TuneSash - a wearable audio player speaker system

As my first project for the 5-in-5 Event at ITP, I created the TuneSash…a wearable audio player speaker system.  My original intention was to hack an iHome iH85 bike speaker I have that does not support my beloved new iPhone 3G.  Unfortunately, I spent over six hours attempting to hack it, and in the end it just did not work. Instead, I created an audio amplifier out of an LM386 chip, and I have to say…it sounds awesome! Most of my day was spent taking apart the iH85 and resoldering the iPod dock’s ribbon cable, as well as a couple of solder points that came apart from handling the dismantled unit. Here’s what the iH85 looks like when taken apart:

Before I got started, I went to Paragon Sports to pick up a shoulder strap and spare Timbuktu pad:

My intent was to use the strap as the sash, and then velcro the replacement pad would be velcroed around it by removing the padding. Here’s how I would have laid out the electronics:

I needed to extend the iPod dock connector to extend to a separate pouch for holding an iPhone, which I also purchased. I used a ribbon cable and resoldered the EXREMELY tight solder points, and extended the existing ribbon cable on the dock connector to the new cable:

After I fixed this and added a battery holder, I tested the setup…and it didn’t work! Actually, one of the components started to smoke. So, I must’ve had a short in there somewhere…even though I tested it as best I could with a multimeter. So at that point I gave up and switched to my backup plan of creating my own amp with an LM386 and using a standard 2mm audio jack instead of the iPod dock.So first I created my circuit:

Then I soldered it to a perfboard:

I hot glued a small ~2” diameter speaker to the pad as well as the perfboard and battery. I also added a power switch and LED:

I’m actually glad that the iH85 didn’t work…using a 2mm input now allows me to use both my iPhone and an iPod shuffle (or any other device with a headphone jack…like a radio). This offers more flexibility in the long run. Here’s a shot of the TuneSash itself:

Here’s a demo: