Homemade Speaker

2012-08-22T15:47:00.001-07:00

Updated Look with Copper Surround

INGREDIENTS

- an amplifier I bought off ebay (TA2020 amp) Ebay Amp link

- 2, 2.5" peerless Full Range Woofers

- 2, 3.5" Peerless Passive Radiators

- Red Leather Piece from eBay

- Red Wine Copper Patina

- Oznium Anti-Vandal Switch

-3.5mm jack and 2.1mm dc jack

-speaker cloth from joann fabrics

-Gorilla glue for everything

-1/4" mdf

Can add power management for lithium batteries using a chip such as http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/slusad2b/slusad2b.pdf

DIRECTIONS

1. SAW SHIT

Cut wood to size using saw. I used a saw such as this

I measured the wood many times before cutting to be as accurate as possible with such a tool. The dimensions I used were 9in X 7in X 5in, taking into account the thickness of the wood, the final dimensions of the box were, 9in X 7.5in X 5in

2. GLUE SHIT

The next thing I had to do was glue all the wood together. Gorilla glue (a foaming polyurethane glue) was used because of its strength and ease of use. Be wary of its foaming characteristic before use. Before gluing two pieces, it is recommended to wipe a slightly damp paper towel on the wood. Water acts as a catalyst for gorilla glue. You will notice that a spot of glue with water mixed in it will foam much more than one without. The glue dries in no more than 30 minutes and is extremely strong.

3. PUT A LID ON DAT SHIT

Once you have the box glued together you need to make the lid, I used one piece that fit perfectly in the box, and one that rested perfectly over the edges and glued them together. This provides a tight seal with no need for screws. The lid was veneered with patina copper using gorilla glue. A hole was then drilled and a push button was screwed in.

4. CUT HOLES

The next thing you need is holes for your speakers! I used a hole saw because it is easy, very easy. You can see the holes in the picture below

Holes cut using hole saws, little holes in upper corner are for dc and 3.5mm audio

5. PUT DEM SPEAKERS IN

Hopefully you cut the holes right! Good thing you measured twice! Slide those speakers in. I decided to mount the speakers on the inside for durability and looks. It might change the sound, but I tried mounting them inside and out and noticed no difference listening to the same tracks carefully.

One advantage of mounting the speakers inside is that they are much more protected from being poked and scratched.

Speakers mounted on outside, eventually mounted on inside after careful consideration

6.CUT DA LEATHER BRUDDAH

I spent some time thinking about how to cut the leather. Either I could cut three circles, putting speaker cloth behind each hole, or I could cut one larger rectangle enveloping all three speakers. The problem with the three holes is it looked like a face to me, so i went with the large rectangle. I carefully measured and cut the square and glued on the leather over some speaker cloth!

Copper and leather match?

7. PUT IT ALL TOGETHER

Wire everything up with some soldering and heat shrink tubing,

Power:

dc jack -> pushbutton -> amplifier

Audio:

3.5mm jack -> amplifier -> speakers

Coke for scale

8. LISTEN TO BLACK EYED PEAS

Just kidding, kinda

9. ADDED COPPER SURROUND

I wrapped little cooking bamboo skewers with the copper using gorilla glue. I first glued the sticks to copper sheet, let it dry, and then wrapped. Looks fresh.

10. TUNE PASSIVE RADIATORS WITH WEIGHT

Have not done yet, will report back when I do. Sound could be a little more balanced, but still has a nice punch to it.

China Travels HDSLR Canon T2i

2012-04-03T17:46:00.000-07:00

China (2010)

Here is a video I made using the Canon T2i while visiting China. I traveled from Seattle to Beijing. We toured the Old Beijing and the great wall before traveling to Guangzhou, Macau, and Hong Kong. The movie was made using Windows Movie Maker because it costs $0.00, my favorite price. Enjoy!

Neat Stuffz