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Linux based Auto MP3 player....in the trunk...err truck :)

Notes:

This page basically just shows photos and some info on items not covered on the Neon MP3 page.

Most of the pictures on this page are thumbnails. Click on any of them to get the full size picture

This is my newest system. It's based on an NLX form factor motherboad and case. It wasn't cheap like the other system either. But I wanted it real compact to be able to nicely fit under the passenger seat. No trunk here and there's no room under the back seat. It worked out very nicely but it was pricey for the MB and case.

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  • Asus MES-N Motherboard (SiS 620 onboard VGA and Yamaha sound ) no onboard LAN adapter
  • NLX Form Factor Case - B5 Elan Vital - Got from www.ic-direct.com
  • Pentuim 400 (Socket 370)
  • 128 MB RAM
  • Ethernet Adapter
  • TAPR Compact Flash IDE Adapter
    • From the TAPR site "An interface board has been developed which allows a CompactFlashTM card to be used as a boot device on a PC. It takes advantage of a feature of the CompactFlashTM Card that allows it to emulate an IDE hard disk drive."
  • 92 MB Compact Flash Card
  • Custom striped down RedHat Linux install on Compact Flash Card (76 MB total)



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    These 2 shot shows the TAPR compact flash card adapter connected to the IDE controller. The card holds a stripped down version of RedHat Linux. I did this as an experiment. Worked out well and booted fine in the 2 test machines I used. When I got it hooked up to the MES-N board it refused to boot off it. Letters to Asus went unanswered and it is currently booting of a floppy. Something I don't appreciate and to me kinda wrecked the project. Once the kernel gets loaded it flies and it's wierd cause there is no hard drive noise :)



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    Here you can see the bubble wrap I keep around the flashcard setup while its stuffed in the case. I usually tuck in in under the ethernet adapter for safe keeping.



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    Here's a few shots of the case opened up. Under the front section is were the hard drive holding the MP3's is located.


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    Something I'd like to point out is how I got power to the display unit since this motherboard has the serial ports right on the board, as most systems do now. What I used here was an X10 Firecraker module that had gone bad. Basically it's a small case with a male 9 pin on one side and a female on the other. I wired it so all the connections passed through except for the power. I ran that out a hole in the case and attached it to the outside only where the controller connects. worked good. There is also an insulated fuse holder inside the system.

    Also you can see the output for the sound. I just plug in a stereo mini phono-2-stereo RCA adapter.


    More shots will be added!!