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I want to do this...
- Thread starter MinerAl
- Start date
Are they line level or amplified?
BTW, gratuitous pic posts are discouraged . . .
BTW, gratuitous pic posts are discouraged . . .
Yep, that'd be line level. No biggie on the piccie, just an FYI. 
I doodled for a bit at work on the wiring schematic, lookin good!
I doodled for a bit at work on the wiring schematic, lookin good!
Mark: How fat are we talking? Anybody have an open iMac they could grab the speaker dimensions from?
Once upon a time I had a bunch of dead iMacs to pick through.
This soundbar, at Microcenter (I think I saw an even smaller one there yesterday), is USB, but would fit inside the case pretty well if there was a way to use it. There are lots of external speaker kits out there that could be stripped of their bits to make internal audio great.
Honestly, I've never counted on built in speakers for sound. Even on my 27" (2010) iMac, I still have it sent out to an external amp/speakers so the field of stereo will be reasonable. I think just making the internal audio stereo with the two 2.25" speakers sitting here, using semi-standard internal wiring, will be a great start. Then later if I get inspired to make it a ghetto blaster*, I can find better speakers.
*Now there's the next fun hack idea. Tack a 30-pin iPod dock onto the previously mentioned flat screen and sound system, and you'd have a kick butt little mobile music/movie player. "Macintosh Classic GB" (or "BB" if you're feeling politically correct).
Once upon a time I had a bunch of dead iMacs to pick through.
This soundbar, at Microcenter (I think I saw an even smaller one there yesterday), is USB, but would fit inside the case pretty well if there was a way to use it. There are lots of external speaker kits out there that could be stripped of their bits to make internal audio great.
Honestly, I've never counted on built in speakers for sound. Even on my 27" (2010) iMac, I still have it sent out to an external amp/speakers so the field of stereo will be reasonable. I think just making the internal audio stereo with the two 2.25" speakers sitting here, using semi-standard internal wiring, will be a great start. Then later if I get inspired to make it a ghetto blaster*, I can find better speakers.
*Now there's the next fun hack idea. Tack a 30-pin iPod dock onto the previously mentioned flat screen and sound system, and you'd have a kick butt little mobile music/movie player. "Macintosh Classic GB" (or "BB" if you're feeling politically correct).
About two inches deep, fat. They are essentially a smaller version of the Apple Pro speakers. Sound just as good too.
I will open up the ol' indigo in the morning for a measurement. It's possible they are too large. If they are going to be aimed out the sides there will be only about 4-5 inches between them. I'll get the accurate numbers though.
I will open up the ol' indigo in the morning for a measurement. It's possible they are too large. If they are going to be aimed out the sides there will be only about 4-5 inches between them. I'll get the accurate numbers though.
Meh, I'm trying to do stuff to forget about this terriffic bee sting I got earlier (went to the ER for it.. yay!) Anyway I opened up the imac and got the dimensions.
The orbs are 75mm deep, 70mm wide and 55mm tall. However, the speakers inside the orbs aren't nearly as bad. 30mm diameter and 35mm deep.
(This also gave me a chance to change the PRAM battery finally. Only one 1/2AA to go and those are all done. Pismo is another story, I don't think it's getting a new one, ever
)
The orbs are 75mm deep, 70mm wide and 55mm tall. However, the speakers inside the orbs aren't nearly as bad. 30mm diameter and 35mm deep.
(This also gave me a chance to change the PRAM battery finally. Only one 1/2AA to go and those are all done. Pismo is another story, I don't think it's getting a new one, ever
)
I've posted some higher resolution photos to a picasa gallery.
One of those photos shows that there is only about 2cm of space between the sound holes and the frame of the mezzanine. If I were to put in super sound parts, I'd have to relocate them to a more spacious area of the case.
As I've said, I think just going to stereo will be a cool upgrade, and also in-line with the spirit of a 1994 Mac. I'm trying to limit the urge to go hot-rod on it and just jam every cool thing I can think of in there. I'm okay with having video in/out, just because that will make me more likely to use it regularly, even though it kind of breaks the spirit of the hack.
I have all my Macs' audio piped through a nice shelf-stereo, so internal audio only has to be functional, not excellent.
One of those photos shows that there is only about 2cm of space between the sound holes and the frame of the mezzanine. If I were to put in super sound parts, I'd have to relocate them to a more spacious area of the case.
As I've said, I think just going to stereo will be a cool upgrade, and also in-line with the spirit of a 1994 Mac. I'm trying to limit the urge to go hot-rod on it and just jam every cool thing I can think of in there. I'm okay with having video in/out, just because that will make me more likely to use it regularly, even though it kind of breaks the spirit of the hack.
I have all my Macs' audio piped through a nice shelf-stereo, so internal audio only has to be functional, not excellent.
If you can make a sealed rectangular box behind the speakers the same internal volume as the domes, you should get similar response out of them. The shape is more or less irrelevant.
Simplest way to measure the volume of the balls would be to fill them with water, then pour it out into a measuring cup
Then designing a box to match is just multiplication and division.BTW, the little tail-like ridge on the spheres is a bass port - if you can also match that, so much the better. The sound from the slot-loading iMac version in particular is quite nice.
Those 2" or so mylar speakers are available as new parts, and also in a lot of cheap Shenzen/eBay "mini speaker" sets for laptops. I ordered one for I think $10 shipped which is still on the way.
Guide to Cube & G4 era speakers.
Sparkfun have the dock connector, and you can get a banging little Class-D Tripath digital T-Amp for ten to twenty bucks on ebay. Or just rip apart one of the aforementioned no-name laptop speaker sets - one that has an analog in (usually 3.5mm headphone jack) instead of / as well as USB. In that latter case, they usually take +5V power from the USB port, so it's just a case of rewiring or adapting the connectors.
One small note - make sure whatever speaker you use matches the impedance (resistance) of the amplifier. If you are connecting directly to the speaker headers on the Mac logic board, for example, match the speaker from the original model. Higher impedance means lower volume, and lower impedance* risks burning out the amp - eg, the amp IC on the logic board.
* Commercially available amps will tell you what impedance they can handle. It can be a strict value (like 8 ohms) or a range (like 4 to 16 ohms)
Dunno yet, still thinking about it, doodled a lot at work, I'll doink that much into the Illustrator file and we'll see what you think.
If you mean: am I going to isolate the traces from the DB-25 connector to the 50 pin header on the Classic II MoBo strip, then yes.
In the interests of easily avoiding SCSI terminations issues, I guess building an IDC50F -> ICCDB-25M adapter cable is the way to go for the SCSI interconnect. Dunno if the added cabling will cause SCSI Voodoo, but if it does, adding a DB-25 Terminator when nothing is connected to the port on the Classic II MoBo strip would fix it nicely.
The only real question about the wiring plan is the FDD connector mod, but I think I've got something very sneaky up my sleeve for that hack! }
http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/5753/mineraladapter01.jpg
In the interests of easily avoiding SCSI terminations issues, I guess building an IDC50F -> ICCDB-25M adapter cable is the way to go for the SCSI interconnect. Dunno if the added cabling will cause SCSI Voodoo, but if it does, adding a DB-25 Terminator when nothing is connected to the port on the Classic II MoBo strip would fix it nicely.
The only real question about the wiring plan is the FDD connector mod, but I think I've got something very sneaky up my sleeve for that hack! }
http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/5753/mineraladapter01.jpg
I've been messing around with the two MoBos and I see physical interference problems with both of the header strips . . . :-/
. . . oh well, soldering to the pin cones underneath may be easier, hot glue works wonders and it'll likely wind up looking more neatly done above deck anyway.
Shopping list remains pending . . .
Do the mounting rails of the Classics run all the way to the back of the MoBo or will the Classic II MoBo strip be hanging in the air as it would be in my Plus?
Does anyone know offhand how many of the eight lines on the 10bT interconnect it will be necessary to implement? (a link to a previous post will suffice)
Al, how many and which lines will be necessary to implement between the VGA HD-15 and the KVM switch?
Once done, it should be a snap to adapt the portions of this hack necessary to fit any Compact all the way back to the Plus.
. . . oh well, soldering to the pin cones underneath may be easier, hot glue works wonders and it'll likely wind up looking more neatly done above deck anyway.
Shopping list remains pending . . .
Do the mounting rails of the Classics run all the way to the back of the MoBo or will the Classic II MoBo strip be hanging in the air as it would be in my Plus?
Does anyone know offhand how many of the eight lines on the 10bT interconnect it will be necessary to implement? (a link to a previous post will suffice)
Al, how many and which lines will be necessary to implement between the VGA HD-15 and the KVM switch?
Once done, it should be a snap to adapt the portions of this hack necessary to fit any Compact all the way back to the Plus.
Exellent, then we've got 11 pins available on the DA-15 for whatever VGA signals and grund lines we need!
Is that diagram clear or murkier than ever? :-/
I could use the help of a sound connector boffin on the way to wire the Quadra's output to the speakers via the Classic II MoBo strip's speaker jack pins as the normal state and then out to a stereo plug when it's inserted into the jack.
Is that diagram clear or murkier than ever? :-/
I could use the help of a sound connector boffin on the way to wire the Quadra's output to the speakers via the Classic II MoBo strip's speaker jack pins as the normal state and then out to a stereo plug when it's inserted into the jack.
Crystal. If I were better with illustrator that's how I would've graphically described it.
Did page six clear up the other questions, or do you need more clarification?
Did page six clear up the other questions, or do you need more clarification?
The rails should be able to hold the stub board in place I think. I'll check it closely Monday. When I got it in my head that the rails would be fine, I still thought both the stub and the 605 board would be riding tandem in the rails, so I'll have to check, but I sure think so. The rails do not run all the way to the chin area of the case.
