Using IPod Docks With Droid Via An Adapter

June 16, 2010 by Mike Szczys 14 Comments

Standard connectors in portable devices would be great for the consumer, but then you wouldn’t purchase separate peripherals for ever portable you buy (lining the pockets of the companies licensing said peripherals). [Thijs] isn’t taking it lying down any longer. Realizing that the shape of the connector is one of the only things standing in the way, he built an adapter to use iPod docks with Droid. The hardware consists of a USB connector, audio jack, iPod connector, and a magnet. After working out the wiring it was just a matter of building a chassis using polymorph material. As you can see above, his expensive dock has no problem playing nicely with Droid because of his handy work.

Tricking An IPod Into Trusting Your Dock

January 13, 2010 by Mike Szczys 72 Comments

[Thijs] has an iPod dock with an LCD display in it that allows you to watch videos without having to squint quite as much. Unfortunately, the iPod classic wouldn’t play videos on it because it’s not an Apple approved product. He figured out that an authentication chip is included in docks and cables that Apple has approved and set out to retrofit his device with one. He pulled the PCB, authentication chip included, out of a $5 cable from Deal Extreme and wired it up to the PCB on his dock. Voila, the dock now plays video.

This is a nice hack but it’s also just silly. You paid for the iPod, you paid for the music and videos (right?), and you paid for the dock. Why can’t they all talk to each other without authentication?

Rotating Lego Dock Take Two

September 15, 2009 by Mike Szczys 45 Comments

lego_ipod_stand_number_2

Last week we saw a rotating iPhone dock built from Lego. This week we’re happy to put up another example of a dock made of these popular building blocks. Thank goodness this one takes into account all of the sudden jolts that our desk is prone to by incorporating shock absorbing springs. The design is very sleek with a jazzy red scheme and a less-is-more attitude. We are a bit concerned about our expensive hand held falling out but then again that’s what the springs are for. Who can be the first to put together a step-by-step guide for building this one?

[via Engadget]

Classy Hard Drive Speaker Set

September 14, 2009 by Matt Schulz 17 Comments

hdd_speakers

Hard drive speakers aren’t anything new, but they have yet to be done very professionally. Most hard drive speaker hacks are awesome, but aren’t meant to be a showpiece. [Oliver] took the opportunity to put together a set of 20GB drives and a custom-built acrylic case with a horizontal VU meter up front. The project is well-photographed and documented and can be recreated without the use of laser cutters or other expensive tools. The only thing it’s missing is an iPod dock!

Related: Giant bulb VU meter

Rotating IPhone Dock From Legos

September 9, 2009 by Mike Szczys 8 Comments

lego_rotating_iphone_dock

Hot on the heels of the aluminum dock and the Lego camera mount, [Steve] sent in his iPhone/iPod Touch dock made out of Lego bricks. It’s very stylish with a black and grey theme but we think the function makes this DIY spectacular. In the design [Steve] has included the ability to rotate the cradle so that the iPhone can be presented either vertically or horizontally. A step-by-step guide is not yet available but resourceful Lego lovers should be able to build this using his flickr set.

Arduino As IPod Remote Control

September 8, 2009 by Mike Szczys 7 Comments

[David] had an Arduino in search of a project. He decided to make an Arduino powered iPod remote control using an ipod connector breakout board and a 3.3v to 5v level converter (both from SparkFun). The circuit was built on a mini breadboard, controlled by an Arduino Mini, and housed in an Altoids tin. To talk to the iPod the Apple Accessory Protocol is used. With driving in mind [David] connected a Staples Easy Button as the play/pause button. This is a good example of how to interface Arduino with iPod. Using his example code we’d like to see more people working on homemade iPod accessories.

Aluminum IPhone Dock

September 6, 2009 by Jakob Griffith 23 Comments

finished_dock_with_iphone

Last week we mentioned an article to cover up that ugly iPod dock; [Jozerworx] did one better by creating his own iPhone dock entirely. He had access to a machine shop where he combined some spare aluminum with an existing iPhone connection cable, but mentions the dock could probably be created with basic hand tools and a power drill. The design is quite minimalist and we would go as far as to say it has that shiny-and-made-by-apple-so-I-have-to-buy-one look. Alternatively, frosted acrylic with some leds would probably look pretty cool too, maybe it would blink whenever there is activity. What kind of dock would you hack?