Thought I'd show a recent project - more nerdy than Walkman I suppose, but hope it interest a few S2G members. Consider it suitable for those times when you (gulp) have to go digital... It's Sony WM-BF60 that has been almost completely gutted It now houses a Raspberry Pi Zero W (single board computer), phatDAC and mobile phone battery via Adafruit powerBOOST circuit. It has 64Gb on board memory via micro SD card. Project came in under £100 + labour. I didn't start with a specific plan or design and its a bit rough and ready! It charges via a microUSB socket where there was once a reverse mode button, and uses the original headphone socket for Line Out. I have preserved all of the old buttons and switches but they are mostly decorative, apart from the Dolby on/of which I wired as a power switch It runs Volumio on it which is a free to download music operating system . It's fast loading with a slick interface and the unit has very low power requirements and runs silent (no fans). It provides a headless audio player that is easily controlled from phone, tablet or pc on the same network. The OS can also be configured to broadcast its own wifi network which allows you to take the unit anywhere. I wanted to incorporate a separate headphone amp but that will have to be next time! Space was really tight in there...
That's a cute idea. I never considered using a defect walkman's case to use as the casing for a raspi, this got style, especially since it still lives on in a way. Now if there was a way to bind the buttons to actual interface controls or generally to start stop next and previous track... that would be beyond awesome. The problem there could be of course the space and that they're mechanical buttons (especially that they need to go into the case). I've once had the absolutely random thought that the Sony Walkman WM-EX5 totally looks like a PDA or early smartphone with the big window reminding me a lot of the displays (making it perfect prank material actually now that I think about it). I wonder if anyone did something similar with that one... PS: Also is this LEGO in the shelf below? I've once seen LEGO casings for raspis, that was a funny idea too... Maybe such cases could be alternatives to walkmans with defect cases?
re the buttons: It can definitely be done - I bought the hardware, but you would need a bigger case - something like a WM-24 maybe
Since there's a window and if you're very skilled, have you considered to add a tiny LCD panel in there? Or is the space too tight? That'd be a good way to show which song's currently playing.
Wow that is very cool! How long does it last on battery!? Are all the controls done from your phone? Love it!
Some sort of step by step instruction or list of things one would have to purchase would be indeed awesome.
The lego seen below is a base I made with my daughter for a raspberry pi 3B+ It's a little pi garden! Battery life of the pi walkman is excellent, although I haven't run any actual tests - I just top it up occasionally with micro USB Yes T-ster - the audio player is designed for network control a bit like sonos or squeezebox (but better!)
Post more information sickly_b, I just jumped into the Raspberry Pi Water and am still trying to figure out all the possiblities but that's an excellent application and I'm thinking about some other uses for it.
Okay so here's the parts list, with a few more details. I recommend Pimoroni in Sheffield UK, as per the links Raspberry Pi Zero W - single board computer running Volumio (there is a pre-soldered version if you are less confident with this aspect) Pimoroni PhatDac - upgrades the basic on-board sound of the Raspberry Pi Adafruit Powerboost 1000 charge board - allows you to run and recharge the Pi from a 3.7v lipo battery Spare phone battery - 3.7v Samsung lipo 64Gb micro SD memory card - 4GB minimum - PC for downloading and writing volumio 'image' - micro SD reader or adaptor for PC Polymorph moldeable plastic - either use this or Sugru (amazing stuff!) to hold parts in place USB to USB-micro cable - a short and flexible as possible Spare wires, superglue, insulation tape Volumio does not need local files like I have on an SD card - it will provide internet radio straight away (useful for testing) plus access to NAS - network folders As I said, it's clearly a bit rough and ready, but really useable and it sounds decent. I cut away most of the PCB - space very tight! A larger Walkman would make life easier and may offer further possiblities to add functionality - I might do this next time If you have never built with the raspberry pi you should get to grips with this aspect first imo, downloading the (free) Volumio OS to an SD card. This can be done after the DAC is attached to the pi board. You end up with a computer that has no screen - you log on to it via computer, phone or tablet. First boot sets up the pi to broadcast a wifi network that you can join and from this point, you set it up to connect to your home network the next time it boots. You also select your DAC at this stage. After a reboot, you can copy audio files over like you would to an mp3 player, only over wifi. This is easily done from your PC - 'Volumio' will show up as a shared folder allowing files to be dragged and dropped. You can access the player's front end once you have the ip address (you type this in a browser window for the address > > something of the for 192.168.0.xx or 192.168.1.xx ...depending on your router). Volumio also has an app that you have to pay for. I just manage with controlling through my (firefox) browser on phone or pc. It works superbly. I recommend making the unit function completely while it is outside the walkman case. I can't really give detailed instructions (as I just chipped away at it) beyond gutting the walkman and tinkering with the components until you are happy with the fit - use the polymorph once you've got the fit, as this is a one way process. Sugru is possibly better on reflection... It provides an interesting activity that few will ever do: completely stripping down a walkman and then marvelling at the design Ideally you would solder the Walkman's existing headphone socket to the Line-Out of the phatDAC. I removed one of the Walkman buttons to allow alignment with the usb micro socket on the Powerboost charge circuit. The unit definitely needs an on off switch unless you intend to run it on micro USB constantly. Actually, that's a possiblity if you want to ditch the powerboost 1000 - you could run it off a micro usb phone charger... Anyway, I put the Dolby switch from the walkman in series with the Powerboost output (I think!) Good luck and of course let me know if you make something similar - you will find the Pimoroni guys very helpful and their forum is worth joining. Raspberry Pi is a wonderful platform for nerds and makers - I can't recommend it highly enough and I have about 5 of them in different projects. Drop me a line if you have any more questions
