Author Topic: Check out my Suitcase system! :D (Read 395 times)

pintogirl · « **on:** January 18, 2012, 09:10:36 PM »

I have a few vehicles that don't have radios in them at all. Nellie Belle and my VW's. (Actually, 2 of them have am radios and the bus has nothing). I don't like having to install radios into cars that don't have them or have their stock radios in. So today I solved my problem! I made this!

It has the 2 speakers and a small amp. To power it I used one of those cigarette lighter type plugs. You know, the kind you would use to charge a cel phone in your car. The one I used came with my trickle charger so it has it's own plug to unhook it from the cord going to the suitcase. I used a 3.5 to rca jack cable to the amp so I could hook my iPod up to it. Works pretty well on my floor test. I have yet to test it out on a drive yet. If the weather holds out I can test in my Bus tomorrow.

I plan on buying a new jumper box to take to Knott's with me so I can use it in Nellie Belle. I don't want to run her battery down so I figured this would give me a way to display my case and not have to worry about the battery.

At least now I have a way to have tunes in vehicles that don't currently have any type of radio or they have am only radios!

RSM · « **Reply #1 on:** January 18, 2012, 10:12:38 PM »

Now thats a kool idea....I like it !

pintogirl · « **Reply #2 on:** January 19, 2012, 07:09:28 PM »

Quote from: RSM on January 18, 2012, 10:12:38 PM

Now thats a kool idea....I like it !

I have to admit, it's not my idea! I found it on another forum and like you thought it was a good idea. I then hit up the Goodwills in the area and found me some suitcases!

I have two more suitcases. I want to make one that has an actual stereo in it. The other one will be amp only. I just need to find the amp, speakers and stereo now.

Luckily I can get these things for pretty much free, or free all together. Just depends on the mood of my hubby's boss. LOL Hubby works for a tow service so the cars that clear lien and become theirs, they take all the stereo stuff out of. I just need to ask his boss for the stuff.

I'm hoping to catch him on a good day so I can get them free! LOL

RSM · « **Reply #3 on:** January 19, 2012, 10:57:47 PM »

Free is good!!

DreamBean · « **Reply #4 on:** January 21, 2012, 12:20:57 PM »

I thought that I was the only one that thought inside the box LOL! Back about 20 years ago when I started driving a truck, I had no radio and was tired of toting radio and speakers every mourning. SO, I took an metal briefcase(NOT LIKE HARLEY'S), Mounted a am/fm radio in it with a 6x9 speaker and a screw on antenna. The whole system cost me nothing. Sold it for $50. I love your set up. That is so AwEsOmE!

JohnW · « **Reply #5 on:** January 21, 2012, 02:16:06 PM »

Great idea, but do not run an amplifier off of the cigarette lighter. It can't support enough amperage, especially in old cars. Running a head unit with a pair of speakers off of it should be fine though - but most of those chargers you can cut the plug off of have too thin of a gauge even. Most parts stores sell plugs with 14g wiring though. Any amplifier requires heavier gauge wiring than that and you don't want to short the wiring or have a fire. Get some 10 AWG amp wire and run it from the battery to wherever you put the suitcase in the cars. Same gauge for ground, but you can go to any part of the floor so you only need a foot or 2 for that.

And the old VW alternators definitely cannot support an amplifier...st ock Pinto ones can't even run a 200W amp. I have firsthand experience with that, and I knew better too but I had the amp and wanted to listen to music, and was too broke to get that Powermaster alternator for a while longer...

I may have to make something like this for a subwoofer. I was thinking a box that would fit in behind the back seat with mesh over the speakers and red fabric on that to match my interior. That way it isn't obvious what it is so I don't have to worry about break-ins and I can put stuff on top. I might just use a suitcase instead though after selling this...

Fred Morgan · « **Reply #6 on:** January 21, 2012, 04:04:00 PM »

That is a good idea, even if you saw it somewhere else. You took the idea & made it in your style & you did it yourself. Plus you are getting helpful feedback. Way to go Kim! Joy

pintogirl · « **Reply #7 on:** January 21, 2012, 10:35:10 PM »

Quote from: JohnW on January 21, 2012, 02:16:06 PM

Great idea, but do not run an amplifier off of the cigarette lighter. It can't support enough amperage, especially in old cars. Running a head unit with a pair of speakers off of it should be fine though - but most of those chargers you can cut the plug off of have too thin of a gauge even. Most parts stores sell plugs with 14g wiring though. Any amplifier requires heavier gauge wiring than that and you don't want to short the wiring or have a fire. Get some 10 AWG amp wire and run it from the battery to wherever you put the suitcase in the cars. Same gauge for ground, but you can go to any part of the floor so you only need a foot or 2 for that.

And the old VW alternators definitely cannot support an amplifier...st ock Pinto ones can't even run a 200W amp. I have firsthand experience with that, and I knew better too but I had the amp and wanted to listen to music, and was too broke to get that Powermaster alternator for a while longer...

I may have to make something like this for a subwoofer. I was thinking a box that would fit in behind the back seat with mesh over the speakers and red fabric on that to match my interior. That way it isn't obvious what it is so I don't have to worry about break-ins and I can put stuff on top. I might just use a suitcase instead though after selling this...

Hmmm, food for thought.

I did run different wire to my bus, for my power outlet. Thicker, but can't tell you what gauge. The wire on the suitcase, for the amp power is a good size gauge too, it is from those battery trickle chargers, made to charge a battery. The amp has an inline fuse as well as the power adapter plug has it's own fuse. So I am double fused! LOL

Now the Pinto's on the other hand, I haven't ran new power sources in them yet. I was thinking of buying a m/c battery and putting it in the suitcase. That way it would run on it's own battery, all self contained. This would work ok I would think for daily drives. I would just have to charge the battery each night.

I may even do this in my VW's, just for the fact that I can make it look more like an old suitcase when there are no wires coming from it! LOL

I never even thought of the generator/alternators. Is this true for even a small amp? I think the amp I have in this suitcase is only about a 200 watt amp.

pintogirl · « **Reply #8 on:** January 21, 2012, 10:36:30 PM »

Quote from: Fred Morgan on January 21, 2012, 04:04:00 PM

That is a good idea, even if you saw it somewhere else. You took the idea & made it in your style & you did it yourself. Plus you are getting helpful feedback. Way to go Kim! Joy

Thanks Joy! I really enjoyed making it. It is still sitting in the living room and I listen to it from time to time between tv shows! LOL I have it hooked to a battery jumper box! LOL

JohnW · « **Reply #9 on:** January 21, 2012, 11:05:45 PM »

Quote from: pintogirl on January 21, 2012, 10:35:10 PM

I did run different wire to my bus, for my power outlet. Thicker, but can't tell you what gauge. The wire on the suitcase, for the amp power is a good size gauge too, it is from those battery trickle chargers, made to charge a battery. The amp has an inline fuse as well as the power adapter plug has it's own fuse. So I am double fused! LOL

If it's significantly thick, 10 AWG is about 5mm so that should tell you if you'll be ok as that's the gauge recommended for a 200W amp. Make sure it's fused as close to the battery as possible, that's what you always want to do with stereo equipment (and anything wired directly to the battery or battery side of the solenoid post, note all the fusible links right there).

Quote from: pintogirl on January 21, 2012, 10:35:10 PM

Now the Pinto's on the other hand, I haven't ran new power sources in them yet. I was thinking of buying a m/c battery and putting it in the suitcase. That way it would run on it's own battery, all self contained. This would work ok I would think for daily drives. I would just have to charge the battery each night. I may even do this in my VW's, just for the fact that I can make it look more like an old suitcase when there are no wires coming from it! LOL

I don't think a motorcycle battery would work. Those and car batteries are not made to be run down - they're supposed to be kept at a high level. Running them down and recharging shortens the life a lot. Look a 12v deep cycle battery I think it's called, may be the wrong terminology. But something intended to be run down until it's dead then charged. I'm sure there's got to be something out there that'll work.

Quote from: pintogirl on January 21, 2012, 10:35:10 PM

I never even thought of the generator/alternators. Is this true for even a small amp? I think the amp I have in this suitcase is only about a 200 watt amp.

The generators definitely cannot run an amp. Any of the old VW alternators also will not be sufficient, they were barely enough for the vehicle as is. I have a Polk Audio 200W amp, and the stock alternator in my '80 Pinto was definitely not capable of running it. It would drain my battery in an hour or so (while driving) and the draining/recharging killed both my battery and alternator pretty quick - both were fried within 2 or 3 weeks. Charging a dead battery with an alternator is really bad on both - it charges way too quickly when the voltage drops low. I felt pretty stupid killing both as I knew better.

Pretty much anything made before the 90s will need a high output alternator to run an amplifier of any sort, and even then could be borderline. For a Pinto I'd suggest a Powermaster high output Ford alternator and some 4 AWG wiring between it and the battery. The factory charge wire is really thin and will not withstand 100 amps. They're the GM 10si/12si style in a Ford case and have an internal voltage regulator (and a GM voltage regulator will work, I was happy to find that out in case mine ever goes out on the road). I got a 100 amp one and I'm really happy with it (they have a 140, but it seemed a little much for what I needed so I went with the cheaper option), it also has a pin to wire up the idiot light unlike most aftermarket alternators, which in my opinion is much better than the "1 wire" setups.

I've spent way too much time reading up on stereo wiring and charging systems, haha...

75bobcatv6 · « **Reply #10 on:** January 22, 2012, 02:12:06 AM »

When i sold my bobcat I had already upgraded to a 140watt, as at the time I was installing a 1200 watt System in it.. 300 just for the highs(2 spk) 300 watt for the 2 Mids, and 600 watts for the Two subs, Running consecutive Mono. Becky what you made.. I wanna make one now. Just to have it for when we go out. or just for the hell of it.. looks Amazing and Awesome

DreamBean · « **Reply #11 on:** January 22, 2012, 02:13:31 PM »

I know I'm alot of trouble, But could we see the inside?? PlEaSe!?

pintogirl · « **Reply #12 on:** January 22, 2012, 04:03:17 PM »

Quote from: DreamBean on January 22, 2012, 02:13:31 PM

I know I'm alot of trouble, But could we see the inside?? PlEaSe!?

Sure!

pintogirl · « **Reply #13 on:** January 22, 2012, 04:06:00 PM »

Ok, here it is with no cloths. LOL It's not to pretty. I haven't cleaned it up yet, so it's kind of messy.

DreamBean · « **Reply #14 on:** January 22, 2012, 07:00:59 PM »

Well, I love the sound insulation that you are using. I myself would have used a pair of Pinto Boxer shorts. But that is just me. I was wondering how much room you had inside with the amp. But I guess you answered my question. I was thinking of using something else to put just my speakers in. Still This is just way to cool.

pintogirl · « **Reply #15 on:** January 22, 2012, 08:59:18 PM »

I don't really keep clothes in it! LOL Just did that to be funny!

Actually, in hind sight, I wish I would have put the speakers in the lid of the suit case and the amp on the bottom. That way I could have laid the suitcase on it's bottom. The way I have it, it basically needs to be sitting up or have to lay it on it's top, which doesn't have to little pegs like the bottom has.

I learned a lot on this one, so my next one should be a bit better. I don't remember if I mentioned it above, but I want to do one with a stereo in it. Just need to figure out a support to help hold it up.

Another thing I would like to figure out is how to cut it from the inside. That was my original plan on this one, but I found out that I couldn't turn my jig saw on the inside. That is why you can kind of see black markings on the material on the inside. You really can't see to many scratches on the outside, but I'm not sure if I will be so lucky when I go to use my hard case suitcases. I was thinking a dremel, but I have more control with the jig saw. I may just use Frog tape to help protect the case.

Jessi · « **Reply #16 on:** January 24, 2012, 07:44:33 PM »

Teardrop campers boxers are the bombdigity! Of course I am only saying that cause I have a teardrop camper

Awesome Suitcase sound system!

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Author Topic: Check out my Suitcase system! :D (Read 395 times)