RETRO BLUETOOTH SPEAKER / BOOMBOX

MANCAVEDWELLER · Post by **MANCAVEDWELLER** » Sun Jan 10, 2021 12:13 am

I have an old record player which needs a new motor and looks like a lot of the other bits are broken but the case is pretty solid so i want to make a blue tooth speaker out of it, where can I buy a decent kit to make the electrical gubbings for, ideally mains powered but happy to consider a battery box and power it with rechargeable batteries? Any suggestions please. PS I don't mind paying to get a decent sound but not necessarily top of the price list either. Let's see if I can do it for under 50 quid?

Any ideas please?

kellys_eye · Post by **kellys_eye** » Sun Jan 10, 2021 12:48 am

You can buy, individually, a power supply, a Bluetooth receiver and a speaker (or a BT device with speaker(s) built in). Anything that physically fits the space you have available will do - not something we can comment on though.

ericmark · Post by **ericmark** » Sun Jan 10, 2021 1:01 am

My audio units are now in the main redundant, I use Nest Mini, but there are others which do the same, and even with record player it is only used to convert vinyl to MP3 format and store on a hard drive.

We had all big ideas of setting up Hi-fi but simply can't be bothered getting up and swapping a record or CD. The problem is to self build will likely cost more than ready built and do less.

Someone-Else · Post by **Someone-Else** » Sun Jan 10, 2021 2:58 am

You can buy all the bits to make a bluetooth speaker for less than £50, BUT you can buy a ready made good one for less than half. Your idea sounds good, but money and time wise too, expensive, if you still want to try, look on ebay.

MANCAVEDWELLER · Post by **MANCAVEDWELLER** » Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:08 pm

Maybe I haven't made my desired end product idea clear enough. I want to be able to pick up the case and on the outside for it to look largely like the 1950s/60s case but open up and there is all the kit to produce modern music. I am probably going to acquire a car stereo and get a 12v power supply to power it all, I have some speakers and will somehow fit them in . Maybe some retro illumination too. The cost versus buying something fit for purpose is largely irrelevant as I want something a bit quirky and different from what one gets with a direct buy. So my main issue now is finding a power supply that will give enough power to put 12v DC into the car audio when I get it

Someone-Else · Post by **Someone-Else** » Tue Jan 12, 2021 8:49 pm

MANCAVEDWELLER wrote: ↑Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:08 pm I want to be able to pick up the case and on the outside for it to look largely like the 1950s/60s case but open up and there is all the kit to produce modern music.

Sorry, I do not exactly understand what you are trying to achieve.

I understand the "Old fashioned / quaint look" of the outside, but to "open up and there is all the kit to produce modern music."

I am trying to figure out what you mean by "all the kit" You have now said you are going to have an old car radio, not so all anyone will see is a car radio, maybe some lights, not exactly modern is it? what happened to blue tooth?

Don't get me wrong, I wish you luck but I can not see what you envisage by using an old car radio.

A few points to note.

You can buy all sorts of parts on ebay. (I often do.)
Your car radio will need an aerial if you want the radio
Your budget of £50 doesn't look that good.
You may find a computer power supply of use.

MANCAVEDWELLER · Post by **MANCAVEDWELLER** » Wed Jan 13, 2021 12:15 am

I say old chap, you are a bit of a dream stealer me thinks!! I have found a decent 2nd hand radio for £30 and a power supply at a place called the makers hut. Oh and does a radio need an aerial, just like every car I have owned for the last 45 years. The radio has blue tooth and an aux built in, so all I need is the speakers. I really wanted advice on how to build it, not whether someone else would build it, but that largely bother's me not. At this moment in time i am not too sure about this forum. Particularly how ULTIMATE some of the replies I have had so far are.

Someone-Else · Post by **Someone-Else** » Wed Jan 13, 2021 6:49 am

No one can tell you how to specifically to put it together as at the time of asking, you have nothing to actually put together. We are also not mind readers hence the questions.

Now you have said you have a car radio and a power supply we can help. Generically you connect the power supply to the radio, and you connect the speakers to the radio.

As for which colour goes where, that really depends on the radio itself, since it is up to the maker of the radio which colour does what, so all I can suggest is seek a manual for the colour connections, then ask any questions.

You will find most of us here are willing to help, but as I said, we are not mind readers and often things are not as strait forward as you would think.

I don't understand the comment about you owning cars for the last 45 years, car radios have to have aerials, and bluetooth was first available in a car in 1999

What ever you choose to do, I wish you luck, I get the feeling you will no longer ask for help, but I hope I am in error.

MANCAVEDWELLER · Post by **MANCAVEDWELLER** » Wed Jan 13, 2021 11:52 am

Bottom line is I think the advice is a little patronising. But once again I don't expect others to see what I am trying to do here. It's a matter of individual taste and preference. Once it starts to get built then i will post some pics. Having had cars for many years, and fitted various radio and ICE system I know about that end of things and all radios need an aerial of course.

Someone-Else · Post by **Someone-Else** » Wed Jan 13, 2021 6:45 pm

Pictures would be great.

MANCAVEDWELLER · Post by **MANCAVEDWELLER** » Fri Jan 15, 2021 12:15 am

OK - I have ordered a power supply 12v 10a 120w. I am also thinking about putting in a 12v NiCd Battery if I have space in the box, can I use the same supply to charge the battery, I am assuming I'll need something in between the power supply and the battery to reduce or trickle the charge into the battery? What could work?

kellys_eye · Post by **kellys_eye** » Fri Jan 15, 2021 11:47 am

MANCAVEDWELLER wrote: ↑Wed Jan 13, 2021 12:15 am I say old chap, you are a bit of a dream stealer me thinks!!

Your car stereo will have a standardised connector on the back for which connection are readily available bearing in mind that a lot of more modern versions have a FOUR speaker arrangement (front and rear as well as left and right). Beware getting one that has a 'massive' audio output as this means considerably more power needed to make it work and larger speakers to ensure you don't damage the output circuitry.

You might benefit from a module like this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wireless-Blu ... SwydpbIiul

£3.69

with FM radio, Bluetooth, card reader and remote control....... I've got one in one of my cars!

That particular seller has masses of stuff for the kind of project you're trying to do - amplifiers etc so use the search box on eBay (in that 'shop') to look for MP3 and Amplifier.....

If you need different power supplies for things (I think that MP3 thingy runs off 8V - weirdly) - but small converter modules, basically 'anything in, anything out' (they are adjustable), are also available.

Suggest you get some LED tape (RGB) with remote control and stick some under the record player table (platten), around the lid etc to have subtle lighting....???

Whatever you do, make sure the speakers you fit not only do so physically but have power handling capacity to match else the sound you produce will be awful and the speakers may not last that long. Seek out used surround sound speakers on eBay - I got a set of seven and each speaker is rated at 125W but they are only 3-inches in diameter! These are pucker Sony units too so not exaggerated for power handling as many cheaper units are. The whole set of 7 cost me £10.....

If you get a SMPS (switched mode power supply like your 'brick' powering a laptop), find one with 12V out and at least 5A (preferably more - buy two if you have to.
A computer PSU will work but they are quite large and need modifying to work). This will give enough to power a simple car radio (if you use one) and ample for anything like the modules I point to above. Matched with other power supply 'converters' you can fit anything and power anything up to the maximum output WATTAGE of the SMPS brick you fit. Being 12V means you could also simply switch to a battery of the same voltage and the converters do the rest.

I admire your 'can do' attitude rather than 'someone-elses' "here's why you can't do..." attitude.

Post some pics. Let's see what you've got and where you might be going with it. I'll chime in with more as you need it.....

Rorschach · Post by **Rorschach** » Fri Jan 15, 2021 12:10 pm

Sounds like an interesting project, I hope you will keep us updated.

I don't have a lot of info to offer but the idea of buying something that already "works" and making this fit into your case sounds like the best idea to me. Building from scratch is sometimes fun but can also be a financial and time black hole if you just want something functional.

MANCAVEDWELLER · Post by **MANCAVEDWELLER** » Fri Jan 15, 2021 4:50 pm

Pics to follow

MANCAVEDWELLER · Post by **MANCAVEDWELLER** » Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:45 pm

: BOOMBOX PIC 3.jpg (137.24 KiB) Viewed 2003 times

: BOOMBOX PIC 1.jpg (135.47 KiB) Viewed 2003 times

: BOOMBPC PIC 2.jpg (136.85 KiB) Viewed 2003 times

[attachment=2]BOOMBOX PIC 3.jpg[/attachment
So here are the pics of the assembled kit, without making the structure that will support the radio and the power supply within the box, I am fairly sure I can fit in a 12v NiCd battery. But I want to be able to charge that battery in situ. And then i can run the device off mains or batteries.

Incidentally the power supply is 10amp so I think that will be man enough to power the stereo. As of yet I have not done a bench hook up to test this out. How can I charge the battery? I have read that i need more than 12v to charge the battery. what bit of kit (small as possible please0 to charge such a battery?