Upgrading an old music center into a new one with your own hands

Upgrading an old music center into a new one with your own hands

I have an old music center, which over time “moved” to the dacha, but I really like it. The appearance of the device is so-so, but the sound is simply gorgeous! I'm especially fascinated by its low-frequency amplifier.
The music center is in good condition and works great. There is a CD changer for three discs, two decks, one of which records. But, unfortunately, there is no ability to read information from modern media - USB drives and MicroSD flash memory cards.
Upgrading an old music center into a new one with your own hands

And here in the catalog AliExpress I discovered a wonderful MP3 player in the form of a built-in panel, on the front side of which there are slots for connecting USB and MicroSD memory cards. In addition, the player controls are displayed on the panel and there is a small display. The device also contains an FM tuner. It is powered by 5 Volts (although there are also models with 12 V power supply). There are exactly the same models with a Bluetooth module.
Having assessed the size and appearance of the device, I decided to integrate the player into my music center.I’ll tell you today how I did it and what came out of it.

Required Tools


For work we will need:
  • Built-in MP3 player 5V;
  • screwdriver;
  • soldering iron with solder and flux;
  • installation wires;
  • a tool for creating a slot in a plastic case (vibration cutter);
  • multimeter;
  • screwdriver, 2 self-tapping screws and a 2mm drill.

Sequence of modernization of the music center


For the player to work you need to connect:
  • power circuits (to the +5 Volt voltage source);
  • output signal circuits (left and right channel).

Since there is an AUX mode in the center, and there are corresponding tulip-shaped connectors on the rear panel, I decided to connect the player’s output signal circuits to the AUX connectors from the inside.
Upgrading an old music center into a new one with your own hands

So, to find the connection points for the +5 Volt power supply circuits and access the inside of the AUX connectors, remove the side cover of the case.
On the common board of the music center we find three points labeled AUX: GND – common, R – right, L – left. We will solder the terminals of our player GND, RO and OL to them, respectively common, right, left.
Upgrading an old music center into a new one with your own hands

On the cable going from the power supply of the music center to the common board, we are looking for a voltage source of +5 Volts. Since the points on the board are not labeled, we find the required voltage by taking measurements with a multimeter. To do this, we connect one of its probes to the GND contact or to the chassis of the music center, which is connected to ground (GND), and with the second probe we check all the wires of the loop. Yes, it is very important to perform the search with the AUX mode turned on, since it is in this mode that I plan to listen to the player in the future.
Upgrading an old music center into a new one with your own hands

After finding the connection points, I solder all five wires of the player according to a temporary diagram (the sixth ANT pin - I don’t use the antenna, since there is its own FM tuner in the center).When soldering the music center, be sure to disconnect it from the network. I place the player on the top panel of the music center and plug it into the network without putting the side cover back.
Upgrading an old music center into a new one with your own hands

I turn on the AUX mode and, by inserting a MicroSD card with music recordings into the player slot, I make sure that the player is working.
Upgrading an old music center into a new one with your own hands

All. Now you can begin the final installation. I chose the location of the player on the outer cover of the cassette deck, which is of sufficient thickness. Having marked the future hole, I carefully cut through the plastic.
Upgrading an old music center into a new one with your own hands

When installing the player, only its front panel should be outside. The player is secured with two self-tapping screws screwed into the prepared holes.
Upgrading an old music center into a new one with your own hands

The temporarily soldered wires are unsoldered from the board, the entire resulting cable is carefully tied into a bundle, laid and secured inside the body of the music center, after which the wires are finally soldered.
Upgrading an old music center into a new one with your own hands

That's it now. You can close the lid and turn on the music center. All cassette decks have retained their functionality and work great.

Conclusion


I would like to remind you that you can begin work of this kind with a clear understanding of the danger of electric shock. It should be remembered that a household voltage of 220 Volts is lethal. Connecting electrical appliances with covers removed to the network is strictly prohibited during operation.
Therefore, when manipulating something that is plugged into the network without a cover, you need to be extremely careful and careful not to touch the board with your hands. When working with a multimeter, you should not allow the probe to short circuit adjacent contact pads on the board, which can lead to damage to the music center circuit.
Regarding the 5 V power supply, if for some reason you were unable to find it, but a voltage of 9 - 15 Volts is available, then you can use another modification built-in MP3 player with 12 V power supply, it just works in this range.

Watch the video


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Comments (37)
  1. Guest Yuri
    #1 Guest Yuri Guests February 19, 2019 11:59
    26
    Five points. I didn't spoil the front panel, I built it on the side. Everything else is the same. A second life for good equipment. Plus an additional bonus in the form of playback from the phone via bluetooth. I have a smart music library with many hours of music. Plus, thanks to the transmitter function in such players, you can listen to the music played at home in the garden via the receiver.
  2. Guest Andrey
    #2 Guest Andrey Guests 19 February 2019 12:34
    9
    Well great. There is the same music center. Need to try
  3. ilshat
    #3 ilshat Guests 19 February 2019 14:25
    7
    excellent video, you're just great. I also have the same m.center (13 years old Samsung) with DVD, I only listen to FM radio, the DVD doesn't work, it's a shame to throw it away. I'll try to do it like you. Good luck to you.
  4. Ivan
    #4 Ivan Guests 19 February 2019 16:04
    10
    Isn’t it easier to buy a normal external DAC with bluetooth and connect it via AUX to listen to CD-quality music simply from any device over the air?
  5. Guest Alexey
    #5 Guest Alexey Guests 19 February 2019 16:13
    4
    Well, how about just building in a bluetooth module and streaming music to it, either from a phone or a tablet? That's exactly what I did. Before that, I just listened to it from an MP3 player via the AUX cable with SD.
  6. Alexander
    #6 Alexander Guests 19 February 2019 16:40
    1
    You need separate food otherwise there will be noise.
    1. voron20
      #7 voron20 Guests January 28, 2020 01:49
      0
      Exactly. Checked.
  7. Guest Sergey
    #8 Guest Sergey Guests 19 February 2019 19:01
    1
    I have bluetooth inside separately. And a card reader separately in place of the CD. But the radio in the center is better, why change it?
  8. Guest Alexey
    #9 Guest Alexey Guests 19 February 2019 19:58
    1
    just super, thank you, I will redo two centers
  9. Guest Alexander
    #10 Guest Alexander Guests 19 February 2019 20:16
    2
    Everything is perfectly done. But the deck constantly opens, it was necessary to fix it with masking tape.
  10. Semyon
    #11 Semyon Guests 19 February 2019 21:51
    1
    Passed stage. I've been using it for 5 years now. And I remade it for my friends a long time ago. One significant disadvantage is the low functionality of the Chinese device. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to find the album or file you need. It just plays everything. True, bluetooth helps.