ZapWizard's Media PC -Project on hold

isn't even close to discribing this.

 

What he said ^^


Honestly man, this is a damn nice project!

I have one of those iPAQ jobbies sitting next to me, which I'm using (in it's un modified form) for my in-car MP3 computer....and I though that was badass, but it's nothing compared to this!

Keep up the great work man!

Confused

 

Very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very Cool

 

And don't forget the blisters that appear when you pick up the wrong end

 

so when does the bidding start for this pc?

 

And If you're like me, a big dry erase board to draw out your ideas,

 

You know I thought about that today.
Now that this PC is working out so good I want to totaly re-build my main PC with a custom case, custom watercooling, and a Barton processor.
...........................
Ok What I have left to do:

Internalize the X10 House Control interface
Internalize the RF remote control receiver
Frontpanel input daughterboard.
LED controllers
Basic Stamp board / Programming
Power/Eject switches
Volume control switches
IPAQ switch PCB
IPAQ plexiglass stucture
Mount Servo for IPAQ
DVD-Rom front lighted slot plexi
Plexiglass internal structure (Motherboard/HD's/swithes)
Plexiglass external structure.
Mount all the parts up.

Wow more left than I thought...

Thanks for all the kind words everyone.

 

my goodness!!! zap that is truely amazing stuff. i salute you, man you must be the king of all things electrical, what exactly do you do at amd? wouldnt be suprised if you were chief infrasture designer and implementor

 

I should be!
I am Lead K8 DDR Technician
That means I work with the engineers at AMD to make sure that they stuff they design for DDR really works.
I get to work on some pretty experimental stuff quite often.
(It also means I switch projects like every two days )
It is a fun job, and never gets boring.
................................................................
My next update will be to internalize this:
(School work in the way for now...)


It is an X10 Whole house serial interface.
It allows the Media PC to control lights, fans, security tons of stuff.
I have already dyed it black, but now I am going to totaly hack the power jack and integrate the interface into the PSU.

 

man, u have to be nuts to atempt all this!!
that's why u fit so well here on bit.
keep up the awesome job

 

-> dude, your media pc is becoming the perfect couch potato PC

-> are you going to program a remote to control the X10 Whole house serial interface from a far?

 

The remote control is already a X10 remote, so it can control everything.


It can control:
TV
VCR
Cable box
X10 Stuff (Independent of the PC)
PC Winamp
PC DVD
PC Windows
PC FM Radio
PC TV

I was going to re-build this remote and make it match the case.
But the inside PCB is VERY messy, so it will have to wait.

 

wtf is that X10 whole house whatcha-ma-call-it? it looks like a serial cable with an outlet on one end? how does that control lights and whatnot?

 

Ok the serial interface is just for the RF mouse, and PC control.
It also has traditional Infrared to control traditional devices (TV/VCR)
It also transmits wireless X10 codes that go to a wireless receiver you plug into a wall.
(Hmm mabye I should integrate one into the PC eh?)
http://graphics.x10.com/images2/tm751.jpg

X10 was developed in the 80's, it allows control of electronic devices over standard power lines. You can have up to 255 devices connected. Everything from Lamp to Security to your hot-tub

www.X10.com has some good info and stuff.
Just DONT fall for their sale deals, those prices haven't changed in years.
www.smarthome.com also has good stuff. (Expensive)

For example in my apartment I have the following X10 stuff:

Kitchen Light
Living room light
Ceiling fan
TV equipment
Wireless A/V Transmitter (Which turns on in sync with the TV)
Bedroom light
Bathroom light
Electronics bench Lamp
Computer Lamp
Bedside Lamp

I can control them all through the X10 remote, I have a X10 alarm clock that turns my lights on at the same time, and also allows me to turn everything off in the house at once.

It takes time to build the whole collection, but it becomes very addicting, as I hardly ever reach for a lamp anymore

 

you want to use those mad soldering skills to do some smd soldering for me?

 

Umm, I am very busy so sorry.
I do enough surface mount soldering at work latley my hand are cramping up.

.................
Oh and I realized that Morphine wasn't talking about the remote, but the Serial PC interface.

What it does it plug into the wall, and then into a serial port on the PC. It allows me to control all the lights and stuff from the PC directly. But what is even better is that I can program complex macros that can setup say.. a romatic mood.
Make it turn off all the house lights, turn on some music, and dim the lights, all with one button.

Plus it can run the macros independent of the PC

 

That sounds completely awesome!
Got a spare bedroom?

 

Umm, if you count the walk-in closet.
Oh and my wife would kill me if I brought another modder into the apartment.

Tommorow (or today depending on how you look at it) is Saturday so hopefully I can get a lot more done.

 

oooh.. those are the people that make those anoyying popup ads for that damn camera...


so is their stuff any good?

 

Yes those annoying people with the camera pop-up ads.
DONT FALL FOR THEIR "ENDS TODAY" SALES!!
Actualy I have bought from there lots of times, they do have some good deals on some stuff.

Yes, actualy there technology is pretty good.
X10 was designed in the 80's and is still a pretty un-taped technology.
You can get the parts at Radioshack or Frys also, and many other places.

............................................................................................
Ok now for the integrated X10 interface....
(This is quick and dirty)

http://www.zapwizard.com/mediapc/x10/



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As part of my Media PC I am using a X10 Activehome PC interface.

This interface plus into a wall outlet, and into the serial port on a PC. Through it I can control anything with an X10 module. X10 is a standard that allows control of electronic devices over normal power lines. You can control everything from lamps, to a hot-tub. I will use it to control all the lights in my house, as well as the TV (Power only) and ceiling fans.
The interface also takes batteries as it can store and execute macros even while the PC is off. (Using a X10 remote)
But to make everything nice and integrated I decided to internalize the interface.


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First the interface was vinyl dyed black. Then the receptacle was replaced with a PC type power connector.


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Next the wall-plug was removed to allow the interface to be wired directly to my PSU


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The interface will be attached to the PSU sideways to allow airflow. The extra width will not get in the way however, as the PSU already has a 1 inch wide fan attached to the side.

So I cut out the hole for the wires using my Dremel tool.


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With the hole cut the paint was sanded off the PSU to allow the interface to be superglued to the PSU.

Yes, this will be installed permanently with superglue, if I took more time I am sure that another mounting method would allow me to remove the interface, but this is just quick and dirty modding.


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The interface was superglued to the PSU


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The power wires on the PSU were replaced with female power sockets and the X10 interface wired with the male plugs.


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The X10 interface now attached and the power wired fed into the PSU


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Wired up and working.


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That's it, a new X10 interface added on to the PSU of my media PC.

The battery compartment is still accessible and the PSU has no loss of airflow.

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Next update: Wiring the X10 Serial interface, and the X10 Mouse remote to the MediaPC's motherboard.