Modding Boompack #2 (Micro) - Mini Project Log

[mobius9]

So, here goes the 2nd version of my personal audio players.

Since the last project (see sig), I've learned a lot of stuff. I got a heatgun from my parents in order to make my sister a little acrylic table for her bed (water bottle, alarm clock, etc).

In addition, I also got a creative zen micro (w00t!!!).

The amp from my old boompack died also.... I think I shorted the connections too many times .

Anyways, this time I will be using a pair of computer speakers running off of another airsoft battery. I have been running these speakers for about 3 weeks with no recharge to the 1700mAh battery.

Here is a little mock up I did in Cinema 4d



It won't be exactly like this, but its more or less the idea.



yeah, my 3d skills are a little rusty.



These are the original computer speakers I am using. I will probably just use the amp from this pair, and use the speakers from the ps1 lcd I bought from iamgoody on the forums here. I am a little concerned that the amp will be too powerful for those little guys though.



Only 8 screws on the outside to unscrew. This will be a piece of cake.



one of the speakers is now opened up.



opened up the other one, and pulled the amp out.



next I pulled out the speakers from the ps1... little did I know that the housing was made of plastic! One of them cracked, but that will not shake me. Once again, I used the tools available to make the fix...



A little plastic cement and a swap meet C clamp. in 4 hours this should be completely dry, I might let it dry overnight just to be safe.



just another close up of the amp. I tried googling the number I found on it, but found nothing. It sais D2822A on it, maby someone here knows.



This is how the amp will hook onto the zen micro. The micro comes with this cool little protective case thing, and you see here the attachments for the belt clip and desk stand thingy. I will just make another little plastic thing so the case can slide onto and off of the speaker attachment.



the desktop stand in action



the battery I will use. My airsoft guns are too powerful for this little guy. I will need to buy another cell to up the voltage though. Luckily, a local hobby store has therse



A size comparison of the speakers I have. This project definetly will not have the same sound quality, but the range should be pretty decent. I really don't need this one to go that far.

Later today I will hopefully get to home depot to get some thinner acrylic, and maby tomorrow to hobby people to get the extra battery cell.

[foxx]

Nice, I like how you took out the speakers from your psone screen also. (and the emachines, ahaha) BUt it is a nice project. But you should be working on fixing that clock. (nah I know why its doing that,pov)

[mobius9]

Originally Posted by foxx

But you should be working on fixing that clock. (nah I know why its doing that,pov)

Huh? what clock?

Anyways, I tested the ps1 speakers with my cd player and the volume was a little weak. The zen micro has a more powerful amp, but just so I don't have to chance it, I'll put the amp in there too. By the way, I tested the amp with the ps1 speakers and it works very well. I'm now off to home depot to get some thinner acrylic and will be back later with some more pics of the heatgun and bending and cutting and stuff.

[foxx]

http://img115.echo.cx/img115/4954/bbox080jf.jpg

[mobius9]

oooooh. Theres really nothing wrong with it... I have no idea how it got that way in the picture?!

Anyways, got some new acrylic. I was 90% sure this is a cell cast piece... but nothing was labeled at home depot. Anyways, this should be enough for the project.



I looked all over for some blue cellaphane, but no luck.... finding any type of cellaphane at all.

either way, I got some clear epoxy from ace



also, I picked up some other stuff



what you're seeing here are nylon risers (for the amp), rubber gromets, hex thumb screw thingys and nuts.

I'm not 100% sure if I'm going to use the hex screws and gromets right now, its still up in the air. More work on this tomorrow.

[mobius9]

Bought more things. I got the celephane I was looking for... I might have to add some black tint in there too just to make it look darker though. Each single layer is much lighter than it appeared



Then got some of this



And as insentive for when I'm done.



Will be back later tonight with the finished (hopefully) minibox.

[keir]

looks pretty cool so far

[mobius9]

sorry I haven't updated, was up till 2 in the morning last night only to find out I will have to completely redo the battery. I have a bunch more pictures. I can hear this thing anywhere in my 2 story house, so its pretty damn loud.

[mobius9]

So I made quite a few changes to the original layout of this project.



I did a little math in this project, and decided that I needed to make a guide for a 30 degree bend in my acrylic, so I made one out of an old piece of sheet metal I had.



I mapped out the correct lines to cut for the face of the minibox, and got ready to cut it.



because the shape was so odd, I had to use my jigsaw this time.... I'm not the best at jigsawing, but I try.



Theres the first piece... this one would be the face of the boombox.



To bend the plexiglass I used a heat gun I picked up in the paint aisle in walmart, supposively rated at 900 degrees F.



There is the piece, bent to shape, without the protective sheet on it.



I continued to cut the rest of the pieces out, this was the bottom piece.



all the pieces cut, a general idea of what is to come.



Back to the faceplate. I needed to cut holes for the speakers, so I used a 1" spade bit (I think thats what its called)



came out kinda rough, but not to fear... dremel to the rescue!!! I used the sanding drum that came with it to even things out a little bit.



the finished left speaker hole



finished right speaker hole



I drilled the holes for the amp - Vol knob, power switch and the power led



Remember those rubber gromets? I decided I would use them as feet. They worked out REALLY well, althought they were somewhat of a pain to get in the holes.



I next attempted to try and make a battery that would fit inside the box. An odd problem I was having:

It consisted of 2 groups, 1 of 5 cells and one of 3 cells. They would both charge on their own, but not together for some reason no matter how many different configurations I tried. Guess you can't have everything. Later on I figured out a few alternatives.

[mobius9]

Continuing on....



I started to glue the pieces together, and I glued the amp to the bottom using those nylon riser things I got earlier.



Thats how it turned out.... hot glue btw.



I next prepared the headphone wire. I tied a knot in it for extra strength. It is coming out of the top piece of the minibox.



Also drilled a hole in the back so that I can reach the original dc jack. I'm currently using this to power the amp with my temp. battery, which is why the sticky velcro is on there also.



Thats how its going to look for right now. I found out that the hot glue actually held the acrylic better than the epoxy I had, so I would hot glue the top on. I would need to take it off later anyways.



A little rough, but it works.



There it is with the micro right now.



With the power led on... I might exchange this with a blue one later, but I really don't care that much.



The current battery is so heavy that it tips the minibox back. This, however allows my zen to sit on the edge quite nicely.



Yay! Celebration donuts!

Still to do: internal battery and clean up the glue gun stuff a little bit.

for the internal battery I will probably get a few 9v cells (rechargable) and wire them in parallel. I looked in fry's today and each one is nearly $8!!! Looks like I'll be going the route of ebay for this one.

Until then I guess.

[Redwolf]

nice, keep'em coming.

[jerb111]

nice so far.
if you want to clean up your hot glue job bent a small strip of sheet metal about 90 degree's along the midle (no more than a cm or so wide) and simply heat up your joints with your heat gun (on low if possible) this will soften the glue enough for you to wipe the metal acrost it effectivly evening the globs.

as for your battery problem either use 9V cells or what you have currently. put them in their own plexiglass case and put it sticking straight up out of the plexi base (above the amp section) this will give you a cleaner looking stand which will be more durable/portable.

also there are plenty of charging circuits designed for 9V cells and you have pleny of room left in your base. maby you should add one so you dont have to ever take the batteries out.

other than that... Nices Job. i might barrow parts of your design for a future clone of this

[mattthegamer463]

nice. 2 questions tough, how long do the batteries last, and how is the MP3 player attached to the plexi casing?

[mobius9]

Originally Posted by mobius9

This is how the amp will hook onto the zen micro. The micro comes with this cool little protective case thing, and you see here the attachments for the belt clip and desk stand thingy. I will just make another little plastic thing so the case can slide onto and off of the speaker attachment.

The mp3 player is not yet attached to the minibox. I'm going back to homedeopt to get a little hinge that I will attach to some more acrylic shaved down to fit inside the slot on the back of the mp3 player case.

the battery.... I forgot how to calculate it, but the speakers take up about 2 watts. The battery is a 9.6v 1700mAh. Its gone 3 weeks pretty constant use without being recharged so far.

Jerb: great Idea, I'll try that!

[chie]

any more updates? i was enjoying myself watching this thread. i know its not really a computer mod.. but i thought it was sweet..?

[mobius9]

thanks chie

I will try to go and get the rest of the parts I need tomorrow. I'm going to try and make the little dock thing spring loaded on a hinge.

Some friends have told me I should try to paint the inside all blue to match the mp3 player.... what do you guys think?

[star882]

I'd say leave it transparent. The electronics look cool.

[mobius9]

well, as an update to this project.... the remainder is being put on hold for a new project I will be attempting.

Things in this new project:

1: SLI Subwoofers (hahaha)
2: External Speaker Ports for surround sound power
3: DJ setup (kind of secret as of now)
4: 2 - 10 LED Bassometers (for dj setup)
5: Resizable mp3 player chamber with rubberized surface (plastidip)
6: Solid color (probably black)
7: Money!!! Yes, I will actually put money into this project... about $100 probably

Also, I hate to keep you guys waiting, but just to insure that there will be no more waiting time between updates.

I do however have one question:

It will be about the size of a shuttle when finished. (up to 70 watts rms)

does creative glue their fricking knobs on (the bass) or are they bolted some how? Thanks.

[Rd52]

damn this is nice ur so creative.hmm im thinking of building something like this for my ipod

hey i noticed u liv in S.D. 2 wut part?

[theshadow27]

Originally Posted by mobius9

does creative glue their fricking knobs on (the bass) or are they bolted some how? Thanks.

99% chance it is pressure fitted, so get a screwdriver under it and pry. ive only seen glued knobs from in stuff from the 70's. sometimes you have to realy yank on it. if you cant do it with a screwdriver, pliars may help you out.