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Modding my iPod for an internally mounted Sleek wireless transmitter

post #1 of 9
7/22/09 at 5:05pm
Thread Starter 
I'm tinkering around again. I've taken apart my 160g iPod Classic, 6th generation, and I'm modifying it so the Sleek wireless transmitter can built into the iPod itself. This way there will be no plug-in device sitting on top of the iPod and no need to separately charge the Sleek transmitter, since it will be powered from the iPod battery.

I've already removed the circuit board from the Sleek transmitter case and determined that it will, with little filing here and there, fit into the iPod case. I've connected it to the iPod battery to test functioning, and it works fine. Now all I have to do is to complete the job, which will take another day or two.

This cannot be done with any iPod except the 160g Classic, since the others won't have room in the case for the Sleek transmitter. And this is not a job for the fainthearted -- you have to be pretty comfortable taking risks with hardware.

Why I'm am I doing this? I guess to prove that it can be done and to have the only such iPod in the world And it will be the perfect travel companion to my Sleek-powered UE10 earphones (see this thread: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f99/ad...-ue10s-374641/). I'll post some photos of the work over the weekend.
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post #2 of 9
7/23/09 at 3:12pm
Looking forward to seeing pictures - sounds like a great mod. Wonder if the drop in voltage would cause any instability for the rest of the ipod?
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post #3 of 9
7/23/09 at 3:59pm
Thread Starter 
I hope that's not a problem, but I should know the answer tonight or tomorrow night, when I fire it up. I've been triple checking everything as I go, and so far it all works. The correct audio outputs from the iPod have been made to the inputs on the Sleek circuit board and the iPod battery is working with the Sleek transmitter.

But I've not yet hooked up the hard drive/main board, which will be the real test. Fit is a serious challenge -- the off/on button on the Sleek transmitter must be accessible, which means I had to mount the circuit board under the iPod battery on the back side of the case and drill a small hole in the case. The thickness of the battery and Sleek circuit board requires some shaving so that they fit in the case when stacked. But I've cracked that problem.

I'll post something as soon as I know if it all works. I've been taking lots of photos as I go. This is very tough, fine work, requiring patience and enormous care, which I've learned by making mistakes when I've been in a rush on other projects.
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post #4 of 9
7/24/09 at 3:59pm
While your at it, upgrade the battery.
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post #5 of 9
7/24/09 at 4:52pm
Thread Starter 
Doing that for sure.
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post #6 of 9
8/10/09 at 4:57pm
Any updates on this artsci?
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post #7 of 9
8/11/09 at 8:57pm
x2
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post #8 of 9
10/1/09 at 10:10pm
Thread Starter 
So far, this is a failed experiment. Got everything to fit and all is wired as it should be, but the iPod produces an error message every time I try to boot it up. So far, I can't diagnose and fix the problem.

I've put it aside for the moment for other projects, but I'll get back into it when winter arrives.
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post #9 of 9
10/2/09 at 3:35pm
Alright man, sorry to hear. Sounds like you had fun trying and inventing is always cool. Been checking here everyday mostly just to see how this worked out. Maybe you'll have a sudden epiphany and figure it out one day.
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