Bluetooth Boombox Charging Dock (Recycled Parts!!!)

In this instructable, I will be showing you how to make a Bluetooth speaker entirely out of recycled parts. I will be entering this instructable into the "Trash To Treasure" contest as it's made up of recycled junk that I found in my attic. You can find the parts anywhere. Please vote for this instructable for the "Trash To Treasure" contest as I've always wanted a 3d printer to make projects with and post on Instructables, so if you are a member of instructable staff please please please vote for me!!!

Step 1: Parts and Tools

Everything you need will come out of old stuff that a lot of people have:

. Two Speakers. You can get these out of any old stereo, speaker etc. I got mine out of a set of radio speakers that I don't use anymore.

.Bluetooth Receiver board. This one is a bit trickier to find but if you have any Bluetooth audio out devices that you don't use anymore take it apart and find the Bluetooth board. I got mine out of a terrible sounding Bluetooth hat with inbuilt earphones.

.Case of some sort. You can find a suitable case anywhere, you can even 3d print or make one out of wood but because this is a "Trash To Treasure" project I got mine from an old, broken electric screwdriver.

.Wood or a solid material that is cuttable. I used 6mm plywood for this that ended up as scrap at my mum's work so that gives this project another aspect of recycling.

.Phone charger. I have a Samsung (yes it's cheap and bad for all of those IOS users out there) so I used a MicroUSB cable.

.Foam. You can use any packaging foam for this.

.Cardboard

. Power splitter (OPTIONAL) My Bluetooth receiver circuit runs off a 180 mAH lipo battery and I want to charge it whenever a phone is charging so I'm using one of those so I can power both things at once. I got mine here: https://thepihut.com/products/adafruit-micro-b-usb...

.Switch (OPTIONAL) Because I want to charge my Bluetooth receiver and it does not play while charging, I added this switch to turn charge on and off.

Tools:

.Soldering Iron

.Drill

.Hot Glue Gun

.Saws

Step 2: Measuring Case and Making the Necessary Cuts

I'm using 3mm Plywood for this as it is scrap and easy to work with.

Bottom Half:

I cut out a slot for the USB splitter towards the left and a slot for the cable to provide power to the Bluetooth receiver. Also, I cut a hole for my phone to slot in and then one for its charger.

Top Half:

I cut out holes for the two speakers to go nice and centrally and glued them in place with a glue gun. Then I cut a hole for the tactile switches on the Bluetooth board.

Step 3: Adding Foam for Phone

To add the foam for the phone to rest in while charging, you need it to be the right height so it doesn't drop down or collide with the speakers. To do this I got the right size of foam to cover the hole in the wood and tested the height by putting my phone in. It was too low and I had difficulty trying to get it back out again so I got some cardboard and stacked them on top of each other until it was the perfect height.

Step 4: Wiring and Soldering

This step depends on what speakers and Bluetooth board you have. Most speakers have a 3.5 mm audio jack on the end. Mine did but then I discovered that if I cut and strip the wires there is just a positive and negative wire. On my Bluetooth board, there are four pads for audio output: Left + and -, Right + and -, presented as L+, L-, R+ and R-. I worked out what wire is negative and positive and soldered them both on. If you have a different Bluetooth board or speakers send me a photo in the comments and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Step 5: Fixing Charge Problem...

When I tested the wire splitter and charged my phone at the same time I realised that the Bluetooth receiver circuit cannot play while charging. to fix this problem I cut the wire and then soldered the two sides of the red (Positive) to the switch. The black wire is negative and the green and white are data transfer. I kept the green, white and black intact.

Step 6: Putting It All Together

For most of the components, I hot glued them down although if you have mounting holes in your Bluetooth board you can use those. Then I hot glued everything into place, gave it power and... We finished!!

Have fun Playing your music loud and endlessly!! Please leave a like and Please Please Please Please vote for me in "Trash To Treasure" !!!!!!!!!!

Thank you!!