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    Re: The ghetto mod thread

    Originally posted by momaka View Post
    And I bet it ran much cooler than with the stock fan, didn't it.
    Oh yes... about 20 degrees cooler!
    (65 vs 88 degrees idle) No wonder the original fan died...

    Maybe be OK in a case with lots of airflow...

    Originally posted by jakdedert View Post
    Does this qualify? I think so....

    Some time ago, my old phone decided to quit charging its battery. The phone itself worked fine...just wouldn't charge. Battery was good, so I hacked up an old phone, and with some gaff tape and a cassette case, made a new charger. In the background of the first pic is the phone that donated its mb to make the charger.

    Worked until I got a new phone.....
    Hehe, nice!
    "Tantalum for the brave, Solid Aluminium for the wise, Wet Electrolytic for the adventurous"
    -David VanHorn

    Comment


      Re: The ghetto mod thread

      Heater wouldn't turn on, relays just sit there and click, get random garbage, etc. Checked the basics, nothing showing bad. Was thinking bad control board from the garbage error light codes and rapid relay changes.

      For shits and giggles jumpered W to C by hand and suddenly it actually came on. Turns out the cheap thermostat that came with the place is bad. For time time being there's a new thermostat in place.

      Attached Files

      Comment


        Re: The ghetto mod thread

        i hope your not running mains through that green cable, i had one of those melt on me!

        Comment


          Re: The ghetto mod thread

          Originally posted by stj View Post
          i hope your not running mains through that green cable, i had one of those melt on me!
          24v @ 1 OR 2 AMPS.
          Things I've fixed: anything from semis to crappy Chinese $2 radios, and now an IoT Dildo....

          "Dude, this is Wyoming, i hopped on and sent 'er. No fucking around." -- Me

          Excuse me while i do something dangerous


          You must have a sad, sad boring life if you hate on people harmlessly enjoying life with an animal costume.

          Sometimes you need to break shit to fix it.... Thats why my lawnmower doesn't have a deadman switch or engine brake anymore

          Follow the white rabbit.

          Comment


            Re: The ghetto mod thread

            Originally posted by goontron View Post
            24v @ 1 OR 2 AMPS.
            Correct, it's just 24VAC.

            Comment


              Re: The ghetto mod thread

              I was running 8 amps through one of those cables. Don't have to say that these things don't like it, but will take it for a short while...
              However the drop across the cable was sufficient to cause problems with the inverter I was trying to power...

              Now I don't know if the insulation on these are good enough for 120V (but probably not 220V?) - Melting due to insulation failure or too much current?

              Comment


                Re: The ghetto mod thread

                i burned one with 12v running through it - the current handling of the wire is less than it looks.

                Comment


                  Re: The ghetto mod thread

                  That wire and insulation looks quite thin.

                  Mine are much thicker and I have used them on 240v before without problem, although at fairly low current.
                  "Tantalum for the brave, Solid Aluminium for the wise, Wet Electrolytic for the adventurous"
                  -David VanHorn

                  Comment


                    Re: The ghetto mod thread

                    I dare you to stress-test one of those with 240VAC. If it doesn't melt, just go for 4 120V outlets or 2 240's.
                    Don't buy those $10 PSU "specials". They fail, and they have taken whole computers with them.

                    My computer doubles as a space heater.

                    Permanently Retired Systems:
                    RIP Advantech UNO-3072LA (2008-2021) - Decommissioned and taken out of service permanently due to lack of software support for it. Not very likely to ever be recommissioned again.
                    Asus Q550LF (Old main laptop, 2014-2022) - Decommissioned and stripped due to a myriad of problems, the main battery bloating being the final nail in the coffin.


                    Kooky and Kool Systems
                    - 1996 Power Macintosh 7200/120 + PC Compatibility Card - Under Restoration
                    - 1993 Gateway 2000 80486DX/50 - Fully Operational/WIP
                    - 2004 Athlon 64 Retro Gaming System - Indefinitely Parked
                    - Main Workstation - Fully operational!

                    sigpic

                    Comment


                      Re: The ghetto mod thread

                      Originally posted by eccerr0r View Post
                      Now I don't know if the insulation on these are good enough for 120V (but probably not 220V?) - Melting due to insulation failure or too much current?
                      Are those alligator jumper cables from Harbor Freight Tools? If yes, the package for those says they are 18 AWG and rated for up to 300 V (which, I am almost certain implies DC and not AC).
                      I've also ran 7-8 Amps through my HFT alligator jumper cables, and they got only slightly warm after a while.
                      ... unlike the test probes that came with my cheap HFT multimeters. Those can take only about 1-2 Amps continuously. With 5 and above, they get hot and their vynil coating becomes really soft and bend-y within a minute .
                      Last edited by momaka; 12-06-2015, 03:57 PM.

                      Comment


                        Re: The ghetto mod thread

                        That particular one is fairly thin. They usually only get used for 12VDC @ 1A or less, 12V PSU to a breadboard power connector.

                        Comment


                          Re: The ghetto mod thread

                          I guess this sort of qualifies for a ghetto mod, so I had to cross post this.

                          Alas this was not my handiwork. Thinking about 'undoing' this...


                          https://www.badcaps.net/filedata/fetch?id=1974818

                          Comment


                            Re: The ghetto mod thread

                            Insulation? We don't need no stinking insulation...
                            "Tantalum for the brave, Solid Aluminium for the wise, Wet Electrolytic for the adventurous"
                            -David VanHorn

                            Comment


                              Re: The ghetto mod thread

                              Yeah the cord was made into a cheater cord too, but I don't think that can be considered a ghetto hack anymore? No?

                              But yes, that's +120V, free for the touching... Then again, no isolation transformer in any case...

                              Comment


                                Re: The ghetto mod thread

                                I don't think I need to do much of a description here (but you know I always do ).


                                Basically, I got four of these Cerwin Vega VSW-10 speaker drivers for free (see this post.)

                                I used almost the exact same method to make the paper surrounds as I did with these:
                                https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showpo...&postcount=112

                                Worked even better this time. Only different thing I did is I glued the paper surround to the speaker cone first rather than to the basket. Was able to center the cone (again) without having to remove the dust cap to put shims between the voicecoil and magnet. And these speakers had much tighter tolerances than the Nova-18.

                                Also, I made the paper surround from many small pieces of paper rather than one big piece. It took a bit longer, but the surround has overall better shape, IMO. And here is what I used for the shape:
                                https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1454559535
                                Yup, same old broken HDMI cable I used for the Nova-18's.

                                As for the cardboard test box... it's crap, I know . Took only 20 minutes to make, though. And it works more or less - better than free-airing the speaker anyways . The port doesn't seem to want to function properly, for some odd reason: the longer I make it, the less bass I get from the speaker without actually improving the low-end response . I guess I need to build me a proper wooden test box.

                                However, between that box and my Nova-18 speakers, I can't say which has less bass. Both seem to drop quite sharply below 70 Hz (especially the Nova-18). The funny thing is, the Nova-18 woofers seem to do better in the cardboard box. Meanwhile, the Cerwin Vega woofers don't sound that great in either. They are good woofers, though. When on the ground free-airing, you can definitely feel the whole ground vibrate a lot. I think they just need a proper box.

                                Forgo to mention that the test amplifier I used was also limited to about 1 to 2 Watts per channel, max. before introducing any audible distortion. So maybe the CV speakers weren't getting enough power. According to this,
                                https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showpo...postcount=1233
                                they need at least 5 Watts to meet stated specs.

                                Thoughts, comments, suggestions on this bodged piece of work?
                                Attached Files
                                Last edited by momaka; 02-03-2016, 10:27 PM.

                                Comment


                                  Re: The ghetto mod thread

                                  ^ you should hear my vintage Zeniths... cutoff is 12hz. You can't ever hear that!
                                  Things I've fixed: anything from semis to crappy Chinese $2 radios, and now an IoT Dildo....

                                  "Dude, this is Wyoming, i hopped on and sent 'er. No fucking around." -- Me

                                  Excuse me while i do something dangerous


                                  You must have a sad, sad boring life if you hate on people harmlessly enjoying life with an animal costume.

                                  Sometimes you need to break shit to fix it.... Thats why my lawnmower doesn't have a deadman switch or engine brake anymore

                                  Follow the white rabbit.

                                  Comment


                                    Re: The ghetto mod thread

                                    Here's my ghetto fume extraction.
                                    A tumble dryer condenser box, some cooker hood charcoal filter, 12v fan and some mains cable (for strength).

                                    I think that tape should be coloured red momaka ? Port and box sizes are a science and it needs more Power !!
                                    Attached Files
                                    Last edited by diif; 02-04-2016, 07:53 AM.

                                    Comment


                                      Re: The ghetto mod thread

                                      Originally posted by goontron View Post
                                      ^ you should hear my vintage Zeniths... cutoff is 12hz. You can't ever hear that!
                                      I think you are mistaken here.
                                      Cut-off usually refers to -3 dB drop in SPL from speaker frequency response (though some manufacturers will extend frequency response window for their speakers up to -10 dB to get better numbers).

                                      To hear / feel 12 Hz of bass, you will need stupid amounts of power and air movement. Even 20 Hz takes a huge amount of power on multiple-kW car audio systems to reach reasonable SPL.

                                      So I doubt your vintage speakers will go down to 12 Hz. The cone moving at 12 Hz doesn't amount to much, really. Any sound you hear from that is mechanical noise from the speaker's damping system. Also, most vintage speakers have small X-max and fairly shallow motor magnets, so most will struggle to go below 50 Hz without loosing volume significantly.

                                      Originally posted by diif
                                      Here's my ghetto fume extraction.
                                      A tumble dryer condenser box, some cooker hood charcoal filter, 12v fan and some mains cable (for strength).
                                      Nice!
                                      My friend tried to make a similar setup for his machine a while back, but wasn't as successful. He only used a 50 mm fan, so the fume extractor wasn't sucking the fumes all too well.
                                      How can you tell if it's working well, by the way? Less fumes in the shop? I imagine the smell of burned flux is not affected.
                                      Pretty decent Scotle machine as well - at least in terms of case construction, that is. If you get a chance, make sure the wiring inside it is done right too. My friend had an early ACHI IR PRO SC blow multiple times on him due to bad wiring (stranded wire on a terminal block with screws doesn't work too well if the wire ends are not tinned).

                                      Originally posted by diif
                                      I think that tape should be coloured red momaka ?
                                      And it was - originally. (I'm assuming you're talking about the foam surround.) The foam was old and crumbled into tiny pieces, though.

                                      Originally posted by diif
                                      Port and box sizes are a science and it needs more Power !!
                                      It is, but there are also many computer calculators / software to help with that. I think I just need to flip the port 90 degrees (i.e. have it on a different side of the box).
                                      And yes, it does need more power. The cone movement on these CV speakers is quite stiff, which is good for high-power speakers - you don't want your cone shooting across the room when the low-end bass hits. Or do you?
                                      Last edited by momaka; 02-07-2016, 12:14 AM.

                                      Comment


                                        Re: The ghetto mod thread

                                        Thanks, i built it originally for bench soldering and sucks fumes about 8cm away. The smell was quite bad after doing a reflow but there wasn't any visible smoke going anywhere other than in the pipe and i didn't get a headache. I might upgrade to a mains fan and vent it up and out through my loft.

                                        Noted about the wiring, i do need to give it some maintenance when i get a chance the ratchet and pinion that moves the top isn't engaged so I'll check the wiring out then.

                                        Yeah, your tape needs to be like the original foam...red

                                        And yes, I like bass you can feel. Although when i turn my stereo up it vibrates one of my doors in its frame. (i need to attach some draft excluding foam strip).

                                        Comment


                                          Re: The ghetto mod thread

                                          I wonder if someone could come up with a different material to use for the cone edge surround besides the crappy foam, say a thin solid rubber surround like a bicycle inner tube is? I think the paper surround is promising. Did you use anything like the old school speaker dope to kind of "vulcanize" the paper?

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