Custom Cases for Squeezebox3?

[doundounba]

Hi all,

So I was wondering - how "hackable" is the Squeezebox 3 from a "custom case" perspective? Been thinking of starting a project for either my SliMP3 or a brand new Squeezebox. It's pretty obvious that I can make a custom plexiglass panel for my SliMP3 and simply unscrew it from its current L-shaped panel and screw it into the new panel, with no other hardware mods necessary. And its very small size make it easy to fit into many types of enclosures.

But what about the Squeezebox3? How does it disassemble? What are the parts? Any internals pics available on the Web? Anyone already made some custom cases for it? All I've found so far are SliMP3 or Squeezebox 1 or 2 custom case projects...

Any info/pointers greatly appreciated!

[JJZolx]

Hi all,

So I was wondering - how "hackable" is the Squeezebox 3 from a "custom case" perspective? Been thinking of starting a project for either my SliMP3 or a brand new Squeezebox. It's pretty obvious that I can make a custom plexiglass panel for my SliMP3 and simply unscrew it from its current L-shaped panel and screw it into the new panel, with no other hardware mods necessary. And its very small size make it easy to fit into many types of enclosures.

But what about the Squeezebox3? How does it disassemble? What are the parts? Any internals pics available on the Web? Anyone already made some custom cases for it? All I've found so far are SliMP3 or Squeezebox 1 or 2 custom case projects...

Any info/pointers greatly appreciated!

Here are a couple photos:

http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20484

The Squeezebox 3 is a lot less friendly toward customization than was the SB2. An unfortunate step backward, IMO.

Where the SB2 had the display mounted on a separate board, the SB3 has it mounted directly to the underside of the motherboard. The vertical orientation of this board assembly means that you're pretty much stuck with housing it in a case that's about four inches or so tall.

Also, in the SB3 all the rear connectors are mounted 90 degrees to the plane of the board, so you be hard-pressed to have a case much different in shape or size than the current one unless you extended all of connections via wire to a set mounted at the rear of the new case.

Then there's the the internal antenna... another step backward in the name of aesthetics.

I guess some people really like the way it looks. To me, it's just a variation of the same clock-radio theme, except that now it looks more like a clock radio from 2005 instead of 1985.

It'd be nice to see the SB2 resurrected with a high quality all metal case. I suspect there are some new Squeezeboxes in the works right now, so we'll have to see if they're any better than the SB3. The SB2 was amazingly short-lived; hopefully the SB3 will follow that trend.

[stinkingpig]

JJZolx wrote:
> doundounba Wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> So I was wondering - how "hackable" is the Squeezebox 3 from a "custom
>> case" perspective? Been thinking of starting a project for either my
>> SliMP3 or a brand new Squeezebox. It's pretty obvious that I can make
>> a custom plexiglass panel for my SliMP3 and simply unscrew it from its
>> current L-shaped panel and screw it into the new panel, with no other
>> hardware mods necessary. And its very small size make it easy to fit
>> into many types of enclosures.
>>
>> But what about the Squeezebox3? How does it disassemble? What are the
>> parts? Any internals pics available on the Web? Anyone already made
>> some custom cases for it? All I've found so far are SliMP3 or
>> Squeezebox 1 or 2 custom case projects...
>>
>> Any info/pointers greatly appreciated!
>>
> Here are a couple photos:
>
> http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20484
>
> The Squeezebox 3 is a lot less friendly toward customization than was
> the SB2. An unfortunate step backward, IMO.
>
> Where the SB2 had the display mounted on a separate board, the SB3 has
> it mounted directly to the underside of the motherboard. The vertical
> orientation of this board assembly means that you're pretty much stuck
> with housing it in a case that's about four inches or so tall.
>
> Also, in the SB3 all the rear connectors are mounted 90 degrees to the
> plane of the board, so you be hard-pressed to have a case much
> different in shape or size than the current one unless you extended all
> of connections via wire to a set mounted at the rear of the new case.
>
> Then there's the the internal antenna... another step backward in the
> name of aesthetics.
>
> I guess some people really like the way it looks. To me, it's just a
> variation of the same clock-radio theme, except that now it looks more
> like a clock radio from 2005 instead of 1985.
>
> It'd be nice to see the SB2 resurrected with a high quality all metal
> case. I suspect there are some new Squeezeboxes in the works right
> now, so we'll have to see if they're any better than the SB3. The SB2
> was amazingly short-lived; hopefully the SB3 will follow that trend.
>
>
>
Here's what to do with a SB3...
http://www.trond.com/brazil/images/brazil18.jpg

remove the external casing, stick it into a twitching morass of
typewriter and tapedeck parts united with some solenoids and a random
number generator, and slap a giant fresnel in front of the screen.

It's only allowed to play Seu Jorge and David Bowie.

--
Jack at Monkeynoodle dot Org: It's a Scientific Venture...
Riding the Emergency Third Rail Power Trip Since 1996

[tyler_durden]

Try Lego!

TD

[doundounba]

Well, thanks for the info JJZolx - much appreciated. Guess it looks like I might be hunting for a Squeezebox 2 on Ebay for a while... BTW, what I'm thinking of trying is putting my SliMP3 (or a Squeezebox), possibly including some speakers, into a nice vintage radio case...

[Robin Bowes]

doundounba wrote:
> Well, thanks for the info JJZolx - much appreciated. Guess it looks
> like I might be hunting for a Squeezebox 2 on Ebay for a while

I have a Platinum Wireless SB2 which I would be happy to trade for a
black wireless SB3.

Let me know if you're interested.

R.

[doundounba]

doundounba wrote:[color=blue]

I have a Platinum Wireless SB2 which I would be happy to trade for a black wireless SB3.

Let me know if you're interested.

Maybe I would be - if only I had an SB3!

Thanks for the offer though.