Greetings from Arizona.
I am currently following in the footsteps of Scott Keen, who built a
PB 540c Picture Frame. On his site he mentions that with help from Apple Fritter members he built a " a momentary switch (press button to close, release to open) to the ADB port which shorts pins 2 and 4 on the ADB" that allows him to turn the PB on and off. Currently I am doing this by plugging and unplugging the AC Adapter.
I emailed Scott and he was very helpful, but mentioned that is has been some time since he built the Picture Frame.
I have very little experience with electronics, and while I can find sources for momentary switches as well as a ADB diagram I understand how to build the switch. Please any help is appreciated. I really am over my head when it comes to making this switch.
Thanks,
Scott
Sounds like all you need to do it connect the switch with the pins. The simplest way to do it would be get an old ADB cable and cut it in half. Strip back the insulation on all the wires and find what ones go to the desired pins (2 and 4). You can either short each wire systematically to find what one gives the power on/off command or use an ohm meter (a light and battery set up as a continuity tester works as well) to find which pin is tied to what wire. Then solder the correct wires to the switch and mount it onto the hack. Hope this helps.
. . . would you like to put the switch? Neither is clear from the info in your initial post. Assuming it's 5xx series like SK's, the above sounds like a very good approach for your hack. If it's a Duo or a later model PB, you may have more options.
jt
I am using a 540c. And I am working toward building such a switch. But a
finding the parts have been a little harder than I thought. I now have a voltmeter and a ADB cord (taken from a Mouse...) but I am still looking for the
right switch. The guy at Radio shack was a jerk, unable/unwilling to sell me such a switch. I live in a small town, so next time I goto to Tucson, I'll goto a real electronic store.
I am curious, however, to what you mean by other options from newer PBs. As I have a 5300c with a bad AC port and hinge, if I can make this one work I might be moving on to that project. (I like the idea of putting a wireless card in it making accessable without pulling it off the wall....)
I wanted to say Thanks to both of you for taking the time to answer my post.
Best,
j.d.
. . . or the one from the trackpad button (assuming it's like the others, I've never played with the 5xx series) if you don't need it.
There's a handy one one in your 5300c's trackpad assembly, BTW. :ebc: I don't know about the 190/5300 AC adapter, but the Duo and later adapters (untested assumption) have the ADB wire in the power cord and the third jack contact. There doesn't appear to be a third signal on the 5300's crappy power adapter, but you could replace the broken one on yours with a Duo's socket (or use any keyed three signal jack . . . maybe cannibalize an internal HDD or 3.5" FDD power cable "Y" adapter) and implement the third line for the ADB signal on the MLB.
I sort of like that approach for any voltage compatible picture frame, I once read about a third party AC adapter for the Duo that had an ADB port feature. If you do that hack, you won't have to remove your frame from the wall, just plug peripherals into the AC adapter!
NoPro about the answers, noodling out solutions for this kinda crap is about as much fun as it gets . . . well . . . in terms of techno-hobbies anyway . . .
jt
Yeah, Ratty Shack is pretty bad. The switch you need is a push button normally open switch. If you need other modding supplies Allelectronics.com has great prices.
Here's just what you need
I'm not sure but I think what Trash meant was that* some PBs (the 1x0 series comes to mind) used switches soldered to the MLB for power on. If you were using one of those 'books all you would have to do is desolder the switch and extended it with some wire. Neither the 540 or 5300 can use that method tho'As for the 5300, chances are you can resolder the port. Its not a hard fix to DIY. I did it once on my 5300 but need to do it again because I didn't glue it into position after I soldered it (which is the same reason it failed in the first place)
*EDIT: I should have read Trash's post rather than skim over it. Didn't remove anything since its semi-useful material
Just a quick message that I wasn't able to finish the hack yet, but I am
hoping that someone might have a ADB wiring diagram. If anyone does,
please drop me an email.
Scott
Personally I think this is a great and simple project Idea. I plan to use a PB 5300 for mine. You can get one for $49 here: www.wegenermedia.com The 5300 has a PCMCIA slot so it can accept a wireless card, making communication easy. Basically use a shared folder for the images so you can place/replace them easily. The 10" LCD is not too far from a standard 8" x 10" picture. The mat board should be custom cut (Art stores carry the tool to cut the mat an a 45 deg. angle) Also place the Apple Remote Desktop client on it so it is even easier to controll without removing from its display location. I plan to use a larger, "gallery style" frame They are very design savvy and hide the digital nature of the device. I fyou are really nuts you can run the power cord through the wall so it does not show at all. Only if your really nuts.
Note that ADB uses the same connector as S-Video which is extremely commonly available as both cables and bare connectors.
. . . sockets seem a bit harder to find, but even Radio Shack has connectors if you look around instead of asking their digital phone hucksters for them. Have you got a small quantity source with good prices for panel mount (or any other) female connectors?
jt :?