SoundBastard FAQ V0.01 Anton Verheijen Harrie van Dijck Q: What is this SoundBastard exactly ? A: The SoundBastard is a stand-alone mp3 player. That means, you don't need a computer to play mp3's. The mp3's are played from a standard IDE harddisk which is connected to the SoundBastard. The user can control the player using an 8-button keypad and track information is displayed on a LCD display. Q: What type of harddisk do I need ? A: At this moment, any modern harddisk will do. Make sure it supports LBA (all modern drives do). It doesn't matter what size you use, the player will accept disks right up to the ATA-5 limit of 128Gb. Q: Which bitrates can the player play? A: All bitrates in the mp3 standard: 8kbps - 320kbps including VBR. Q: What type of audio output is there? A: 'line out'. We didn't feel an amplifier belongs on the board so we offer line out. Q: Is there also CD-ROM support? A: No, currently not. Since CD-ROM support is only a software matter, this will probably be present in a future version of the firmware. Q: What power supply does the SoundBastard need ? A: +12V DC and +5V DC. The main user is the harddrive so look at the harddrive ratings when choosing a power supply Q: I want to use the player in my car, will that work ? A: If you make sure your power supply is 'clean', yes. We do recommend using a 2.5" laptop drive for extending the drive's life and shock (skip) protection Q: Is there a skip-protection buffer like on portable CD-players ? A: Yes, there is a 48kb buffer for shock protection. That's about 2 seconds shock protection for typical (192kbps) bitrates. Q: What filesystems are supported ? A: At the moment, only FAT32 is supported. FAT16 isn't really planned because it's useless given the size of current harddrives Q: How do I upload files to the SoundBastard ? A: There is a parallel port intended for uploading. The first version of the firmware won't support this feature yet but future versions will. For the first firmware version you'll have to insert the harddisk into a computer to put files on it. Q: What is the sound quality like ? A: Sound quality is better than that of a typical PC sound card. There also is a digital audio output available for an external D/A converter so sound quality can be further enhanced. Q: How much does it cost? A: If you buy all parts in single quantities and etch the PCB yourself, the cost will be about $100. If there is ever going to be a kit, the price is going to be < $100.. Q: Do you sell pre-assembled units ? A: Nope. Q: What further developments am I to expect ? A: First, a 2.5" version (later this year I guess). After that, remote control, USB, memory expansion (if necessary). Q: What is a 'linear player' A: Your entire harddisk is treated as if it were a large tape. There is a 'tape index' and a set of keys to fast or very fast forward / reverse the tape so you can quickly go to any location. Just make sure your disk is 'clean' and defragmented and you'll have no problems with this software version. Q: What is the 'FAT32' version of the player? A: This is the real version of the player. It plays of fragmented (or unfragmented :-) FAT32 partitions and offers a directory browser to the user instead of a tape index. Q: Why two versions (linear and FAT32) ????!!?? A: This will most probably only be a temporary situation. We are apprehensive about already publishing the full source code (call me chicken). We don't want to get the design ripped off in the early (or late for that matter) stages. This is why we want to get some 'internet coverage' first. Q: Then how am I going to get the FAT32 version ? I don't want linear! A: This thing is intended as public domain and money-making is not one of our goals here. Either send us an empty winbond W77E58 microcontroller with return postage or buy a pre-programmed one (for about $15). Q: Will you be selling kits ? A: Depends.. if there's a demand for them.. probably yes. Price for these is going to be < $100