Hi!
I was in the loft recently and I found an old Block Rocker IPA006 by ION. To be honest, the sound always sucked. It was never a Hifi unit, but had a long run time and sound that reached well at garden parties / halls etc. Think 'mobile back of bike' units that people build, but without decent sound 😉 We're talking more than 10 years ago before a lot of the newer lithium powered units like the inter-connectable JBLs. Whilst in the loft, I also came across a couple of Vibe Slick 69.2's. The whole lot is destined for the tip unless I can do something with it. So I got thinking: Could I improve the original block rocker so that it doesn't suck and can once again be useful?
The only real aim here is low cost or I may as well go and buy newer Bluetooth inter-connectable units from [insert manufacturer name here].
The existing circuitry is junk. It's got a transformer for mains and a redundant 30 pin iPod dock. As for the speakers, it looks like a mono setup with a mediocre tweeter and 8" sub. There is a mic input which was handy.
The battery used Huanyu HYS1250 (12v 5Ah) which gave a rather impressive run time of about 12 hours.
My brainstorm idea is this:
1. gut existing circuitry
2. keep sub, ditch tweeter
3. fit vibes to sides of unit (the 69.2's are 2 way)
4. fit a 12V amp such as the TPA3116
5. fit decoder unit for bluetooth/aux and mixer for mic that feed to amp
6. Use better battery (I can find a 12V 12Ah lead battery for ~£20)
So layout is:
Decoder > Mixer > Amp > Left (Vibe 1), Lows (Sub), Right (Vibe 2)
I've been looking around on net and various sources seem to suggest that using car audio is a no go, and that a PA speaker is the way to go, although this would incur extra cost. I suspect the Vibes may be too higher wattage (RMS 135 / Peak 400) for a small amp like the TPA3116?
Questions that you good people might be able to answer:
1. Is this flogging a dead horse? Are the Vibes a bad idea? It's only because they're here and free that I have even considered this.
2. I have read that the TPA3116 ideally needs 24v or it will suck.. this is going to double the cost of the batteries if so and make a possible later internal charging solution more complex. Does anyone have any experience with this at 12v? Or is there a better alternative?
3. Is this all just a crap idea and would I be better off with a PA speaker?
Any and all other input/help/advice is welcome!
Ta Chaps and Chapesses 🙂
I was in the loft recently and I found an old Block Rocker IPA006 by ION. To be honest, the sound always sucked. It was never a Hifi unit, but had a long run time and sound that reached well at garden parties / halls etc. Think 'mobile back of bike' units that people build, but without decent sound 😉 We're talking more than 10 years ago before a lot of the newer lithium powered units like the inter-connectable JBLs. Whilst in the loft, I also came across a couple of Vibe Slick 69.2's. The whole lot is destined for the tip unless I can do something with it. So I got thinking: Could I improve the original block rocker so that it doesn't suck and can once again be useful?
The only real aim here is low cost or I may as well go and buy newer Bluetooth inter-connectable units from [insert manufacturer name here].
The existing circuitry is junk. It's got a transformer for mains and a redundant 30 pin iPod dock. As for the speakers, it looks like a mono setup with a mediocre tweeter and 8" sub. There is a mic input which was handy.
The battery used Huanyu HYS1250 (12v 5Ah) which gave a rather impressive run time of about 12 hours.
My brainstorm idea is this:
1. gut existing circuitry
2. keep sub, ditch tweeter
3. fit vibes to sides of unit (the 69.2's are 2 way)
4. fit a 12V amp such as the TPA3116
5. fit decoder unit for bluetooth/aux and mixer for mic that feed to amp
6. Use better battery (I can find a 12V 12Ah lead battery for ~£20)
So layout is:
Decoder > Mixer > Amp > Left (Vibe 1), Lows (Sub), Right (Vibe 2)
I've been looking around on net and various sources seem to suggest that using car audio is a no go, and that a PA speaker is the way to go, although this would incur extra cost. I suspect the Vibes may be too higher wattage (RMS 135 / Peak 400) for a small amp like the TPA3116?
Questions that you good people might be able to answer:
1. Is this flogging a dead horse? Are the Vibes a bad idea? It's only because they're here and free that I have even considered this.
2. I have read that the TPA3116 ideally needs 24v or it will suck.. this is going to double the cost of the batteries if so and make a possible later internal charging solution more complex. Does anyone have any experience with this at 12v? Or is there a better alternative?
3. Is this all just a crap idea and would I be better off with a PA speaker?
Any and all other input/help/advice is welcome!
Ta Chaps and Chapesses 🙂
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Hi,
my advice would be, if you think it is worth to try it, then find out..
That is the only way to see results. Modify it and then go straight by your plans, and you will know if this is worth it. You wrote that you will not have to invest a lot into this, so just do it, You can only WIN.,
And in the second point, your question will be answered with facts, and this is worth more than anything else, because then you have also the learning effect on your side, but just from sitting around and thinking if it will work or not, nothing will happen. No one here can predict how it will turn out..
Regards Chris
my advice would be, if you think it is worth to try it, then find out..
That is the only way to see results. Modify it and then go straight by your plans, and you will know if this is worth it. You wrote that you will not have to invest a lot into this, so just do it, You can only WIN.,
And in the second point, your question will be answered with facts, and this is worth more than anything else, because then you have also the learning effect on your side, but just from sitting around and thinking if it will work or not, nothing will happen. No one here can predict how it will turn out..
Regards Chris
Hi Chris,
that's a good point, i guess I do have nothing to lose if i try. I just didn't want to fork out for a couple of things from china, wait for them to arrive, only to find out that there was some glaring error that means i could have saved a lot of fuss. But your advice has pretty much answered that for me. i will get some things ordered and will post back to let you guys know how it turns out!
that's a good point, i guess I do have nothing to lose if i try. I just didn't want to fork out for a couple of things from china, wait for them to arrive, only to find out that there was some glaring error that means i could have saved a lot of fuss. But your advice has pretty much answered that for me. i will get some things ordered and will post back to let you guys know how it turns out!
You can buy combination amp/Bluetooth tpa3116 boards for the cost of a sandwich that have two chips on the board, running in pbtl mode.
That’ll give plenty (40w) of power to handle the 6x9 speakers you have.
I’m building a similar setup here that will use some 4” 2-way JBL plate speakers placed into some boxes, one of which will contain the Bluetooth amp board.
Using this amp;
Mini ZK-1002 HIFI Bluetooth 5.0 Digital Amplifier Board TPA3116 Audio Power Amp | eBay
That’ll give plenty (40w) of power to handle the 6x9 speakers you have.
I’m building a similar setup here that will use some 4” 2-way JBL plate speakers placed into some boxes, one of which will contain the Bluetooth amp board.
Using this amp;
Mini ZK-1002 HIFI Bluetooth 5.0 Digital Amplifier Board TPA3116 Audio Power Amp | eBay