So I made a post about an idea I had where Steemit could be used to help fund projects. The project I thought I might try was to make a portable stereo, I'll call it my Box of Tunes. I thought this might work out alright because it has fairly inexpensive components, and as I post updates on the progress along the way, I might earn enough steem to offset the costs. I did decide to not wait for the steem to add up for each step as I very well may never get to start. So I will just buy parts along the way and then when the process is all done, I'll see how things balance out. Truthfully my expectations are pretty low. But I think I might make enough to pay for the beer while I work on this thing. Well cheap beer.
So in this post I thought I would lay out more of the specifics of what I'm building. I need to put out there that I'm no expert in aspect of this, so I'm going pretty simple.
The plan is to build a box. Was thinking I would just build it out of MDF and paint it black or wrap it in something. It might be cool to cover it in tweed like a guitar amp. I might also do wood and stain, but my wood working skills are really non existent, so I don't know that it would turn out looking good like the picture in my previous post. For the amplifier I'm going to buy this 2.1 deal from parts express. I know it would be more DIY if I built the amp, pre amp and all that myself, but I don't trust my ability. Maybe in a future project. I'm also going to use a little bluetooth box to connect to the amp. The amp I've choose can run on a range of power options and should work with one of those batter packs for charging phones and what not with a USB adapter. The batter pack can then run both the amp and keep the bluetooth box charged. Now speakers. I'm going with one 5 1/4" woofer which will be powered off the subwoofer channel and then two 3" full range drivers. The the woofer I'm ording is supposed to get down to 50 hz and the full ranges go from 130-20,000. This is a little model of the design for the box I made. Sorry, never did a 3d model thing like this before.
Like I said above, I don't know what kind of finish it will have and I will probably have some kind of screen or mesh across the front so you don't see the speakers, there nothing fancy. The slot there towards the top is where I will have it open to the front of the amp I'm buying. I will make some kind of panel to open up on top or the back so I can get in there when needed. The dimensions are 9" tall, 9" deep and 18" wide. I will probably build something out of cardboard first so I can see how that size feels, but it works with the dimensions of the speakers, amp and other stuff that will be in there.
Here is the parts list for the stuff I order from parts-express.com
Lepai LP-168HA 2.1 2x40W Mini Amplifier + 1x68W Sub Output
Part # 310-308
Speaker Cabinet Port Tube 1-1/2" ID x 4" L Flared
Part # 260-402
Sure Electronics Battery Powered Bluetooth Wireless Audio Receiver with Power Supply Black
Part # 320-355
RCA AH100R 24 AWG Speaker Wire 100 ft.
Part # 100-132
Peerless by Tymphany TC Series TC8FD00 3" Full Range Speaker 4 Ohm
Part # 264-1145
5-1/4" Poly Cone Shielded Woofer
Part # 299-2210
In case someone else wants to build the same thing, there's what I'm using. I haven't ordered the battery pack yet, but the power requirements for the amp are 9 to 14.4 VDC, 3A and the input jack for the power 2.1mm. If anyone has a better idea for a rechargeable power source, please let me know. Not to worried about the battery pack part. I imagine it will mostly be used were power is around, but I though having a rechargeable power source for it would be cool.
With parts ordered, I need to get the MDF or wood together. I'm going to do some pricing to see what I want to do, as well as whats available at the local hardware store. Hopefully I'll have another post with me cutting my fingers off to build this box before too long.
I hope some people might be interested in this, either the steemit aspect or in the Box of Tunes.
Thanks for checking this out,
Brian