Outdoor setup problem...

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Zac_cutt

Zac_cutt

Member
Joined 2006
lights-by-zac.com
Hey guys,

I have a small problem...

1. Being I had no idea where to post this...

and mainly 2:

I am doing a project for a client and need to do it as cheap as possible. It needs to last 3 months outside running basically continuously. It may be on for the whole day but only playing something for maybe 6 hours a night.

Now my problem is this.

I need outdoor speakers and therefore somethign to power them, however everything needs to be contained outside.

The ideal situation would be to find POWERED OUTDOOR SPEAKERS! Why dont they sell them!

It would make my life alot easier...

Anyways, another option is an extremely small 120V amplifier. Only needs to run like 60watts.... I want to keep it in a box that is as small as possible, if it is small enoguh it will fit in with some of my other electronics; and I can't really have cooling fans although it will be out during winter only.

If that isn't possible, my last choice is car audio.

I would need a power convertor, and a small amp...

I really am not getting alot out of this and would just like it to work... I would like to buy something off the shealf.

Oh, and one last thought, what about wireless outdoor speakers? If I had a set of them, do they ONLY run on batteries or are there sets that use 120v?

Wow... lots of questions. Heres a summary:

1. Powered outdoor speakers? Know a source? <<<My favourite choice.
2. Small 120v amp, not stnadrad 17" size? Know a source?
3. Car audio electronics? (I would rather not do this.)
4. Wireless speakers? Do they have a power input?
5. Maybe CSA or UL plastic enclosures rated for outdoor use that convert indoor speakers? Do these exist?

Well thats a real mouthfull for a first post so.... have fun!

Thanks for your help!

Zac
 
imix500

imix500

Member
Joined 2004
Hi, did you see the response? It will sound like a bullhorn.
If this is to buy, not diy, there are lots of self-powered great sounding cabinets out there. Weatherizing them might be a challenge though.
So running a couple speaker cables and having the equipment inside is out of the question?
 
Zac_cutt

Zac_cutt

Member
Joined 2006
lights-by-zac.com
The thing is, this is a city job... Everything has to be CSA/UL approved :mad:

I love building things... I do most everything my self... but this I cannot, unless the item were in a serperate weatherproof box.

And this will be on a street corner... no buildings I can use.

Also, is there anyway to lower the response?

Oh, my audio source does have a volume adjusment knob... Would that be enough to bring it down?

Zac
 
imix500

imix500

Member
Joined 2004
If you need speakers that can stand up to the outdoor environment i.e. if they have to stay in place for three months, look into Community or Technomad.
The Technomads are built like tanks and have weatherized connections, I've installed many of them. They sound pretty decent for an uv, water, bug, fire, shotgun (look at the video on the site) proof outdoor speaker- 100x better than a horn. They even make a weatherproof sub.
The Community's (The "R" or "Wet" series) are better sounding and also have all the outdoor features, but are a bit more expensive.
 
imix500

imix500

Member
Joined 2004
Just read the rest of your post. You will need a space of some kind for the front end equipment- mixer, cd player or whatever, and power for them. If the city won't string up some cable to get to a place where the equipment can live, it sounds like it would have to be a portable system.
 
Zac_cutt

Zac_cutt

Member
Joined 2006
lights-by-zac.com
Hmm, very cool.

I am looking at this:

http://www.technomad.com/products/vernal.html

But is that amplified? I can't seem to find the details.

Do you have an idea of the price?

Your above post:

I have unlimited power and the source will be included in a plastic enclosure. However my client almost cringed when he saw the size of that, so, I really cant have more then that.

Thanks,
Zac
 
imix500

imix500

Member
Joined 2004
Hi Zac, none of thier speakers are powered at present. I could be wrong, but I don't think a self powered weatherproof speaker is widely available yet. The Vernal you were looking at doesn't need a lot of power, so you could get a small amp module or build a gainclone to power it.
 
imix500

imix500

Member
Joined 2004
There are lots of options out there. The amp will obviously need to be well paired with the load and power requirements for the speakers. If you end up with three speakers like the Vernal, you would need an amp around 200w into 2 ohms. That's a heafty load for most small amps. It might be a good idea to split the load between two amps or wire the speakers for series-parallel.
Anywho, check out 41hz.com. They have some really cool class-D amps. They are very small and don't produce much heat.
I'll look around a bit and see what else looks good for an amp.
 
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