The Chirpie

You’ve heard of the Throwie. Well, today I attempted to create the Chirpie! The Chirpie is an audio throwie…a small electronic device that emits a continuous series of chirps and can be attached to metallic surfaces via a magnet. Multiple throwies could be thrown and attached to a surface to provide a cacophony of chirps! I have no idea if Chirpies have been made before, but I decided to attempt it to learn something about tone generation with analog circuits.
(more…)

2 comments | August 1st, 2008

The Peggy Lite-Brite

1502 solder points. ~7.5 meters of solder. 7 hours. 1 peggy. This is the Peggy Lite-Brite…

I’ve owned a Peggy 1.0 for several months now, but never assembled it. Ever since I got it, I’ve wanted to solder female headers to it so that I could re-use it indefinitely. But the idea of soldering 625 headers to all available pixels, as well as the other necessary componenets, was daunting. Fortunately, 5in5 gave me the opportunity to realize my dream. I got to work at 11:30am, and finished soldering the last component at 6:35pm. (I did take about 20 minutes to each lunch.) I’m extremely happy with the outcome! I know the Peggy has been called an “adult Lite-Brite” for a while now, but until now no Peggy has ACTUALLY become an adult Lite-Brite…as far as I know.
(more…)

4 comments | July 31st, 2008

The Asterisk File Transfer Protocol

Dial (212) 796-0729 ext. 160 to access the Asterisk File Transfer Protocol Server!

Today I created a prototype method for transferring files via an Asterisk VoIP PBX. The inspiration came from my early computing days using a an audio cassette recorder to store applications for my first personal computer, a TI-99/4a. Programs were stored on audio cassettes, and were literally transferred to RAM via an audio signal over a 1/8” jack. If you didn’t plug in the jack but instead listened to the files through the cassette player’s speaker, they had an eery digital quality (a lot like a fax machine). So, I decided to recreate this experience over the telephone. If you have an acoustic coupler attached to your computer, you could potentially download files from the system at a blistering 300 baud!
(more…)

5 comments | July 30th, 2008

TuneSash – a wearable audio player speaker system

The TuneSash is complete! Unfortunately, I spent over six hours attempting to hack the iHome iH85, but in the end it just did not work. Instead, I created an audio amplifier out of an LM386 chip, and I have to say…it sounds awesome!

Most of my day was spent taking apart the iH85 and resoldering the iPod dock’s ribbon cable, as well as a couple of solder points that came apart from handling the dismantled unit. Here’s what the iH85 looks like when taken apart:

(more…)

2 comments | July 29th, 2008

TuneSash Pre-flight

Today I will be making the TuneSash.  It’s a sash that contains an audio ampllifier, a speaker, an input jack, and possibly some sort of pocket for holding an audio player.

My initial intention was to make the TuneSash as generic as possible…meaning any audio player can be used.  But since this is a one-off project, I figured I should make it with one particular audio player I own…an iPhone 3G.  This means that I will attempt to incorporate iphone-specific controls as well as a holder for the unit itself.  My backup plan is to just assume that an iPod Shuffle will be used in conjunction with the TuneSash.  Since the iPod Shuffle has a built-in clip, it could prove to be the easiest player to work with.

In terms of electronics, there are two possible directions I can go with the TuneSash:

1. Build an audio amp out of an LM386 chip and perfboard.  I would use a 9V battery as the power source. This method has several drawbacks:
   • Requires soldering a circuit to a perfboard
   • Produces pretty awful quality audio
   • Will chew through 9V batteries.
2. Hack an existing iPod speaker device and incorporate the components into the TuneSash.  I have an iHome iH85 speaker system for bikes and ipods (http://www.ihomeaudio.com/products.asp?product_id=10186).  It’s very nice, but is difficult to hear from the position it’s to be installed on a bike, and also doesn’t hold an iPhone.  So, I can take it apart and use the components in TuneSash.  There are a couple of drawbacks to this as well:
   • Destroy an expensive piece of electronics
   • Does not have a 2mm audio jack, so it will be limited to iPhones/iPods with dock connectors..thus forcing me to create a pocket for storing the iPhone on the tunesash (and forget about the ipod shuffle).
   • Takes four AA batteries, and requires the iPhone to also be held within the TuneSash, which means it will be heavier.

I’ve decided to go with the second option, if possible.  The audio quality from the speaker is phenomenal, and its four AA batteries seem to last quite a long time.  It also has a wireless remote, which will make it very nice when used in conjunction with a bike.

I’m going to start by dismantling the iHome device to determine how usable it is.  If the parts separate cleanly, and are small enough, I’ll definitely proceed.  Wish me luck!

| July 28th, 2008