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Battle Chasers Upright - Frankenpanel started!
Boz:
--- Quote from: leapinlew on July 04, 2006, 03:45:13 am ---Or..... you could buy a motor and drop it in your cabinet.
--- End quote ---
Actually I'm still weighing my options and this one is on the list. Maybe a nice four-speed too.
:)
Boz:
--- Quote ---I'm not too sure those speakers will sound as great without a nice amp powering them.
--- End quote ---
Touche'. I've been thinking about how I will power them and am curious about an amp only option that will work. I don't want to use a full-on home entertainment setup so I'm searching for options.
--- Quote ---And is it really going to be worth it?
--- End quote ---
Well, "worth" is merely a figure that someone is willing to pay. I think these speakers will sound just fine if I can find a alternative amplified source and build some kind of fair enclosure system depending on what's inside the actual speaker boxes.
--- Quote ---If you're not going to use this as a jukebox, I'd say get a nice 2.1 computer speaker setup and be done with it. I've got some Creative Labs that sound absolutely fantastic, and they only cost me like $30 at Fry's Electronics.
--- End quote ---
I can't explain why, but I honestly don't want to use computer speakers regardless of how they sound. I'd rather spend $30 on a used and abused amplifier than a brand new set of speakers. I'm going for a more "full" sound with the cabinet.
--- Quote ---Good luck on finding a good deal to get it fixed.
--- End quote ---
Thanks. I'm reasonably sure the guy who will be looking at it tomorrow will be able to get me out the door for a lot cheaper. I had a "good feeling" when I was talking to him about it.
We'll see.
Boz:
Update: July 12, 2006
(monitor arrived...cardboard model done...all CP parts ordered)
I finally got my car back from the transmission rape center. It was a horrifically painful and expensive experience consuming 8 days and several "oh-we-found-something-else-that'll-be-another-500-please". As the days wore on, the car cost was putting a severe damper on the possibility of doing anything -- anything at all -- with the cabinet. It was very difficult to have enough motivation to work on anything gaming related while my car was in the shop. All is fine now though. Car costs have been taken care of with just barely enough to move forward with the cab and that's what I'm doing. I'm starting a brand new job on the 28th of the month and my goal is to get this cabinet done and mostly playable before my first day. On with the show...
Speakers
A couple of days ago I figured I could at least build a set of sawhorses as well as take apart those JBL's that I intend on using for the cabinet to see if the speakers were shielded and what kind of baffle re-creation I was up against. To my pleasant surprise, the baffling is minimal and the rich, full sound of these speakers is done through what appears to be a built-in cross-over and some thick padding inside. I was also pleased to find that the drivers have nice heavy magnets as well as "sheilding magnets" (?). I'm not sure that's what they are called, but I do know that's what is typically used to interupt the electro-magnetic-field and provide maximum field reduction.
I've decided to use nearly all pieces of each of the bookshelf speakers in my cabinet with exception to the MDF housing. I'll re-use the cloth of the original covers from some custom cover, the thick padding inside, the stylish silver skirts that surround the tweater and mid-range speakers (overhead above the monitor), and even the silver sound ports that extend into the speaker enclosure. I'd like to build a similar speaker box in the bottom of the cabinet that mimics, to some degree, the enclosure the woofers came from. I'm not really sure about the "thumping" that is likely going to happen, so I'm considering mounting the entire woofer enclosure on some kind of very pliable rubber feet.
The woofer is a hefty dual-cone beast that should provide some outstanding base. You can see in the picture the large sheilding magnet attached to the rear of the woofer. The mid-range speakers were sound sheilded by a large plastic cup that was glued to the underside of the housing. I'll mount the cross-over (if that is, in fact, what that thing is) in the top of the cabinet and run wires down to the woofer enclosure.
Cardboard Model Complete
I considered seriously not even completing the cardboard model. I thought with the sides built, I had a fair idea for how big it was going to be as well as a notion for the scaling (i.e. how far I had to reach down for the controls, how big the monitor section was going to be and where my eyes would meet it, how wide it was going to be and whether or not four adult males could fit side-by-side comfortably -- NO COMMENTS! ;D ). With car trouble behind me as of late yesterday, I awoke with renewed construction vigor and decided to finish the mock-up. I'M SO RELIEVED THAT I DID!!!
With cardboard cut-to-size for most of the visible planes, I have a new appreciation for how big this thing is. The measurements on paper just didn't do it justice. The pictures I've posted to flickr don't do it justice either. This thing is a MAMOTH!
I chose a width of 32 inches. It's a couple inches shorter than the width of the most narrow, outside-opening door in my home. It's 6 feet 6 inches tall. As noted in previous posts I added 5 inches to the original mock-up because I thought it was too short. You see, I recall the games of old from the perspective of an adolescent child of between 5 and 6 feet. My perspective then was of a marquee that I had to reach up to touch and one that did not meet my eye-line naturally. I had to look up. In desining this cab, I wanted the exact same perspective, the difference now is that I'm 6'1".
When I first brought it inside for a real-world size test, I was a bit overwhelmed and began to wonder if I had bitten off more than my limited floor space could chew. With a few manly "Woo-Hoo's" that begged the attention of my dogs, I settled into a staring contest. Me against the paper-mache. The more I looked at it, the more I liked it. I load tested the couch and TV for a while, then went back to stare some more.
I choose to post most of my images at flickr. I don't mind the bulletin board system here, but it doesn't give me the flexibility I want where images are concerned. Besides, a full-blown account at flickr for *really large images* is pennies. I'll put thumbnails in my posts here that link to images at flickr. Details for each image is captioned at flickr as well. Didn't want to duplicate text here and there.
Here's my daily set-based compilation of images
Tomorrow
My plans for tomorrow include adding the last few remaining pieces of cardboard to the model so that I can pencil in items like monitor placement, monitor bezel, coin door and speaker placement. I'm also considering doing a cardboard mock-up of the actual monitor dimensions so I can get a better feel for it's size inside the cabinet and the kind of structural support I'll need to mount it securely.
Since I would like to cut wood when it's a nice cool 90
johnperkins21:
Where you at in Phoenix? You'll have to invite one of your fellow BYOCers over to play this bad boy once it's up. :cheers: I'm currently in Chandler, but will be moving to Laveen as soon as someone decides to buy my house.
I am in awe at your ability to work in this heat. My main reason for waiting to start my project is that I'm moving, but a secondary reason is this desert heat.
somunny:
Hey In2ishun,
I'm in Scottsdale and while I know it doesn't help you now, I can give you the name of an *honest and reasonable* auto repair shop if you're ever in need again. They're few and far between and I know how it feels to get ripped off.
Steve
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