need some help! school(kinda) project - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: kyleridan
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 03:03:44 am
content: i feel like im making this more urgent than it has to be, but i need to know if it would be possible to deconstruct a CD player or make an open(?) one using a laser to read the data and play it by connecting the deconstructed player to some speakers. im very new to engineering and stuff but it was an idea i had for a steam faire that my school holds annually. also i might also need to do this to impress a girl (id be using her favorite album) so im hoping that even if this isnt possible, id still be able to do something with the cd for her

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 03:23:53 am
content: Not sure what you mean by "deconstruct", but this is one of those things where "if you have to ask, you probably can't" applies.

author: kyleridan
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 03:32:24 am
content: like yk how a laser is used to read a cd as it spins super fast but its in a casing of some sort, id just not have the casing essentially but obviously id have to do that without having light obstruct it and stuff. but i just wanted to know is anyone knew anything abt doing something like this, and possibly help out with how i would fix the no light thing etc.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 03:41:28 am
content: lmfao buddy this is like a borg mating ritualI think you might wanna figure out how to play a instrument or beat box or somethingthis is what this thread is, but with slightly more modern technology

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 03:46:03 am
content: Quote from: kyleridan on December 07, 2024, 03:03:44 amIs the girl a nerd? If not it won't impress her at all. You will need a nice car and money to do the trick.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 03:47:08 am
content: Quote from: xrunner on December 07, 2024, 03:46:03 ami think its a borg queen. I don't know any other female species that responds positively to red laser light

author: kyleridan
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 03:47:57 am
content: ive tried and failed too many times, my last resort is lasers man

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 03:48:30 am
content: this can be turned into a award winning xkcd comic

author: kyleridan
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 03:49:24 am
content: shes in stem club AND dnd club at my school, i think shes a nerd

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 07:40:01 am
content: Quote from: kyleridan on December 07, 2024, 03:32:24 amA lot of CD players will run just fine with the top off, but you won't see much more than the disc spinning. They use an infrared laser which isn't really visible to the eye.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 09:07:00 am
content: https://www.digikey.com/en/maker/projects/make-your-own-laser-communication-system/019e23c629644c86a0a077caa228b4d2

author: PGPG
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 11:48:08 am
content: In 1977 I was in 4-th class of secondary school (education was 8+4). One afternoon I got the idea to build one circuit. I had only germanium transistors. They had legs about 6cm length. I didn't want to cut them as may be long legs will be needed in next time (I used the same elements many times). Resistors also had long legs. Having schematic only in head I assembled my circuit stage after stage checking each one as fas I could (I didn't had oscilloscope). Everything was done without any PCB - in the form of spider on the newspaper. It took more than a half shelf in a bookcase and worked as intended.Few days later on my way back from school at street just in front of our house I met a girl from my class from primary school. I told her that I have something interesting at home that I'd like to show her. I can't tell what it is as it will ruin all its attractiveness. I had to persuade her for over 30 minutes before she agreed to come see it.When we entered I locked her in the corridor and quickly connected everything I needed near my spider (spider hidden in the bookcase). When I opened the door and told her to come in she entered very carefully looking around. I said - don't worry, nothing will fall on your head or jump on you. When she stood in the middle of the room I told her to clap her hands. When she clapped, the lamp above my desk turned on. Another clap turned the lamp off. She admitted that it was indeed interesting (1977 - electronics was not yet everywhere around you) and that if I had told her what it was about, there would have been no effect .As we were saying goodbye I asked why it took me 30 minutes to get her to see it. She said her mom told her not to go to any guy's house under any circumstances if no one else was there.

author: SteveThackery
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 12:03:09 pm
content: OK, so realistically the only thing you can do is remove the case from an existing CD player, and perhaps even remove the innards and lay them out. But all the electrical connections would need to remain the same, and you won't be able to make any electronic modifications if you want it to actually work. Also, see the stuff about electrical safety below.Forget making your own electronics - it's not a trivial job to play a CD, so I doubt you'll have the time or expertise to do that.You will also need an amplifier. There are countless designs online, and it's possible you will have time to build one, especially if you buy a kit. If not, you'll have to open up an old one, like the CD player.There are potential electrical safety issues with dismantling electrical products, although virtually all the commercial products I've worked on are safe even with the lid off. Even so, if you want to remove the innards completely from a CD player or amplifier you will need to think about electrical safety and earthing. If you are still at school or college, there might be a qualified member of staff who can advise you and check its safety.To be risk-free you should really stick with battery-powered products. And that means you have a problem: the most "interesting" and "cool"-looking CD player mechanisms are the old ones which people would use in their hi-fi systems, and unfortunately they are all mains-powered. Battery-powered CD players are usually (always?) portable, which means everything inside is tiny and, basically, not very impressive-looking.Depending on your time, skills and budget youmightbe able to convert the player and amplifier to battery operation, but this is likely to be quite a big job.In summary:1/ Your idea is impractical, and shouldn't even be tackled if you are using mains-powered devices.2/ There's no chance at all that a girl will be impressed by a gutted CD player and amp laid out on a wooden board, even if it is playing her favourite track. "Nerdiness" isn't on most girls' list of attractive traits in a guy.

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 12:47:23 pm
content: QuoteBut a female with red light often gets a positive response from males.

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 12:59:37 pm
content: Quote from: coppercone2 on December 07, 2024, 03:47:08 amThe girl who asked me out in college was quite impressed when I built a 100mW red laser about half the size of an iPod Nano, powered by a tiny lithium battery. For context, she was afraid of getting attacked when going out at night, so I built it as a device to blind attackers. Probably would need way too much precision to actually be effective for that, nowadays, I would use a focused high power LED pulsing at 5-10Hz to disorient them.Quote from: PGPG on December 07, 2024, 11:48:08 amI wonder if she thought that you were the inventor of the Clapper once that arrived on the market 7 years later.

author: PGPG
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 01:47:58 pm
content: Quote from: NiHaoMike on December 07, 2024, 12:59:37 pmIt wasn't my original idea. I have seen it in some old comedy (or may be Bond like movie). Don't remember plot, but there were house full of modern gadgets. For example, the couch folded out automatically. There was a scene where a woman slaps a guy multiple times and we see the light turn on and off in time with the slaps.

author: kyleridan
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 05:22:03 pm
content: Quote from: SteveThackery on December 07, 2024, 12:03:09 pmthough i would hope to make one with more parts and bigger, just making it in general is good enough to impress anyone at my school, including her. just the fact that i own cds is like the craziest and most interesting thing to some people. but i also wanted to do this cuz i currently have two old cd players that i wanted to covert into something because theyre just taking up space in my room. i have a pretty large budget and a lot of time to make this happen plus some actual engineers to help me with this at my school. I just wanted to check if it would be possible before i submitted my project proposal.

author: Xena E
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 05:43:16 pm
content: Quote from: kyleridan on December 07, 2024, 03:47:57 amAt least you didn't say your last resort was flunitrazepam!Quote from: kyleridan on December 07, 2024, 03:49:24 amIf her name was Noel, it would make a great idea for a song!Seriously, the project seems a bit naff, pointless even. But yes, it would work, just don't stare into the energised laser.From a female nerd perspective, if sheisa nerd just talk to her and ask if she could help you with the project.Good luck!X

author: kyleridan
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 05:51:18 pm
content: Quote from: Xena E on December 07, 2024, 05:43:16 pmik it is kinda pointless, but im still getting into engineering so i wanna do something a bit pointless so i can figure out what im actually doing.

author: kyleridan
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 05:54:23 pm
content: sorta to everyone saying that doing something like this is pointless, theres a girl whos demonstrating procedural generation and a guy whos just playing a six hour dnd session. the point of this is to have fun and make normies feel dumb.

author: Xena E
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 06:04:08 pm
content: Quote from: kyleridan on December 07, 2024, 05:54:23 pmOk.Assuming a lidded player as opposed to one with a motor driven tray.Extract the mech., from the case, and use the connection to the "door closed" switch/sensor as a start control, it's all you need to do, apart from make a funky mounting for it all.X

author: SteveThackery
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 10:27:57 pm
content: Quote from: kyleridan on December 07, 2024, 05:22:03 pmOK, well you can follow the advice I (and others) gave. Uncase the innards of the CD player and lay them out as best you can. Don't make any circuitry changes or it won't work. The only electrical mods permissible might be to lengthen some of the interconnecting wires. The amp is easier - either do a similar thing to an existing amp, or build your own. If building your own, don't even think of making the power supply unit: buy a ready-made, sealed and certified one with no exposed components. Maybe try an old PC power supply, although they can be noisy. But you get the idea.When it's done,GET A QUALIFIED PERSON TO CHECK IT FOR ELECTRICAL SAFETY.Pay attention to that bit.

author: SteveThackery
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 10:32:25 pm
content: Quote from: kyleridan on December 07, 2024, 05:54:23 pmThis is a particularly disagreeable comment. Everybody's a normie, including you. And you should never label people dumb just because their interests and skills are different from yours. In other words, don't be an asshole.

author: kyleridan
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 11:24:42 pm
content: Quote from: SteveThackery on December 07, 2024, 10:32:25 pmlemme rephrase, make mybulliesfeel dumb

author: kyleridan
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2024, 11:25:59 pm
content: Quote from: SteveThackery on December 07, 2024, 10:27:57 pmyeah dw, i have multiple qualified people to help me with all this stuff

author: Smokey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 08, 2024, 12:06:25 am
content: Quote from: kyleridan on December 07, 2024, 05:54:23 pm...this must be one of those schools that's really embracing the "A" in steAm.

author: Xena E
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 08, 2024, 12:09:07 am
content: Quote from: SteveThackery on December 07, 2024, 10:32:25 pmYeah, get your engineering degree,thenbe an asshole.😏

author: kyleridan
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 08, 2024, 02:46:01 am
content: Quote from: Smokey on December 08, 2024, 12:06:25 amthey're the leading school in the diocese for the arts program, so yeah pretty much