Kickin' Kiosk, Mp3 Jukebox

This Kickin' Kiosk will keep the speakers kickin' to everyone's favorite beat. The pulsating lights, good vibrations, ease of use, and familiar look make it a hit at any gathering. Easily select songs from a collection of MP3 music on a classic kiosk style jukebox. Browse through albums with simple arrow keys, make song selections from album and song numbers using a keypad. All of this using standard items such as an old computer, stereo, and some lighting components that anyone can put together with this instructable. Be sure to check out some of the hidden features such as;  it's light weight, wheels, and hidden handles for easy lifting and transporting to the party.
Check it out on YouTube http://youtu.be/v04W8FxHDF4

For this project there are several items that require multiple cuts using a jigsaw, or a scroll saw, and a drill for a pilot holes. Some of which could be completed on a laser cutter if you own one. The audio is provided by an old outdated computer connected to a stereo that has the proper input jacks. The project also contains a variety of brilliant lighting including; LED's, Neon, Florescent Back Lighting for display, Rope Light, and Incandescent Christmas Bulbs to light up the evening and bring the music to life.

Here are the items needed to complete this instructable that will entertain you, your family, and your friends for endless hours, for this is the instructable that keeps on giving.

Materials needed:
Windows XP computer with CD player & audio card with audio out port (standard on many computers)
VGA CRT Monitor or flat screen LCD monitor preferably with an adjustable height.
Keyboard and mouse
Mp3 playing Jukebox Software, I used jukebox simulator (http://www.jukeboxsimulator.com) but other jukebox software could work well also.
Stereo and speakers (with aux. audio in / line in connections)
1- 3' Cable, male mini stereo headphone jack on one end & 2 male RCA phono jacks on other end.
Utility Cart, 33 1/2" High, 24" Wide, by 18" Deep
3- 4'x8' Luan wood sheets
1/4 inch or 1/2 inch square trim, 4' long (to cover seam where wood sides meet curved top)
Wood glue
Hot glue and hot glue gun
Stain, Mahogany (all in one stain & finish recommended)
mirror hanging clamps
2- small hinges
wire strapping (to secure hardware)
Plexiglass
3- 8.5 x11" transparency sheets or other thin flexible plastic sheets  (found in craft stores & in packaging)
Spray paint, white
Spray paint, silver or chrome
Spray paint, red
Spray paint, frost
Christmas light string, 20 bulb count.
Rope light, 12'
Sound activated Neon lighting kit (to light music symbols to the beat, automotive lighting)
LED light strip (to light keyboard, automotive lighting)
1- Power strip, 6 outlet or more.
1- Power pack, 12volt 1 amp  (to power Neon automotive light)
Tubing, 1" clear flexible
2 PVC couplers, 1 1/2"
Black cloth material (for speaker grill)
Black plastic material (to cover back of Kiosk)
Painters tape
small nails or brads
Jig saw,
scroll saw or laser cutter
Drill
Rope
Drywall Screws, course thread 6x 1 1/4"  (or other small screws that are colored dark)
Pin striping tape, red (automobile tape)
4- Old records, real or fake plastic (found in party stores and craft stores)

Step 1: Step 1- Powering the Kickin' Kiosk

The first picture in this step shows the main items I used to create the Kickin' Kiosk. I used an Aiwa NSX-V20 Stereo System that I had lying around because it had a set of auxiliary audio 'in' ports that I needed, but you can use any decent sounding stereo with audio inputs and the watts of power you require to meet your needs. For the computer I used an old HP Pavillion PC that has an audio card and runs Windows XP. Any model or make PC should work, I recommend at least a 350mhz PII with 64MB of RAM and a 16-bit XGA display. (1024 x 768) and you must have a sound card. The first step is to connect the computer audio 'out' port to the stereo audio 'in' ports, then test it by playing an Mp3 using windows media player or a similar audio program on your computer. Most computer audio out ports use a single mini stereo headphone jack and are labelled with an audio symbol and an arrow pointing out from the port. Most stereo audio 'in' ports are two RCA phono jacks labelled auxiliary so you will need a patch cable with a male mini stereo headphone jack on one end and two RCA phono jacks on the other end (shown in the second picture). Connect the patch cable between the stereo and the computer and complete your Mp3 sound test. Remember to check your sound control panel on the computer to make sure the sound output (line out) is turned up, and check your media player volume as well as the stereo volume. Also check your stereo to make sure the proper audio input source is selected, mine needed to be set to Aux. Once you have successfully played an audio file from your computer through your stereo you can move onto the next steps, building the kiosk cabinet.

Comments

[a1auto]

Awesome project! If I tried this, my garage would be unusable for months. Hats off to you!

[Graydant]

Awesome Idea but how much did it cost. I have everything in that first picture, but for everything else I'd have to purchase, it seems like quite an investment to me. Still it is a cool project.

[qquuiinn]

I have seen projects where the keyboard is taken apart and dedicated buttons are attached directly to they keyboard controller instead of using an entire keyboard like MAKE's winamp joystick. Have you considered this?

[jimmmm]

I could have easily used keyboard, or keypad parts to create a custom controller but there were several reasons I used a complete keyboard the way I did; I wanted to have a hidden full size keyboard at the front of the kiosk for managing my mp3's such as naming songs and album folders ect. And for managing and maintenance of the OS. I only need to flip up the cover to access the full keyboard. I wanted the build to be simplified and I also wanted to incorporate standard components that could be easily replaced in case of failure. I have a duplicate keyboard that fits in the back of my cabinet and it can be swapped out in minutes if needed, I also keep a spare LCD screen. In kickin' kiosk 2.0 I am installing 2 mother boards, 2 power supplies and 2 hard drives mounted in cabinet for redundancy. I have never had a failure but wanted to be prepared for quick and easy component replacement if it were to occur.

[amandaghassaei]

very cool, do you think this could be done with a raspberry pi instead of a dedicated comp?

[jimmmm]

Using an old PC for this project worked perfect and helped recycle what may have ended up in a landfill, not to mention made my dollar go allot further. With the right programming skills another type of microcomputer board may also work, but the best choice for me was an old windows PC running windows XP. Thanks for the comments.