Is it worth reviving the PhatHack Forums?

[Terry_Kennedy]

It has been a long time since anyone posted on these forums.

I'm trying to see if there are some lurkers still around who have an interest in using these forums to discuss the Phatnoise PhatBox / Kenwood Music Keg and possibly expand into other types of unusual non-factory audio systems.

[Terry_Kennedy]

In my case (and the reason I came here) is that I have been running a PhatBox in my 2003 BMW since the car was new. The PhatBox has been hacked and I've been using a 320GB WD Blue hard drive in the DMS. For the last few years (8, actually, according to the date of the newest MP3 file in the DMS) the whole thing has been in a state of benign neglect (AKA "it just works").

But I've gone through a number of different Windows versions (I'm now on Windows 10 LTSC 2019) and I was faced with needing to reinstall all of the various bits I use to populate a DMS. I'll spare you the gory details of how I populate the DMS, but I will say that I use:

• PhatHack (to prepare the DMS)
• AT&T Natural Voices (text to speech engines for PhatVoice)
• PhatVoice (to actually generate the album / artist name speech)
• PhatNoise Music Manager 2.35 (to sign the playlists and update the database index)

I decided I was going to experiment with a mSATA SSD in an IDE adapter, because that poor WD Blue has been on some terrible roads, as well as drives across open desert and up mountains where there are no roads.

I first tried a simple copy of my 320GB DMS data to a mSATA SSD, but that has been showing some problems - appearing to work well at the beginning and then just speaking text at random. So I'm going to have to backtrack and see if I can create a traditional IDE DMS. If that works, I'll get back to the SSD experiments. This does involve my whole music chain from CD image bin + cue files to TOC files and MP3 files, and then writing them out to the DMS for PMM to sign and build the database. Part of the problem there is that a lot of my local procedures are written in Perl and don't work under modern FreeBSD + Perl.

[4driver4]

I'm just finding this forum now.  I'm a long time user of Phatty and I've dusted off a few old boxes for some of my older cars. 
I don't think this forum needs to push the envelope, but it's hard to find solid support for these things.

[Terry_Kennedy]

Ok. I'm still here occasionally and I assume some of the other old timers are too - somebody is paying the bills to keep the lights on.

An update on my experiments - I'm using a different mSATA SSD and a different mSATA to IDE adapter and it has been running in my car successfully for a few months now. I still don't have the complete FreeBSD side of my music tools running, but there's enough working to build a DMS.

[VorTechS]

I still have my Phatbox and stereo, and possibly an Audi version too lying around, so I'm happy to put some effort into some new tools (probably geared around Windows).
Perhaps we can GitHub something?

[Terry_Kennedy]

I still have my Phatbox and stereo, and possibly an Audi version too lying around, so I'm happy to put some effort into some new tools (probably geared around Windows).

A start would just be making sure that your various tools still build and run properly with the latest SDKs, etc.

I think any remaining members will want to use familiar tools and we don't seem to have many new members arriving.

[phatdriver67]

   I'm thinking that this is a forum, and system, that's definitely worth much more than a simple look may lead someone (who's not into the absolute coolness of it - yet) may believe.
   I've never been one much for posting on sites like this, because in the simplest way of trying not to sound like a complete knucklehead, I've learned how to get the 710 and 910 systems (and one from a BMW & AUDI reconfigured & completely operable in my '67 Chevelle, '95 Impala SS, my wifes '73 Suburban (replaced with an '01 Yukon XL and now I'm having to completely rebuild all of the databases I had on my old laptop as it went through the barriers at the end of the road.
   I know that I cannot be alone in my thank you's to each and every one that has shared their computer skills and knowledge, so that I, one without the knowledge to write codes in computer language.
   I bought my 1st system from a super cool dude on eBay with a very cool Mustang who also helped me with the technologically advanced stuff and how to use it.
   I'm sure that he cut me some price breaks because he was able to do so and knew that I was taking the dive, and I did too.
   I got a copy of the hacking intel and was able to get several decks re-configured to work with the rides I was driving.
   I need to get a new power supply for the tower computer that has a good deal of the intel that was lost in the death of my laptop - I'm really hoping that it'll be good.
   I love being able to cruise from Tucson to Flagstaff in whatever car I'm driving and without any corporate or government group being able to spy on anything I'm either listening to or where I am.
   Technology is cool but I don't feel that anyone, outside of whose cruising with me and my wife, has any business knowing where we've been, where we're going or listening too.
   From Glendale AZ to Corona CA and never hit the same song twice unless we wanted to.
   Yeah, I get it, that anyone with a phone and a music program (app still sounds stupid to me because it is a program) but that same phone is being tracked with GPS and everything going on with the phone is too - - but not with the PHATNOISE system.
   Apple - GOOGLE and every alphabet gubment agency can go suck it because they can't track this system or anything else attached to it!
   I'm going to be looking at how to get a brand new in the box (not a typo or stutter) complete KHD-CX910 in my 2006 Cadillac STS V.
   The V is my current daily because I'm doing some work on the Chevelle.
   I've got a 710 for my wife's Yukon but since she is just using it for driving to work about 2 miles each way each day she told me that getting the V done 1st makes it easier and better for any & everything else when we want to hit the road and go somewhere out town.
   She is freakin' awesome and totally supports me having fun with the cool car/truck stereo mods and actually found the system for my Impala SS that went into it.
   So I know, from the info posted at the top of the page that it hasn't been tracked on for a bit - hence the question.
   I would love to continue to be able to connect with other gearheads and audiophiles that love having a system that they did the search for and found that cradle they were looking for to finish the installation into their '65 Dodge Coronet or the car that used to be dads...
   The sharing of intel for the tech, the contact person from that place in New Mexico or just cruising to a Friday night cruise-in car show and showing off with the system installed and having the pictures of the process along the way.
   This forum is definitely worth more than a couple of pieces of tech, which is how some people look at something that didn't come in their new Asian import!
   Please keep this up and running.
   Please.

[sbingner]

I'm hosting it - nobody plans on bringing it down... I did notice that my wiki is unhappy about php versions though, I think the forum may be what is making the wiki unhappy.  I'll figure it out, but don't worry I don't have any plans to remove the forums.

If somebody like terry wants a database backup in case of failures - let me know

[sbingner]

OK forums still work and the wiki is fixed... I guess I'll find out what needed the old php version eventually but it wasn't one of these

[Z-Guy]

I have been running a Kenwood Phatnoise Keg for the last 20 years in my 1987 Monte Carlo SS and just this summer after hitting a pot hole a couple of playlists on the DMS display a error and skip through the track numbers fast.  When I reinstalled Music Manager onto a XP machine, the manager only displayed 4 playlists out of 15 i have on the DMS.   I am guessing after that bump on the road, it rattled the KEG and corrupted those two playlists on the DMS.

[Z-Guy]

It has been a long time since anyone posted on these forums.

I'm trying to see if there are some lurkers still around who have an interest in using these forums to discuss the Phatnoise PhatBox / Kenwood Music Keg and possibly expand into other types of unusual non-factory audio systems.

I think so, as I still use my Kenwood Phatnoise. 

[pacnoise]

First time poster. I lurk here only rarely.
Today, though, I was very happy to have this forum because i needed to find some information, download software and keep my phatbox going... First installed in my Year 2000 Audi, that car keeps running and as of today I can update the music in my DMS again!