hello everyone, i have just recently delved into the world of diy audio, i would be lying if i were to say because it is cheaper, but rather i like building things. i asked the question "what ever happened to good scratchbuilding" because i feel all the other hobbies have been too capitalize. a good example is rc crawling, before i deployed, i had a lot of fun building everything from the ground up and found resources and and good people to ask for help, now, it seems everytime you want to ask a question, you get the "why dont you just buy this...... and that and leave me alone" treatment.
i guess what i am trying to say is diy audio maybe the only hobby left where you can actually get involved in all the planning, building, testing stages and get the satisfaction of saying "YEAH I BUILT THAT" instead of "YEAH I BOUGHT THAT".
i guess what i am trying to say is diy audio maybe the only hobby left where you can actually get involved in all the planning, building, testing stages and get the satisfaction of saying "YEAH I BUILT THAT" instead of "YEAH I BOUGHT THAT".
How broad do you want to take it?
I fix my own car, do woodworking/scratch build carpentry, plumbing, motorcycle/bicycle mods and repair, fix broken appliances, plant bare root trees and bushes, *and* build audio stuff from scratch. Not sure where you are looking, but I always find resources on the web to help in whatever I'm doing.
I see all kind of resources on the web to help people do everything, including building your own energy efficient house from homemade bricks or bales of straw.
When you do this stuff at a DIY level, you find it all comes down to tools, guides/manuals, and parts. And time. But no one is going to spoon feed you on how to do it step by step. There is a lot of tinkering, fill in the blanks, and trial and error involved. That's the FUN part.
This certainly is the right place for DIY Audio - welcome.
I fix my own car, do woodworking/scratch build carpentry, plumbing, motorcycle/bicycle mods and repair, fix broken appliances, plant bare root trees and bushes, *and* build audio stuff from scratch. Not sure where you are looking, but I always find resources on the web to help in whatever I'm doing.
I see all kind of resources on the web to help people do everything, including building your own energy efficient house from homemade bricks or bales of straw.
When you do this stuff at a DIY level, you find it all comes down to tools, guides/manuals, and parts. And time. But no one is going to spoon feed you on how to do it step by step. There is a lot of tinkering, fill in the blanks, and trial and error involved. That's the FUN part.
This certainly is the right place for DIY Audio - welcome.
To a certain degree I think it comes down to convenience vs cost. While it would be great to know the thrill of fabricating our own drivers from scratch it is a joy very few people will ever realise, so for the rest of us the best we can hope for is specing the driver to our personal preference.
Some are happy to just assemble parts a get a sense of pride out of that, so really from scratch probably means different things to different people.
Some are happy to just assemble parts a get a sense of pride out of that, so really from scratch probably means different things to different people.
Well, I am a woodworker, getting back to speaker building after playing with old British sports cars for years. Made a lot of parts for them. I have scratch built several preamps, crossovers and test equipment. Delving into amps now.
What is the problem? You can't buy what you need! Wire for hookup, 1000 foot put-ups. Half the semiconductors, 6 months lead & 50,000 minimum. Cost? Well above buying really good stuff. I wish one of those hobby suppliers would provide a variety of suitable wire in 10 foot lengths with reasonable costs. 1000% is a bit too much markup. My supplier for hot rods does not stock below 18 ga. (K-J) I have run out of old Honda wiring harnesses to get small gauge fine stranded wire.
What is the problem? You can't buy what you need! Wire for hookup, 1000 foot put-ups. Half the semiconductors, 6 months lead & 50,000 minimum. Cost? Well above buying really good stuff. I wish one of those hobby suppliers would provide a variety of suitable wire in 10 foot lengths with reasonable costs. 1000% is a bit too much markup. My supplier for hot rods does not stock below 18 ga. (K-J) I have run out of old Honda wiring harnesses to get small gauge fine stranded wire.
yap 16 hz, and yes inside a car, they gutted the whole interior and built the speaker inside the cab, they used the car engine to move the cone so no voice coil. it looked and moved like junk, but hey, all in the name of science. Their goal was to prove or disprove if a big enough speaker could destroy a car.
I was just reading this article. I've visited Freeside Atlanta several times, but I haven't been to this place yet, even though it's closer to me. This is just one of many articles about what might be called the "maker movement:"
Makerspaces – Why Now, Why Bother | 7hills Makerspace
Makerspaces – Why Now, Why Bother | 7hills Makerspace
They should have used the design NASA built for vibration testing STS. Basically they took the exhaust of a jet and ran it down a tube with a slit aperture they could modulate feeding a big honking horn. It could reproduce a lift-off at full levels. In other words, 5 mile safety zone.
I think someone on my block bought that Myth Busters car. They come down the road late at night. I can hear them about 10 blocks in either direction. If I could only get 5 with a pocket knife and their subs...... They actually cause my pain in my sinuses and that exceeds the "do what you want but don't interfere with others" philosophy. After 9:00, turn it down!
I think someone on my block bought that Myth Busters car. They come down the road late at night. I can hear them about 10 blocks in either direction. If I could only get 5 with a pocket knife and their subs...... They actually cause my pain in my sinuses and that exceeds the "do what you want but don't interfere with others" philosophy. After 9:00, turn it down!
I would hazard that the "maker movement" is really just a notation on group work vs. the individual. Individuals never stopped at DIY and not just in audio.
OP, if you are on forums or around people that tell you that, exchange them both for new ones. I cannot think of any forum, of any interest, that I am on where that attitude is pervasive except from the clueless. DIYaudio is absolutely hands on but, so are the knifemaking forums, metal & woodworking, vehicle related ones, or any discipline that requires tool use.
i have that problem with bass heads too, so annoying when you are trying to sleep and hear that boom,
on the note of other forum etiquette, i did get out of that forum fast. what's the use if brain storming is not even an option, i guess that forum was just for showing who has he deepest pocket to show off what he could buy, felt like they were compensating for something...
The DIY Movement Meets the VCs
If you thought DIY was dead, check this out - very much alive, and growing fast.
The DIY 'Maker Movement' Meets the VCs - Businessweek
here's a link to the Maker Faire site, mentioned in the article
Maker Faire - Make Faire Bay Area 2012 May 19th & 20th
Here's the link to Adafruit, also mentioned, with LOTS of kits
http://www.adafruit.com/
If you thought DIY was dead, check this out - very much alive, and growing fast.
The DIY 'Maker Movement' Meets the VCs - Businessweek
here's a link to the Maker Faire site, mentioned in the article
Maker Faire - Make Faire Bay Area 2012 May 19th & 20th
Here's the link to Adafruit, also mentioned, with LOTS of kits
http://www.adafruit.com/
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wow awesome sites, thanks, my concern was never about diy, it is about the ability to create something from scratch like this guy in youtube who built his own brushless motors. diy for me is like when i ordered a tritrix kit and building it, while scratchbuilding is getting the concept, generating a plan, looking for parts or making it, getting everything to work, testing it and getting satisfaction. i admit i like kits i for one ordered my first amp as a kit, i did assemble it and it worked well, the downside to this is i have no idea why it works, all i know is there are resistors, and caps and diodes etc, how they work together and why is another story, i have no idea that is why i join sites like diy audio for great people to point and help me towards the right direction. like i said in my previous posts, i saw on other sites where instead of explaining things they just tell you to forget about making something just buy it. buying things may be easy but for me the fun is not only being able to build something but also know how it works.
I forgot to post this earlier (archive.org may take a moment to load):
http://web.archive.org/web/20010405042659/http://www.mindspring.com/~benbradley/
But that IS audio!woodworking.
metalworking...
etc...
but audio is a good one.
_-_-bear
Heathkit manuals were great for this - every one has a "Circuit Description" section that tells what just about every component does, and is a wonderful accompaniment to the schematic. I learned a lot reading through every one I could find.
Those and the ARRL Handbook held me over until EE classes in college:
Electronics:Recommended Reading - diyAudio
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