Introduction: DIY Bluetooth Speaker

Meet the PartyBar™! Make a wireless speaker, loud enough to fill an entire room! With a budget less than $15, you can have your own Bluetooth speakers made from scratch materials! It's slick, stylish, descent and most of all it's compact and fits in your pocket. This is a great weekend projects for enthusiasts and audiophiles.

It's small but packs quite a punch. With the help of "35mm Neodymium Drivers" the PartyBar™ delivers a solid stereo sound. It's equipped with a 1000mAh Li-ion battery meant to last for 9 straight hours, replacing it with a 2,400 LiPo will result to a staggering 22 hours of continuous playback!

Are those ready made speakers?
A lot of people thought that this was a ready made product, well it's not. It's actually made from recycled materials such as broken speakers, radios & old modules. The project box came from my eyeglass's container :D



Techie Description:
The PartyBar™ is equipped with two outstanding Neodymium Speaker drivers. Neodymium itself is a rare-earth metal. Magnets made from neodymium are light and very powerful, making the speakers more compact and gives a higher clarity rate.

Of course good speakers must be powered by good amplifiers thanks to Nsiway's NS4263 dual 3W SMD chip, the PartyBar™ delivers an excellent audio, good enough to compete in today's market. It has a class AB amplifier with a THD rating of 0.1%. A Class AB amplifier delivers fully symmetrical wave amplification, in short the audio given off by this amplifier is pure and clear.

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Specifications:
- 1,000 mAh Rechargeable Li-ion Battery (9hrs Playback)
- Dual 3W (4ohms) 35mm Neodymium Drivers
- High Efficiency 2x3W Amplifier (0.1%THD)
- 15 meter Standard Bluetooth Range
- 3.5mm Auxiliary Ready
- Mini USB Charge Plug



Step 1: Parts & Materials

The links are just alternatives. Read the next step and find out how I got my parts for under $15 :))

Parts & Materials:
- Stereo Bluetooth Module (Updated: $6 Cheaper)
- 2x3W Speakers (Updated: Now Priced $2.80)
- 2x3W High Efficiency SMD Amplifier
- Passive Driver (optional)
- USB Li-ion Charging Module
- 1000mAh Li-ion Battery
- Simple Sliding Switch
- 3.5mm Stereo Jack
- Eyewear Container
- Matt Black Spray Paint

Tools & Equipment:
- Cordless Drill (w/ 5mm Bit)
- Rotary Tool (w/ Flute Bit)
- Leatherman Multitool
- 40W Soldering Iron
- Hot Glue Gun
- Super Glue


Step 2: Hacking Time! - How I Got My Parts for Free!

That Is An Awesome Case! Where Did You Get It?
My dad is an eye doctor & surgeon (ophthalmologist). Since I'm a guy who uses corrective lenses, I have a huge pile of unused eye-wear containers. One day I came across this funny, Garfield case (from my grade school days). The first thing that poped-up in my mind was to make a Bluetooth speaker out of it.

Where I Got My Speaker Drivers:
Okay let's get started! To start of, I got these awesome "Speed-Boat Speaker" for a cheap price of P320 ($6.50). Of course cheap products aren't that reliable, it broke after 6 months. Since I'm a hobbyist, I prefer breaking down defective products and studying the parts instead of surrendering it to the warranty center.

If you want to buy better ones, PartsExpress.com serves a wide variety of options!

Where I Got My Amplifier:
I got my amplifier from DealExtreme (dx.com). Apparently it's a discontinued product. I got it for $1.70 on a clearance sale.

Where I Got My Bluetooth Module:
I bought my Bluetooth module from DealExtreme (dx.com). Again, my Bluetooth model was discontinued and no longer available. I got it for $6 on a clearance sale. Right now there's an alternative model but costs more than the previous one ($12).

Isn't this just a repackaged project?
No it's not! The speaker drivers inside the "boat speaker" was indeed good but to be honest, it didn't come with the best built in amplifier. It was made from bare SMD transistors and not a SMD I.C. package, it was not that effecient, and lacked power to drive off these 4 ohm speakers.

Step 3: Drilling the Holes for the Parts

1st.) Use your pencil to mark the soon to be cut holes.
2nd.) Get your rotary tool and flute bit, cut off the plastic on where the speakers will be mounted.
3rd.) Attatch a 5mm bit to your cordless drill and bore a hole for the auxiliary input.

Step 4: Painting the Case

Before mounting the speakers and components be sure to paint the case first. You don't want to spray paint over your drivers

Looking good on a matt black paint job! :D

Step 5: Hot Gluing the Speakers & Components

Carefully hot glue the speaker drivers to your plastic casing. Be sure to cover all the gaps, it must be 100% airtight. If air escapes the case, the "PartyBar" would sound like crap :D

If you are concerned that the hot glue could melt because of the heat given off by the amplifier module. There's nothing to worry about since the "class AB high-efficiency amplifier" doesn't heat up that much.

Step 6: Soldering Them Together

Solder all the modules together. This project requires a little experience in electronics. If you need help, feel free to write a comment!

To make your work easier, you can follow the block diagram above.

Step 7: Sealing the Enclosure

Apply enough superglue around the edges to seal the enclosure. Be sure to cover all the gaps, it must be 100% airtight. If air escapes the case, the "PartyBar" would sound like crap :D

Step 8: You're Done!

Enjoy your PartyBar!

Step 9: Meet the "Version 2.0" (SUPERCHARGED)

Meet AirJam, the DIY Supercharged Bluetooth speaker. Ready your tools, we are making one from scratch! Thanks to your comments and suggestions, I was able to make a v2.0, named AirJam.

Click Here To Visit:DIY Supercharged Bluetooth Speaker (v2.0)
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SMALL SIZE, BIG SOUND:
Despite AirJam's tiny size, it has the ability to surpass its competitor's performance. Thanks to the sandwiched speaker orientation, I was able to fit 4 Full-ranged speaker drivers in one tiny enclosure (2x7x2"). A "passive radiator" was added to extend the lower bass frequencies, thus resulting to a much punchier bass. Compared to its rivals, the AirJam has 4 active drivers and one passive radiator, offering deeper bass and wider mids.

CHANGE TRACKS WIRELESSLY (works with Siri!)
Thanks to Bluetooth 4.0, AirJam can receive Bluetooth transmissions up to 30 meters! Whether you are using your laptop, tablet or phone, you can easily switch tracks wirelessly. The handsfree feature works great with Speakerphone, Skype, FaceTime and also Siri!
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Specs & Features:
- Includes Handsfree Microphone (Speakerphone Function)
- Quad 3W Fullrange Speakers (4Ω - 35mm drivers)
- Quad 3W High Efficiency Amplifier (class AB)
- Li-Po Battery 1,300mAh (20hrs Playback)
- Command Buttons (Volume/Pause//Play)
- Tested dB (via SPL): 96dB @2ft
- 30m Bluetooth Range (v4.0)
- Single Passive Radiator
- 3.5mm Auxiliary Ready

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