I’ve been plugging away developing this app. I’ve got some UI issues to deal with. Here is what it currently looks like:
I’m pretty happy with the overall look, but I’m not sold on using the picker element for the source select. One of the main reasons, is that some of those sources will have sub-menus (like Play, Stop, FF etc… or if it is an iPod then a whole range of sub-menus).
The picker isn’t great for that. A better option might be a tableview that has child views….
Also, the slider control for the volume works well, but it might be more fun to build a rotating dial….decisions…decisions.
Of course, an iPad app will have a completely different layout. I should be able to have all the zones on the screen at once with all the submenus etc… I want to get the iPhone version nailed first however.
Feel free to post suggestions!
Hi! I work with engineering website EEWeb.com and would love to do an exchange of website links and feature you as a site of the day on EEWeb. Let me know if this is of interest to you! I can be reached at claire@eeweb.com
I’m very interesting in hearing how your RPI control of the MZC turned out. I’ve decided to do the same withe RPI that I just received for Christmas. Would you be willing to share any of the code you developed for your project.
My MZC controller is a custom circuit board. I’ve been busy with work so haven’t been able to work on this project for awhile. I hope to get back to it in a week or so. I also had some issues with my MZC-66 — crackling static in some zones or a high-pitched whine when the zone was off. I ended up recapping (replacing the capacitors) the MZC and now its good to go again. I’m going to work on a post about what I did to re-cap the MZC, so stay tuned.
Mark, Did you ever get around to making that post about replacing the capacitors on the MZC amp modules? I’m having similar issues with 2 of my zones currently and am planning on making the same repair. Where did you get your Caps from? Have you considered adding a fan to the unit to improve airflow/cooling?
Hi Tyler. Thanks for the comment. You guilted me into posting what I did. I hope it helps you out.
Sorry, the blog has been so quiet. Work has been busy.
I plan to make the iOS controller soon, but am waiting for a new board with integrated wifi so I don’t have to have an ethernet cable.
Hi Tyler,
Late reply but I am considering to buy one of these fan to put on top of my MZC66 once I will have repair the buggy caps on 5 of the amps.
http://www.ebay.com/usr/drmckenzie?_trksid=p2047675.l2559
-martin
The type of physician I would like to work for is a Pediatrician. Pediatrician’s spctialey is to work with children. I have been working with children for a long time mainly because I work at a daycare facility. I’ve got to a point where I feel like I can handle anything that will come my way with them. It would also leave me feeling good at the end of the day to know that I have helped in some way to make a child feel better.The type of physician I would not care to work for is a Epidemiologist. Epidemiologist’s specialize in epidemics caused by infections agents and also work with sexually transmitted diseases. I feel if I were to work in this type of spctialey I would be putting my self at risk of exposure to these infectious agents. Also I would be focusing a lot of my time on trying to not get infected instead of having a steady mind on what I was actually supposed to be doing.
Mark,
I ended up buying a couple of used MZC 66s and an 88 online and replaced the caps on the amps in all of them, as well as all of the smaller capacitors in the main power supply board. The reason for the work on the main power supply board was it was a clear point of failure on one of the used units I bought as was also suspect on another. Same problem, premature failure of the electrolytic caps.
Also, It was noted that another common failure of these MZC’s is the voltage regulator that feeds the DSP chip and when it goes it takes the DSP with it. The cause is the supply voltage is at or above the rated input voltage of the voltage regulator and causes it to eventually fail. Not a big deal except they no longer make the DSP chip. The fix for this is to put a zener diode (6.3V) across the input to ground to pull the supply voltage down a bit. I was given this advice by someone who makes a good deal of money fixing these things and was nice enough to give me some pointers when I reached out to him.
Have you given up on the the control app for the MZC? I’ve put some effort into trying to create a web based interface to control the MZC using a Raspberry PI but i’m having some issues with sending the commands on button presses, Mainly due to my limited experience with python and ajax commands. I may just buy a used ERS-1.0 interface as I just don’t have the time to devote to making the custom interface work as I would like.
Tyler,
There is an inexpensive alternative to the SpeakerCraft ERS-1.0 Kit on the market and it is called the MX Control WiFi Module. You can find all the information on this product at: http://mxcontrols.tripod.com
Edward,
Thanks for the info. I was able to put sometime into the web server interface using the Raspberry PI and have been very successful and controlling all aspects of the MZC. Turns out my main issue was with encoding of the hex strings. So for $35 i have full web control of my MZC from any device connected to my home network. I may put the source code up for others to use in the future if I find the time. The only additional effort I may put into it is to read more status information from the MZC but i’m not sure how much further I will take that. While I still have an IPOD attached to the system I have switched to a squeezebox player for primary music player and as such do not seen much value for myself in reading the IPOD meta data and displaying it.
So, just wondering… Is your app available? The one from speakercraft is really unsatisfactory and I’m looking for a better app. Thanks.
Hi Tyler, have you found the stime to publish the code you use to control the MZC from the Raspberry? I have been jugling around myself as well to get it to work with my MZC-88.
thanks,
J
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