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Step 2Wiring & Assembly
There are really only a few basic steps here-
1. Remove diode from cigarette plug. (picture 3)
Desolder the diode from inside the Cigarette plug connector that comes with the Solar Panel. The diode prevents the battery from discharging through the solar panel when the solar panel's output is low. The diode must be oriented as shown, with the line away from the solar panel. (see pic 3)
2. Construct a plug/jack passthrough, connect it to the diode and solar panel.
Pay very close attention to wire polarity! You can damage your amp by connecting power backwards! The wire with the white stripe is positive, the black wire is negative. Red terminals are positive, black is negative. Center terminals are positive.
DC jacks often have a switched terminal that we will not be using. It is easy to mistake this for the negative terminal. To find this terminal, insert a plug into the jack and test for continuity. only one terminal will be connected to negative on the plug. The center positive terminal should be obvious. The third terminal is not used, and may be broken off to simplify things.
I created the plug/jack that is attached to the solar panel by bending the terminals on each until they would make contact, then soldering them together and connecting the diode/wires last.
Arrange the parts so that the positive connections have No Chance of coming into contact with the negative. This is very important.
I've had a small battery melt through a small amount of insulation and start smoking. These small batteries pack a lot of juice, and could burn your house down. I'm not kidding. Be sure and do a good job soldering this plug, and on the battery plug. Make sure that soldered connections are solid, and that the bare portions of the wire are kept to a minimum and cannot come into contact with each other. Test all systems in an open area, and don't trust your battery until you've spent some time with it and it hasn't melted anything.
battery meltdown
I now use silicone wire as a result. 14 AWG is a good size.
3. connect a DC plug to the battery.
Wire the DC plug onto the battery wires before connecting the wires to the battery. Center is positive on the plug. Use heavier wire than elsewhere. I suggest at least 16 AWG lamp cord. reread the warning in the above paragraph, and make sure and wire in a fashion so that the bare wires cannot bend and make contact.
4. Test the system prior to assembling the components into a boombox.
Connect amp to the speakers using 22AWG wire. Some speakers have this attached already.
Plug the battery into the solar plug/jack, then plug the solar plug/jack into the amp .
Connect the sound source to the amp.
turn amp on.
turn sound source on.
adjust volume.
I'm not going to go into physical assembly, since everyone's will be different .
Make sure and attach everything together into a solid unit.
Dangly, or loose bits suck.
In this application.
Enclosing everything in a ready made box such as a toolbox or a small cooler can work well, especially if you want to use old car speakers.
Having the solar panel and battery easily removable is very handy. I use Velcro.
Handle options
I've used a bar clamp to hold bookshelf speakers together temporarily.
A wire handle from a five gallon bucket can be fitted.
A handle needs to fold out of the way of a top mounted solar panel. Shading the panel, even a little, reduces its output significantly.
You should be able to add an ipod dock with charging capability by modifying these instructions.
1. Remove diode from cigarette plug. (picture 3)
Desolder the diode from inside the Cigarette plug connector that comes with the Solar Panel. The diode prevents the battery from discharging through the solar panel when the solar panel's output is low. The diode must be oriented as shown, with the line away from the solar panel. (see pic 3)
2. Construct a plug/jack passthrough, connect it to the diode and solar panel.
Pay very close attention to wire polarity! You can damage your amp by connecting power backwards! The wire with the white stripe is positive, the black wire is negative. Red terminals are positive, black is negative. Center terminals are positive.
DC jacks often have a switched terminal that we will not be using. It is easy to mistake this for the negative terminal. To find this terminal, insert a plug into the jack and test for continuity. only one terminal will be connected to negative on the plug. The center positive terminal should be obvious. The third terminal is not used, and may be broken off to simplify things.
I created the plug/jack that is attached to the solar panel by bending the terminals on each until they would make contact, then soldering them together and connecting the diode/wires last.
Arrange the parts so that the positive connections have No Chance of coming into contact with the negative. This is very important.
I've had a small battery melt through a small amount of insulation and start smoking. These small batteries pack a lot of juice, and could burn your house down. I'm not kidding. Be sure and do a good job soldering this plug, and on the battery plug. Make sure that soldered connections are solid, and that the bare portions of the wire are kept to a minimum and cannot come into contact with each other. Test all systems in an open area, and don't trust your battery until you've spent some time with it and it hasn't melted anything.
battery meltdown
I now use silicone wire as a result. 14 AWG is a good size.
3. connect a DC plug to the battery.
Wire the DC plug onto the battery wires before connecting the wires to the battery. Center is positive on the plug. Use heavier wire than elsewhere. I suggest at least 16 AWG lamp cord. reread the warning in the above paragraph, and make sure and wire in a fashion so that the bare wires cannot bend and make contact.
4. Test the system prior to assembling the components into a boombox.
Connect amp to the speakers using 22AWG wire. Some speakers have this attached already.
Plug the battery into the solar plug/jack, then plug the solar plug/jack into the amp .
Connect the sound source to the amp.
turn amp on.
turn sound source on.
adjust volume.
I'm not going to go into physical assembly, since everyone's will be different .
Make sure and attach everything together into a solid unit.
Dangly, or loose bits suck.
In this application.
Enclosing everything in a ready made box such as a toolbox or a small cooler can work well, especially if you want to use old car speakers.
Having the solar panel and battery easily removable is very handy. I use Velcro.
Handle options
I've used a bar clamp to hold bookshelf speakers together temporarily.
A wire handle from a five gallon bucket can be fitted.
A handle needs to fold out of the way of a top mounted solar panel. Shading the panel, even a little, reduces its output significantly.
You should be able to add an ipod dock with charging capability by modifying these instructions.
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