It's that time of year again folks, time to give away some stuff. This time the contest is for the most interesting enclosure. It can be a custom built amplifier or a rehousing of an old one. Whether it's in a shoe box or a VCR chassis, we want to see it! To be eligible you must post at least one picture in this thread by March 6th at midnight EST.
The winner will get a free already stuffed LM3886 "amp on a board" from chipamp.com, valued at $50 USD. Shipping will be paid for by SSGuitar.com. The winner will also receive 25 chip points.
Let's see your creations!
I hope to have something to enter by then. With school and work, I might not can find the time, but I might post pics of a couple of things I've already built.
Hi All,
Can I throw my hat in the ring?
Already posted a thread on this but I feel my *Lunchbox Amp* may qualifiy for some merit as it was a junked non working *Subwoofer* and it finally found a home inside a Junked *UPS case*.
I feel the high teck (colour matched kitchen draw handle) really adds class and style to the finish. :lmao:
I decided not to build it into a speaker cab as I feel it's more versitile left as is.
It may not qualifiy as a complete amp but you did say *anything* 8)
This is an LM3886 chip and after much rewiring of the subwoofer circuitry I simply added a preamp and I'm quite impressed with it.
Folks get quite a shock when you plug it into big speaker box. :tu:
original posting here; http://www.ssguitar.com/index.php?topic=1672.0
Cheers, Phil.
Quote from: phatt on February 21, 2011, 06:28:58 AM
It may not qualifiy as a complete amp but you did say *anything* 8)
The definitely counts! Nice work!
Rowdy, it's ok to post pics of older builds, it doesn't need to be anything recent.
I used to have a ruby amp housed inside an electrical outlet box, but that was dismantled. :( I do have a couple of other things I can post.
Quote from: rowdy_riemer on February 21, 2011, 03:21:44 PM
I used to have a ruby amp housed inside an electrical outlet box, but that was dismantled. :( I do have a couple of other things I can post.
If you have pics of it, it still counts.
Hey !! Whay kind of lunchbox is that ??? :grr
I want my sandwich and my apple back ***NOW !!!!! **** :trouble
You can do what you want with those funny shiny things !!!
Thanks JMFahey,,,
Sorry no free lunch,,,,
By the time I added all the *Crunch* Not enough room for *Lunch* :tu:
Phil.
Here is my Army surplus, night vision goggles case, amp. It uses a lm386 for preamp, and tda 2003 for power amp. 6" speaker. These goggles cases are heavy gauge aluminum,and include a built in handle.(http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab141/dmartn149/th_DSC00045.jpg?t=1298496831)
(http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab141/dmartn149/th_DSC00043.jpg?t=1298496831)
You Lunchboxers and Soldiers gave me an idea: I'll try to get an Army ammunition box, which looks like a huge lunchbox,he he.
This is a very old amp, and a hybrid too. (OK, it is all tubes except for a solid-state EQ and a MOSFET/diode clipper.)
http://scopeboy.com/toastpix.html
But the enclosure involved a lot of work. I started with a Euro rack chassis, and made the top, bottom, back and front plates out of 1/8" alumin(i)um. The front and back are made from a hard alloy that was quite a pain to work with.
I used only hand tools except for the front, where I got some help from a friend who had a milling machine in his garage. (I did drive the milling machine myself, though :) )
**edit**
(http://scopeboy.com/ampfront.jpg)
Steve, I added one of your pictures to your post so people can get an idea without going to the link. Although it's worth checking out the link, he has some good pics of the amp there.
Quote from: J M Fahey on February 23, 2011, 07:49:18 PM
You Lunchboxers and Soldiers gave me an idea: I'll try to get an Army ammunition box, which looks like a huge lunchbox,he he.
Think you can bang something out before the contest is over?
Don't think so :(
Up to my ears in work :D
Anyway I'll do something whenever I have a free morning or afternoon.
Maybe for the next contest ... although I guess you already know what I'll fit there ... hint hint 8|
Still have to draw the boards, though :(
Quote from: J M Fahey on February 24, 2011, 08:54:49 AM
Don't think so :(
Up to my ears in work :D
Anyway I'll do something whenever I have a free morning or afternoon.
Maybe for the next contest ... although I guess you already know what I'll fit there ... hint hint 8|
Still have to draw the boards, though :(
Yeah, you have time then. The next contest probably won't be till fall.
I have a couple that I just recently finished that may be interesting (they are to me, anyway). My first tries at building guitar amps, I think they came out pretty good. I'll show the smaller one.
It has a 10" Copperhead speaker (Eminence), 50 watt SS amp (DIY), and a SS pre (details: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/solid-state/182911-guitar-pre-clean-some-sizzle.html (http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/solid-state/182911-guitar-pre-clean-some-sizzle.html) ).
How it sounds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE-RRCuOYtk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE-RRCuOYtk)
Nice looking amp MJL :tu:
Is this a design all your own or did you use a schematic from something else? Also, what did you use for the grille on the front? Looks neat.
Thanks,
All my own doing - everything from the cab to the preamp and the amp. I got some inspiration for the preamp design from the Ampeg VH140c.
The grill is strips of wood glued on. It thought it would look better than cloth (plus I didn't have any cloth ;) )
Attached are the preamp schematic, the amp schematic and a couple more pics.
Quote from: MJL21193 on March 03, 2011, 04:11:57 PM
Thanks,
All my own doing - everything from the cab to the preamp and the amp. I got some inspiration for the preamp design from the Ampeg VH140c.
The grill is strips of wood glued on. It thought it would look better than cloth (plus I didn't have any cloth ;) )
Attached are the preamp schematic, the amp schematic and a couple more pics.
Great work. How'd you do the "Eminence Inside" plaque on the back of the enclosure?
Quote from: joecool85 on March 03, 2011, 04:28:01 PM
Great work. How'd you do the "Eminence Inside" plaque on the back of the enclosure?
Thanks again. :)
The plate came with the driver, and a pair of picks. I thought it would be a nice touch back there.
Quote from: MJL21193 on March 03, 2011, 06:30:43 PM
Thanks again. :)
The plate came with the driver, and a pair of picks. I thought it would be a nice touch back there.
It is a nice touch, good idea.
here is a lm386 ruby tucked inside of an altoid tin
Quote from: betweenthees on March 04, 2011, 11:27:36 AM
here is a lm386 ruby tucked inside of an altoid tin
That's a classic, nice job.
Don't forget, the contest closes tomorrow at midnight so if you have some more entries it's time to get them in!
My entry
Old Art Deco Space Heater made into a small 2 output channel SS chip amp.
Uses TDA2005 Stereo chip, custom designed tone shaping preamp based around a cmos 4069UBE hex inverter and custom voiced for the speaker. Germanium limiting diodes between the preamp and power amp sections. Has built in speaker and external speaker output for the second channel.
It is a very clean "chimey" sounding amp.
Uses a vintage radio shack 6x9 speaker which is mounted to the inside with a custom fit/cut wood panel covered in thin dark blue cotton fabric.
I kept the original heat knob (used for volume) and power indicator glass, grill cover (what a sweet looking pattern), and paint. Drilled holes for input, speaker ouput, and power switch. Did a little work to keep rattles down. The steel enclosure actually is surprisingly tight and does not sound like a speaker in a metal garbage can, as you might expect. :duh
(http://oi54.tinypic.com/b4gly8.jpg)
(http://oi53.tinypic.com/2ztaovl.jpg)
(http://oi52.tinypic.com/14l0vu8.jpg)
WOW !!!!
You guys are getting better every day :tu:
TopTop, That's really cool! I figured you would have something for this contest.
Hulk Smash!!!!
(http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m182/dentone791/005.jpg)
(http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m182/dentone791/006.jpg)
(http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m182/dentone791/007.jpg)
Cool (hot!) amp in a heater! ;)
I have my old Wonder Woman lunchbox - gee, where could I put the volume and tone controls? ;D
Great ideas men.
Quote from: dmartn149 on March 06, 2011, 12:20:31 AM
TopTop, That's really cool! I figured you would have something for this contest.
Thanks...
Also, HI EVERYBODY!
Yes, the Hulk is your basic 386 chip amp.
The contest is now closed. All entries put in before March 6th at midnight will be considered.
I will declare a winner in the next day or two.
And the winner is....
Top Top (http://www.ssguitar.com/index.php?action=profile;u=4347)!
(http://oi54.tinypic.com/b4gly8.jpg)
Great job! Your heater enclosure-turned amplifier is very unique, interesting but still practical in all senses. Please PM me your address and I will send out your LM3886 "amp on a board".
This is how to wire your new board: http://www.ssguitar.com/index.php?topic=1255.msg7766#msg7766
If you have any questions, start a new thread and ask away :tu:
**edit**
It has been requested that we continue this thread of interesting enclosures. I have set up a new thread just for that purpose: http://www.ssguitar.com/index.php?topic=2076.0
Enjoy!