Music can elevate us from into a world where nothing matters, where no anxiety can be found and where true peace abounds. The individual notes combined together can go beyond our hearts and minds. Boom boxes are things of the past, but if you love all things retro, you should definitely check out Fab Boombox. Fab Boombox is actually made by a final year college student of MIT.
The Fab Boombox is conceptualized by Mathew Keeter, a student of Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an internal project for his final year assessment. According to Keeter, the complex design of the case is not a necessity; any form, design or shapes can suffice. This particular look was given only to enhance the aesthetics of the console and to make it more presentable. It can also be made up in a square wooden box as long as the internal circuitry is maintained.
So now coming to the specification and circuitry part, one must have to say that it can be easily built, when compared to the complex circuitry of the other music systems. The circuit board used here is a two-sided board. The main board’s firmware was written in the Arduino language to take advantage of SD library. Some of the code is based on Sparkfun MP3 shield sample code which is wired up to a VS1053B MP3 audio decoder IC, providing it with the ability to decode audio files. The main control board has an Atmega328, an SD card socket, a D/A chip and a level shifter to convert from 5V to the 3.3V required for the SD card and mp3 decoder. The programming is done using the software EAGLE (Easily Applicable Graphical Layout Editor), and since the board is symmetric, it could be easily flipped over and replaced in its original cavity after being cut out. This is allowed for easy registration between the two sides of the board.
Now for the input system of the Fab Boombox all that one needs is a set of five capacitive buttons on the front. Each of these buttons is placed over a copper pad which is then wired into the input board. The input board charges each copper pad through a 10 Meg Ohm resistor. Discharge curve is sampled going up and down, and the values are subtracted to eliminate noise. Each pad is sampled 50 times, then compares against known thresholds to determine if the button has been pressed or not. Getting the touch buttons to accuracy might take some time as it requires exact readings. Connecting the audio speakers is a very easy job. The person trying to build it himself should at least have some basic knowledge about surface-mount soldering which is very much required here and along with it somewhat the basic knowledge of electronics that will help him a lot while assembling the components. These are the basic things needed to make the heart of the boombox. The outside of this boombox can be designed as per the makerâs choice, in the shape he wants according to his needs. Most of the components used are very easily available in the market and are pretty cheap also.
The Fab Boombox is different from the other sound systems available in the market due to some of its unique features. It can be easily assembled and is very easy to handle. The 9 volt battery housed at the top of the system can be replaced easily without much hassle. It is the most appropriate device for people who don’t want to spend exorbitant sums on bulky music systems, which take a lot of space and has a pretty high pricing than this. Fab Boombox is very useful for people with small houses and quiet surroundings. The best part is that Fab Boombox is that it is easily transportable and occupies minimum space. When not in use it can be kept in the cabinet and again taken out when needed. Fab Boombox has some deficiencies like no visual is there. Instead of the power usage only from a 9 volt battery it can be made compatible to run with electricity as well as battery also. This would be a great advantage to all the consumers. All in all, the Fab Boombox looks like an impressive gadget to buy, having a good sound quality, easy transportation and excellent potential. So it will surely not dishearten the buyers.
