The Boominator - another stab at the ultimate party machine

New solar cells

For a long time there seemed to be no amorphous solar cells that matched the Boominator for an affordable price. However, recently the emergence CIS and CIGS thin film panels have changed this.

For example this 10W CIS panel will fit the Boominator pretty snuggly. The 298mm panel is actually 294mm with the frame removed. It's fairly amazing that thin film panel now come in the same peak efficiency as mono/poly-crystalline panel but with the added higher high temperature or low light efficiency inherent in thin film panels. So now you can actually get 2x 10W panels to fit the top of a Boominator.

This is just an example but the price is very good as well.

NEW!!! FREE SHIPPING 10W CIS solar panel, 10watt 12v amorphous solar module, 10w 12v pv panels, thin film-in Solar Energy Systems from Electrical Equipment & Supplies on Aliexpress.com
 
It's gotten to the point were i've started thinking about building a "Half-Boominator" but i need the help of this forum to see if im on track!

First of all, i'm planning on buying 2 P.Audio HP-10W woofers as suggested, aswell as 2 Motorola KSN1001A, the Lepai Class Tripath TA2020 and a 9800 mah Li-ion chargeable battery pack.

My main concern is that i've forgotten some important part (mainly the crossover filter, do i need it!?) as well as wiring, is it just as easy as hooking the tweeter up with the woofer and then hooking thoose up to the amp?

Last question: Would a mobile phone solar charger shorten the circuit if the mobile is both being charged by the solar charger and playing music from the audio output at the same time?

Haven't found any edit button yet so i guess i will have to make a new post.

Anyways, i've looked over my piezo choice and found two worthy contesters:
QLM-1005 and the Monacor MPT-001

I'm wondering how much of a downgrade these will make instead of the KSN1001a i was originally planning, aswell as if the two new piezos need any crossover filters or resistors and if they can be wired up with the rest of my purchases (see the post over this one)

Any answer would be greatly appreciated, the QLM vs MPT vs KSN is the last question i need to get answered before placing an order.
 
Looks like this 12 Volt Battery Low Indicator LM741 - Electronics
is the go.

pretty simple to build and I can probably use an LM1458 (Dual LM741) and 2 LEDs and have a 'low battery warning' yellow led, and a 'you should really charge it up warning' red led.

lm741-12-volt-battery-low-warning.jpg
 
Any answer would be greatly appreciated, the QLM vs MPT vs KSN is the last question i need to get answered before placing an order.

None of them. Canopy Sound - Udstyr til festivalanlæg will have custom made "bubble horn" (actually bi-radial constant directivity) piezoes that was originally intended in stock shortly. I was out with the guys from canopysound and measuring some test samples yesterday, and although we need to do some more measurements with smoothing and dampening of the horn itself they look very good.

Spike at 5.1K Hz is probably due to chassis resonance which needs to be dampened. Response is completely unsmoothed. Ignore anything below 3-4Khz.
 

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Saturnus, Would I be ok, using only one 10watt amorphous solar panel, like you recommended above. Or would I need 2?

One is fine. It would affect the time you can go before you need to recharge your batteries depending on use but with 2 batteries and one 10W panel like above I reckon 6-9 full days of use before needing a recharge. With 2 panels you would most likely never need to recharge the batteries at all.

Naturally also depends on how much Sun there is.
 
I wasn't going to go the solar panel route, but I think it's a better idea in the longrun anyway!

Forget the charge led circuit.

so instead If I get a Solar panel charger controller regulator, as it has all that built in!

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.


Comes with

over-load protection
short circuit protection
protection from the lightning strike.
under-voltage protection
over-charging protection

and less than $20

Just got to find a cheap supplier of 10W CIS solar panel's in AU :)
<edit> found some 10W CIS solar panel, 12v amorphous solar module, 10w 12v pv panels, thin film with the following:
428 * 298 *16mm, 2.5kg
$70.00 posted from China

Or am I still better of getting them from AliExpress for $74.59including postage to AU, as per your facebookpage?

Cheers, S.
 
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Hi ! this my first post on this forum thanks you all for this project and for all informations.

I would like to build a halfinator with 2 * P.Audio PHT-407N and 2 * P.Audio HP-10W
So :
1 / The best way is to go in stereo with 2 ports and with the middle bracing without holes. I'm right ( like this but without holes in the middle bracing )?
2 / I need some help about the crossover, this draw if for boominator ( 4*407N + 4*HP10W ), what would be the draw and value for a halfinator version ?
Filter21.jpg


3 / For the ports : in this thread Saturnus say :
The port on the original is 34cm2 = 66mmØ if you make it round. You need 2 ports instead so that's 47mmØ. Still same length of 36mm.
Can i go with this value ?

Thanks for your answers !
 
Hi everyone, I'm new to this DIY audio hobby and am truly impressed with Saturnus' design and how everyone here have such a passion for his boominator. I was wondering if the the Audax PR125T1 horn tweeter (The Madisound Speaker Store) can be a good-enough replacement for the P.Audio PHT-407N? These have an SPL of 96db and has a freq. range of 2k?-18kHz?
I actually started putting together a boominator, but I find the piezos a little harsh and not quite as smooth with audio detail. I already have the Goldwood 1058 with the amp6b and the cabinets loosely assembled (held together tightly with various wood clamps). I have done the 100 hours of burn-in, but I am not quite satisfied. So I'm trying to find a suitable replacement for the PHT-407N since none are available here in the U.S, according to P.Audio-Thailand. Has any one looked at any high efficiency ribbon tweeters like the Fountek NeoCd3.5H Horn Tweeter (The Madisound Speaker Store). Any help will be greatly appreciated.
 
Hi everyone, I'm new to this DIY audio hobby and am truly impressed with Saturnus' design and how everyone here have such a passion for his boominator. I was wondering if the the Audax PR125T1 horn tweeter (The Madisound Speaker Store) can be a good-enough replacement for the P.Audio PHT-407N? These have an SPL of 96db and has a freq. range of 2k?-18kHz?
I actually started putting together a boominator, but I find the piezos a little harsh and not quite as smooth with audio detail. I already have the Goldwood 1058 with the amp6b and the cabinets loosely assembled (held together tightly with various wood clamps). I have done the 100 hours of burn-in, but I am not quite satisfied. So I'm trying to find a suitable replacement for the PHT-407N since none are available here in the U.S, according to P.Audio-Thailand. Has any one looked at any high efficiency ribbon tweeters like the Fountek NeoCd3.5H Horn Tweeter (The Madisound Speaker Store). Any help will be greatly appreciated.

I really find it amazing that after 6 years no one in the US has taken up importing the right drivers for this project yet.

There is a specially designed piezo underway but if you really don't want piezoes and want something that is better without costing an arm and a leg, I'd recommend these Constant Directivity Horn 270-049. Please note the comments and follow the recommendations in those unless PE have improved QC themselves by now.

For while the drivers you link to are indeed nice and good drivers. They're both unfortunately not suited for the Boominator as one of the most important aspects is very wide dispersion on both axes. As close as possible to 90 degrees to be exact. Both wider and narrower than 90 degrees is equally bad. Especially ribbon tweeters unfortunately have atrocious vertical dispersion. Typically only 5-10 degrees.

With the PE CD horns, you might have to play around with filtering, and experiment with bypassing the dampening resistor with a capacitor to get the high frequency lift at 13-15Khz that a CD horn needs.

Incidentally, the custom designed piezo has a horn guide that is (more or less) identical to the PE CD horn, just with a quality piezo driver.

It is however not to be confused with PRV Audio NEODT3000 1" Neo Horn Driver with Horn Combo 294-2831 which has a much narrower dispersion on both axes, although having the same mouth dimensions.
 
Thanks for your answers !

No worries.

1) Yes
2) I believe that filter is for the Boominator LITE with Basslite S2010 woofers.
3) Yes

May I inquire what the purpose of your "halfinator" is? I've recently designed the Boominator MINI for people that find the full Boominator too large, too heavy, and too expensive. I've not yet built one so a full test might change a few minor details but all simulations have been satisfactory so I have full confidence that it is extremely close to the final design.

Have a look here. Boominator MINI (development thread) - Speakerplans.com Forums - Page 1
 
Thanks for giving the specific reasons for not using those other drivers, Saturnus. I'm sure other people have been wondering about those other kinds of tweeters.

I forgot to mention that I did purchase the KSN-1001A from PiezoSource a few months back (they didn't have the KSN-1005A at the time), because I thought this was the recommended piezo to buy since the zomax no longer was in production. I also did the dampening with all the caulking on the back side of the horns and the driver. I have to say, that when all is connected, the boominator is really loud! I even used the new Fiio Alpen DAC/headphone amp to do the DAC (via the dock port not the headphone jack) for my iPhone before connecting to the amp6b. It does make the sound much clearer and gives more definition than without it.

So should I replace the KSNs with the PE CD or should I wait? I'm not really in a hurry to finish, as it is still winter here in Maryland.

What would be your time estimate on that custom designed piezo? Will it be available to us US boominator fans when it is available? Thanks again.
 
So should I replace the KSNs with the PE CD or should I wait? I'm not really in a hurry to finish, as it is still winter here in Maryland.

Maryland, eh? I got friends in Hagerstown. :D

Frankly. Though both the PE CD horn and the custom piezo would be an improvement over the KSN's, I'd really advice trying to get the 407N's if you're looking for something that is a significant improvement.

Surely, a company like US SPEAKER PARTS - Speakers, Speaker Cabinets, Guitar speakers, Bass speakers, , Woofers, HF Drivers, speaker upgrades and replacement speakers. Eminence Speaker, JBL speakers, 18 Sound, B&C, EV, Tannoy, Peavey, Celestion, RCF, Jensen, Beyma, Fane, P or other p.audio importer will offer a competitive price on these if you ask them. Maybe you can also get them to import the HP10Ws as well. I'm sure that there are many equally frustrated US builders out there. As the design has been a huge success in Europe and Australia I'm sure there is a market.

This last bit is a message to any potential reseller of parts.

I'll be happy to advice you on what to stock and general information regarding the design. This is my hobby. I do not ask for or accept any commission. If you feel like I should be entitled to some, donate it to a charity of your choice.
 
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I saw a filter for the 407N that Floxer had you confirm, but it was mated to the HP10W drivers. Would anything change with the filter since I have the 1058s? And is there info about how to build a low DCR coil or is that something I can buy with the correct mH value? Again, forgive me since this is all still all very new to me.

No. The filter Floxer posted was for an Eminence Basslite S2010 and a 407N. Not sure if I made one for use with a HP10W or G1058? It might be somewhere in this thread though, I'll search. The G1058 and HP10W is pretty much identical. You do need a coil on the G1058 even when crossing to a piezo as the high end is not as controlled in roll off as the HP10W.
 
I have now ordered 2 P.Audio HP-10W aswell as 2 Monacor MPT-001 for a "halfinator" build. I've understood that seting everything up stereo is the best way to go, is this correct?

I'm also curious about crossover filter/resistors as i'm not very familiar with soldering and electronics. Is it correct that i should solder the tweeter to the subwoofer and then the subwoofer to the amp and everything will work or do i need some kind of filter/resistors in between?
 
I have now ordered 2 P.Audio HP-10W aswell as 2 Monacor MPT-001 for a "halfinator" build. I've understood that seting everything up stereo is the best way to go, is this correct?

I'm also curious about crossover filter/resistors as i'm not very familiar with soldering and electronics. Is it correct that i should solder the tweeter to the subwoofer and then the subwoofer to the amp and everything will work or do i need some kind of filter/resistors in between?

Quick edit: Is this the proper way of wiring with tweeters being mounted positve to positve etc. on the subwoofers?

http://a248.e.akamai.net/pix.crutch...enter/car/subwoofer_wiring/2SVC_8-ohm_2ch.jpg

The image states that the total impedance would be 4 ohm but i've read somewhere in this thread that the total impedance would be 16 ohm so i'm guessing there's a problem somewhere?