Remote control for Winamp.
 

I am taking an antique console radio and am building a computer into the cabinet.

This is about a 40" high console radio, so they'res lots of room. I scavenged the amplifier out of a old Kenwood and built a motorized slider so that the "tuner screen" (now just decorative) slides out of the way, so that I can shoot a Sanyo DLP projector through the hole. So it's also a large projection TV.

Sitting there it looks completely like an antique radio, but now has a 150 watt amplifier and 2 soft dome midranges, 2 horn tweeters and a subwoofer built in and a 950 Mhz Athlon. The stereo effect was a lot better than I thought, even though the speakers are close together.

This old radio has serious attitude :-).

I've been streaming stuff to it (VLC and shoutcast).

The thing is I'm only using one of the front panel knobs(volume). There are 3 more. I can use the computer due to a wireless keyboard and mouse (that can get stuck in the back on a special built shelf). I'd like to have some simple interface to the knobs though.

OK, so here's the deal

I need some way to get a serial port or something to let me use the other three unused knobs. I'll build an optical doohickey that will give me velocity and direction information on the knobs.

I figured one knob for FFWD/REWIND, another for NEXT/PREV TRACK, and the final unused knob to roll the tuner screen out of the way for the projector.

Any ideas on how to interface for Winamp on the serial port or some other simple way to control it with simple logic?.

In other words you want to control Winamp from the refurbished console? Nice :)

There are several port/com plug-ins. Try this plug-in search using port, com and/or remote as keyword(s). You are on your own from there.

http://www.winamp.com/plugins/details.php?id=89729

was one of these that I looked at. It uses one of those little IR recievers you can get at Radioshack for $10 and plugs in on the serial port.

Too complicated.

...edited.......

EDIT: You did steer me on the right track. There are some gamepad controllers. Game pads are highly guttable and use regular switches..... Looks like there are a lot of plug-ins for that.

If anyone has played with any of the gamepad plugs that use a normal gamepad, I'd like to know what worked.

using the game port would be a very good idea, you don't really need to gut a joystick if you know the pinout of the game port, then you just need a little electrical knowlege and a 15-pin plug

here's a site that describes the pinout of a game port, which shows two buttons and two analog axis' that would be perfect for those knobs. otherwise you could go the digital route and have up to 8 buttons.

http://www.ctips.com/game.html

[edit]
I figure I would mention that the game port actually supports two joysticks which means 4 axis' and 4 buttons

I have tried two joystick plugins so far, and my favorite so far is MindTwist Joystick Control.

Interestingly, you could use the knobs as either Winamp balance or volume when you set them as progressive(like a rudder). When used normally, turning the knob to the full left or full right would act as whatever you set them to (next track/previous track, etc)

Any joystick plugins like this that you know of that can support a playstation 2 controller with the pressure sensitive buttons, and use all the the buttons. (Start Select, R3, L3, X,O, [], /\, and pick up the axes'? Mind tricks doesnt pick up my axes. =/)

(PS> Is my SIG too big? =P)