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Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Boombox Using Old School Rockford Fosgate AUDIOPhile Speakers

Custom Old School Boombox using Rockford Fosgate AUDIOphile Speakers (est. 1995)

Now, here's a project I've thought about putting together for around 20 years...a portable stereo (aka "Boombox") made from car stereo gear. In this instance, I'm using all Rockford Fosgate gear from 1995 or earlier. A single Punch 45 amplifier will power the entire system, including 4" AUDIOphile component speakers with a 1" silk-dome tweeter and bass notes will be handled by an 8" AUDIOphile subwoofer. This subwoofer should work quite nice as it is designed for a very small 0.33cu/ft sealed enclosure. The "brain" of the system will be another Rockford piece, the PA-1 pre-amp. This unit will control 2 different inputs and provide overall volume, bass, mid and treble controls.


Here is the proposed gear (subject to change):

  1. Military-Style Waterproof ABS Plastic Case
  2. Rockford Fosgate PA-1 Pre-Amp (est. 1987)
  3. Rockford Fosgate Punch 45 Amplifier (est. 1989)
  4. Rockford Fosgate RFA-414 4" AUDIOphile component system (est. 1995)
  5. Rockford Fosgate RFA-408 8" AUDIOphile subwoofer (est. 1995)
  6. (2) 8Ah Sealed Lead Acid Batteries
  7. Integrated iPod dock / AUX jack / USB port
  8. 12V Battery Gauge
  9. 12V Trickle Charger
  10. 12V 25A Lighted Switch
  11. ....more to come

I've worked on the boombox since the video below and found the case is going to be very limited in size for all of the proposed components. I may need to substitute a Punch 30 and use only one battery. Once I get the subwoofer enclosure completed (making sure to hit the optimal 0.33cu/ft internal air space), I'll have a better idea how much space I'll have for the other components. I could also use a PA-1HD or PA-2 as they are 1/2 DIN as compared to the PA-1's full DIN size, but the PA-1 just looks cooler to me!

I show off the power source(s), dual 8Ah sealed lead-acid batteries in the video. These batteries are around 4lbs each and should give us 2-3 hours of very loud playback. I'll test the playback time in an upcoming video. Again, due to space limitations, I may need to scale down to one battery.

Stay tuned for upcoming updates, the build process and the final result of my "OldSchool Boombox"


Make sure to Subscribe to my YouTube Channel to stay updated of my latest videos. You can also follow me on Twitter @oldschoolstereo.



See the video on YouTube in 1080p HD or embedded below:




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7 comments:

  1. PhilFebruary 27, 2012 at 7:03 PM

    You're missing one critical piece...an OEQ-1!

    ReplyDelete
  2. dwillisFebruary 27, 2012 at 7:54 PM

    I have an OEQ-1, just doubt there is room to mount it in this setup!

    ReplyDelete
  3. PhilFebruary 27, 2012 at 9:37 PM

    I assume both halves are the same depth, looks to be about 6". It looks like the lid could hold the amp and the OEQ (and probably the mids and tweeters. That could also benefit the woofer. Are you planning to fit a source unit in the box or use something external?

    ReplyDelete
  4. dwillisFebruary 27, 2012 at 9:49 PM

    Trust me, even fitting the PA-1 is going to be tight and I'm having to scale down to one battery and maybe substitute the Punch 30 for the 45. We'll see...I'll fit as much as I can!

    ReplyDelete
  5. PhilFebruary 27, 2012 at 10:15 PM

    Or get a second box...?

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownJune 14, 2012 at 3:15 PM

    how far are you with the box??

    ReplyDelete
  7. dwillisJune 19, 2012 at 8:18 AM

    Not much progress lately. I've been spending my time trying to get together my test bench for the big amp tests and this project has been put on the side burner for now. I did put the RF components into small bookshelf speakers (another post and video) and decided this would make the system more useful as they could be removed for stereo separation.

    ReplyDelete