Build a Wireless Audio Streamer

hey guys.

Yea yea i know there are the five bars nd this is labelled a 3, but i am a beginner, and i really wanna make this, because this is my scenario. But being a beginner and all, just the look of it looks intimidating, so i need to know if a beginner like myself would be able to do this. And if you think i can, can sumone give me a link with more detailed instructions about this stuff? thanks a bunch!

2l4zy4an4m3

I don't see a HD in the picture, does it need one, or does it boot to the streamer card?

Can it boot to USB thumb drive?

Can it be on a linux distro?

I was wondering about the same thing dbeeball was referencing. Does a Hard Disk need to be installed in this thing. How does it boot to windows? Or are you basically running all the programs off of the base PC streaming to the Audio Streamer.

Popular Science need to do their homework and put more content into these articles. Even PM does a much better job.

A reader since 1959 I often wonder why I keep subscribing to something with so little real content.

I actually already am using a cheaper solution. I have an old Tungsten pda (hey you got to have a free old computer i get a free old pda) and i got a bluetooth adapter for it and a bluetooth transmitter for the computer. I have speakers around various parts of my house (fairly large house). Then i just plug the pda into the headphones jack and stream using the network and Real Player for Palm OS. Total cost for the bluetooth adapter and transmitter: $130.

Moshable Music

The assembly is not as hard as you think. It uses Windows and Winamp so it must be using a hard drive. This is actually a PC with a different case (withhout cdrom or floppy) The kit is small and straight forward with good instructions. Every thing else is USB or serial port excepting the display and the shifter board with are connected together then to the power supply using hookup wires. For the beginner, the attempt will teachh you a thing or two

This looks like a great project. But I would really like to take it one step further and control speakers in different rooms independently. Is that at all possible with the project, or would i have to build one of these units to stream music to each set of speakers?

This looks like a great project. But I would really like to take it one step further and control speakers in different rooms independently. Is that at all possible with the project, or would i have to build one of these units to stream music to each set of speakers?

If you read on, and look at the parts list, you can click the link to the $72 PC, which is another article on PopSci's website that shows you how to build a PC that boots to a USB drive (512 MB, I think). Click here to see it:

http://www.popsci.com/node/2805

That's obviously what they used for this project, even though they don't make it very obvious or clear. The USB drive makes way more sense anyway: lower power consumption and less noise and heat. I saw a 4 GB drive on tigerdirect.com for about $15. Linux is the other "catch" for this to work very well, IMO.

I was very curious and excited to hunt down Popsci's additional information on the web for this project. It looked like, with some instructions, this could be figured out and built.

Popsci - you earn an absolute ZERO for providing extra information, and you offer only a very brief description of the way the finished project can be used.

You mention NOTHING of software to drive the display, which operating system was chosen, how it all fit onto a usb jump drive, how the display gets information from the mobo, the list goes on and on.

The published article led me to belive that I could get more information on the web. I was looking forward to pulling an old P3 apart and making this happen.

I'm disappointed. I'll grab a squeezebox or some sort of working box to play my music. And I'll be very wary - because I know that there's nothing extra to be found on the web for the How2 projects.

A subscriber since 1969

Other than the tinkering aspect, I don't see what makes this such a neat project. Why not just install iTunes and pick up an Airport Express for $70 to beam your tunes to your speakers in another room. Or even cheaper, you could get the a/v sender from x10 for $50 and plug it into your computer's headphone jack to send the audio to another room/ s. And, yes, I know you wouldn't have your little ghetto green lcd showing you what songs are playing in miniscule letters unreadable from a distance of more than 2.8 feet away - oh, drat!

OK, my 2 pennies worth:

1. Why ditch the PC's original case (assuming you've re-used an old)? The ghetto one shown above is hardly likely to fit in with the rest of your hi-fi equipment. Personally I've have sprayed either the original case, or a new budget case black, and mounted the LCD in the drive bays.

2. As already mention, there is no reference to installing and configuring the LCD software.

3. It would make more sense to stick a large HDD in this box to store all your music on, that way you don't need your PC on all the time, and you can always stream the music the other way.

I've been looking at this and they did use some of the hardware for the $72 PC. One thing they changed is the boot dirve. If you look at the picture that shows the inside of the project you'll notice a red device below the power supply. That looks like a compact flash card. So they are using a CF card as a solid state drive. The CF to IDE adapters are pretty common. I've seen them on amazon for under $10. I've seen some SD to IDE ones too but I haven't messed with them yet. Then using the CF card, you can put a flavor of windows on it and setup the LCD Smartie and Winamp packages. Pretty standard so far. Then get the streamzap and LCD display. I have most of the stuff already so I think that I'll go ahead and build it. Let me know if anyone is interested in my results.

King_SC...I want to know how your attempt to build this device goes. If you get it to work could you post better more indepth directions?

To get my MP3 music out of my computer and be heard throughtout the house.I used a very simple and not very expensive setup. I ordered FM transmitter from C.Crane (800-522-8863) or ccrane.com for $69.95.I plugged the transmitter to computer output. Set any radio to the set FM frequency and enjoy music around the house. Very simple and nothing to build.