Note: Actually measuring or looking it up before making a statement based on assumptions, does require more power/work than otherwise:P Facts: A row/column based semiconductor storage technology may consume energy that is proportional to that grid. While the mechanical drive consumes energy to rotate the media and position the head. While the "actual storage" in the latter are somewhat "free" (the magnetized data points), there is no such free lunch with grid based semiconductor storage. They take energy to maintain, refresh, write and read ... more as larger they get. Also there are physical limits to miniaturize or better, max both technologies out. The semiconductor based storage, where the cells can't reliably store information based on structural (atom level) niveau, or simply heat wins ... where there is not enough space anymore to bring the heat caused by the action of the "storage-machine" out of the system (which will destroy it). Or on the quantum level for magnetic storage devices, where the units are physically getting to tiny to be reliable anymore. P.S.: Just do an experiment. Up to date devices, so top notch engineered Harddrive and SSD. 24/7 writing 100MBit/s to each and measuring the power loss as heat. You'll be surprised ... I'm not:) Price question: With which device will throttling occur first because of the excessive power loss? (With no external cooling as a setup parameter)
@@dieSpinnt am going off experience, I have a creative touch and the sd card used less power than the ssd, you may have different luck than me, but all I am using is off the shelf parts that also happen to be the cheapest unless you already had parts lying around then great, but the performance will be almost identical with the exception of battery life. Also the word salad does not help your cause it just added noise between A and B :P results don’t lie, also any data sheet will show wattage of the average ssd ( 3 - 6 watts) vs sd (which is 1 watts) if you want to dispute power draw you might have a losing battle, if you want to dispute read times the argument is not there beyond initial read times solid state memory wins as all music on most music players is stored in volatile memory, so your either trying to split hairs with your argument or explain a point that most people already agree with you anyway….???
@@buda3d2007 Yeah doesn't matter. "Experience" is a nice thing to have (famous last words). Semiconductor based storage has to reload capacitors or run a matrix or change some other type of non-volatile memory cells. That costs energy. The one-time magnetization of a surface, on the other hand, is practically free in comparison. In my contribution, I assume maximum values and the theoretically highest integration in the sub-nanometer range (perhaps we will still see that?). What I was talking about (and you obviously didn't understand) was the physical limitations of different technologies. Incidentally, they are not even up for debate. No matter how much you "believe" or have supposed experience, it's just the way it is, thanks to Mother Nature. Of course you are also right: for the home user one assumes a ratio of 2:3 in the power consumption of SSD to hard disk. But it's not that big either. In the data center or in applications such as e.g. at CERN, things are different again. By the way, you can always cheat with examples and most likely "experience" is a good thing ... but also can be used to lie to yourself (and others): - Samsung 850 EVO, 500G 2.5", average power 4.7W, idle 50mW - WD Blue, 500G 2.5", average R/W 1.4W, idle 55mW, sleep .13mW So please stop acting like you ate wisdom with spoons. In reality, many things are more complicated and diverse than you initially thought. Measuring (with actual equipment) means knowing!
@@dieSpinnt What point are you trying to make? you took a very long way around to telling me the specs of the medium without applying it specifically to the use case at hand, I'm happy for you that you know all this stuff but this knowledge has not been applied to the problem, pure and simple. The volatile memory has been in all music players since the Discman to stop skipping, my point was an MP3 player has been designed to read that from the sd,ssd,hdd and put that into it memory for playing, this was a big feature of all devices to mitigate the need to have the storage medium have power running to it at all times, again your word salad has nothing to do with the problems and solutions I have highlighted, stop copying gibeerish from the web and re-writing it here as you do not seem to be applying it to the problem, good luck with your life.....
How hard was it to mod? I've got a 5G Video with a partially broken screen and I have to admit that I'm at least a little bit tempted after watching so many videos about it (I think RUclips wants to tell me something).
@@Juleru Not terribly difficult. Just be patient. I just upgraded a Gen. 4 and that was a bit more fiddly owing to an additional ribbon cable needed. I'd highly recommend buying a head-mounted magnifier and a cheap phone repair kit. Securing/Unsecuring the ribbon cables is really the part you need to use the most caution.
@@spoon072000 Thanks for the tips! Is there a trick to removing/connecting the ribbon cables? I've got fine tweezers that I used to use with a 3D printer but I can imagine that those could damage the cables because they're probably pretty thin.
Here's a quick tip, for the double-sided tape you could use isopropyl alcohol and that'll free it up a little bit. I hope this helps somebody out there 👍👍
@@jamesdriver0317 Patreon supporters get early access to the videos, as well as Colin's podcasts! I highly recommend supporting Colin on Patreon if you enjoy his work. 😀
Man I miss those ipod controls, felt so quirky but it worked. Im surprised modern consoles didnt try using that for a scroll effect for menus or inventory.
@@FloydBunsen The design as you see it might be, but my guess is you cant patent the tech to a point where it cant be copied, at its heart its just a touch sensitive none moving circle, we have touch screens and touch pads for laptops so thats the tech down, the buttons for playback control are just buttons under the click wheel, cant patent that. basically apple could only have patented the design over all, but a touch sensitive circle... Nah they cant patent that, or at least make it stick very well.
I got super into iPod modding during the pandemic. Got me a couple of these 5.5 gens and even an iPod Mini 2nd Gen that I’ve got upgrade to handle loads of music. I love these things man!
I bought the 7th gen 160gb back in 2013. I had iPhones that I used mainly for my music consumption and basically left this iPod in the box all these years for “just in case”. I recently got into IEM’s and am soooo glad I never touched this iPod. I kept cycling the battery through the years. Once every couple months I’d run it halfway or fully out then recharge. So I have an essentially brand new iPod without a scratch on it ready to rock. But since I have such an extensive library, I’m thinking of going with the iflash quad with 1TB. This looks super simple. And all I’ll need is the battery and flash drive/micro sd’s. I know the 7th gen is much harder to open but looking at the videos from EOE, it doesn’t look hard at all. Very cool that we can do this and keep alive an extremely capable music player. In a world where tech is progressing so quickly, that we are throwing so much stuff away, this is certainly a breath of fresh air.
I remember buying one of these brand new and then modding in an iFlash adapter with a 32GB CF card. It made it so much better since it never needed to park a HDD head and pause your music. This device was possibly also responsible for my first patch contribution to an open source software, as I needed to patch RockBox to get it to run correctly on the iFlashified device.
iPod 5th gen was my very first iPod, I got it for Christmas while I was in high school (now I'm just aging myself). They're SUPER easy to mod, both cosmetically and internally. I now collect iPods of different sorts, but I STILL have my first one. Still works just as well as it did the day I got it.
as someone who appreciates those who may be more mature than their age suggestions (on a hunch i'd say this applies to you), and as someone who was in high school for just a few months in the new millennium -- I think I speak for anyone my age and older in saying one doesn't get to "age themselves" (quite yet) in their late 20s/early 30s. how do I know? because quite a few explained this to me when I said something similar upon turning 30 (or close to it). in a nutshell, don't be in such a rush. you have the rest of your life to feel as old as you are wise.
I believe that second ribbon on the wheel is fused to the frame because of the piezoelectric properties of the wheel but that is just a hypothesis! Loved to see this. Used these for years and miss this era dearly.
the only thing to add to the ipod is 'Rockbox', which is 100% compatible with video and classic editions. Much better than the standard os and you can drag music and itunes is not needed at all, and has a dazzling array of features, for me the custom equalizer is gold. Would make nice content on your channel too. One thing to note about the anodised coloured back covers, that colour is microns thick, scratches very easily and will look a trainwreck in no time if not really handled well. One way to increase the protection is to spray lacquer the back cover. Great video to show those interested, I have had mine custom for years now and it's nothing but a win on all counts for those on the fence.
For me the iTunes integration is the reason to use an iPod. It would be nice to be able to have more than ~30,000 songs, or ~200GB in my case, but I rely on ratings and smart playlists and I wouldn't want to switch to manually managing storage. Of course your mileage may vary and someday iTunes will probably be impossible to use but for now I want to benefit from the many years I've put into my library.
I agree, I have been using Rockbox for years and it has been really nice. The fact that it is able to process so many other file types is great for us that like lossless music. My only complaint is that playlists are kind of a pain to set up, so I find that I am mostly listening to complete albums instead.
@@aerobolt256 Sure, it's got the nostalgia but it's big and slow. No need to reinvent the wheel to create a new one that is able to use USB 3 speeds. It would be perfectly fine for Apple to just be lazy here and use what already exists.
FYI, the motherboard of the 5/5.5 gen ipods have either 32mb or 64mb of onboard RAM. You want the version with 64mb and the Wolfson Audio DAC otherwise it becomes useless to install more then 160GB of storage. Also, regardless of how much storage space you installed, an iPod gets glitchy when you have too many tracks/songs on it. It starts getting glitchy; songs won't play, it locks up, or it resets itself.
65,535 songs is pretty much the limit on the 64mb models as well. Anything over that and the same thing happens. But you can store that many songs and the rest videos or documents and it’ll be fine.
That's cool. I bought the 60 gig version of that back in October of 2005 to go with the new car I bought at the same time. I even had the back of it engraved, something Apple offered at the time... I THINK it was Apple that offered it. It all happened when I ordered it. I got the video output kit for it that came with the remote, too. I still have it all. The iPod is on display in my office. It still works. I'm sure the battery will soon need removing, obviously. Looks good, man!
Better to get the battery out sooner than later. The battery in my 5th gen puffed up & actually popped the housing apart. I replaced the battery but the housing didn't snap back together completely due to the deformation from the puffed battery.
I was 14 in highschool when i bought my ipod video 30gb. I had long hair with bose earbuds that never left my ear. I listened to music from 730am until at least 4pm where i would listen from my pc. It was revolutionary. Before i had a 512mb mp3 player i spent $200 on that could barely hold 50 songs. Back in the limewire days i had over 20,000 songs on it and a few movies. The movies were really quirky. I got really into ipod software modding at the time as jailbreaking was a new thing. Funny enough i was big into myspace modding too. I ended up teaching a friend how to mod and he went heavy into it, and now works in silicon valley. Im currently building a 2004 era alienware predator 1 case and thought the old ipod video would match the aesthetic perfectly, and sent me down this rabbit hole of modding. My front panel is cracked exactly the same, the screws are missing, the hold button ribbon cable is ripped and the centre button is missing. I had to replace the screen and the battery way back in around 2007, but its sat in a drawer since. Im excited to bring it back to life with some upgrades! The nostalgia is REAL. I wont be replacing the rear chrome cause i remember getting it brand new and the first scratch.
I used an iflash in my 4th gen a few years ago. It made it a hell of a lot more useful. The only bad part of the process was opening up the back, tried plastic and metal tools first but it just killed them all. Ended up stabbing a good knife in there to open it then bending the back into shape later.
This is pretty cool, and I didn't know they made after market parts for ipods. I guess by now I should just assume everything has an after market. I'd like to see you build a fully custom portable music player, maybe using a Pi ZeroW and bang some sheet metal into shape to make the case. As for the multi-color on the back side of that metal piece, it's because they heat treated it to get the color. Really neat.
Does he? Also... If you think dank is lazy... Then obviously you dont pay much attention... The fact that hes unaware of the state of the hardware should be a clue... Its a matyer of discovery. Your obviously mislead if you think even HE is sure of the condition with units... The whole point of his channel is the gamble of finding a bust or even good unit. And the reasons that follow. So if you think he's lazy... Well I think that goes to reflect on yourself...
I did a similar upgrade to my Tonium Pacemaker wich is a DJ music player with a tiny hard drive. I replaced the hard drive with a Compact Flash adapter that took SD card. Works perfectly. And also put in a new bigger battery.
13:00 I could halve sworn that was grounding to the metal frame. It should operate fine without being properly attached to the frame but if you are around ridiculous amounts of static or microwaves, I’d imagine its better to be properly installed.
You can actually squeeze a 3000mAh battery into the thin case but only if you use the iFlash Quad, I've built my custom 7th gen iPod Classic using this configuration and I have the thin case with a battery that fills the entirety of the back case!
Modding a 5th gen is easier than you think. I'm totally not that good at this stuff but managed to upgrade one. 'For parts' 5th gen ipods are fairly common on ebay and affordable (at the moment) - I got 2 for $50. There are limitations though. If you have a large collection of music files, the limited RAM in these things makes shuffling and searching very sluggish. If you are thinking of creating a mega-pod and banging all your tunes onto it, I would look elsewhere. With a nice smaller collection of music, this thing is excellent, good battery life, responsive and, let's face it, cool. Thanks for posting this, Colin, definitely worth the watch.
I remember back in 2004/5 when I loaded my 30GB one up. Stock back then with it loaded it was super sluggish. I never knew why but I should have guessed on the menu database slowing it down. But hey, I had a 5th gen Video iPod so I was the best, lol.
I still have a 'square' nano, and first generation ipod touch around, both still with their original batteries, and both still giving many hours of use on a charge. While it does not actually prevent problems over time, slow controlled charging, and keeping the device cool while charging, do a lot to make those batteries last a lot longer, and reduce the risk on outgassing during charging. Yes, over time they will go bad, no matter what you do, but they can last a lot longer than they do for most people.
@@anoopsahal1202 I don't really use my nano anymore, I just check on it every couple months to keep it at around 40% charge. I still use the ipod touch as music player, on the road but also at home. My main audio system can act as dac for ipods and iphones, and surprisingly, support for that goes all the way back to the first ipods which could connect to usb, and all the way up to the latest generation iphone.
you can fit the 5000mah battery in the thin 30gb back. i filed my internal frame just a little bit and used the micro sd card board for 512gb and a 5000mah battery which lasts me on and off for over a month.
My dad lost my iPod Video from 2008, but we still have mine from 2006 that has a broken screen. This seems like a fun project :3 I'm glad screens and batteries are replaceable cause those are what it needs
That's really impressive that they were able to make these kinds of components and circuit boards back in 2005. They were definitely ahead of their time in terms of component design and manufacturing.
I've had the parts for upgrading a 5th gen with a new battery and an iflash adapter dor a while now, this video reminded me that I still have to put it all together. I think dankpods showed that you CAN fit a larger battery with an iflash Quad inside a thin back. I mainly use my ipod for podcasts as I like having the space to have all of them available all the time rather than as extra data on my phone.
iPod Video was my first iPod, I loved it! Fond memories of ripping my own DVDs and putting them through FFmpeg just to get them to sync on iTunes :D I kept mine in a carry case and it got back scratches, they were just inevitable. Thanks for the trip through memory lane.
Did this mod in 2017, with the same iFlash model. The weight reduction was immense, it weighs like a peanut afterwards. Now is about time to replace the battery and increase the SD storage.
I found a few weeks ago my old Creative Zen Vision:M in a drawer and decided to restore it. Turns out it will be a tougher journey than for an iPod mostly because it is harder to find good documentation and parts... But cool to see this video around the same time!
It's going alright! Thanks for asking. Devices weighing less when you do these mods always worries me. I'm so used to the heft of the original that ill accidentally drop the device when it's so much lighter.
For my 5th Gen I’m going all out. New faceplate, middle button, click wheel, back, battery, and the iFlash adapter. I’m also modding an iPod mini and replacing its battery as well.
This is a really interesting coincidence. Huge fan of the channel and I just modded a fifth gen iPod last week. For what it’s worth, you can fit a larger battery with a slim back and iflash quad than the 2000mH. I tried using a 3000mah battery because I read online that the thin ones work. However, I learned that even batteries listed as “thin” on eBay are sometimes thick so it’s luck of the draw and mine didn’t fit. I then ordered a 2800mah and it fit perfectly, and I believe there is only one form factor so you should be safe. I’d recommend anyone with a thin back 5th gen and iflash quad get the 2800mah battery. You can try your luck with the 3000mah, but I’d trade 7% capacity for having to risk getting the wrong battery
Elite Obsolete Electronics (mentioned in the video) has a YT tutorial detailing battery sizes fitting with the various iflash options & thin/thick backs and illustrates exactly your scenario. To that end, EOE expressly only sell a thin 3000 in their webstore so you can buy with confidence from them if you have a quad and thin back. But yeah, Ebay can be a dice roll.
Never owned any iPod, but now in a better situation, I can afford to buy and restore one of these gems! Thanks for the quality videos you have put out over the years.
Hey Colin I did some mods like this way back in the day on my 5th gen. Someone developed a PCMCIA HDD to CF card adapter. But it wouldn’t fit in my 30gb case, so on eBay I bought the deeper cased 80gb back, with the larger 80gb battery also. I think I put in a 64gb card. I remember the battery lasting nearly a week listening 5-6 hours a day at work. These mods look like they’re a bit better now than back then.
I modded an iPod G7 that way. iFlash SD card (512 GB) + green front and black back. Looks amazing. The song limit. was no problem since I flashed Rockbox in a blink of an eye when I was ready. No song limit, way more options and even a freakin' Game Boy emulator. Nobody needs the stock firmware any longer. :P
Pretty sure that double stuck tape for both parts of the click wheel is a common ground to avoid errant touch detection. That's why they're both connected to the metal body.
I had mine made with the 3000mah battery and 128gb storage, White faceplate, blue back plate, blue click wheel with a white middle button and it’s great, only thing with the one I have, I noticed when I put headphones in they can easily be pulled out, They’re not super snug when plugged in but it’s not too bad and everything works good, I bought mine already put together by elite obsolete electronics and it’s been working pretty good
I second gen, non-video iPod that, amazingly, still works, as long as it's plugged in. This was a great reference video for me. I've been wanting to replace the battery and the hard drive. Thank you!
He inspires me as well. He went from a passionate collector to a thriving business owner, who is still a passionate collector. I've seen him show off boxes full of firewire chargers, not because he was selling them or adding them to his inventory, but because he was adding them to his collection. The excitement in his eyes is contagious. I went from collecting watches to collecting and rebuilding iPods because of dank pods and elite obsolete. It's a much cheaper hobby that can have good profit margins. As long as you are consistent and honest, You will be successful. There are too many sellers listing standard fifth gens as ipod video enhanced. Out of ten ipod orders, only two were indeed the enhanced version with the wolfson DAC. Be careful with eBay.
I went with a new original battery, and a CF-Card (ZIF to CF adapter). It's screaming fast at switching songs, and video storage works great (another reason why you would want 128GB of space). The gym used to have TVs that would interface with the iPod Video and play movies while working out. It was amazing at the time.
I prefer to use guitar pics instead of a metal spudger to open. They are plastic and do not scratch housing and are also very cheap and really easy to buy
Thanks so much for posting this video. I was able to follow your directions and get my 5th gen up and running with 128 GB of storage. I did tear the hold switch ribbon cable when removing the battery (I lifted mine from the right side with a standard screwdriver once I realized the hold cable was on the left). Other than the hold switch not working now (not an issue for me), everything works great! Thanks again!
I've done several of these. Here's a couple tips: TIP #1: do NOT yank the battery cable like shown in the video. You are more likely to damage the connector on the logic board than to just get the cable free. Use a pair of tweezers to pull the brown (sometimes grey) plastic cable-retainer up away from the board, releasing the cable. Back in the day they called these zero-insertion-force connectors because you don't need to use any force. When reassembling, just insert the cable and press the brown cable retainer back towards the board and it will lock the cable in place. TIP #2: get more than one metal "spudger". I've only ever opened one of these as easily as shown in this video once - and that unit had been opened several times before. Take your time, and leave a spudger in place to block-open clips that are stubborn. Also, start releasing the clips across the top of the iPod first, they're easier and will give you some leverage to get the sides. You only need the top and one side to free it up enough to release the back and hinge it away from the front. TIP #3: do NOT start with your spudger around the 30-pin connector. You will bend the thin metal of the back case around the port and it will never go back into proper shape. (unless you're replacing the back, but still be careful, because levering with a spudger around that connector can damage the connector). TIP #4: just buy one that's already been upgraded by Elite Obsolete. He's a pro and does excellent work. This will save you much frustration: such as when you replace a screen getting every tiny particle of dust out while still assembling the iPod. It's a real frustrating challenge. TIP #5: you do NOT need to remove the logic board from the frame to replace the click wheel. Leave the board connected to the frame (the black tape between the screen and the board). The flex cable of the click wheel wraps around the board and inserts pretty easily without removing the board. TIP #6: use a piece of masking tape to hold the click wheel and center button together while you're reassembling. Also peel away the plastic cover of the front cover and run that tape across the front cover, the click wheel, and the button, holding all three in place. Trust me, it makes reassembly a LOT easier. The alignment of the click wheel and button are critical. Sometimes you'll get it completely reassembled and everything will look great... BUT the clickwheel will be slightly out of alignment with the buttons on the logic board (another reason not to remove the logic board from the frame) and you'll have to take it entirely apart again to adjust it. It's a real bummer when you damage (nick) the front cover getting it back open. TIP #7: take note of where screws come from and what color they are. There are varying lengths of screws, and they do NOT all work in all places. Generally: silver screws are longer, and black ones are shorter. But if yours has been opened before, you can guarantee they're all right. You can't use a short one where a long one is needed. You'll screw and screw and screw and it will never grab. TIP #8: but an extra screw kit for the iPod. Those screws are T-I-N-Y!!! You will lose one... or more. TIP #9: The 3,000 mAh batteries are NOT actually 3,000mAh. They more like 1,500 to 1,800mAh. That's still a great upgrade. But not what is listed, which is disappointing. (Unsurprisingly, the 2,000mAh battery is NOT in fact a 2,000mAh battery either. I forget the actual capacity.) TIP #10: Test the iPod completely BEFORE clicking that front cover into the metal back cover. Once it is clicked in place, you'll have to damage your brand new covers to get it back open if something needs adjusted inside.
Wow. I never realized how tiny the battery was on that generation iPod. I love that companies have figured out how to use the extra space left over by upgrading to flash to add battery, too!
I replaced the headphone Jack, battery and put in an iflash in my 5th gen. I keep it connected via an original dock to some active speakers. Works great!
Very cool - I am upgrading/modding my 7th Gen 160GB iPod (well, I'm sending it out to have the work done), but I am upgrading to 512GB, larger battery (3000MAH), bluetooth capability, and different front color, new clickwheel, and center button. Really looking forward to having that done. I use my iPod every day.
If you break a zif connector locking bar (what he's is calling the bale) you can actually shove a thin piece of plastic on top of the cable in the connector and that will insure a solid connection even in the situation the device is jostled and moved about.
A little bit of heat-- nothing crazy, just like from a hair dryer-- makes the adhesive a lot easier to remove without stressing the ribbon cables. Hope this helps someone.
Fantastic mod! If suitable parts are available, I'd match either the clickwheel or the center button color with the back panel (perhaps a slightly more subdued hue?). Hopefully, it would look like a limited edition that never was. [edit:] If it's the clickwheel that we color match with the back, that could solve front panel white not matching clickwhel white in the process!
I would loved to see a modern mod, such as replacing the connector with something more universal like usb C, micro or anything else. I also would love to explore other mods such as bluetooth - or so I’ve read about, though I believe at that point you would be running custom firmware.
Someone on Reddit made a USB c mod to an iPod classic. I think its called Oxyll USB C mod.But honestly I wont install the mod because I already have an iPod dock.
I build mine last year. 3000mAh Battery Upgrade 512Gb (4x128) SD Card from Sandisk. New Faceplates, Click Wheel and Backplate. All Black and Dark Grey. It’s Just Amazing. I Am waiting for a micro Bluetooth 5.0 Module to arrive and will install it in a couple weeks
Awesome guide! Apparently the 5/5.5th gen have the best DACs too so definitely worthwhile. I chucked the iFlash mSATA in mine with 1TB of storage. Needed a modded version of Rockbox to support it though.
I listened to far more music when I had an ipod. Then again I didn't have a mobile phone so I had fewer options. But I do remember enjoying albums on my commutes. 60 GB ipod photo served me well for years.
This whole time I assumed it had flash storage as standard only because mine took an absolute beating and still works fine. I used to skate with it and I've fallen hard enough to crack the screen at some point but maybe it's time to give it some love.
I've still got a 5.5 gen iPod with its only issue being the battery not really holding a charge. If I did make any change/upgrades, I'd upgrade the battery and the hard drive (to an SD card and adapter). It's nice to see that the parts aren't expensive.
So after watching this video I was inspired to do something similar. I've got tons of mSATA drives laying around, so I got the iflash for mSATA, bought an iPod and replacement front. One caveat: I wanted to use rockbox, but none of the official builds (stable, daily, or dev) worked; I had to find a blog post from 2018 where someone added support and shared their build. All done though, and I love my distraction-free Linux-friendly media player.
I guess the „sensor“ that sticks to the frame is the group connection for the capacitive sensor in the clickwheel that electrically connect through your hand
The song limit issue can be worked around by using a 3rd party firmware like RockBox. It doesn't use a database at all, as you just drag and drop files into a drive that shows up when you connect the device. You can even dual-boot with the original firmware if you want.
I did this and it all worked fine on my first try. Replaced the entire housing back and front, the clickwheel, battery, and flash mod... the ribbon cable connecting the two halves was very iffy because the unit I had was worked on before (somebody gave it a new screen) but it was fine
Fascinating. I never dreamed how repairable iPods were. This reminds me of an ad long ago for an early 60s VW Beetle. VW built a car entirely out of replacement parts to demonstrate the available parts support for its product.
Other iPods aren't so repairable; the 6/7th gens are aluminum, not plastic, so they don't flex when you pop them open, they just bend. Otoh, In my experience they're pretty solid, and it takes a bit to kill them, so maybe there's a benefit to it.
What I've noticed with my 3rd party front panel is that the foam is like twice as thick as the original, probably due to the original having the screen squishing it down for 16 years. I'm going to leave it in for now, and hopefully by the time my replacement screen arrives (the original screen has a few dead pixels in the corner and it's enough for me to replace it) it will be squished down enough to get rid of any problems.
The "I talk too much, sorry :-(" section was one of the most important! I was concerned that you weren't going to touch on the database size issue, but you saved it for last. I have read that it's the amount of RAM that determines how big the database can be, because the database is resident in RAM. A 30 GB iPod comes with less on-board RAM than an 80 GB iPod. I've seen that some have been successful in swapping the SDRAM chips with higher capacity ones to effectively upgrade that as well, but it requires SMD soldering. I've personally exceeded the "practical limits" for the RAM in my 30 GB 5.5 gen iPod Video by quite a lot, and it still worked, but had quirks: playback would stutter at the beginning of a track, and occasionally it would abort playback of a track and continue to the next as if nothing happened.
I totally forgot rockbox was a thing i vaguely remeber doing this to my ipod back in the day, unfortunately that ipod left my possesion like 15 years ago and after that i kept buying the sony walkman Digital players because they were cheaper, smaller and i could just attach them to my PC and sync without using iTunes which always was kinda glitchy and picky on windows.
As a New Englander, I can tell you those cracks on the display are from leaving it in a car in a harsh winter, one night in the cold and that happens (in my case I left it in the cupholder). Mine looks a bit worse
A correction about the maximum number of files. its not about the total file size, but that META data in the file, Song name, artist name, album cover, genre. These get loaded into ram when you hit play on any given playlist. This is why its roughly 20000 or 50000 songs, as it varies on what meta data you have. btw those numbers are for your average meta data. The limit is there because you only have so much ram to load this data into. You can have more songs than this number, but your playlist can't be more than this. so say you have 15000 in one playlist and another 15000 in another. you'll be fine, cause you are only ever loading 15000 songs worth of meta data into ram.
Watched the video at the weekend. Parts arrived yesterday. Fitted last night and all is well. The only real faff was getting in. Looking forward to a faster iPod experience. I hate electronic waste, and love projects like this.
The iPod Video was legendary for it's popularity and general reliability. The interface was nice, the playback controls were great, the features were useful, and the DAC+amp combo were plenty competent for all of the file formats that iTunes supported at the time. Definitely a gem of an MP3 player. I believe it also supported Apple's CoverFlow album display, which I was always a massive fan of. I'm also a huge fan of the double-shot clear over solid faceplates that Apple used to ensure that the device would maintain a premium aesthetic. The anodized faceplate on the 6th gen was nice from a tactile perspective since it was slightly rounded over and thinner than the plastic faceplate, but it has a very different aesthetic. Personally, I'd probably go with an mSATA drive adapter just for enhanced reliability and random IOPS performance, but that's really neither here nor there. High quality SD cards are quite reliable these days, so there's no particular detriment to going with one of those instead. Plus, it's not terribly expensive to get a 512GB drive in either form factor, even microSD.
i did the exact same thing to my ipod 3 years ago. loved it. only problem is that it does not support high res audio - tracks that's 24 bit will be flat out ignored, and there's this hassle converting flac to alac each time. in the end i gave it away and switched to an android-based DAP.
5th gen classic, one of the greatest of all time. Hard wearing and reliable. I strongly recommend upgrading with a microSD, and with that the battery lasts longer. Could even put a larger battery in with the space you save.
Note: flash storage consumes less power than a mechanical drive too
in detail that SD or CF is a good choice on the other hand an SSD will use more energy than a HDD FYI
Note: Actually measuring or looking it up before making a statement based on assumptions, does require more power/work than otherwise:P
Facts: A row/column based semiconductor storage technology may consume energy that is proportional to that grid. While the mechanical drive consumes energy to rotate the media and position the head. While the "actual storage" in the latter are somewhat "free" (the magnetized data points), there is no such free lunch with grid based semiconductor storage. They take energy to maintain, refresh, write and read ... more as larger they get. Also there are physical limits to miniaturize or better, max both technologies out. The semiconductor based storage, where the cells can't reliably store information based on structural (atom level) niveau, or simply heat wins ... where there is not enough space anymore to bring the heat caused by the action of the "storage-machine" out of the system (which will destroy it). Or on the quantum level for magnetic storage devices, where the units are physically getting to tiny to be reliable anymore.
P.S.: Just do an experiment. Up to date devices, so top notch engineered Harddrive and SSD. 24/7 writing 100MBit/s to each and measuring the power loss as heat. You'll be surprised ... I'm not:) Price question: With which device will throttling occur first because of the excessive power loss? (With no external cooling as a setup parameter)
@@dieSpinnt am going off experience, I have a creative touch and the sd card used less power than the ssd, you may have different luck than me, but all I am using is off the shelf parts that also happen to be the cheapest unless you already had parts lying around then great, but the performance will be almost identical with the exception of battery life. Also the word salad does not help your cause it just added noise between A and B :P results don’t lie, also any data sheet will show wattage of the average ssd ( 3 - 6 watts) vs sd (which is 1 watts) if you want to dispute power draw you might have a losing battle, if you want to dispute read times the argument is not there beyond initial read times solid state memory wins as all music on most music players is stored in volatile memory, so your either trying to split hairs with your argument or explain a point that most people already agree with you anyway….???
@@buda3d2007 Yeah doesn't matter. "Experience" is a nice thing to have (famous last words). Semiconductor based storage has to reload capacitors or run a matrix or change some other type of non-volatile memory cells. That costs energy. The one-time magnetization of a surface, on the other hand, is practically free in comparison.
In my contribution, I assume maximum values and the theoretically highest integration in the sub-nanometer range (perhaps we will still see that?). What I was talking about (and you obviously didn't understand) was the physical limitations of different technologies. Incidentally, they are not even up for debate. No matter how much you "believe" or have supposed experience, it's just the way it is, thanks to Mother Nature.
Of course you are also right: for the home user one assumes a ratio of 2:3 in the power consumption of SSD to hard disk. But it's not that big either. In the data center or in applications such as e.g. at CERN, things are different again.
By the way, you can always cheat with examples and most likely "experience" is a good thing ... but also can be used to lie to yourself (and others):
- Samsung 850 EVO, 500G 2.5", average power 4.7W, idle 50mW
- WD Blue, 500G 2.5", average R/W 1.4W, idle 55mW, sleep .13mW
So please stop acting like you ate wisdom with spoons. In reality, many things are more complicated and diverse than you initially thought.
Measuring (with actual equipment) means knowing!
@@dieSpinnt What point are you trying to make? you took a very long way around to telling me the specs of the medium without applying it specifically to the use case at hand, I'm happy for you that you know all this stuff but this knowledge has not been applied to the problem, pure and simple.
The volatile memory has been in all music players since the Discman to stop skipping, my point was an MP3 player has been designed to read that from the sd,ssd,hdd and put that into it memory for playing, this was a big feature of all devices to mitigate the need to have the storage medium have power running to it at all times, again your word salad has nothing to do with the problems and solutions I have highlighted, stop copying gibeerish from the web and re-writing it here as you do not seem to be applying it to the problem, good luck with your life.....
My 5th gen. 60GB that I bought new in '05 is now on it's 4th battery and has 512GB of SD-card storage. Still an amazing device!
I will upgrade mine soon, but it's really nice on road trips... many times you lose radio and cell service so all you have is a portable music device.
I've only just had to get mine it's first, after 18+ years!
How hard was it to mod? I've got a 5G Video with a partially broken screen and I have to admit that I'm at least a little bit tempted after watching so many videos about it (I think RUclips wants to tell me something).
@@Juleru Not terribly difficult. Just be patient. I just upgraded a Gen. 4 and that was a bit more fiddly owing to an additional ribbon cable needed. I'd highly recommend buying a head-mounted magnifier and a cheap phone repair kit. Securing/Unsecuring the ribbon cables is really the part you need to use the most caution.
@@spoon072000 Thanks for the tips! Is there a trick to removing/connecting the ribbon cables? I've got fine tweezers that I used to use with a 3D printer but I can imagine that those could damage the cables because they're probably pretty thin.
Here's a quick tip, for the double-sided tape you could use isopropyl alcohol and that'll free it up a little bit. I hope this helps somebody out there 👍👍
Deftones
Super handy to see one come apart. I have a 5th gen here with a dead battery that needs to be replaced at some point.
Dankpods has a whole video about taking apart and fixing every kind of ipod
How is this comment from 3 days ago? This was uploaded 4 hours ago.
INCREDIBLY easy to fix and purchase. Best place to pick up batteries is actually eBay. Just make sure you're buying for your correct model/size. 🙂
@@jamesdriver0317 Time traveler.
@@jamesdriver0317 Patreon supporters get early access to the videos, as well as Colin's podcasts! I highly recommend supporting Colin on Patreon if you enjoy his work. 😀
Man I miss those ipod controls, felt so quirky but it worked. Im surprised modern consoles didnt try using that for a scroll effect for menus or inventory.
Isn’t it patented?
@@FloydBunsen The design as you see it might be, but my guess is you cant patent the tech to a point where it cant be copied, at its heart its just a touch sensitive none moving circle, we have touch screens and touch pads for laptops so thats the tech down, the buttons for playback control are just buttons under the click wheel, cant patent that. basically apple could only have patented the design over all, but a touch sensitive circle... Nah they cant patent that, or at least make it stick very well.
Try Steam Controller's touch panels
The closest is Steam Controller and Steam Deck's touchpads with scroll wheel input mode.
Check out the Sony Pocket Vaio. The scrolling on that is incredible. Sony calls it a g-sense pad.
I got super into iPod modding during the pandemic. Got me a couple of these 5.5 gens and even an iPod Mini 2nd Gen that I’ve got upgrade to handle loads of music. I love these things man!
I bought the 7th gen 160gb back in 2013. I had iPhones that I used mainly for my music consumption and basically left this iPod in the box all these years for “just in case”. I recently got into IEM’s and am soooo glad I never touched this iPod. I kept cycling the battery through the years. Once every couple months I’d run it halfway or fully out then recharge. So I have an essentially brand new iPod without a scratch on it ready to rock. But since I have such an extensive library, I’m thinking of going with the iflash quad with 1TB. This looks super simple. And all I’ll need is the battery and flash drive/micro sd’s. I know the 7th gen is much harder to open but looking at the videos from EOE, it doesn’t look hard at all. Very cool that we can do this and keep alive an extremely capable music player. In a world where tech is progressing so quickly, that we are throwing so much stuff away, this is certainly a breath of fresh air.
I remember buying one of these brand new and then modding in an iFlash adapter with a 32GB CF card. It made it so much better since it never needed to park a HDD head and pause your music. This device was possibly also responsible for my first patch contribution to an open source software, as I needed to patch RockBox to get it to run correctly on the iFlashified device.
iPod 5th gen was my very first iPod, I got it for Christmas while I was in high school (now I'm just aging myself). They're SUPER easy to mod, both cosmetically and internally. I now collect iPods of different sorts, but I STILL have my first one. Still works just as well as it did the day I got it.
as someone who appreciates those who may be more mature than their age suggestions (on a hunch i'd say this applies to you), and as someone who was in high school for just a few months in the new millennium -- I think I speak for anyone my age and older in saying one doesn't get to "age themselves" (quite yet) in their late 20s/early 30s. how do I know? because quite a few explained this to me when I said something similar upon turning 30 (or close to it). in a nutshell, don't be in such a rush. you have the rest of your life to feel as old as you are wise.
I believe that second ribbon on the wheel is fused to the frame because of the piezoelectric properties of the wheel but that is just a hypothesis! Loved to see this. Used these for years and miss this era dearly.
the only thing to add to the ipod is 'Rockbox', which is 100% compatible with video and classic editions. Much better than the standard os and you can drag music and itunes is not needed at all, and has a dazzling array of features, for me the custom equalizer is gold. Would make nice content on your channel too.
One thing to note about the anodised coloured back covers, that colour is microns thick, scratches very easily and will look a trainwreck in no time if not really handled well. One way to increase the protection is to spray lacquer the back cover.
Great video to show those interested, I have had mine custom for years now and it's nothing but a win on all counts for those on the fence.
For me the iTunes integration is the reason to use an iPod. It would be nice to be able to have more than ~30,000 songs, or ~200GB in my case, but I rely on ratings and smart playlists and I wouldn't want to switch to manually managing storage. Of course your mileage may vary and someday iTunes will probably be impossible to use but for now I want to benefit from the many years I've put into my library.
I agree, I have been using Rockbox for years and it has been really nice. The fact that it is able to process so many other file types is great for us that like lossless music. My only complaint is that playlists are kind of a pain to set up, so I find that I am mostly listening to complete albums instead.
Apple should bring those iPods back as a CLASSIC EDITION
They could easily bring them back, with nothing more than updated storage, and they'd sell well.
@@Demotricus More storage, bluetooth, USB-C. Yup!
@@Juleru30-pin keeps the vibes though. wireless charging would be cool though
@@aerobolt256 Sure, it's got the nostalgia but it's big and slow. No need to reinvent the wheel to create a new one that is able to use USB 3 speeds. It would be perfectly fine for Apple to just be lazy here and use what already exists.
Dankpods did 2 of those, @@Juleru.
Wow, that turned out so well! The blue back with the shiny new white front... it's a thing of beauty! Awesome video as always!
FYI, the motherboard of the 5/5.5 gen ipods have either 32mb or 64mb of onboard RAM. You want the version with 64mb and the Wolfson Audio DAC otherwise it becomes useless to install more then 160GB of storage.
Also, regardless of how much storage space you installed, an iPod gets glitchy when you have too many tracks/songs on it. It starts getting glitchy; songs won't play, it locks up, or it resets itself.
How does one tell whether theirs has 32 mb versus 64 mb RAM?
@@johnross8939yeah!
@@johnross8939 the 60gb and 80gb 5th Gen models came with 64mb. 30gb came with 32mb
@@LambdaMiscellaneous the 60gb and 80gb 5th Gen models came with 64mb. 30gb came with 32mb
65,535 songs is pretty much the limit on the 64mb models as well. Anything over that and the same thing happens. But you can store that many songs and the rest videos or documents and it’ll be fine.
That's cool. I bought the 60 gig version of that back in October of 2005 to go with the new car I bought at the same time. I even had the back of it engraved, something Apple offered at the time... I THINK it was Apple that offered it. It all happened when I ordered it. I got the video output kit for it that came with the remote, too. I still have it all. The iPod is on display in my office. It still works. I'm sure the battery will soon need removing, obviously. Looks good, man!
To this day you can get free engraving on many products. From iPads to Apple pencils to even AirPods. Not for macs though
Better to get the battery out sooner than later. The battery in my 5th gen puffed up & actually popped the housing apart. I replaced the battery but the housing didn't snap back together completely due to the deformation from the puffed battery.
@@nexarian2523 You got lucky! The battery is right behind the screen so in some instances it cracks the screen.
I was 14 in highschool when i bought my ipod video 30gb. I had long hair with bose earbuds that never left my ear. I listened to music from 730am until at least 4pm where i would listen from my pc. It was revolutionary. Before i had a 512mb mp3 player i spent $200 on that could barely hold 50 songs. Back in the limewire days i had over 20,000 songs on it and a few movies. The movies were really quirky. I got really into ipod software modding at the time as jailbreaking was a new thing. Funny enough i was big into myspace modding too. I ended up teaching a friend how to mod and he went heavy into it, and now works in silicon valley. Im currently building a 2004 era alienware predator 1 case and thought the old ipod video would match the aesthetic perfectly, and sent me down this rabbit hole of modding. My front panel is cracked exactly the same, the screws are missing, the hold button ribbon cable is ripped and the centre button is missing. I had to replace the screen and the battery way back in around 2007, but its sat in a drawer since. Im excited to bring it back to life with some upgrades! The nostalgia is REAL. I wont be replacing the rear chrome cause i remember getting it brand new and the first scratch.
I used an iflash in my 4th gen a few years ago. It made it a hell of a lot more useful.
The only bad part of the process was opening up the back, tried plastic and metal tools first but it just killed them all. Ended up stabbing a good knife in there to open it then bending the back into shape later.
Yeah unfortunately that's the only good way. I usually use a putty knife, it helps keep it from bending a lot.
you should check out how dankpods opens them, the only iPods that are really hard to open are 6 and above because of all the metal
@@radiicall I did, he's the reason I finally bought some ipods. Couldn't get it open with his or any method I found online though.
Oh god; all you have to do is find the clips and push them forward, the poor case :(
I literally used a butter knife. I didn't destroy it, it worked out.
I have 2 one 80gb and new one 128gb love both, they are so sturdy and reliable, whenever the SHTF. People will wish they had one
Great timing, I've been into Gameboy modding and I got the itch again so I picked up a couple iPods for modding purposes last week.
This is pretty cool, and I didn't know they made after market parts for ipods. I guess by now I should just assume everything has an after market. I'd like to see you build a fully custom portable music player, maybe using a Pi ZeroW and bang some sheet metal into shape to make the case. As for the multi-color on the back side of that metal piece, it's because they heat treated it to get the color. Really neat.
Dankpods approves.
@@iVolkswagen Colin literally mentioned dankpods himself so I can't imagine he's too bothered.
SOMEONES BEEN IN ‘ERE!
dankpods content is lazy, he doesnt even test the equipment he orders and wastes viewers time. I mean look at his video on the 3D ipod accessory. LAZY
Does he? Also... If you think dank is lazy... Then obviously you dont pay much attention... The fact that hes unaware of the state of the hardware should be a clue... Its a matyer of discovery. Your obviously mislead if you think even HE is sure of the condition with units... The whole point of his channel is the gamble of finding a bust or even good unit. And the reasons that follow. So if you think he's lazy... Well I think that goes to reflect on yourself...
@@idkanymore3382 see my comment
I did a similar upgrade to my Tonium Pacemaker wich is a DJ music player with a tiny hard drive. I replaced the hard drive with a Compact Flash adapter that took SD card. Works perfectly. And also put in a new bigger battery.
I was worried you were doing diy open heart surgery for a second
@@randallcraft4071 Oh my would that be adventures 😅
13:00 I could halve sworn that was grounding to the metal frame. It should operate fine without being properly attached to the frame but if you are around ridiculous amounts of static or microwaves, I’d imagine its better to be properly installed.
yeah, that's what it does
You can actually squeeze a 3000mAh battery into the thin case but only if you use the iFlash Quad, I've built my custom 7th gen iPod Classic using this configuration and I have the thin case with a battery that fills the entirety of the back case!
same
Used to get 30hrs minimum from my 6.5 120gig, how long do you get from the mods?
Modding a 5th gen is easier than you think. I'm totally not that good at this stuff but managed to upgrade one. 'For parts' 5th gen ipods are fairly common on ebay and affordable (at the moment) - I got 2 for $50. There are limitations though. If you have a large collection of music files, the limited RAM in these things makes shuffling and searching very sluggish. If you are thinking of creating a mega-pod and banging all your tunes onto it, I would look elsewhere. With a nice smaller collection of music, this thing is excellent, good battery life, responsive and, let's face it, cool. Thanks for posting this, Colin, definitely worth the watch.
I remember back in 2004/5 when I loaded my 30GB one up. Stock back then with it loaded it was super sluggish. I never knew why but I should have guessed on the menu database slowing it down. But hey, I had a 5th gen Video iPod so I was the best, lol.
I still have a 'square' nano, and first generation ipod touch around, both still with their original batteries, and both still giving many hours of use on a charge.
While it does not actually prevent problems over time, slow controlled charging, and keeping the device cool while charging, do a lot to make those batteries last a lot longer, and reduce the risk on outgassing during charging. Yes, over time they will go bad, no matter what you do, but they can last a lot longer than they do for most people.
I bought a special watch strap and turned my square nano into an “Apple-Watch”, the nixie style display option is really cool
@@anoopsahal1202 I don't really use my nano anymore, I just check on it every couple months to keep it at around 40% charge.
I still use the ipod touch as music player, on the road but also at home. My main audio system can act as dac for ipods and iphones, and surprisingly, support for that goes all the way back to the first ipods which could connect to usb, and all the way up to the latest generation iphone.
you can fit the 5000mah battery in the thin 30gb back. i filed my internal frame just a little bit and used the micro sd card board for 512gb and a 5000mah battery which lasts me on and off for over a month.
My dad lost my iPod Video from 2008, but we still have mine from 2006 that has a broken screen. This seems like a fun project :3
I'm glad screens and batteries are replaceable cause those are what it needs
That's really impressive that they were able to make these kinds of components and circuit boards back in 2005. They were definitely ahead of their time in terms of component design and manufacturing.
Is it? 2005 wasn't that early. It's a good product but lets not act like we didn't have any other modern technology. Even the N-Gage came out in 2003.
I've had the parts for upgrading a 5th gen with a new battery and an iflash adapter dor a while now, this video reminded me that I still have to put it all together. I think dankpods showed that you CAN fit a larger battery with an iflash Quad inside a thin back. I mainly use my ipod for podcasts as I like having the space to have all of them available all the time rather than as extra data on my phone.
I have the quad iflash and a 3000mAh battery in my 5th gen and the thin back. Everything fits nicely!
iPod Video was my first iPod, I loved it! Fond memories of ripping my own DVDs and putting them through FFmpeg just to get them to sync on iTunes :D I kept mine in a carry case and it got back scratches, they were just inevitable. Thanks for the trip through memory lane.
Did this mod in 2017, with the same iFlash model. The weight reduction was immense, it weighs like a peanut afterwards. Now is about time to replace the battery and increase the SD storage.
I found a few weeks ago my old Creative Zen Vision:M in a drawer and decided to restore it. Turns out it will be a tougher journey than for an iPod mostly because it is harder to find good documentation and parts... But cool to see this video around the same time!
It's going alright! Thanks for asking. Devices weighing less when you do these mods always worries me. I'm so used to the heft of the original that ill accidentally drop the device when it's so much lighter.
For my 5th Gen I’m going all out. New faceplate, middle button, click wheel, back, battery, and the iFlash adapter. I’m also modding an iPod mini and replacing its battery as well.
This is a really interesting coincidence. Huge fan of the channel and I just modded a fifth gen iPod last week. For what it’s worth, you can fit a larger battery with a slim back and iflash quad than the 2000mH. I tried using a 3000mah battery because I read online that the thin ones work. However, I learned that even batteries listed as “thin” on eBay are sometimes thick so it’s luck of the draw and mine didn’t fit. I then ordered a 2800mah and it fit perfectly, and I believe there is only one form factor so you should be safe. I’d recommend anyone with a thin back 5th gen and iflash quad get the 2800mah battery. You can try your luck with the 3000mah, but I’d trade 7% capacity for having to risk getting the wrong battery
Elite Obsolete Electronics (mentioned in the video) has a YT tutorial detailing battery sizes fitting with the various iflash options & thin/thick backs and illustrates exactly your scenario. To that end, EOE expressly only sell a thin 3000 in their webstore so you can buy with confidence from them if you have a quad and thin back. But yeah, Ebay can be a dice roll.
Never owned any iPod, but now in a better situation, I can afford to buy and restore one of these gems! Thanks for the quality videos you have put out over the years.
You can install Rockbox sound OS to make it perform much better than apple's proprietary limited factory os.
watch dankpods
@@alerey4363 Does Rockbox support music videos and playlists that mix music video and audio files?
@@h.b.5577 probably
@@alerey4363oh no thanks
The one time I tried it it almost bricked my iPod classic 6th gen
Last time I try custom firmware on them
Hey Colin I did some mods like this way back in the day on my 5th gen. Someone developed a PCMCIA HDD to CF card adapter. But it wouldn’t fit in my 30gb case, so on eBay I bought the deeper cased 80gb back, with the larger 80gb battery also. I think I put in a 64gb card. I remember the battery lasting nearly a week listening 5-6 hours a day at work. These mods look like they’re a bit better now than back then.
I modded an iPod G7 that way. iFlash SD card (512 GB) + green front and black back. Looks amazing.
The song limit. was no problem since I flashed Rockbox in a blink of an eye when I was ready. No song limit, way more options and even a freakin' Game Boy emulator. Nobody needs the stock firmware any longer. :P
exactly what i was looking for. i have the same gen ipod with the same damage just worse and i didn't know how to fix it up. thank you! good video
Pretty sure that double stuck tape for both parts of the click wheel is a common ground to avoid errant touch detection. That's why they're both connected to the metal body.
I had mine made with the 3000mah battery and 128gb storage, White faceplate, blue back plate, blue click wheel with a white middle button and it’s great, only thing with the one I have, I noticed when I put headphones in they can easily be pulled out, They’re not super snug when plugged in but it’s not too bad and everything works good, I bought mine already put together by elite obsolete electronics and it’s been working pretty good
That blue back is absolutely gorgeous
Yay! I've been watching your other iPod videos and just received my 128gb 5th gen Classic from EOE.
I second gen, non-video iPod that, amazingly, still works, as long as it's plugged in. This was a great reference video for me. I've been wanting to replace the battery and the hard drive. Thank you!
Great work. Complete nostalgia. You should have a custom rom on this one for a real experience.
Elite Obsolete makes me want to buy vintage parts just because the great company name.
He inspires me as well. He went from a passionate collector to a thriving business owner, who is still a passionate collector. I've seen him show off boxes full of firewire chargers, not because he was selling them or adding them to his inventory, but because he was adding them to his collection. The excitement in his eyes is contagious. I went from collecting watches to collecting and rebuilding iPods because of dank pods and elite obsolete. It's a much cheaper hobby that can have good profit margins. As long as you are consistent and honest, You will be successful. There are too many sellers listing standard fifth gens as ipod video enhanced. Out of ten ipod orders, only two were indeed the enhanced version with the wolfson DAC. Be careful with eBay.
I went with a new original battery, and a CF-Card (ZIF to CF adapter). It's screaming fast at switching songs, and video storage works great (another reason why you would want 128GB of space). The gym used to have TVs that would interface with the iPod Video and play movies while working out. It was amazing at the time.
The best of the best for iPod parts Elite Obsolete electronics ☺️
I prefer to use guitar pics instead of a metal spudger to open. They are plastic and do not scratch housing and are also very cheap and really easy to buy
They make a clear front and it looks great!
He always says “hey everyone this is Colin how is it goin” but we never say “hey Colin this is everyone how is it goin”
I never had this generation of Ipod, but it definitely looks the right time to buy and restore an used one. Thanks for the info and the video!
didnt see reason why i have to own 2 daps back then, even more so now, although they do sound very nice
Thanks so much for posting this video. I was able to follow your directions and get my 5th gen up and running with 128 GB of storage. I did tear the hold switch ribbon cable when removing the battery (I lifted mine from the right side with a standard screwdriver once I realized the hold cable was on the left). Other than the hold switch not working now (not an issue for me), everything works great! Thanks again!
I've done several of these. Here's a couple tips: TIP #1: do NOT yank the battery cable like shown in the video. You are more likely to damage the connector on the logic board than to just get the cable free. Use a pair of tweezers to pull the brown (sometimes grey) plastic cable-retainer up away from the board, releasing the cable. Back in the day they called these zero-insertion-force connectors because you don't need to use any force. When reassembling, just insert the cable and press the brown cable retainer back towards the board and it will lock the cable in place. TIP #2: get more than one metal "spudger". I've only ever opened one of these as easily as shown in this video once - and that unit had been opened several times before. Take your time, and leave a spudger in place to block-open clips that are stubborn. Also, start releasing the clips across the top of the iPod first, they're easier and will give you some leverage to get the sides. You only need the top and one side to free it up enough to release the back and hinge it away from the front. TIP #3: do NOT start with your spudger around the 30-pin connector. You will bend the thin metal of the back case around the port and it will never go back into proper shape. (unless you're replacing the back, but still be careful, because levering with a spudger around that connector can damage the connector). TIP #4: just buy one that's already been upgraded by Elite Obsolete. He's a pro and does excellent work. This will save you much frustration: such as when you replace a screen getting every tiny particle of dust out while still assembling the iPod. It's a real frustrating challenge. TIP #5: you do NOT need to remove the logic board from the frame to replace the click wheel. Leave the board connected to the frame (the black tape between the screen and the board). The flex cable of the click wheel wraps around the board and inserts pretty easily without removing the board. TIP #6: use a piece of masking tape to hold the click wheel and center button together while you're reassembling. Also peel away the plastic cover of the front cover and run that tape across the front cover, the click wheel, and the button, holding all three in place. Trust me, it makes reassembly a LOT easier. The alignment of the click wheel and button are critical. Sometimes you'll get it completely reassembled and everything will look great... BUT the clickwheel will be slightly out of alignment with the buttons on the logic board (another reason not to remove the logic board from the frame) and you'll have to take it entirely apart again to adjust it. It's a real bummer when you damage (nick) the front cover getting it back open. TIP #7: take note of where screws come from and what color they are. There are varying lengths of screws, and they do NOT all work in all places. Generally: silver screws are longer, and black ones are shorter. But if yours has been opened before, you can guarantee they're all right. You can't use a short one where a long one is needed. You'll screw and screw and screw and it will never grab. TIP #8: but an extra screw kit for the iPod. Those screws are T-I-N-Y!!! You will lose one... or more. TIP #9: The 3,000 mAh batteries are NOT actually 3,000mAh. They more like 1,500 to 1,800mAh. That's still a great upgrade. But not what is listed, which is disappointing. (Unsurprisingly, the 2,000mAh battery is NOT in fact a 2,000mAh battery either. I forget the actual capacity.) TIP #10: Test the iPod completely BEFORE clicking that front cover into the metal back cover. Once it is clicked in place, you'll have to damage your brand new covers to get it back open if something needs adjusted inside.
TIP #11: don't remove the screen unless you're replacing the screen. That connector cable and socket are easy to damage. Why take the risk?
According to iFlash, the 2000mah is ~1700mah.
Wow. I never realized how tiny the battery was on that generation iPod. I love that companies have figured out how to use the extra space left over by upgrading to flash to add battery, too!
It’s very efficient
No need for a big battery
Gen 5.5. Nice! That one really does sound the best!
I replaced the headphone Jack, battery and put in an iflash in my 5th gen. I keep it connected via an original dock to some active speakers. Works great!
Very cool - I am upgrading/modding my 7th Gen 160GB iPod (well, I'm sending it out to have the work done), but I am upgrading to 512GB, larger battery (3000MAH), bluetooth capability, and different front color, new clickwheel, and center button. Really looking forward to having that done. I use my iPod every day.
The Dankpod channel has covered all this in detail. You can buy replacement parts for everything.
Congratulations!! You’re the first North American I’ve ever heard say “Anyway” properly!
If you break a zif connector locking bar (what he's is calling the bale) you can actually shove a thin piece of plastic on top of the cable in the connector and that will insure a solid connection even in the situation the device is jostled and moved about.
Thank you. So very much. For putting the peels in this vid. I loved it.
18:11 - Thanks for (possibly) coining the term 'Z-height'! :) I've never heard that term before!
A little bit of heat-- nothing crazy, just like from a hair dryer-- makes the adhesive a lot easier to remove without stressing the ribbon cables. Hope this helps someone.
Fantastic mod! If suitable parts are available, I'd match either the clickwheel or the center button color with the back panel (perhaps a slightly more subdued hue?). Hopefully, it would look like a limited edition that never was. [edit:] If it's the clickwheel that we color match with the back, that could solve front panel white not matching clickwhel white in the process!
I would loved to see a modern mod, such as replacing the connector with something more universal like usb C, micro or anything else. I also would love to explore other mods such as bluetooth - or so I’ve read about, though I believe at that point you would be running custom firmware.
Then that would make docks useless
I use a iPod dock in my hifi system to listen to lossless files on my big hifi
30pin is no big deal
Someone on Reddit made a USB c mod to an iPod classic. I think its called Oxyll USB C mod.But honestly I wont install the mod because I already have an iPod dock.
still got 2 3rd gen ipods, both of them are modded and had translucent shell. love it!
I build mine last year. 3000mAh Battery Upgrade 512Gb (4x128) SD Card from Sandisk.
New Faceplates, Click Wheel and Backplate. All Black and Dark Grey.
It’s Just Amazing.
I Am waiting for a micro Bluetooth 5.0 Module to arrive and will install it in a couple weeks
Awesome guide! Apparently the 5/5.5th gen have the best DACs too so definitely worthwhile. I chucked the iFlash mSATA in mine with 1TB of storage. Needed a modded version of Rockbox to support it though.
RockBox really makes it a nice little DAP
Can attest to the iFlash Solo. I put one in my 6th-gen iPod a few years back and it's just a brilliant product.
I listened to far more music when I had an ipod. Then again I didn't have a mobile phone so I had fewer options. But I do remember enjoying albums on my commutes. 60 GB ipod photo served me well for years.
Awesome device. Looks great even in 2023. very nice and well thought out device.
My mom has the iPod mini and the iPod nano and the battery still works surprisingly well
two years late but thanks for the plastic peels. Makes my brain happy
This whole time I assumed it had flash storage as standard only because mine took an absolute beating and still works fine. I used to skate with it and I've fallen hard enough to crack the screen at some point but maybe it's time to give it some love.
I've still got a 5.5 gen iPod with its only issue being the battery not really holding a charge. If I did make any change/upgrades, I'd upgrade the battery and the hard drive (to an SD card and adapter). It's nice to see that the parts aren't expensive.
So after watching this video I was inspired to do something similar. I've got tons of mSATA drives laying around, so I got the iflash for mSATA, bought an iPod and replacement front.
One caveat: I wanted to use rockbox, but none of the official builds (stable, daily, or dev) worked; I had to find a blog post from 2018 where someone added support and shared their build.
All done though, and I love my distraction-free Linux-friendly media player.
can you share the link to that blog post?
I guess the „sensor“ that sticks to the frame is the group connection for the capacitive sensor in the clickwheel that electrically connect through your hand
The song limit issue can be worked around by using a 3rd party firmware like RockBox. It doesn't use a database at all, as you just drag and drop files into a drive that shows up when you connect the device. You can even dual-boot with the original firmware if you want.
I did this and it all worked fine on my first try. Replaced the entire housing back and front, the clickwheel, battery, and flash mod...
the ribbon cable connecting the two halves was very iffy because the unit I had was worked on before (somebody gave it a new screen) but it was fine
Fascinating. I never dreamed how repairable iPods were. This reminds me of an ad long ago for an early 60s VW Beetle. VW built a car entirely out of replacement parts to demonstrate the available parts support for its product.
I remember that being a thing, with the only exception to the rule being the thermostats for the engines cooling baffles being damn near impossible
Other iPods aren't so repairable; the 6/7th gens are aluminum, not plastic, so they don't flex when you pop them open, they just bend. Otoh, In my experience they're pretty solid, and it takes a bit to kill them, so maybe there's a benefit to it.
Compared to other mp3 players of this era, iPods were the most difficult to open
Thank you for a very detailed video, just upgraded my 5th gen and it looks amazing!
Thank you for the peeling, it's like it was brand new all over again.
What I've noticed with my 3rd party front panel is that the foam is like twice as thick as the original, probably due to the original having the screen squishing it down for 16 years. I'm going to leave it in for now, and hopefully by the time my replacement screen arrives (the original screen has a few dead pixels in the corner and it's enough for me to replace it) it will be squished down enough to get rid of any problems.
I think the 'scratches' on the front are either from UV or chemical exposure
The "I talk too much, sorry :-(" section was one of the most important! I was concerned that you weren't going to touch on the database size issue, but you saved it for last. I have read that it's the amount of RAM that determines how big the database can be, because the database is resident in RAM. A 30 GB iPod comes with less on-board RAM than an 80 GB iPod. I've seen that some have been successful in swapping the SDRAM chips with higher capacity ones to effectively upgrade that as well, but it requires SMD soldering. I've personally exceeded the "practical limits" for the RAM in my 30 GB 5.5 gen iPod Video by quite a lot, and it still worked, but had quirks: playback would stutter at the beginning of a track, and occasionally it would abort playback of a track and continue to the next as if nothing happened.
such a modded ipod seems quite cool with rockbox so you can use the largest drive there is.
I totally forgot rockbox was a thing i vaguely remeber doing this to my ipod back in the day, unfortunately that ipod left my possesion like 15 years ago and after that i kept buying the sony walkman Digital players because they were cheaper, smaller and i could just attach them to my PC and sync without using iTunes which always was kinda glitchy and picky on windows.
You can easily do terabyte with regular OS. How much do you need in a music player? Rock box had terrible battery life as I recall.
As a New Englander, I can tell you those cracks on the display are from leaving it in a car in a harsh winter, one night in the cold and that happens (in my case I left it in the cupholder). Mine looks a bit worse
I used an iflash adapter in my ipod mini, they're stuff is super slick
A correction about the maximum number of files. its not about the total file size, but that META data in the file, Song name, artist name, album cover, genre. These get loaded into ram when you hit play on any given playlist.
This is why its roughly 20000 or 50000 songs, as it varies on what meta data you have. btw those numbers are for your average meta data.
The limit is there because you only have so much ram to load this data into. You can have more songs than this number, but your playlist can't be more than this. so say you have 15000 in one playlist and another 15000 in another. you'll be fine, cause you are only ever loading 15000 songs worth of meta data into ram.
I still have one of these iPods in working condition! Storage is about 30Gb and I now want to start using it again.
Built one of these for my brother. New battery, case, iflash. Need to make one of my own
Watched the video at the weekend. Parts arrived yesterday. Fitted last night and all is well. The only real faff was getting in. Looking forward to a faster iPod experience. I hate electronic waste, and love projects like this.
The iPod Video was legendary for it's popularity and general reliability. The interface was nice, the playback controls were great, the features were useful, and the DAC+amp combo were plenty competent for all of the file formats that iTunes supported at the time. Definitely a gem of an MP3 player. I believe it also supported Apple's CoverFlow album display, which I was always a massive fan of.
I'm also a huge fan of the double-shot clear over solid faceplates that Apple used to ensure that the device would maintain a premium aesthetic. The anodized faceplate on the 6th gen was nice from a tactile perspective since it was slightly rounded over and thinner than the plastic faceplate, but it has a very different aesthetic. Personally, I'd probably go with an mSATA drive adapter just for enhanced reliability and random IOPS performance, but that's really neither here nor there. High quality SD cards are quite reliable these days, so there's no particular detriment to going with one of those instead. Plus, it's not terribly expensive to get a 512GB drive in either form factor, even microSD.
i did the exact same thing to my ipod 3 years ago. loved it. only problem is that it does not support high res audio - tracks that's 24 bit will be flat out ignored, and there's this hassle converting flac to alac each time. in the end i gave it away and switched to an android-based DAP.
I have a 2200 mah battery in my thin 30gb, but for that the fit is tight and you need the iFlash quad
I want to do this to my ipod. ❤️ Gives it a new life
5th gen classic, one of the greatest of all time. Hard wearing and reliable. I strongly recommend upgrading with a microSD, and with that the battery lasts longer. Could even put a larger battery in with the space you save.