Boomboxes, Ghetto Blasters and such...

[knave]

Hey guys. I've been into bluetooth speakers for the last couple of years...

I've built two inside of ammo cans, and have enjoyed them. Just like with arcades I had a lot to learn. The one I wanted to be my favorite, built out of a metal 30 cal can was a great size with a nice heft, but... The metal, While durable and awesome looking limited bluetooth range and risked damaging anything I set it on (even with rubber feet)

So, I have ordered two retro-vintage boomboxes. A General Electric 3-5252A and a Sony CFS-61S
Neither were high end units in their day but I will Clean them up and add bluetooth.
My plan is to preserve the original functionality...I have replacement belts on order for the cassette mechanism.
Reason for two is I found the GE first and liked the look, so bought it. Then while researching found the Sony, it has line in stock and Shortwave which I want to play with. Both will run on a 3S LIPO battery and be portable and look good too. They were just above $20 plus shipping each.

Has anyone done this? Anyone else use old 80s radios? Did you have one as a kid?
I'd love to hear about it.

[yotsuya]

I found a non-working one that I put an Apple Base Station in like 6-7 years ago.

I need to convert it over to Bluetooth.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[whammoed]

I've added bluetooth to a 45RPM jukebox before.  Same idea.
Not sure what you used for your projects before, but when there is a line in it is extra easy as you just tap in between with something like this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Music-APT-X-Stereo-Wireless-Board-DIY-CSR8645-CSR-4-0-Bluetooth-Audio-Receiver/184323854742?hash=item2aea8ed196:g:2XsAAOSwn-tZNih7
that one will actually switch automatically to bluetooth when connected and still let you use line in when not connected by bluetooth.

[JimmyU]

You need to find one of those boomboxes with a little TV in it.

[pbj]

I had one with a front loading CD player waaaaaaay before anyone else I knew had a CD player.  1990?  My dad got it as some prize from work.  If you didn’t load the cd carefully, it would slide behind a metal hinge and get scratched.  He was still using that thing until fairly recently.  Cannot find anything remotely similar on google.

It was during that short period of time when Walmart still sold uncensored rap cds to children.

I used to horrify people with this track all the time...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQH5vmbp8w0

[Howard_Casto]

Too many rappers are "dog" "ice" or "littl"

Pretty sure I turned two shades whiter with that comment.

[nitrogen_widget]

I had one with a front loading CD player waaaaaaay before anyone else I knew had a CD player.  1990?  My dad got it as some prize from work.  If you didn’t load the cd carefully, it would slide behind a metal hinge and get scratched.  He was still using that thing until fairly recently.  Cannot find anything remotely similar on google.

It was during that short period of time when Walmart still sold uncensored rap cds to children.

I used to horrify people with this track all the time...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQH5vmbp8w0

my dad won a front loader at company thing early 90's and yeah I remember the cd falling down when trying to load it.

I had a huge 80's boombox on my back porch for yrs.
i let it get snowed on too many seasons and the right volume stopped working.
it had separate sliders.
I went through a few crappy big lots BT speakers before buying an oonze speaker and now an amazon dot for the outside.

[pbj]

If your dad was in oil they probably worked at the same place.

 

[javeryh]

I've been really interested in building a "record player" with an RFID reader so that you can place little cardboard albums on top of the speaker casing and the album will begin playing from Spotify.  I'm pretty sure it's been done before but it seems like it would be a neat project... if I ever had time.

[knave]

So the first of the three Boomboxes I ordered has arrived. It was dirty, has some battle scars but I did a quick clean and plugged it in.
Radio works, it sounds how I would imagine. Pretty good mid and high sound with not so much bass.
AM and FM both seem fine, Surprising reception considering the missing antenna.

Tape deck spins in all the proper directions. I have new belts for it, but I have to go diving in my garage for a cassette before I test any further.
I pulled the back cover off and it looks ok, Battery compartment had some corrosion from some old leakage. I cleaned all that up.
all the caps that were easily visible looked good. All-in-all I'm pretty pleased

Next I have to test the cassette, the input and if it runs on batteries. Then pull it apart and clean the pots. (to get rid of the volume knob crackle)
I'll probably order a replacement antenna. and verify its DC voltage while plugged in to the wall. Hopefully it runs on 12v and not 9 while on AC. In either case I will build a battery to suit.

I couldn't resist negotiating for a Sears 2100 series for $14. So now I have three to work on. I will probably pick up one more  because I suffer from project addiction. Once I test them all for audio quality with various Bluetooth modules I can sell, gift or hoard them.

[knave]

On a separate note, here is a pic of the first Bluetooth speaker box I made.
You'll probably recognize it if you ever shop Harbor Freight.
Box was cheap, $5 bookshelf speakers from Goodwill, $10 Bluetooth Module, and a 2000Mah 12v battery.

I use this every day at work as my PC speaker.

[nitrogen_widget]

If your dad was in oil they probably worked at the same place.

 

eyeglass frames.

i want to say it was black with purple or pink graphics.
he also won a box with a small black and white TV in it a few yrs earlier.

[knave]

My plan was always to build a metal ammo can boombox/Bluetooth speaker.

I was pretty happy with this. Battery lasted long, long time. Sound quality was ok. I think the metal case limited range for "some" devices.
I used it in the yard until this summer when a freak downpour caused it to get wet. It's fine but I disassembled it to clean it up. Positive is that because its an ammo can its water resistant save for the speaker cutouts.

I plan on making a few more of these in differing configurations. Including one with waterproof speakers. in the meantime I'm going to build out one of these Vintage Boomboxes by adding Bluetooth, and a rechargeable battery.

I received the Sony, everything works but the fast forward and rewind are sluggish, needs belt(s) for sure. I like the idea of playing with shortwave radio.
Really interesting, its circuit boards are large breadboards with physical jumpers as traces between components or bundles of wires. Date code on the motor is 1976...

[jeremymtc]

It's not made from a vintage boombox or ammo can, but I did scratchbuild a little bluetooth enabled combo amp over the fall. I had a $25 Ebay coupon burning a hole in my pocket and a derelict Sony shelf system sitting around, and thought it might be fun to knock something together using one of the inexpensive class-d amplifier boards I'd been seeing around the web. The amp board I chose is TPA-3116 based, and outputs in the neighborhood of 50W/channel in the configuration I run it in. I used a bluetooth media player module, a speaker protection circuit board, some 1/8" and 1/4" phono jacks as L/R inputs, a 24V switching power supply, and an adjustable stepdown converter to power the bluetooth module.

The amp board I used has an onboard EQ and is set up to be panel mounted, so I made acrylic panels to mount the amp/EQ and analog inputs to, and recessed them into the top of the cabinet. The BT module faceplate is flush-mounted into the top of the cab. The cabinet itself is styled a bit like a small stage monitor with a slanted speaker baffle and z-back profile, and made from plywood glued and screwed together with battens. It has rubber feet on the bottom and on one end so that it can be used either horizontally or vertically, and I added a wire pull handle for easy portability. 

I'm pretty happy with how it came out. It works great after tracking down and correcting a couple of grounding issues with the inputs and amp board, and can be used as a stereo practice amp, a bluetooth speaker, media player via USB and SD card, FM stereo, and party and cinema speaker for outdoor movie nights with a projector.

[Vocalitus]

Well what ever the device make sure you have some grape soda and a decent Rush mix tape.  Essentials for arcade gaming.