[Dyer13] sent in his Zune antenna mod. It’s a simple one, but we haven’t seen too many Zune mods yet. It’s really just a matter of adding more surface area to the transmitter. I’d suggest adding a wire that’s actually tuned to an appropriate wavelength. If you want something with a bit more power, check out this Belkin Tunecase power upgrade.
Portable Audio Hacks103 Articles
Ben Heck’s Wii Laptop On Engadget
[Ben Heckendorn] put together this little beauty on engadget. It’s not quite as over the top as the XBox 360 laptop, but there’s a reason for that. He’ll be putting up a How-To series covering the construction. If you’ve been pondering building a portable yourself, it’ll be a nice jump start for your hardware hacking skill-base.
OpenTom – Roll Your Own TomTom Distro
TomTom already runs Linux. The OpenTom project (Internet Archive Link as of 2022) has documented the hardware and software to allow custom software builds to run. The Wiki covers everything from build tools to hardware connections. So far, a mp3 player has been released using the build tools. Hmm, I might have to pick one up to develop on myself.
Thanks to [kniVes788] for the tip.
Solar Backpack Ipod/usb Charger
Jason sent me his solar ipod charger how-to. The regulator may not be neccesary – but there are so many models, I don’t know if the new Nano’s hold up to the old power input standard. He put a 7805 regulator on a 6v 100ma flexible panel that he mounted on his backpack. I’ve seen this sort of thing on a shuffle before, but this one should work for most iPods. USB power management sometimes shoots itself in the foot, but iPods are willing to pull power if it’s not present. It’s nice, clean and simple. I’d consider adding some high temp hot glue (or epoxy)to keep the soldered connections from breaking.
S1MP3 Memory Upgrade
The S1MP3 is a Chinese MP3 player branded by at least 50 different manufacturers. Some only play music, but others can play MP4. Have a look at the gallery to get an idea of the variety. S1MP3.org has been developed to support users of the players and create opensource firmware. Here’s their guide for upgrading the memory of a player. If you can’t get a donor player, the site says you can get a new 1GB memory chip for $9.
[thanks ex-parrot]
Bluetooth A2DP Speakers
[Simon Elkrief] was tired of waiting for manufacturers to produce a set Bluetooth stereo speakers so he built his own. Stereo over Bluetooth is handled by the A2DP profile which isn’t very common. Simon had to perform a registry hack to activate it on his HTC Wizard. OS X still doesn’t have support for it. He used the Bluetooth receiver out of a pair of broken Logitech headphones and wired it directly to a set of powered speakers. Now he can stream stereo sound from his phone to the speakers. He plans on developing an even better set in the future.
DIY Surround Headphones
I was stumbling through HeadWize‘s project archive the other day when I came across Steve Connor’s Poor Man’s Surround Headphones. He used a pair of Sony MDR-CD60 for the base and added three pairs of ear buds. One pair is used for the front channel and two for the rears. The rears have their own amp with the bass turned up to increase the separation. He used a Sound Blaster Live! card for the source. If you are interested in amplifiers and other sound projects, you should definitely have a look at HeadWize.
