Suitcase BoomBox

8/13/2019 Suitcase BoomBox

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Suitcase BoomBox


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The Suitcase Boombox is a vintage suitcase converted into a boombox, complete with two

subwoofers and four tweeters. The whole system is powered by two lead acid batteries

hooked up to a charge controller, so the boombox can be charged via an AC/DC power supply

or even a solar panel. The mini amplifier delivers 25 watts of power per channel, giving the

system a lot of volume, comparable to a car audio system. You could definitely take this out tothe park and start your own mini dance party or use it to play loud music in your room. What I

love most about this project is that no two suitcase boomboxes will ever look the same.

Depending on the type of suitcase you use and the size and configuration of your speaker

setup, there is plenty of room to apply your own personal style to the project and make

something truly unique.

Parts List:

(1x) Vintage Suitcase (I found mine on Etsy)

(2x) 12V/4Ah Sealed Lead Acid Battery Radioshack 55034004

(1x) Pioneer TS-D1720C 6.75" Component Speaker Package Radioshack 55032192

(1x) Pioneer TS-D1720C 5.25" Component Speaker Package Radioshack 55032190 (I ended up

only using the tweeters from this package and saving the 5.25" speakers for another project.

You can also replace this part with any other 4Ohm tweeter.)

(1x) Sunforce 30-Amp Digital Charge Controller Radioshack 277-110

(1x) Topping TP20-MK2 MKII TA2020 Class T-AMP Digital Stereo Amplifier Amazon

(1x) 3-Ft. 1/8" Stereo to Dual Phono (RCA) Plug Y-cable Radioshack 42-494

(1x) 1/8" Stereo In-Line Audio Jack Radioshack 274-274

(1x) 1/8" Stereo Panel-Mount Audio Jack Radioshack 274-249

(1x) 3-Ft. 1/8" Stereo Plug Cable Radioshack 42-223

(1x) 50-Ft. 16-Gauge Clear 2-Conductor Speaker Wire Radioshack 278-1267 (you will only need

about 15ft)

(1x) 22 Gauge stranded wire, multiple colors Radioshack 278-1224

(1x) black electrical tape Radioshack 64-2373


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(1x) Size M Panel-mount Coaxial DC Power Jack Radioshack 274-1563

(1x) AC-DC 12V 1.5A Power Supply Radioshack 273-316

(1x) M type plug Radioshack 273-344

(1x) 3/16" battery terminal connectors Radioshack 64-3132

Additional Materials/Tools:

Wire Cutters/Strippers Radioshack 64-224

Rosin Core Solder Radioshack 64-009

Soldering Iron Radioshack 55027897

Razor Blade Cutting Tool (for cutting leather suitcase)

Power Drill

Dremel

Screws (be sure to get some that match the hardware on your suitcase)

Locknuts/nylon nuts (for areas of high vibration) and regular nuts

Small L-Brackets

Screwdriver

1/4" plywood - I needed this to add some structural support to my suitcase, if you use a hard

clamshell case, you may not require any additional support.

scrap wood (for mounting charge controller)

marking pen

metal file

wire crimper Radioshack 64-225

Step 1: Layout speakers


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This step will vary from suitcase to suitcase. My suitcase was 20" wide and 11" tall, this was

enough space to mount two 6.75" subwoofers and four 1.75" tweeters. I cut out paper to help

visualize the layout of the speakers on the side of the case. Eventually I settled on a symmetric

layout, with the two subs in the bottom center, and the tweeters along the upper corners.

Step 2: Clean out suitcase


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You'll want to clear out a lot of room to mount all your components to the inside of the

suitcase. Use a razor blade to cut out any excess material (cushions, fabric dividers) and

remove any extraneous hardware (clips, brackets) with a screwdriver.

Save these scraps, you might use them later in the project (I used them to make a pocket for

holding my iPod).

Step 3: Cut out suitcase lining


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I used a blade again to cut out the lining of the suitcase, on the side where I planned on

mounting my speakers. I also cut out some warped, plastic corner pieces that were sticking up.

Step 4: Install structural supports (if necessary)


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The walls of my suitcase are made of leather with a fabric lining, on their own they will not be

able to support the weight of 2 subs and 4 tweeters. I cut out a piece of 1/4" plywood so that it

could fit snugly against the wall of my suitcase and provide extra support. I used a laser cutter

to cut out the speaker mounting holes (pdf of cutlines attached below), these cuts could also becut with a jigsaw or Coping saw. I kept the tolerance of my support structure tight, so it

essentially press fit up against the suitcase wall.

Step 5: Trace cutlines on suitcase


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I used my structural support as a guide to trace cutlines onto the inside surface of the suitcase

with a pen.

Step 6: Cut holes in suitcase wall


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Carefully cut along the traces and create holes for mounting your speakers. I was able to get

away with using a razor blade cutter to get through the leather sides of my case. If a razor

blade cutter is not enough to get through your suitcase, a jigsaw or Coping saw will probably dothe trick.

Again, save these leather scraps, you might use them later in the project.

Step 7: Remove front panel from subwoofers


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Step 8: Mount subwoofers


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The Pioneer kit comes with hardware for mounting the speaker components. Use the eight

longest screws in the kit to mount the two subs to the front of the suitcase. Use a nylon nut to

secure to back end of the screws and prevent vibrational loosening. You might also considering

finding a screw with a matching locknut. File down the pointy edge of the screw so you don't

accidentally scratch yourself.

Step 9: Mount tweeters


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I cut my backing wood panel with such a tight tolerance that the tweeters press fit into the side

of the suitcase enclosure. For added stability, I used the metal inserts and screws from the

pioneer kit to hold the tweeters in place from the inside of the suitcase (though this is not their

intended purpose, it worked really nicely for me). Depending on your setup, you might also

consider using some of the kit's other mounting options.

Step 10: Remove lining of back panel and reinforce with wood


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As with the front panel, use a blade to clear out any loose material attached to the back panel.

Step 11: Layout remaining components


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Organize the remaining components around the back panel and mark drill holes. I used two

pieces of 2' wood scrap to prop up my charge controller above the surface of the plywood

support. Make sure the case will close before you finalize your layout!

Step 12: Passive crossovers

The Pioneer kit comes with passive crossovers to split up each channel of audio from the

amplifier into a signal for the sub and a signal for the tweeters. Use screws to mount both

crossovers onto the side of the suitcase, opposite from the speakers. Note - nearly all of my

screws were screwed through the 1/4 plywood backer, but not through the suitcase enclose.

Step 13: Wire crossovers to amplifier


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Cut and strip a 2-3' piece of speaker wire (long enough so you can easily open the suitcase

without putting tension on the wire) and use it to connect one crossover to the amp's left

output and other to the right output. Be sure to connect the + crossover input to the +

amplifier output.

Step 14: Wire woofers to crossover


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Strip two 2-3' pieces of speaker wire and solder the ends of one wire on each of the subwoofer

terminals. Connect the other end to the screw terminals labelled "subwoofer" on that

channel's corresponding crossover. Make sure that you connect the + crossover output to the +

speaker terminal.

Step 15: Wire tweeters to crossover


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Since the two tweeters have a resistance of 4Ohm, I wired them in series to the tweeter output

from the crossover. To do this, connect one tweeter's + lead to the + crossover terminal (you

may need to lengthen the wire). Then connect the - lead of second tweeter (of the same

channel) to the - crossover terminal. Connect the remaining two leads from the tweeters to

each other to wire them in series. Repeat this for the second channel.

Step 16: Secure batteries


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Use small L brackets to secure the two batteries against the lower corners of the suitcase.

Step 17: Prepare amplifier power cable


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Cut the power supply that came with the amplifier and strip the wire. The outside lead is - and


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the inside lead is +. Connect the exposed leads to a piece of 1-2' speaker wire and cover the

connection with electrical tape. This wire will connect the amplifier to the charge controller.

Step 18: Prepare battery terminal clips

Cut two more pieces of 1-2' speaker wire and crimp a 3/16" quick disconnect connector on one

end of each wire. These wires will connect the batteries to the charge controller.

Step 19: Connections to charge controller "battery" terminals


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Connect the + end of the two battery connections from the last step, and the amplifier power

supply wire and crimp with one of the terminals included with the charge controller. Do the

same for the - leads of these three wires. Screw the terminal connections to the + and -

terminals of the charge controller, on the side labelled "battery".

Step 20: Wire charge controller to batteries


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Connect the quick disconnects from the charge controller to the batteries. Make sure to

connect the + from the charge controller to the + on the battery (and vice versa).

Step 21: Prepare external power supply cable


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Cut a 1-2' piece of speaker wire and attach an M-type barrel plug to one end. Crimp the

remaining two terminal mounts from the charge controller to the other end of the wire. Then

screw the terminals onto the side of the charge controller labelled "array".

Step 22: Mount charge controller


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Now that all the connections to the charge controller have been made, use wood glue and a

screw to mount two pieces of 2" wood block to the plywood panel. Once the wood glue is dry,

use screws to attach the charge controller to the front of these blocks.

Step 23: Remove amplifier front panel


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Use a hex key to remove the four corners screws on the front panel of the amplifier. Use a tiny

hex key to loosen the set screw from the knob, and remove the knob from the panel. then use

pliers to unscrew the nut attached to the knob's underlying potentiometer. The front panel

should come off easily.

Step 24: Mount amplifier


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Use a pencil to mark the place on the enclosure where you would like to mount your amplifier's

front panel. I mounted mine on the side of my suitcase. Drill out holes for the 4 corner screws,

potentiometer, switch, and blue LEDs.

My suitcase enclosure added about 1/2" of extra space between the front panel and the rest of

the amplifier. Since the original screws weren't long enough to cover this distance, I went to

the hardware store and found some ~1.25" 3mm screws to replace them.

Screw through the suitcase enclosure to mount the front panel on the amplifier. The amplifier

is light enough that it will support itself by the screws alone.

Step 25: Connect charge controller to amplifier

Make sure the amplifier is switched to the off position and plug in the connection from the

charge controller.

Step 26: Mount external power supply jack


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Drill a hole in the suitcase and mount the M-type barrel plug. My enclosure's walls were so

thick that I couldn't use a nut to lock the plug in place, I supplemented with super glue. You canuse the 12V wall wart or even a 12V solar panel to trickle charge your batteries through this

jack.

Step 27: Connect RCA cable to amplifier


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Plug the red and white ends of the RCA cable to the amplifier input.

Step 28: Mount external audio jack to suitcase


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In case you want to access the audio in from the outside of the case, mount an 1/8" stereo jack

to the side of the suitcase. Use some 22 gauge wire to connect the leads from the jack to an

inline female 1/8" stereo jack. Use electrical tape to cover any exposed solder points.

This way, you can store your audio devices inside the suitcase by plugging them directly to the

1/8" stereo jack to RCA cable that is plugged directly into the amplifier. Or you can plug the

1/8" stereo/RCA cable into the inline jack, and use a male to male stereo cable to hook up to

the external 1/8" jack.

Step 29: Create iPod/phone mount on inside of suitcase


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To make thing really fancy, I used some of the extra fabric I removed in step 2, to create a little

pocket for holding my phone/iPod inside the suitcase.

Step 30: Rock out


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You're done! Have fun! Be sure to check the voltage readout on the charge controller

occasionally and make sure the battery doesn't get too drained (the charge controller won't be

able to charge the batteries if they are completely drained).

Suitcase BoomBox

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