Overview:

My Car MP3 Player is complete, but has taken more time than I thought it would. It's fully installed, functioning, being used and enjoyed. I will probably continue to tweak it for some time.

This project started back around January 2000, and was completely installed and usable on August 19, 2000. I continued to tweak the system for a few months until around November 2000, when I basically considered the system done.

The MP3 jukebox system is now installed in my truck, since the demise of my former car, and below are pictures of both installations. The system is the same, but the installation details are different.

Here's a basic overview - highly simplified:

• Home-built Celeron computer in trunk of car (rear of extended cab in truck)
• Custom built wooden computer case designed to fit just right in car (fits well in truck also)
• DC-AC inverter powering regular computer ATX power supply
• Plays through Sony CD player head unit via Sony XA-107 Unilink Source Selector
• HD44780-based 40x4 character LCD module in dash - as inobtrusive as possible
• IRman infrared remote control - I don't want any wires visible
• Winamp with some plug-ins running under WinMe
• 5,400+ songs so far, ripped and converted into 160kbps MP3s using variable bit rate

Car MP3 Jukebox Pictures

Truck MP3 Jukebox Pictures

This page was last updated on February 8, 2002

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