Boombox Ghetto Blaster Paper Amplifier

Today we will make a replica of the famous and unmistakable Gheto Blaster TRC-975 from Lasonic.

Why or what for?

Just for fun, but besides that, apart from being decorative, we will use it as something functional, we will turn it into a mini amplifier for home use for our smartphone.

In this project we will use:

1. Cardboard, 1 meter
2. Printed Templates (check the step 5 for download)
3. X-acto precision blade.
4. Cutter
5. Scissors
6. Dotting tool
7. Pencil
8. Ruler
9. Liquid Glue
10. chrome silver paper
11. Contact Cement
12. Transparent acetate paper
13. Time :)
14. last but not least, Patience.

The main idea of ​​this project is to solve two specific problems, both of which are associated with music and sound. The first problem It's more like a specific taste than for being a problem as such, and that is the following:

since I was young I always dreamed of having a ghetto blaster speaker but due to economic reasons and the passing of the years and the increase in the prices of retro devices such as these boombox always deprive myself of giving myself that luxury.

And the second problem: sometimes when I want to listen to music on my phone, the volume of the cell phone is not loud enough, and consequently you get bored of trying to turn it up more when it is already at the top of its maximum capacity.

So I said: how can I combine these two problems giving you a definitive solution that is apart from extravagant, functional and ingenious.

So join me in this fun project in which you will make your own retro Boombox Ghetto Blaster from scratch.

– Photo courtesy: Via Google.

A Ghetto blaster (or boombox) is a large portable audio player, with radio and cassette player and built-in speakers, The first known use of ghetto blaster was in 1980, especially played loudly in public by young people.

also known as a boombox. The term "ghetto blaster" became popular in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s, when boomboxes became associated with African American and Latino youth in urban communities.

For me in particular the most iconic beautiful and best designed Boombox has always been the TRC 975 from Lasonic.

Lasonic produced some of the most popular boomboxes amongst collectors. Most of them were manufactured in Taiwan.

So in this instructable we will make a TRC 975 with materials that are accessible such as cardboard, glue and some others.

– Photo courtesy: Via Google.

We will not manufacture the internal system of the recorder since it obviously requires parts such as digital cards and circuits, but what we will do is an amplifier system through which the sound of our smartphone will travel to the precise location of the speakers of our Bomboox.

As we can see in the reference image.

But how a smarthpone amplifier works? Phone amplifiers work by dispersing sound waves through channels or in some cases cavities, which can be flat or conical, these shapes vary depending on the design and are designed to transmit the greatest amount of energy possible through the air through sound waves. In my design, the sound is first amplified from the base of the cell phone and travels through the paper until it finds the space where the waves can travel and bounce, looking for the end of the cones to exit and disperse.

So in this case the sound will split, bouncing off the walls of the paper structure, trying to find the way out, which will make it sound approximately 20% to 40% louder, depending on many factors such as brightness, bass, and even the brand of the phone.

Here you can find all the templates necessary to make this project, please note that they are in pdf format for printing in letter size.

tip: remember to print in high quality and full color

After printing, the next step is to cut the pieces one by one, do this step for each pdf file in one go and assemble it immediately. That is, if you are going to make the body of the Boombox, first cut them out, transfer them to the cardboard and assemble them before moving on to the next steps, speakers, etc.

Using a ruler, make the respective straight cuts of each template for the body of the boombox

Use the tape to join those resulting pieces, remember that the joining shape should be perfect since these will be molds that we will use to transfer to the cardboard to create such rigid pieces.

Now make the front part of the top, there you will find a cavity where our cell phone will enter, But keep in mind that the hole goes as far away from the front as possible so you don't make my mistake.

Now join the back parts of the top, there are three pieces that do not join together, between these pieces a space is made that corresponds to the handle of the TRC-975.

Since the boombox structure is symmetrical, you will notice that you will only have to cut one of the side molds since they are the same size.

For this part you just have to join the 4 pieces to form a single block that will correspond to the bottom of the ghettoblaster, keep in mind the sizes and make sure it is symmetrical

Make sure all the molds fit perfectly into their corners before continuing.

Now transfer the molds to the material of your choice, you can use recycled cardboard or as in my case a smoother cardboard,.

Try to frame the pieces first to make better use of the material and thus not generate senseless waste.

For the front part use the same template as the back part, but do not mark the handle holes, you should just draw the complete rectangular shape

For these cuts, make sure you have a larger ruler than usual, so you can achieve single-stroke cuts.

Tip: Remember to constantly change blades to achieve a better finish.

As I mentioned in a previous step, here I made the mistake of joining the upper part incorrectly, leaving the cavity for the cell phone further forward, so keep this in mind.

Once you have cut your rigid pieces, the next step is to apply contact cement to assemble them.

Remember that the joints here will be at the edges, so we will use a wooden stick to apply the glue and not spill it on the edges. This way we will have a cleaner surface when painting.

For assembly, we will let the applied glue dry well, and then we will join piece by piece, always respecting the front part over the sides.

For better adhesion, it is advisable to apply good pressure and take your time until the adhesion is correct.

To paint the piece, use a hook and hang it in the air in a ventilated place, preferably during the day. Try to locate an area where you can move around the piece 360 ​​degrees.

Apply thin layers, allowing to dry between each layer for at least 10 to 20 minutes, apply the necessary layers according to the desired result.

To give the Boombox some more detailed features, download the templates I created based on several images collected from the web. I tried to find the best and highest quality ones so that the figure, colors and shapes on the front face look like the real recorder, although further down you will find the "Details PDF" which you can download to give more realism to your project. Although only if you want, it is not necessary for the operation of the amplifier.

As in previous steps, cut out the pieces, and organize them to have a clearer vision of the final composition.

Use the ruler for straighter and smoother cuts

Apply glue to the cardboard and let it dry, and start gluing each panel from the bottom corner at a 90° degree angle

Now do the same with each panel until you cover the entire front face.

Tip: Before gluing each panel, check it very well because once it is superimposed, trying to pull it can break it.

Now we come to the most important part of our project, the highway where our sound will run from our cell phone to the fake cones, amplifying the sound.

Cut all the pieces. I recommend assembling the right side (red) first and then using the left side as a guide. In the templates you will find various color and number markings that will guide you in the construction of the structure.

Each piece has a number, which gets smaller the closer you get to the center.

Score the paper tabs with the dotting tool, almost all the tabs in this template are valley folds so keep that in mind, and in the templates you will find how the valley and mountain folds work.

Before joining all the pieces we will start by closing each numbered piece with its respective tab

After having them closed, we will be guided by numerical order to continue the assembly, taking into account the colored lines of each piece, always look for the position of the colored lines and make them connect head-on with the next piece.

The dotted colored lines must always match, and also to prevent the speed of sound waves from being cut by any surface, I recommend gluing the tabs on the outside.

as shown in image 2

Now with the help of the exact, cut the excess inside the front face where the speaker cones of our lasonic are supposed to go, I have marked out a circular shape for you to guide yourself when you are making this cut.

Apply glue to the tabs respectively and with the pressure of your fingers join the pieces together.

Now finish joining all three manufactured pieces: the body, the front face and the conical structure.

Place the cones internally in the corresponding location, glue with glue, contact cement, although what I recommend most is with hot silicone to better seal the sound leaks.

Now you have your complete amplifier, all that's left is to put a cell phone with music and do some volume and sound tests, this homemade amplifier can also serve as decoration in a library or any piece of furniture.

thanks for watch