Topic: Chumby I.F. Amplifier / Hardware hack

I have been wanting to do a hardware hack for a few years. When I purchased a Chumby One with a power problem I thought it was finally time to make the hardware hack happen. Unfortunately fate took that Chumby from me mid-project and I was unable to secure another one. I did get my hands on an Infocast 3.5 and was able to modify what I had already done to fit the new model. While the results are not amazing, they are pleasing to me and the project offered me hours of fun. I wanted to share the results with the Chumby community.  My camera had trouble shooting video while the Chumby screen was lit and I apologize for the poor quality of the video.

https://youtu.be/hNesNihJDCg

http://i447.photobucket.com/albums/qq200/bolomkxxviii/IMG_9122.jpg?t=1438380320
http://i447.photobucket.com/albums/qq200/bolomkxxviii/IMG_9124.jpg?t=1438380317
http://i447.photobucket.com/albums/qq200/bolomkxxviii/IMG_9123.jpg?t=1438380320

Tar, feathers, congress. Some assembly required.

Re: Chumby I.F. Amplifier / Hardware hack

Sweet Mod! I have one in mind that I will share once it is done. I too purchased a few I3.5 destine to do some mods on.

Re: Chumby I.F. Amplifier / Hardware hack

Very nice!!

Re: Chumby I.F. Amplifier / Hardware hack

Thanks guys! I would love to do another but it seems Chumbys are getting hard to come by and it can take me quite a while to come up with an idea that I like. The work is the easy part. I have many evenings in my Chumby I.F. Amplifier as I had to move a couple of the sub-boards and fabricate some brackets from aluminium. The bezel around the screen was originally much wider to accommodate an analog meter. Some careful cutting, epoxy work and lots of sanding later and it almost looks like it was originally made that size. It is great therapy for me and time well spent.

If anyone is interested, here is where I got the piece of equipment I used for the project:
http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.c … tpage=new0

Tar, feathers, congress. Some assembly required.

Re: Chumby I.F. Amplifier / Hardware hack

Well, if this is the sort of thing you want to do, then I may be able to help.

I do have a small inventory of devices that are not in sellable condition as chumby devices (broken enclosures, etc) but may be in sufficient working condition to be used for these types of projects.  That's where the one I used for the Pottery Barn clock came from.

There was, at one point, a whole box of these things, but I think they were disposed of/recycled during the last days of chumby or shortly thereafter.  There's a small possibility that one of the employees ended up with some of it.  I'll check.

6 (edited by BoloMKXXVIII 2015-08-02 13:14:06)

Re: Chumby I.F. Amplifier / Hardware hack

That would be great! I would love to do another project. I don't care which model it is either. As long as it works I can do something with it. If you find any let me know. I assume they don't cost more than the ones in the store?  ;-)
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BTW, I have the enclosure from the Chumby One that was murdered by a friend's kid. It was running naked as it was going to go into the I.F. amplifier. The case was untouched. If you have a Chumby One that is in working order I can send you the case so you can sell the unit in the store.  I also have the USB wifi module but I am not sure if it is still working. It looks fine physically but I have not tried it since the incident.

Oh, I have the box and plastic packing for the Chumby One also. In case you have need of the Chumby One enclosure.

Tar, feathers, congress. Some assembly required.

Re: Chumby I.F. Amplifier / Hardware hack

Duane, I would be happy to buy "guts" to make into Chumby Art!

Re: Chumby I.F. Amplifier / Hardware hack

Actually, one of the main reasons I preferred the I3.5 devices over the C devices was the way the case was designed.  The bezel is flat and can easily be put into enclosures.  I had a grand idea of using them as "control panels" embedded into my walls in a couple places in my house.  That idea hasn't come to fruition for many reasons... basically a ton of boring excuses.  For instance, the sun was in my eyes.

Linux Guy - Occasional Chumby Hacker

Re: Chumby I.F. Amplifier / Hardware hack

Materdaddy wrote:

basically a ton of boring excuses.  For instance, the sun was in my eyes.

did the dog eat your homework too??? no wonder you haven't gotten around to it big_smile

Cleaning up any loose bits and bytes.

Re: Chumby I.F. Amplifier / Hardware hack

I went to storage yesterday evening and found a few C1s that seem to be in craftable condition - broken enclosures, etc, but the electronics seem sound, though I need to run them for a while to make sure. I found a few more that are missing various components, but are probably Frankensteinable to get into working condition.

I didn't check for I3s - I probably don't have many since we didn't sell them, so if I have them, they're probably development protos.

I'm low on C1 power supplies, so what I might do with these is ship them with the components of the barrel connector so that the crafter can use whatever power supply they want, for instance, a completely different supply with a converter cable mounted in the device.

Re: Chumby I.F. Amplifier / Hardware hack

Duane, I am definitely interested in a couple of the Chumby ones. please PM me with details prices. Etc. Thanks

Tar, feathers, congress. Some assembly required.

Re: Chumby I.F. Amplifier / Hardware hack

diamaunt wrote:

did the dog eat your homework too??? no wonder you haven't gotten around to it big_smile

Of course it ate my homework.  I also was too busy writing love letters to Gina Carano, I keep getting stuck in the blood pressure machine at CVS, and I had to keep checking the expiration dates on my milk containers.

Linux Guy - Occasional Chumby Hacker