASUS dvd burner is going to go into Blue, the DVD burner from Blue is going to go into my wife's machine, and the dvd burner from there is going to reside in the jukebox. Why am I doing it this way? Simple--I originally swapped her DVD burner out of her system for temporary use on the server project that I'm working on. Plus, my machine is the beast, therefore it gets the goodies.

Plus, there's a copy of Nero that came with the ASUS drive, and since I don't have Nero installed on Blue...

So anyways, a couple of quick pictures:

Also, I've been doing some research on application specific OS distros and came across GeexBox. So I'm scrapping the ubuntu OS and will be installing this. The best thing about this lovely little piece of OS software is the small footprint--less than 10 megs. I've also found documentation that shows how to change the splashscreen, so I'll be working on a new logo as well.

And finally, the remote that I listed earlier is in transit, I was able to find all but two parts for the IR receiver circuit down @ radio shack, and have found suppliers for the two missing parts. Those will be ordered this week, and hopefully I'll be able to snag the HD and fans soon as well.