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This is why I use good heaphones and cover myself with these.

Producing 23KHz sine waves at high amplitude is neither difficult nor expensive, and hasn't been for decades.

Most speakers today use 5 way binding posts, not knife style connections. Such posts support five different ways of connecting the wire, and the marketers like them because they support a certain amount of "bling bling".

Banana plugs are really quite popular, as they simplify installation, but I've heard that the "high end" prefers spade lugs.

Sorry, you're delusional. Asking for HD output on a commodity composite connector is like asking for GB ethernet on a cat3 cable.

Component can only do 1080p over short distances without the addition of expensive repeater boxes or expensive cables.

VGA is the same.

An F connector could, if you got people to change to expensive high grade coax and got all the TV manufacturers to put GOOD ATSC tuners in their sets.

DVI is dead as a consumer A/V interface. It's still great for computers, but it offers no A/V connection capability. People don't like dealing with a mountain of cables. Yes, the change to HDMI was industry driven, but it was also consumer driven. It was generally good thing, despite the inferior connector that HDMI came with.

If you're really intent on complaining about the HDMI/DVI issue, spend $20 over at Parts Express and get a DVI to HDMI adapter cable. I use two, they work just fine.

Honestly, your bitching and whining post struck me like someone asking their computer to support dual layer DVDs and magtape at the same time. It's just lame and uneducated.

I'm not going to get into the DRM argument, but suffice it to say that for the short term, if you want 1080p, you need a digital connection. That means DVI or HDMI. You don't get any other choices. Put up or shut up.

You can buy LCD modules without having to take apart a DVD player to get it. Some accept vga inputs as well. The 640x480 ones are larger then the one referenced in the article though.

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?m ain_page=product_info&products_id=3732
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7 &Partnumber=205-505
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7 &Partnumber=205-048
http://www.accele.com/accele2/LCD_Modules.htm

You can buy LCD modules without having to take apart a DVD player to get it. Some accept vga inputs as well. The 640x480 ones are larger then the one referenced in the article though.

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?m ain_page=product_info&products_id=3732
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7 &Partnumber=205-505
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7 &Partnumber=205-048
http://www.accele.com/accele2/LCD_Modules.htm

A charger is already included, check out the schematic:
http://www.partsexpress.com/projectshowcase/podzum a/schematic2.jpg

The 12v DC-in is on the left, there is a indicator LED in between the DC-in and the battery, and a 12v DC wall adaptor in the parts list.

The only thought required would be if you wanted to switch from the spec'ed lead-acid to something else. In general, lead-acid batteries are fairly tolerant when charging and thus they don't require the fancy charging circuitry that other rechargeables require. You could go to the effort of building a smarter charger to allow faster charging, but the "dumb" circuit works just fine.

It's a better iPod boom-box. I built mine in an old guitar amp cabinet. podzuma plans

I've found Parts Express to be a great alternative to Radio Shack. It's great for me since I pass them on the way to work, but they are primarily an online order company anyway.

The monitors never actually ran off the computer's power supply. It just used the switch in the powersupply to turn the monitor on and off.

Mod your current power supply if you want to run monitors off it. IEC Female
Just run the wires to where the power comes in.
Then use something like this Converter or dig out an old IEC Male to IEC Female "extention" cord.

Or just get an antenna extension for like US$40

I think that there is a certain portion of the population that's familiar with using a different device to make parts of your body feel vibrations.
Of course, the point here was that a speaker putting out bass makes more than just your eardrum feel the vibration; as used in BassShakers http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7 &Partnumber=299-028 The idea of using something other than a speaker to make your body feel variable levels of vibration has been around for a while, and in some cases went along with other forms of entertainment.

There's all this talk here about audio cabling and listening and such, but TFA wants to know about video cabling.

It's just 75-ohm coaxial cable. It's a hand-me-down from the broadcast and defense industries.

If you were a broadcaster, you'd care about flexibility and long-term durability, and buy good professional-grade stranded-conductor RG-59 from someone like Canare, like just about all of the other broadcasters do for their temporary video interconnects. You'd then solder or (preferably) crimp your own connectors on, because then the resultant cables would both the proper length for whatever you're doing and you'd know that they were assembled correctly. Or, you'd have a company like Markertek assemble them for you.

But you're not a broadcaster. Nobody is throwing your wires across the room. Nobody is walking or driving on them. Nobody is using them to rig lights or props with.

You don't give a whit whether it's stranded or not, because it will be relocated (at most) several times a year - instead of, perhaps, several times per hour in a production studio. You do, however, care if they're assembled correctly.

And you care about having the proper length - extra cable length is hard to deal with in the typical home theater, and always reduces signal quality.

You also care about bandwidth, perhaps even more than the broadcasters do. But that's not a huge problem, as NTSC video only goes up to a few MHz.

RG-59 [1] is typically used at hundreds of MHz (think: cable TV), and is thus way more than sufficient.

So here's what you do. Buy some good, solid copper RG-59 from Lowe's, Home Depot, your local electrical contractor shop, or wherever. Look for cable that is shielded with foil and a braid, with a foam dielectric. And also buy a crimper. And some connectors. And a rotary stripper.

It's fairly self-explanatory from then on out:

Measure, cut, strip, mash, crimp. Boneheaded cable installers can do this stuff all day - any Slashdotter can tackle it without episode. Plan on wasting an end or two if you're unsure of yourself, but it really is bloody simple.

Just try to keep the three component video cables all at the same length, to keep things in sync with eachother. This isn't hyper-critical, given the real-world propagation delay of RG-59, but it's easy to keep things within an inch or so of sameness and so one might as well try.

You'll spend less on the kit than for a single set of most "Monster" cables, and likely be able to make hundreds of feet worth of custom, high-quality video interconnects with it instead of having just one set of gaudy purple wires that are all the wrong length.

And since RG-59 is so good that nobody outside of a marketing department has bothered to replace it after numerous decades, you should be good for a long, long time.

Enjoy.

[1]: Yep, I said RG-59. There's no cause to use RG-6 with baseband video signals, as there's simply insufficient bandwidth utilization and attenuation to justify the expense and added unmanagibility of RG-6. And it's easy to find reasonably decent copper RG-59, while the RG-6 typically available at retail uses a cheap copper-clad steel center conductor, which operates poorly at these frequencies (but works fine and saves money for satellite installations). And as far as anyone knew, RG-59 was sufficient for all residential video purposes until the advent of DSS, two-way cablevision, and 125-channel tuners. RG-59 is, in fact, overkill for this application. I don't care which one is bigger: RG-6 is just pissing away cash, unless you've already got some on-hand.

There's all this talk here about audio cabling and listening and such, but TFA wants to know about video cabling.

It's just 75-ohm coaxial cable. It's a hand-me-down from the broadcast and defense industries.

If you were a broadcaster, you'd care about flexibility and long-term durability, and buy good professional-grade stranded-conductor RG-59 from someone like Canare, like just about all of the other broadcasters do for their temporary video interconnects. You'd then solder or (preferably) crimp your own connectors on, because then the resultant cables would both the proper length for whatever you're doing and you'd know that they were assembled correctly. Or, you'd have a company like Markertek assemble them for you.

But you're not a broadcaster. Nobody is throwing your wires across the room. Nobody is walking or driving on them. Nobody is using them to rig lights or props with.

You don't give a whit whether it's stranded or not, because it will be relocated (at most) several times a year - instead of, perhaps, several times per hour in a production studio. You do, however, care if they're assembled correctly.

And you care about having the proper length - extra cable length is hard to deal with in the typical home theater, and always reduces signal quality.

You also care about bandwidth, perhaps even more than the broadcasters do. But that's not a huge problem, as NTSC video only goes up to a few MHz.

RG-59 [1] is typically used at hundreds of MHz (think: cable TV), and is thus way more than sufficient.

So here's what you do. Buy some good, solid copper RG-59 from Lowe's, Home Depot, your local electrical contractor shop, or wherever. Look for cable that is shielded with foil and a braid, with a foam dielectric. And also buy a crimper. And some connectors. And a rotary stripper.

It's fairly self-explanatory from then on out:

Measure, cut, strip, mash, crimp. Boneheaded cable installers can do this stuff all day - any Slashdotter can tackle it without episode. Plan on wasting an end or two if you're unsure of yourself, but it really is bloody simple.

Just try to keep the three component video cables all at the same length, to keep things in sync with eachother. This isn't hyper-critical, given the real-world propagation delay of RG-59, but it's easy to keep things within an inch or so of sameness and so one might as well try.

You'll spend less on the kit than for a single set of most "Monster" cables, and likely be able to make hundreds of feet worth of custom, high-quality video interconnects with it instead of having just one set of gaudy purple wires that are all the wrong length.

And since RG-59 is so good that nobody outside of a marketing department has bothered to replace it after numerous decades, you should be good for a long, long time.

Enjoy.

[1]: Yep, I said RG-59. There's no cause to use RG-6 with baseband video signals, as there's simply insufficient bandwidth utilization and attenuation to justify the expense and added unmanagibility of RG-6. And it's easy to find reasonably decent copper RG-59, while the RG-6 typically available at retail uses a cheap copper-clad steel center conductor, which operates poorly at these frequencies (but works fine and saves money for satellite installations). And as far as anyone knew, RG-59 was sufficient for all residential video purposes until the advent of DSS, two-way cablevision, and 125-channel tuners. RG-59 is, in fact, overkill for this application. I don't care which one is bigger: RG-6 is just pissing away cash, unless you've already got some on-hand.

There's all this talk here about audio cabling and listening and such, but TFA wants to know about video cabling.

It's just 75-ohm coaxial cable. It's a hand-me-down from the broadcast and defense industries.

If you were a broadcaster, you'd care about flexibility and long-term durability, and buy good professional-grade stranded-conductor RG-59 from someone like Canare, like just about all of the other broadcasters do for their temporary video interconnects. You'd then solder or (preferably) crimp your own connectors on, because then the resultant cables would both the proper length for whatever you're doing and you'd know that they were assembled correctly. Or, you'd have a company like Markertek assemble them for you.

But you're not a broadcaster. Nobody is throwing your wires across the room. Nobody is walking or driving on them. Nobody is using them to rig lights or props with.

You don't give a whit whether it's stranded or not, because it will be relocated (at most) several times a year - instead of, perhaps, several times per hour in a production studio. You do, however, care if they're assembled correctly.

And you care about having the proper length - extra cable length is hard to deal with in the typical home theater, and always reduces signal quality.

You also care about bandwidth, perhaps even more than the broadcasters do. But that's not a huge problem, as NTSC video only goes up to a few MHz.

RG-59 [1] is typically used at hundreds of MHz (think: cable TV), and is thus way more than sufficient.

So here's what you do. Buy some good, solid copper RG-59 from Lowe's, Home Depot, your local electrical contractor shop, or wherever. Look for cable that is shielded with foil and a braid, with a foam dielectric. And also buy a crimper. And some connectors. And a rotary stripper.

It's fairly self-explanatory from then on out:

Measure, cut, strip, mash, crimp. Boneheaded cable installers can do this stuff all day - any Slashdotter can tackle it without episode. Plan on wasting an end or two if you're unsure of yourself, but it really is bloody simple.

Just try to keep the three component video cables all at the same length, to keep things in sync with eachother. This isn't hyper-critical, given the real-world propagation delay of RG-59, but it's easy to keep things within an inch or so of sameness and so one might as well try.

You'll spend less on the kit than for a single set of most "Monster" cables, and likely be able to make hundreds of feet worth of custom, high-quality video interconnects with it instead of having just one set of gaudy purple wires that are all the wrong length.

And since RG-59 is so good that nobody outside of a marketing department has bothered to replace it after numerous decades, you should be good for a long, long time.

Enjoy.

[1]: Yep, I said RG-59. There's no cause to use RG-6 with baseband video signals, as there's simply insufficient bandwidth utilization and attenuation to justify the expense and added unmanagibility of RG-6. And it's easy to find reasonably decent copper RG-59, while the RG-6 typically available at retail uses a cheap copper-clad steel center conductor, which operates poorly at these frequencies (but works fine and saves money for satellite installations). And as far as anyone knew, RG-59 was sufficient for all residential video purposes until the advent of DSS, two-way cablevision, and 125-channel tuners. RG-59 is, in fact, overkill for this application. I don't care which one is bigger: RG-6 is just pissing away cash, unless you've already got some on-hand.

You really do need to get a new supplier They'll even sell the optical cable.

WARNING: Recent fire codes require that in-wall speaker be insulated. The specific cable linked to in that article is NOT insulated:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Produc t_ID=2790&DID=7

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7 &Partnumber=100-740
also available in 500 ft lengths

http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?webpage_id =3&SO=2&DID=7&CATID=40&ObjectGroup_ID=376

WARNING: Recent fire codes require that in-wall speaker be insulated. The specific cable linked to in that article is NOT insulated:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Produc t_ID=2790&DID=7

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7 &Partnumber=100-740
also available in 500 ft lengths

http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?webpage_id =3&SO=2&DID=7&CATID=40&ObjectGroup_ID=376

WARNING: Recent fire codes require that in-wall speaker be insulated. The specific cable linked to in that article is NOT insulated:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Produc t_ID=2790&DID=7

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7 &Partnumber=100-740
also available in 500 ft lengths

http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?webpage_id =3&SO=2&DID=7&CATID=40&ObjectGroup_ID=376

You can get decent LCD screens from www.partsexpress.com. No need to hack a portable DVD player. In the past they've had quite a few choices, it appears they only have one model showing online right now.

Converting RCA spdif to optical is trivial.. the most basic converters are more or less just an opamp and LED. You can occasionally get away with just an LED depending on the driving circuit, but I'd use at least a inline current limiting resistor.

Also, many soundcards with an optical SP/DIF input also have an internal header for an RCA (spdif) connection. In additional, the digital CD-ROM connection uses a variation of SP/DIF (SP/DIF with a 0-5v signal level.)

Here's a commerical one:
here

http://www.partsexpress.com/

In particular: here

There seem to be howtos, free design software, parts, etc.
I'm not associated with this site, other than as a customer. (Inexpensive optical audio cables!)

OCH LCD MicroView Review

LCD Mod

Extreme Overclocking-5in LCD Ultra-Thin Video Module Review - Page: 4 - Tweaking PC Hardware To The Max

Mikhailtech

5 Color LCD Mod

Mini LCD Monitor Review - Amdmb.com

Computer Compatible Small Format LCD Monitors

EarthLCD Home Page

Candescent: ThinCRT Showcase

Caltron Industries, Inc.

Caltron Industries, Inc.

Timeline, Inc. LCD Displays

6a3 5 X-Bri PAL-NTSC

6 TFT LCD Module Kits

5 mobile lcd display

Mobile LCD Modules

Pyle PLVWHR56M<br>5.6 Mobile Video LCD Monitor<br><img>

Parts Express: Browsing LCD 4 VIDEO MODULE

LCD Projectors, LCD, LCD Monitors, LCD Displays, LCD Panels, LCD Screens, Small LCD Monitors, LCD Flat Panel Displays, Resistive LCD Touch Screens

flat panel displays from Spire Controls

After much searching, I've found these guys seem to have the best prices on rackmount cases. Particularly nice is the included riser card and the option for an AGP card for those who (for whatever reason) need AGP capability -- few places I've found offer that. Note, though, that the prices are noticeably better on eBay than through their online store.

PartsExpress has good prices on rails, for those who just want rails. Their customer service was quite good as well: one of my pairs of rails managed to fall out in transit and they were quite good (prompt and friendly) about sending me another pair. Their selection and prices on other basic rack equipment was quite good as well (blank plates, shelves, that sort of thing).

For those doing home wiring and wanting any range of supplies (including rack-mount hardware), I would highly recommend Tri-State Electronic. I had a several page order which they got right the first time and shipped out the next day. Their prices are quite good as is their selection. Also delivery was reasonable ($50 or so via UPS Ground for over 100 lbs in 3 boxes) and fast since they're in the middle of the country (= no more than a few days away from most everywhere). I've since ordered some things I forgot the first time and the service was just as good the second time.

Try these guys out: PE

You can find foam surround replacement kits, or you can search for some drivers that fit specific parameters to replace your bad ones. Either way, I'm sure you'll find something in a decent price range.

They sell the rails at various sizes, all you have to do is build the box and attach the rails. Pretty good prices too.

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&User_ ID=17055777&St=8409&St2=66320611&St3=41899718&DS_I D=3&Product_ID=6039&DID=7

good link, after looking through their deals, this looks like the exact same screen as the one used in the article and it comes in at $99.88

Try PartsExpress. Right now they have a 5.6" LCD for USD$118. Good luck...

Automobile LCD TVs very expensive because their so small. Stoopid.

Actually automotive LCD are NOT expensive at all. You just need to know where to look. Here is a good start. You can assemble a two monitor system in headrests (or one large monitor on ceiling) with a DVD/MP3 player and audio through existing stereo for under $500 if you install it yourself. Skip the dedicated DVD/mp3 player, hook up a Xbox or PS2 instead with a $30 power invertor and have a complete DVD/Game system for roughly the same price.

if you could send a link to one of those lcd's w/ a build in 15 pin svga connector for a "few bucks more" to xvmastervx(at)hotmail(dot)com then please do, i would appreciate. however i did find a better looking, and more *useful* lcd module, if this is in anyway useful. here it is. the only diff is this one turns itself off when theres no signal detected, and it has a better viewing angle. the -only- use for this i could even remotly think of is maby previewing video on a ntsc display, built in. and even thin its an issue of convience and not usefulness.

Here's the LCD screen And here's a link on how to make it into a 5.25" drive bay. Enjoy

well, here are some small ones to get started with. I don't how well they will work with this setup, though.

Check out http://www.partsexpress.com.
Also http://www.earthlcd.com, as mentioned above.
Keep looking the category 'Mobile Video'. You'll find many 4,5,6 inch screens.

If you're building something out of it anyway, PartsExpress has good deals on 'LCD Modules' which basically are the screens without the finished edges. There's a special right now for a 5.6" screen for $100! (part no 205-017). I bought a small screen there for $90 a few months ago to put in my car. They come highly recommended.

You can get a new 24" dish for $55 or an 18" dish for $35 at Parts Express. I don't work there, I just shop there.

SD

You can get a new 24" dish for $55 or an 18" dish for $35 at Parts Express. I don't work there, I just shop there.

SD

You can get a new 24" dish for $55 or an 18" dish for $35 at Parts Express. I don't work there, I just shop there.

SD

We're talking lunchbox form factor!

I say 'pseudo' laptop because I don't want to mess with batteries when pretty much all the places I'd care to use a laptop there are already electrical outlets nearby. Plus how cool would it be with an old vacuum cleaner's retractable powercord?

There are plenty of little optical mice and the Happy Hacker would certainly be adequate... but I kept getting hung up on what I have heard is the most expensive part of a laptop- the display.

Most of the 4"-8" discrete LCD modules I can find (such as these) only have standard "Yellow RCA" composite video-in.

Anyone know where small LCD modules with VGA connectors can be found?

Anyone have any experience using sound absorbant sheeting? I'm interested in lining computer case panels with it, or possibly building a fully-enclosed rack that is lined to house noisy equipment.

I'd like to give an example but I can't get to the site that has them. The most basic form is an asphalt-based flexible sheet with adhesive that can be applied to just about any surface. They are often used in automotive stereo setups to deaden road noise (and reverberations?).

Been thinking about this myself! I could skip the plywood myself.

Parts Express has the rails that you need. Search by keyword for "rack rail".

One should pause before making well-armed paranoids feel foolish, no matter how foolish they seem.

I've purchased from each, with good results. Though, for a small, portable rack, nothing beats the price of SKB's offerings.

As far as tricks go, it's fairly simple: used racks from a pawn shop; used racks from the local guitar store; used racks from Ebay (in that order).