I thought I would share my latest project with you all (it might interest some of you!). I have been using a laptop recently to listen to my music collection (mostly MP3's, some CD's). There are a couple of problems with this:
1. The laptop is major overkill for what I am using it for.
2. It has a relatively small hard drive, and my music is spread across several drives.
3. It looks ugly sitting on my amp!
After a lot of research, I decided that I would design and build myself one which I could customise to my exact specification. I wanted something small form factor, quiet, easy to use and good looking. I also wanted to keep the cost down as much as possible (although I don't mind spending a bit more on the right bits!) I decided to use Winamp as a music player and an LCD display as a output screen (not a TFT).
So I headed over to the members market where I bought a mini-itx board + memory and a power supply (thanks gt_junkie). I then bought diodes, wires and switches so I could build a controller for Winamp. In addition to this equipment, I have also bought a compact flash card (thanks Thundycat), and a HD44780 20x4 LCD display.
To bring you up to date, so far I have loaded Windows XP on the compact flash card, and have just finished the circuit that will control Winamp (although I haven't tested it!) All feedback/ideas/questions are welcome and I will update you with pictures later on today!
1. The laptop is major overkill for what I am using it for.
2. It has a relatively small hard drive, and my music is spread across several drives.
3. It looks ugly sitting on my amp!
After a lot of research, I decided that I would design and build myself one which I could customise to my exact specification. I wanted something small form factor, quiet, easy to use and good looking. I also wanted to keep the cost down as much as possible (although I don't mind spending a bit more on the right bits!) I decided to use Winamp as a music player and an LCD display as a output screen (not a TFT).
So I headed over to the members market where I bought a mini-itx board + memory and a power supply (thanks gt_junkie). I then bought diodes, wires and switches so I could build a controller for Winamp. In addition to this equipment, I have also bought a compact flash card (thanks Thundycat), and a HD44780 20x4 LCD display.
To bring you up to date, so far I have loaded Windows XP on the compact flash card, and have just finished the circuit that will control Winamp (although I haven't tested it!) All feedback/ideas/questions are welcome and I will update you with pictures later on today!