h a l f b a k e r yThe mutter of invention.
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Everything that produces audio of any kind should have an audio out jack, and most do (laptops, cellphones, stereos) but only some of them have audio <em>in</em> jacks. If they did, you could daisy chain everything together so you could just wear one pair of headphones and hear everything.
Parallel boxes
http://www.halfbake...idea/Battery_20Pack
Rightious idea. I like whatever moves interconnectivity forward. [reensure, Jul 07 2000]
Bluetooth
http://www.bluetooth.com/
Mostly for data communications, but Bluetooth would allow (digitised) audio to be passed among as many compatible devices as you liked... [darsy, Jul 07 2000, last modified Oct 17 2004]
Pubwan and appliances
http://www.brightid...05C3E06}&bucket_id=
People are "volunteering" all sorts of information for proprietary use. Volunteering information for public use costs no more privacy, and the power that is information gets spread a lot more thinly. Think about it! [LoriZ, Jan 02 2002, last modified Oct 17 2004]
A little external mixer thingy like jutta mentioned
http://www.edirolex...69&session=35248289
From Edirol, a USB capture/mixer [bristolz, Jan 04 2002, last modified Oct 17 2004]
Freedom to tinker
http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/
What I assume is the point behind the present article. [LoriZ, Mar 05 2006]
[link]
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In contrast to the battery idea, this one looks like
it could easily be externalized. A small, cheap,
"mixing" adapter with two plugs, one output. Or is
the loss/noise too big to be worth it without a tiny little amplifier
built into the adapter? |
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How about using MIDI?
As a musician- but tech illiterate. often wondered why MIDI isn`t used for other things- including some unmentionable -possibly deviant purposes. |
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[john b] I don't think that would work. MIDI transmits note-on/note-off commands and also a few special control signals. It can't transmit audio by itself (it has about 1/4 the bandwidth needed for this, from memory), and relies on your MIDI synths to handle that side of things. |
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[jutta] You'd have to have a power source to mix multiple signals together, I don't think it will work if you just wire up two separate inputs up to each other. If you were to do it externally, I think that you'd need at least an op-amp to mix the two signals. |
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One thing I have noticed time and time again: Information appliances for consumer use are port-impaired. This applies equally to analog and digital signals. I hypothesize that the reason has something to do with information not wanting to be free. Maybe the conventional explanation is actually accurate in this case and the only barrier is a public intimidated by anything that looks like technology. In that case it's just my normal paranoia acting up. Here's an idea...make a list of all the information appliances in your home, or even a list of all the information appliances you can think of. In the second column (you left room for one, didn't you?) list the ports. Make it easy on yourself by using abbreviations (RCA, MIDI thru, DB25, DB11, BNC, etc.) if you know them. In the third column add one (and only one) type of analog or digital information port that is not in column two. I suggest limiting it to one because implementing it might be easier one upgrade at a time. I also suggest only one because I suspect the results might be very indicative. Indicative of what I do not know. Anyway, make block diagrams of theoretical appliances you have wished into virtual existence. Post the results to the halfbakery, most likely to this page. Merging the three-column lists of numerous vizitors might also unearth some nuggets of understanding. |
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Dig. Ans. Mach.___power, 2 modphone in, 1 out___usb port |
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CallerID___power, modphone in/out___usb port |
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900MHz cordless phone___power, modphone in___modphone in, but on handset |
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computer___SVGA, cereal, parallel, AT keybored, 110/220VAC___composite video out* |
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B&W TV___300 ohm VHF/UHF ant___composite video out** |
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Bookshelf stereo___aux in, 2 mic in, hedfone___SCSI |
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VHS VCR___A/V in/out, hedfone, 75ohm ant/CATV in, ant out___ps/2 keyboard |
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casio grafing calculator___1/8" proprietary(?) serial data port___wireless modem |
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* Composite video output from a computer is nothing new. My Atari 400 had that. This particular output would not mirror the SVGA output, rather would give a realtime display of register contents, or perhaps raw cereal port streams. |
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** I had in mind maybe sonograms of the audio channel(s) coded in composite video for display on a monitor. |
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A few tricks may or may not increase the information-richness of 3-column tables of this ilk. |
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-- If an item on your (as is) appliance list has input only, try to think of a meaningful output. And vice versa. |
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-- Since A/D and D/A converters are gateways between two worlds, try to match analog inputs to digital outputs and vice versa. Be on the lookout for analogous (or digitalous) opportunities. Think outside the box, but remember that every plug or socket you put on the outside has to be supported (as sold) on the inside. I'd even propose making that a "rule", just to prevent winmodem scenarios. |
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A cereal port. Would you like milk with that? |
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LoriZ, perhaps a more realistic reason for lack of plugs on cheap gear ("information appliances for consumer use") is that such beasts tend to be, well, as cheap as possible. You may like a USB port on your answering machine, but most people would have no use for it whatsoever. |
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I've never seen a graphics calculator with a wireless modem, although HPs have infrared communication which works quite well. |
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Information may want to be free but hardware doesn't. |
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Not related to mixing of signals, but I once swapped the wires to the tape heads on a (auto-reverse) walkperson and ended up with a nice portable backwards playback machine. |
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Well done for your use of the very PC walkperson, LoriZ. |
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