I ran across a pretty cool project called DAS-POD. So yall already know I mess with the DIY projects and tech and cyberdecks and all that. Plus, I'm sustainability gang so I'm all for stuff that gives new life to old tech while reducing e-waste. So yeah, this company called das_POD is making these kits that let you turn an old desktop PC CD drive into a CD player for music. This isn't the only thing they do though, they're actually a creative workspace located in Indeogwon South Korea. So for people in the area needing a space to do woodworking, light metal work, prototyping furniture and other small-scale production, it's a great place to get work done.

The CD Player

So yeah, this this is... BYOCDP? I honestly haven't looked in thrift stores lately, but at one point these old big back computers were everywhere. I imagine you can probably find these drives in bulk on e-Bay or something now though. Also, even though the kits das-POD sells don't come with them, they do sell the drives too. The prices range from about $5 to $40 with most of them being somewhere in the middle at around $10 or $15. Of course, they're all savlage so I guess the price depends on the age and speed that they run at but I'd imagine they must all work pretty well.

Design-wise, I can appreciate the juxtaposition of the modern, utilitarian, minimalist aesthetic with the beige obsolte tech of the 90's and 2000's. It's kinda got kind of a retro-futuristic vibe to it. Personaly, I'd go with the orange one but looks like it's out of stock right now :( so I'll check back soon.

But the main idea is that, instead of buying an entire new CD player (and yes, CDs are growing in popularity again), you just buy this kit and build it around one of these old drives. Judging by the user interface, it looks like you can only play music with this since I only see eject, play/pause, stop, and skip track buttons. But it would be cool to be able to connect this via USB and also use it with a modern PC to rip and burn CDs or DVDs. I don't think it's possible with this version because it only has a stereo output but I think it would be cool to add that. Because of the DIY nature of the whole project, I don't think it would be super hard to modify it if you've got some coding and soldering skills. I think all you'd basically need to do is figure out how to get a USB output from the IDE output of the drive, or something like that.

What's Included With The Kit?

• Aluminum enclosure parts
• IDE controller
• Power PCB
• Remote controller
• Buttons
• Cables and hardware
• Assembly manual

That's basically everything you need for the conversion but be aware that it doesn't include the IDE CD-ROM drive, an AUX cable, or the 12V power adapter needed to make it turn on. But honestly, you probably already have that stuff lying around crib somewhere anyway. Plus, they do sell those things on the site too. PLUS, you can get that stuff from literally anywhere.

So yeah, this project is pretty cool. I might buy one and try to do the IDE to use mod if I get some extra time so we'll see. If you're interested in the project, check out their site here: https://www.das-pod.com/en/shop-en/