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The JerryPod 512GB SD Conversion (formerly iPod 80GB HDD)
audBall:
I recently came across my old iPod 5.5 Video 80GB (purchased in 2005-2006) that was boxed up in storage years ago due to its dead HDD / sad iPod face screen. The original plan was to complete a CF card swap years back, but then I kind of forgot about the thing. It was unearthed a few weeks back from storage and some quick Google searches showed many options available for reviving these old players. It's kind of amazing how coveted (and easily repairable!) these things are - and it still sounds great! I ended up settling on an iFlash Solo with a 512GB SD card to replace the old HDD, and ultimately a much larger rechargeable battery. I had to restore the iPod with iTunes on an old Windows 7 machine; however, once that was done, the Rockbox OS was installed and iTunes was immediately left in the rear view mirror. As many are aware, Rockbox is great because it treats the iPod like an external USB drive allowing for dragging/dropping music files (including FLACs).
I now have a 512GB SD player with plenty of battery life (still running tests), holding Jerry FLACs (many, but not all sources) from 1961 - 1991. My plan is to install a 1TB card once the prices come down a bit so that I can fit everything, including all the official releases. Superfluous? Over the top? Absolutely!! Photos below.
The photo below shows the innards with the iFlash drive unconnected (right; original HDD already removed and not shown) and the initial replacement battery connected. This battery is basically a direct replacement for the original, marketed at 850mah (more likely 600-650mah based on what I've read).
The photo below shows the replacement battery I ultimately decided on (marketed at 3000mah, but more likely 1900-2000mah based on what I've read). The iFlash card is connected to the main board and is sandwiched below the battery.
The photo below just shows the iPod after successfully swapping the iFlash SD board and after restoring in the older version of iTunes.
Final action shots using Rockbox OS with the FreshOS Dark theme.
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Links to helpful youtube videos that were used as guidance:
HDD to iFlash SD swap instructional video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8satP4rwYg
Rechargeable battery options and compatibility with iFlash / iPod models:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9m0tfSus14
The various iFlash models and battery options are widely available on eBay and Amazon.
Here's another good source for info on these iPod mods. The search function works fairly well:
https://old.reddit.com/r/iPod
Gutbucket:
--- Quote from: audBall on December 17, 2021, 10:31:56 AM ---I now have a 512GB SD player with plenty of battery life (still running tests), holding Jerry FLACs (many, but not all sources) from 1961 - 1991. My plan is to install a 1TB card once the prices come down a bit so that I can fit everything, including all the official releases. Superfluous? Over the top? Absolutely!!
--- End quote ---
Brilliant!
JerryPod is near guaranteed to produce smiles whenever you pull it out. I'm smilin' now.
dyneq:
Nice hackery! I'll bet between the SD and Rockbox you'll get great battery life compared to the old setup.
rigpimp:
I used to love Rockbox on my old Gigabeat. I am glad to see the project still exists and is taking hardware out of the control of Crapple! Nice mod!
RyanJ:
How easy was it to Rockbox this? I have modded two of my old iPod classics to 750GB each. One holds all my techno sets I've been collecting over the years and the other my ipod library.
The iPod is simply a classic music player. No extra fluff. That is why I love it. Here is one of them with the modded clear front.
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