Inside the AudioTron...

We start by looking at the AudioTron from the top down with the cover removed. The first thing that's noticable is the huge amount of unused space! Clearly the decision to make the unit rack-mount size (17" wide) was optional. The main board sits roughly in the center of the unit and connects via a 2-pin header to the power supply board. Flexi-cables are used to connect to the knob board and the buttons/LED board mounted to the front of the unit. A 14-pin ribbon cable is used to connect to a standard off-the-shelf 40x2 LCD. Two shielded cables connect from the audio section of the main board to the headphone jack in the front of the unit (see my rant on the audio stage page for more details).

Swinging around to the back of the unit, we see (from left to right): the 10baseT ethernet jack, the HPNA interfaces, the TOSlink digital output, the analog audio outputs, an IEC power entry, and finally the power switch.

Flexi-cable is used to connect from the main board to a small PC board holding the rotary encoder knob (shown on left). Another flexi-cable is used to connect from the main board to the PC board forming the button contacts and holding the LEDs. A standard ribbon cable is used to connect from the main board to the LCD. Lastly, shielded wire is used to connect from the main board to the headphone jack.

The front panel sports an array of "rubber chiclet" buttons, some of which have LEDs behind them (e.g. 'Play' and 'Stop'). Some of the other buttons have LEDs above them. Also visible is the 1/4" stereo headphone jack. Next, we see the 40x2 character liquid crystal display. This is a standard Hitachi HD44780 controller compatible display using a 14-pin interface. The bubbly looking stuff on the LCD is the protective sheet, which I have not yet pulled off of this unit. On the right, the encoder knob is shown. The knob is detented and has a pushbutton that is used to perform actions. The clear window next to the knob exposes an infrared receiver so that it may receive IR codes from the remote control.

Voyetra, Turtle Beach, AudioTron, and likely a whole bunch of other things are probably trademarks of their respective owners. I do not try to lay claim to any of them!