Bike mounted boombox
- Thread starter westend
- Start date
westend
Audiopile
sKIZ, I remember those!
They weren't a big success, IIRC. But a modded Bone Fone, what's not to like?:thmbsp:
Found that camera mounting clamp: E Bay camera mount This one is for handle bar dimension. That may be the attachment location if I can't find one that fits the fork tube. Or, I may have to make a fork tube mount that fits these standard handlebar clamps.
They weren't a big success, IIRC. But a modded Bone Fone, what's not to like?:thmbsp:
Found that camera mounting clamp: E Bay camera mount This one is for handle bar dimension. That may be the attachment location if I can't find one that fits the fork tube. Or, I may have to make a fork tube mount that fits these standard handlebar clamps.
Last edited:
thefragger
Certified Crazy.
Ha! That's the clamp, alright!
I image any BT board will git'er done. If you've documentation of other working, better to go with one that others have experience with, to draw upon that knowledge base. That Murata is a cute thing--I'll have to play with a couple of those!
I image any BT board will git'er done. If you've documentation of other working, better to go with one that others have experience with, to draw upon that knowledge base. That Murata is a cute thing--I'll have to play with a couple of those!
petehall347
the brandy coffee man
i had a bicycle radio when i was a kid ...powered it off the lights dynamo . had to smooth out the power a bit .. a capacitor and a coil tamed it somewhat ..still had a faint buzz but i didn't care ,, funny thing was faster i pedalled the louder it went ..
westend
Audiopile
Yeah, there probably isn't much difference between the majority of BT boards. There may be one that is better than most but I haven't a clue.
I haven't used any of these solid state converters. either, so proof will be in the using. It is certainly easier than a discrete component solution.
westend
Audiopile
westend
Audiopile
The wee Faital drivers arrived! These are really small, makes a Fostex 4" driver look like a subwoofer, lol.
I'm working on mounting them up in these mule boxes I had hanging around. The interior of the box is about 2.5L so that should give me a good reference. I need to do some hole patching on the boxes, I had used them for another project.
I'm working on mounting them up in these mule boxes I had hanging around. The interior of the box is about 2.5L so that should give me a good reference. I need to do some hole patching on the boxes, I had used them for another project.
westend
Audiopile
I have a positive outlook. Found an older Tamp and have the box holes filled, just need to sand lightly and wire everything up. Unfortunately, my trick-back is doing it's thing, at present. It's hard to even stand up for any period of time. Grrrrrr.:sigh:Cool, hope they sound at least better-than-terrible!
az
westend
Audiopile
I finally got the Faitel 3FE20's mounted into their test boxes:
Turns out my Sonic Impact T-amp is toast. That seems to be a continuing fault with these chips, may have something to do with the mute function on the chip and the way the circuits are wired, I have to do some more study on the T-amp boards as this was my leading candidate for amplification. I've looked at the 41hz Amp6 that was suggested by Bonzai and it seems a superior amp but cost is almost double. A decision will have to be made as to choices there.
Since I can't lug around any receivers right now, I wired the Faitel drivers up into the old reliable Sony shop system. The LBT-D107R Sony is about 40w/ch., IIRC and has plenty of power for the drivers.
I'm always pleasantly surprised by quality small drivers and these didn't disappoint. Very nice high end, none of the sometime brittle bite of a cheap tweeter. The lows are what one would expect from something this small but there is some good reproduction down to 100hz or so. Introduction to Moody Blues, "Every Good Boy Deserves Favor" has a deep electronic reverb through a lot of octaves. All are accounted for with only the lowest rolling off. What is nice is that the 3FE20's are crystal in the midrange and that should be a great attribute for bike application.
Thanks to audiozaz for hooking me up to the deal on these, they are really going to make the boombox hi-fi. :thmbsp::thmbsp::thmbsp:
Turns out my Sonic Impact T-amp is toast. That seems to be a continuing fault with these chips, may have something to do with the mute function on the chip and the way the circuits are wired, I have to do some more study on the T-amp boards as this was my leading candidate for amplification. I've looked at the 41hz Amp6 that was suggested by Bonzai and it seems a superior amp but cost is almost double. A decision will have to be made as to choices there.
Since I can't lug around any receivers right now, I wired the Faitel drivers up into the old reliable Sony shop system. The LBT-D107R Sony is about 40w/ch., IIRC and has plenty of power for the drivers.
I'm always pleasantly surprised by quality small drivers and these didn't disappoint. Very nice high end, none of the sometime brittle bite of a cheap tweeter. The lows are what one would expect from something this small but there is some good reproduction down to 100hz or so. Introduction to Moody Blues, "Every Good Boy Deserves Favor" has a deep electronic reverb through a lot of octaves. All are accounted for with only the lowest rolling off. What is nice is that the 3FE20's are crystal in the midrange and that should be a great attribute for bike application.
Thanks to audiozaz for hooking me up to the deal on these, they are really going to make the boombox hi-fi. :thmbsp::thmbsp::thmbsp:
audiozaz
rtfm!? - tl;dr
You're welcome! It was an unheard-to-me recommendation, but I have seen a few users satisfied from 3"-4" Faital drivers. Hard to go wrong at this price too. Stock-up while you can if you need more, this model is discontinued ant the replacement (3FE22) is 32$. The 3EF25 might also be decent, but has different specs, a higher Qt for one.
az
az
If you haven't tried that adjustable EQ circuit I suggested, there's a lot more lower mids to be had from those guys if you want. Likewise for midbass if you didn't port the boxes. Raw and sealed, you should be getting a 20dB rising response from 100-10,000Hz when away from walls (or, off-axis, a 20dB rainbow).
westend
Audiopile
Is that part of the network you posted earlier? I'm open to experimenting with that. I had read a take on outdoor speaker systems like this, that one shouldn't be concentrating on anything <100 hz. Something about loss of sound when in free space. I didn't quite grok it.
I ordered this Tripath 2024 T-amp board from PE. It fit the budget and seemed to be built as well as others.
I do have some connectivity questions like how will I implement the bluetooth signal but still be able to use the input jacks, terminations for an off-board volume pot, battery pack connection, etc.? Depending on final design, I may need to pull the input jacks and position them differently (I bet that's a given). May have to do the same with the DC input jack, too.
Another thought is that now that I'm desoldering and soldering, do I try to put some better components on board? The metal cased caps don't seem to be the utmost quality. I was also reading that replacing the inductors is a good idea.
If anyone has any thoughts on the above or can point me toward a good tweaking thread, I'd appreciate it.
thefragger
Certified Crazy.
Wiring up the BT and the aux input would be cake using a switched 3.5mm jack: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phone_connector_(audio)#Switch_contacts
Using D you could wire the audio out from the BT module to the two middle switch terminals and your audio input for the T amp would connect to the two outside switch terminals.
Like this!
Using D you could wire the audio out from the BT module to the two middle switch terminals and your audio input for the T amp would connect to the two outside switch terminals.
Like this!
thefragger
Certified Crazy.
:thmbsp:
It's the whole thing. It works like this:
1. Adjust the upper resistor from 5-30Ω. More resistance for less brightness / more low mids. Around 20Ω should be flat.
2. Adjust lower resistor from 0 to infinity. In other words, start with no resistor, and just connect/disconnect the 2uF. Zero (connected) is full treble. Infinity (disconnected) puts on-axis treble approx. flat. The range is about 8dB. Adding a resistor will put you in the middle.
That sounds like the Boominator guy. That's just where he decided it was a waste of time chasing bass with portability and high output from battery power as requirements (his designs are quite loud), so he uses bipoles with bass alignments that have a big 110Hz peak, which he thinks is the ideal way to sort of fake it.
As wavelength passes the distance to the edges of the cabinet, the output of the driver starts radiating in 360°. Since the output of the driver isn't going up as frequency goes down, that means less bass directed at the listener. If you add a rear driver to make it bipole, as the output from the front driver starts wrapping around, the output from the rear driver is coming around from the other direction, and you have no net loss on either side (ideally). That's a good way to do things. I'm not so convinced on his numbers, but you're not going to get any lower with these drivers regardless.
Attachments
westend
Audiopile
Thanks, DT, I should have enough spare parts to make up a few variants of that circuit.
Yes, the boominator creator was one of the leading proponents of the "forgetaboudit" bass. Just judging by the test boxes, the Faital drivers are going to meet the design goals with response. If I get some requests for more bass, I could always figure out a way to make another enclosure to meet those needs, maybe a modular approach where one could daisychain or cross connect different drivers.
Looking over battery choices and I see that there are a lot of choices with Li-on, NiMh, and SLA. I'm thinking a 6.8 AH pack of 12V Li-on would meet the needs of the boombox fairly well. Should be a full day or two of bike fun on a single charge.
Yes, the boominator creator was one of the leading proponents of the "forgetaboudit" bass. Just judging by the test boxes, the Faital drivers are going to meet the design goals with response. If I get some requests for more bass, I could always figure out a way to make another enclosure to meet those needs, maybe a modular approach where one could daisychain or cross connect different drivers.
Looking over battery choices and I see that there are a lot of choices with Li-on, NiMh, and SLA. I'm thinking a 6.8 AH pack of 12V Li-on would meet the needs of the boombox fairly well. Should be a full day or two of bike fun on a single charge.
