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CAVE MP3 Player MkII

[MkII PCB Top Rollover] [MkII PCB Bottom Rollover]
Interactive "rollover" pages describing the various features of the new MkII player PC board. The MkII player uses 2.5" hard disks, supports USB2.0 for blazingly fast transfers with a PC, 802.11b for wireless communications, optical TOSlink S/PDIF digital audio output, CompactFlash support, and more! There are currently five prototype units in existence for development purposes.
[Prototype Player, Head Unit & Remote] [Prototype Player w/ Hard Disk & Head Unit] [Test S/PDIF output on Prototype Player] [Successful USB2.0 docking!]
Various shots of the player prototype in development. You can see the assembled prototype player on the left, an early test of the head unit and player in the middle, and a test of the S/PDIF digital audio output on the right. Lastly, a screenshot from the first successful attempt at CAVE appearing as a drive on Windows 2000, via USB2.0!

Note that the Corian endcaps on the player are done in a rather ugly color in the prototypes. We use up the ugly colors to perfect our routing jigs, so we don't waste the nice stuff! Also worth noting is that the aluminum extrusion has not yet been anodized (another cost-saving measure for the prototype phase).

CAVE MP3 Player MkI (Outdated, first mobile prototype)

[MkI Player rendering] [MkI Player rendering]
Two concept renderings for the enclosure for the MkI player. The MkI player uses 3.5" IDE hard disks, and thus is quite a bit larger than the upcoming MkII player.
[MkI Player from front] [MkI Player from rear]
The MkI player enclosure. The player features a removable 3.5" disk caddy to load music onto the player. This also allows multiple disks to be used (e.g. "his" and "hers"). The rear of the player features line-level audio outputs, DC power input, and a connection to the head unit.
[MkI Player prototype guts] [MkI Player prototype guts] [MkI Player prototype guts]
Internals of the MkI player. The MP3 chipset eval board is sandwiched with the 8051 development board. The second revision of the automotive power supplies can be seen in the rear of the unit.
[MkI player with Palm Pilot for head unit] [MkI player Palm Pilot interface] [MkI player with factory Mazda radio line-in hack] [MkI player first time in vehicle]
Early versions of the mobile MkI player used a Palm Pilot for control. This was cumbersome to use in a car, but it did provide for quick development time. Before mobile testing could take place, the hidden line-in capability of a factory Mazda radio was found. The rightmost picture shows the first mobile test of the CAVE MP3 player - an exciting day indeed!
[MkI player rev 2 power supplies] [MkI Player rev 2 12VDC power supply (top)] [MkI Player rev 2 12VDC power supply (bottom)] [MkI Player rev 2 3.3VDC/5VDC power supply (bottom)]
The second revision power supply prototypes from the MkI player. The left-most picture shows both supplies in the enclosure. The middle two show the front and rear of the 12VDC buck/boost switching regulator. The last picture shows the 3.3V/5V regulators.
[MkI player rev 1 power supplies] [MkI Player power supply bench testing]
The first revision of the MkI player's power supplies. Much bench testing was conducted to improve the design, and in the end a second revision of the power supply was constructed.
[MkI player on the bench] [MkI player early development]
Early MkI player development, before the electronics were put into the enclosure. This development also took place before the automobile power supply was designed.