Joshua Flanagan

This is the second part of a 2-part post.  Read the first part here.

The goals/limitations of this project:

• Play digital music files (mp3/wma) through my car stereo
• Create a clean, integrated solution (no messy wires)
• No permanent modifications to the car
• I had no game plan.  Once I got home with the modulator, I had no idea how I would actually mount it.  I had to resort to whatever items I could find around the house.

As mentioned in previous post, I decided to use a Dell DJ with an FM modulator to play digital music files through the car’s speakers.

Parts list:

• 2000 Honda Prelude
• Dell DJ 20GB
• Dell DJ Inline remote (included with DJ 20GB)
• Audiovox  FM Modulator (FMM100A)
• 1/8” stereo to phono (RCA) plug cable
• “Windows Services for Unix” DVD case (any DVD case should do)
• Big piece of Styrofoam from microwave oven packaging
• Hook-and-loop fastener tape
• Mounting tape

Tools list:

• Dull utility knife (a sharp one would have been much better)
• Scissors, steak knife, hacksaw
• Philips-head screwdriver
• Pliers

Steps:

1. Disconnect the negative terminal of the car battery.  Remove the factory stereo.  The frame that holds the stereo also holds a “tray” below the stereo.  I think the tray is a place-holder for additional factory accessories.  It seemed like the perfect location to mount my DJ controls.
2. As luck would have it, the “Windows Services for Unix” DVD case that was handed out at TechEd is the exact width of the space previously occupied by the tray.  I would use this as the “panel” for my controls.  I measured out the appropriate height needed to cover the space and cut down the DVD case.  I made sure to leave the “spine” of the DVD case on one end.  This would prove useful, as it would allow me to mount the panel recessed into the stereo frame.
3. I cut out a square hole in the panel just big enough so the inline remote buttons would show through.  On the opposite end of the panel, I poked a hole through to mount the on/off switch that comes with the FM Modulator.   (When the modulator is ON, the signal is cut off from your car antennae, reducing the interference).
4. The panel was pretty flimsy (remember, it was cut from a free DVD case), so I decided to use a block of Styrofoam for reinforcement.  I cut the block to be slightly smaller (width and height) than the panel.  I then carved out a “mold” of the inline remote and its two wires (IN and OUT) into the block.  I also created a hole through the depth of the block so that the wires from the remote could come out the other side.  When the carving was done, I was able to set the remote in the Styrofoam block so that it was flush with the block’s surface,  and run it’s wires through to the back.  I then used the mounting tape to attach the black panel to the Styrofoam block, so the inline remote was sandwiched between them.  From the front of the panel, you could only see the remote’s buttons.  From the other side came the remote’s wires.  The on/off switch for the modulator was screwed into the panel right next to the Styrofoam block (it is not IN the block like the remote).
5. The rest was easy.  I mounted the FM Modulator to the inner wall of the console, right next to the “cigarette lighter” accessory plug, using the hook-and-loop fastener tape.  I connected the power line for the modulator to the power line of the accessory plug (no splicing, I was able to jam the modulator power wire in with the accessory plug’s wire).  To ground the modulator, I found a screw being used to ground something else.  The car antennae plugged into the modulator, the modulator plugged into the car stereo’s antennae plug, and the DJ inline remote plugged into the modulator (using the 1/8” to RCA cable).  I routed the other end of the inline remote into the glove box, where the DJ will reside.  As luck would have it, there is enough slack in the remote wire to allow me to pull the DJ out of the glove box while it is still attached.

I’m taking a 2-post break (this is 1 of 2) from software to talk about my Honda Prelude/Dell DJ project.

I have long been searching for a way to bring my entire music collection with me, wherever I go.  I have all of my CDs ripped to my hard drive.  While at work, I listen to the full collection in shuffle mode, effectively creating the perfect radio station.  I’ve always wanted to replicate that experience in the car, but was hesitant to shell out the bucks for a PhatBox (the ideal solution, in my opinion).

I recently picked up a Dell DJ 20GB, with hopes that it would help solve my problem.  I was able transfer my collection to the DJ with room to spare (20GB is a LOT of room).  However, it still wasn’t clear how I would listen to the DJ in my car.  I did some research on the various FM transmitters available, but it seemed like a lot of people were unhappy with them.  It also sounded like a hassle and mess to have all those wire around.

I wanted a “built-in” solution, much like the BMW-iPod setup, without having to shell out the bucks for a BMW or iPod.  I decided I would buy a new car stereo that included an AUX input.  Some models included a front-panel AUX input, which would allow me to attach the DJ using a male-male 1/8” cord, but I ruled that out because I didn’t want the “clutter”.  Most models included a rear AUX input in the form of RCA jacks, which would require a 1/8” to RCA cord to attach the DJ.  I bought a rear AUX model from Crutchfield and the cord from Radio Shack.  Unfortunately, the receiver wasn’t compatible with my car speakers (the Prelude has a non-standard “Acoustic Feedback System”) – a fact that Crutchfield tech support failed to tell me until AFTER I had ordered and spent hours doing the install. (Note, the speakers can be made to work, but it would involve cutting wires, etc.  One of my goals in this project is to avoid making any permanent changes to the car.).

Knowing that a new receiver was now out of the question, along with the fact that I was now comfortable opening up my dash, I turned to an FM modulator solution.  Check out part 2 for all of the details.

As promised, with the recent release of Visual Studio 2005 Beta 1, I have created an updated version of the ProfileView control.  The most noticeable new features:

• Much better WYSIWYG experience, as the control now renders your profile at design time. (Eternal thanks to this post on accessing web.config at design-time - I searched high and low for this information and came up empty - the newsgroups are littered with unanswered questions on this.  I guess I got lucky that someone at TechEd Europe decided to talk about it. UPDATE: I've found an even better solution for accessing web.config at design-time.)
• A new read-only mode that allows users to view their profile without being able to edit it.
• FREE SOURCE CODE

I've also created a new home for the ProfileView files.  Instead of creating links to different versions in each blog post, each of my blog entries will now reference this article.  I will keep the article updated with all of the latest ProfileView happenings.

Go get FlimFlan.WebControls.ProfileView and tell me what you think.

UPDATED: The download links now refer to the ProfileView homepage, where you can find the latest info and grab the latest files

ASP.NET really goes a long way toward reducing the amount of code we have to write. During Scott Guthrie's TechEd talk about ASP.NET "Whidbey", he demonstrated how to build a personalized data entry application. When it came time to add the authentication system, he added 2 textboxes and a button to create the typical login page. He went on to show how easy it was to add a little code to integrate the page with Membership Services, to perform the actual user verification. He then deleted the code and the controls saying "you COULD do all of that, OR you can just drag this new Login control to a form, and you're done.". Wow, neat.

But now you need a way to add new users. So he again went through the exercise of building up a form with textboxes to collect user data, and wrote the code to add the user to the Membership Services provider. "You COULD do all of that, OR you can just drag this new CreateUserWizard control to a form, and you're done." Woah.

So finally, he demonstrates the new Personalization Service, which allows you to associate profile properties with each visitor to your website. He uses the new WebAdmin configuration tool to create a profile definition containing Nickname and Favorite Color. He builds a simple form with textboxes for Nickname and Favorite Color and shows how you can programmatically view and edit the user's profile using the strongly-typed User.Profile property. "You COULD do all of that, OR you can just drag this.... ah, just kidding. You do have to create your form..." Laughter from the crowd.

My first thought was "why"? I bet it would be pretty easy to create a new control that encapsultes viewing and editing a user's profile. I had never created an ASP.NET server control before, mostly because I never had the itch to scratch. Scott's little joke now had me looking for the calomine.

Introducing ProfileView, the first ASP.NET server control from FlimFlan.com. All you have to do is drag it onto a form, and without writing any code, you have a page that allows users to view and edit their profile information.

NOTES:

• This control was developed with Visual Studio 2005 May CTP distributed at TechEd. I do not know if it is compatible with any other preview release.
• Source code is not included in the download, but I don't have any problem giving it out if anyone is interested.
• There are many features I have yet to implement (ReadOnly mode, support for profile property groups, etc). This should definitely be considered a "preview" release. I hope to have a more feature complete version by the time VS2005 Beta 1 is released.