[joneeboi]

The iPod minis were hard-drive based (CF II), but CF I dropped in perfectly, increasing battery life by a couple hours, though to be fair, the tests in the link were done with a different battery as well. Originally they came with Seagate Microdrives, but those turned out to be rather problematic. A 16GB CF card in an iPod mini would be a pretty decent player even by today's standards. Though their ticket price may be a bit high, higher capacity cards usually end up having the best value per GB. Here's a relatively cheap one with a quick glance through Google.

 

[iQEM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joneeboi /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm sure as long as the battery meets the required specifications, genuine or not is irrelevant. I'm just wondering how you think you'll fit that battery into the nano. Are you going to tape it to the back?

Quote:

Originally Posted by CAvanessia /img/forum/go_quote.gif iQEM, I think that battery is for the 1st gen big iPods You could route the battery on the outside, try to fix some small BGs at the spot where the battery was, and route the signal to the headphone out. This wouldn't increase the size by that much. Jon, have you messed with your iPod mini yet? I might be able to buy one off my friend for dirt cheap since he has 5 iPods.

ooops, i thought that was for nano 1st GEN...my mistake...

silly me lol

here are the right one (darn, 400mAh only)

original link for the product:
Code:

[left]http://www.ipmart.com/main/product/Replacement,battery,for,iPod,Nano,13913.php?cat=627&prod=13913[/left]

 

[infinite]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joneeboi /img/forum/go_quote.gif infinite: Which iPod are you looking at? I posted all the datasheets of the known Wolfsons on the OP.

i think i will go for 3rd or 5th generation since i would love to have the capacitors inside the ipod.
hq line in AND out would be awesome..

thanks for the datasheets, didnt see them at first.

edit: just checked the datasheets. it seems like only mini 1G and ipod 3G is capable of line-in.. are all those wolfson comparable regarding the quality of line-out?

infinite

 

[infinite]

mhm.. according to ipodlinux the mini 1G has the same wolfson dac as the 3G - and not the WM8711..

so the mod should be possible with mini 1G aswell?

 

[joneeboi]

The iPodlinux site lists the WM8731, but the image above clearly indicates WM8711 in the mini. Your call.

I checked the datasheets again, and they all have audio inputs. I don't know all that is required for a line-in, but if you check page 5 on the four datasheets, they all indicate pins for audio inputs.

WM8731

Pin 23 - Right Channel Line Input (AC coupled)
Pin 24 - Left Channel Line Input (AC coupled)

WM8731

Pin 23 - Right Channel Line Input (AC coupled)
Pin 24 - Left Channel Line Input (AC coupled)

WM8971

Pin 25 - Single Ended Microphone Input
Pin 27 - Right Channel Input 1
Pin 28 - Left Channel Input 1

WM8978

Pin 1 - Left Mic Pre-amp positive input
Pin 2 - Left Mic Pre-amp negative input
Pin 4 - Right Mic Pre-amp positive input
Pin 5 - Right Mic Pre-amp negative input
Pin 19 - Left Auxiliary Input
Pin 20 - Right Auxiliary Input

iPod pinout (thanks to Apple iPod dock interface pinout and signals @ pinouts.ru)

Pin 5 - Line In - R (+)
Pin 6 - Line In - L (+)

Now, I don't know if you were already aware of this and I'm just beating you over the head with the information you already have, but here it is anyway. Perhaps someone can enlighten me on the differences.

And as for line out quality differences between models, I really couldn't tell you. I've been tweaking my system so bad it can't breastfeed our children anymore (Arrested Development anyone?), so sonically I couldn't compare them for you. Let's not even get into the subjectivity of all reviews. Just rest assured you're getting almost the best performance your DAC is giving, and the weakest links in your audio chain become the amp, headphones, cables, etc.

 

[CAvanessia]

Your system is a mole?

 

[infinite]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joneeboi /img/forum/go_quote.gif The iPodlinux site lists the WM8731, but the image above clearly indicates WM8711 in the mini. Your call.

ok, seems you are right

my fault, sorry.

Quote:

Originally Posted by joneeboi /img/forum/go_quote.gif I checked the datasheets again, and they all have audio inputs. I don't know all that is required for a line-in, but if you check page 5 on the four datasheets, they all indicate pins for audio inputs. WM8731 Pin 23 - Right Channel Line Input (AC coupled) Pin 24 - Left Channel Line Input (AC coupled) WM8731 Pin 23 - Right Channel Line Input (AC coupled) Pin 24 - Left Channel Line Input (AC coupled) WM8971 Pin 25 - Single Ended Microphone Input Pin 27 - Right Channel Input 1 Pin 28 - Left Channel Input 1 WM8978 Pin 1 - Left Mic Pre-amp positive input Pin 2 - Left Mic Pre-amp negative input Pin 4 - Right Mic Pre-amp positive input Pin 5 - Right Mic Pre-amp negative input Pin 19 - Left Auxiliary Input Pin 20 - Right Auxiliary Input iPod pinout (thanks to Apple iPod dock interface pinout and signals @ pinouts.ru) Pin 5 - Line In - R (+) Pin 6 - Line In - L (+) Now, I don't know if you were already aware of this and I'm just beating you over the head with the information you already have, but here it is anyway. Perhaps someone can enlighten me on the differences.

thank you very much!
some of this i knew already, but surely not all of this bunch of information.
edit: you wrote WM8731 twice, i think one should be the WM8711?
then i have to decide wether it should be mini 1G or ipod 3G..

ipod mini would be my favorit because it is very solid and you are capable of using flashbased memory - you cant change the harddisk of a "normal" ipod to flash based, am i right?

Quote:

Originally Posted by joneeboi /img/forum/go_quote.gif And as for line out quality differences between models, I really couldn't tell you. I've been tweaking my system so bad it can't breastfeed our children anymore (Arrested Development anyone?), so sonically I couldn't compare them for you. Let's not even get into the subjectivity of all reviews. Just rest assured you're getting almost the best performance your DAC is giving, and the weakest links in your audio chain become the amp, headphones, cables, etc.

also thanks for this information.

infinite

 

[joneeboi]

All we know now is that my system breastfeeds. We also know it has glass-hard nipples. I really don't know where to go from there.

As for putting flash drives into regular iPods,
put flash memory into (almost) ANY iPod! :: projects :: geek technique

Modding : Apple Video Ipod (5g & 5.5g) - The Compact Flash Version > Tarkan Akdam’s BORED

Unless you find some decently priced CFs, I wouldn't bother. Nevertheless, it's still pretty cool.

 

[infinite]

well.. if you are capable of replacing the 1,8" hdd with a cf based card you have some free space to but the caps in

 

[joneeboi]

Interesting observation, infinite. Very, very interesting. If we could source the adapter, all would be well. I wonder how much room really is freed up in the iPod. The 5G video would be tricky to pull off, while the 4G already can fit the high quality caps we need. In the video, you'd have to route the wires from the front to the rear and back to the front. If you want to solder your wires straight to the pins that lie on the backside, that would solve a bit of the clearance problem. It probably wouldn't be that much of a problem with the 60GB and 80GB models. Good thinking, infinite.

 

[joneeboi]

I figured you guys deserved a better quality photo of the iPod mini's chip.

 

[infinite]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joneeboi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Interesting observation, infinite. Very, very interesting. If we could source the adapter, all would be well. I wonder how much room really is freed up in the iPod. The 5G video would be tricky to pull off, while the 4G already can fit the high quality caps we need. In the video, you'd have to route the wires from the front to the rear and back to the front. If you want to solder your wires straight to the pins that lie on the backside, that would solve a bit of the clearance problem. It probably wouldn't be that much of a problem with the 60GB and 80GB models. Good thinking, infinite.

np

anyway, to see how many space you can save check this:
Convert your 4th Gen iPod to use Flash Memory - Instructables - DIY, How To, tech, life

this is the adapter which is used in the howto:
1.8" toshiba Hard Drive,SSD, CF to ipod IDE A05 Adaptor - eBay (item 230207818209 end time Jan-05-08 01:36:26 PST)

a bit OT, but a very nice mod:
Add INTERNAL Bluetooth Capability To Your iPod - Instructables - DIY, How To, tech, life

i really need an ipod 3G now...

getting all this into a mini 1G would be even nicer, but so far i see recording via line in is with ipodlinux only supported on 3G.

infinite

 

[joneeboi]

I really like the low cost of that iPod HDD to CF adapter. $5 plus $7 shipping isn't bad at all. My music collection sits at a measly 7GB, so maybe I could consider a 16GB flash to replace the 20GB HDD. The iPod's battery has long been its weak point, and with a CF and 1200mAh battery I put in it, I could have even better battery life. Very, very interesting. I will add it to the front page.

 

[CAvanessia]

That bluetooth link is very interesting assuming there exists good bluetooth headphones.

Maybe you can diyMod the iPod, add an amp, and integrate the bluetooth in the system. The usual iPod+amp+headphone setup would require people to carry around a horrendously large bag, but with bluetooth you can leave the player in your backpack.

 

[joneeboi]

Etymotic Ety8, anyone?

I like how the Bluetoothing iPodder did the CF conversion too. That frees up a lot of things. If someone could design an amp that can run off the iPod's 3.7V battery, you could end up with a pretty sweet, stock-looking iPod. And that's what we all love about it, isn't it?