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NOTE: This instructable is now slightly old and a better machine has been made with lower cost parts and much better software that automatically allow...
How it works The blue RFID reader has a range of about 4 inches so it has been fixed by 4 small bolts and spacers (cut from plastic tube) to the un...
Here is an image of the main part of the device with RFID reader located just below surface of the polycarbonate.
Introduction This shows the general idea. A project box holds the Arduino Mega. A multicore cable comes out and connects to the iPod Touch I am us...
Introduction (2) Top view. I have a little tray made from the lid of a small project box which the RFID "bricks" are placed into. This keeps them ...
About RFID cards RFID cards have a coil of wire in them and a radio transmitter. The reader induces a current in the wire coil which then momentari...
Creating a link to the iPod (1) Here is the PodGizmo breakout board. On the left is a picture of it and on the right I have altered it slightly to...
Get Sparkfun voltage converter board The serial data from the Arduino is at 5V, however the iPod does not like this, it operates at 3.3V. This b...
Connection to iPod This shows the PodGizmo breakout board with wires soldered to it and plugged into the iPod. This is designed for experimentat...
How to connect these to the Arduino Mega OK it had to happen, some circuit diagrams. This part deals with how the Arduino talks to the iPod via seri...
How to connect the RFID receiver This has 4 pins on it. VCC is the one you supply +5V to from the 5V pin on the Mega. GND is connected to any of ...
How to connect the RFID receiver (2): (Wires for +5V power and GND between Arduino and the RFID reader are not shown in the diagram). Also shows...
Box of electronics Here it all is looking rather untidy. Mega visible on right. Lower middle is the small voltage converter module. Top left...
Serial LCD display. Displays album title, then reads name of track currently playing from the iPod and displays it along with name of the artist.
How to get sound out of the iPod (1) Photo of the phono sockets for the cable to HiFi amplifier. OK, we need some sound out of this thing someho...
How to get sound out of the iPod (2) Wiring diagram We have a right +ve audio signal (Pin 3 on the PodGizmo) and a left equivalent (Pin 4 on the...
How to get sound out of the iPod (3) Pin 21 ! The legendary Pin 21 of the iPod plug. This pin is connected to ground via a resistor. The value ...
Volume control for headphones Poor quality photo of the two 10kOhm potentiometers (variable resistors) seen in previous diagram. They adjust volume...
Assembly (1) Main box of electronics assembled underneath the polycarbonate oval. RFID reader can be seen underneath the polycarbonate and the l...
Assembly (2) Whole unit is then dropped carefully into the hole cut into the top of your best living room table or whatever else you have sacrifice...
Assembly (3) Simply screw the polycarbonate oval down to the wood of the table around its edges. If you used a thin foam gasket it could even be...
Make the RFID "Bricks" I will cover how you discover the RFID number of each of your cards later, but here I cover how to make each "brick". T...
1) Turn on iPod 2) Connect to Arduino using the PodGizmo plug. 3) Put an RFID "brick" over the RFID reader. 4) Power up the Arduino....
iPod now thinks it is connected to external device due to the effect of the 500kOhm resistor on pin 21 of PodGizmo breakout board.
If you put CD's into your computer while iPlayer is running, it will automatically rip them and turn them into mp3 files. You can highlight a whole a...
Here is the section of the playlist that is relevant. So here, the first track of the album "Singles of the 90's" is "C'est La Vie Always 21" and i...
There is a section in the Arduino sketch where you have to enter i) The RFID card code (10 digits/letters)...........(on left) ii) The album title we...
At the end of the sequence you can see we have several hundred tracks in the playlist and 21 albums (so far). The comments in the sketch itself show ...
The Arduino sketch is attached here. Copy it and paste it into a new empty Arduino sketch. Then compile for your Arduino type and save it. Written fo...
This project does assume some Arduino experience. David Findlay has written some libraries which need to be downloaded, unzipped and added to your Ar...
Improving reliability There is a neater version of the PodGizmo plug available in the US, but for now I needed to stop the wires bending around, snap...
Power supply The RFID allegedly uses "a lot of power" when it is actually in "read" mode. Not sure how much this is but since I am supplying the ba...
From time to time I will update this page with additional reading. For now here is David Findlay's website which inspired me to do this: ...
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