Day & Night Sampler - a raspberry pi mpd mini boombox Overview

This project had its origin a couple of years ago. I received a nice tin box with a plastic window on the front. The window just screamed out for a special display project of some kind. The box had "Day and Night Sampler" (D&NS) embossed on the front. Thus, the name.

I decided this would be a good box to hold a small prototype of a boombox that I wanted to build, complete with Vacuum Fluorescent Display (VFD), a super-nice glowy character display. You could use a character LCD or OLED display instead of the VFD, but you'll have to figure out how to adapt the python scripts for your particular display.





Features:
  • VFD character display 20 chars x 2 lines
  • Raspberry Pi attached to small amp through USB Sound card
  • IR Remote Control: Volume +/-, Playlist up/down/change, etc.
  • Internet WiFi Streaming of stations or play from stored playlists
  • View Now Playing Song Info, Date/Time, or Weather

Before Starting This Project:
This is not a good learning project for people brand new to the raspberry pi or hardware in general. You should have experience with:
  • Basic soldering and electronics
  • ssh/scp
  • Debian Linux
  • Software installation
  • nano or vi editor
  • a Dremel or hole cutter
  • a drill
This is a long build, but if you have the required skills, not a particularly difficult one. Working straight through these steps, you should be able to get a boombox like this built over a weekend.
Disclaimer & Warning
This project may involve potentially dangerous or hazardous activities. You undertake these activities at your own risk. The author is not responsible for any harm, injury or damage you may incur. If you do not think you have the skills to safely work on this project, DON'T!


Getting Started
I started with the tin enclosure and gathered enough materials to see if my project idea was feasible. After measuring and testing a rough fit for the speakers, VFD and raspberry pi, I had enough confidence that the project would work and things would fit.


Continue to Part 1: Parts List

Comments

Popular Posts