Wino Boogie Boom Box

Untitled from nabooski on Vimeo .

My first instructable , I know there are dozens of these here, whatevs.
I wanted an easy DIY ipod speaker system for the job site.
I didn't want to order amplifires or other parts online.

Keep it simple stupid.
Build your own Portable and Rechargeable ipod boom box.
The battery lasts all day on a full charge and it sounds incredible.
The only thing I bought for this build was the soldering iron, everything else was sitting around.

Get a box. ( I used an old pine box that used to be a wine case.)
Dig those old satellite computer speakers outta the basement.
Steal the 6 x 9's from Mom's grocery getter.
While your there, snag that worthless battery booster (jump pack) from the trunk.
It would be pretty swell to have a soldering iron as well.
Clean off your table, turn on the light, grab a beer, let's go!

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Step 1: Break stuff

Pull out all the screws in the speaker units. These need to be the regular old 12v style, look at the words on the power converter. You might need a Dremel or small hacksaw to get the speakers and all wiring out undamaged. Be careful, don't cut any wires dummy.

Grab the battery jump pack. Disassemble. All we really need is the battery. I'm using a motorcycle trickle charger to recharge the battery. If you like you can pull out all the wiring and use the plug-in charger unit, if you want to get fancy you could gut the whole thing and have all the lights and buzzers. Again, be careful with the wires and connections. The reason I'm using the trickle charger instead of the plug on the unit is that I pulled wires out of the circuit board and damaged it during disassembly.

xAxrules says: Aug 16, 2011. 8:06 AM

Few things to mention. One thing you DON'T want is resonance. You want to cover at least the back of the box with foam, etc., this is why speaker enclosures are usually either thick ply or thick MDF (~16mm?), to avoid resonance, even then dampening is often used on the back.

Also, due to the fact that you're only using 6x9's and a couple of drivers out of computer speakers you'll find that having a port really isn't worth it, you may as well leave it as a sealed enclosure but if you MUST have a port then you'll want some PVC pipe or carboard tubing about the same diameter as the hole stuck in there and cut to the right length to tune it to a frequency (somewhere around 60Hz..).

Other than that I like the idea, and may adapt the idea for a future project :)

naboooski (author) says: Aug 28, 2011. 5:16 PM

Understood.

This was meant to be a quick and simple project. I built it in about 45 minutes.

I have since tried your suggestions of using damping material and attempting both sealing over the ports and then alternately placing and tuning some port tubes.
I didn't notice much of a difference myself, but I am not exactly an audiophile. It could be because of the pine box, but I've found that MDF is much heavier and with something like this which I carry around and load and unload from the truck and kick around the job site a lot, I'm not sure that MDF would hold up as well to the abuse even with extra screws and glue since MDF is basically just really thick paper. Thicker plywood would probably be a good option, but again, I built it with stuff I had lying around.

shancook says: Aug 21, 2011. 9:08 AM

What is the first picture of? i want to build one of these but i am not sure of all the wiring and different components. i am decent with speakers tho..

thanks for the help in advance

naboooski (author) says: Aug 28, 2011. 4:55 PM

Okay, the component pictured in my hand is from the set of satellite computer speakers. It sits within the speaker that the power cord runs into and also has the volume/power knob. I just removed the entire piece from the plastic casing (speaker housing) and then remounted it into the box. In this case the positive wire has a white dash printed on it, yours may vary.

ironman22 says: Aug 21, 2011. 9:37 PM

its nice...i like it....i will make one of those....maybe little smaller box bu i will make it...

cornflaker says: Aug 14, 2011. 8:04 PM

Just a note, ports are more than just holes - you need to find some kind of tubing (cardboard will work fine) about the same diameter as the holes you have cut, and glue it in place. Just take a look at any home theater or car audio etc subs you may have lying around and see how their ports work. With this set up if your not going to do the ports properly you'd probably get better sound just having a sealed enclosure.