First Attempt at Tower Speakers!

QNev · Posted: Nov 19, 2005 5:45 pm Post subject: First Attempt at Tower Speakers!

PVC Fittings: $75
Alpine V-Power Amp: $160
Kicker KS60's: $180

I think these things turned out great! This is the front end cap which we mounted the speaker on. Luckily we got a deal worked out to about $330 on the amp and speakers.

We still need to buy some pipe to join the couplings and end caps, and we're shortening the couplings just a little, and U-Hooks, but this is what we have so far.

Can't wait for next spring when we mount these!

PS. One question... I accidentally possibly punctured through the rubber woofer surround. Will this severely affect the speaker (it is pretty small)?

Thanks.

QNev · Posted: Nov 21, 2005 4:57 pm Post subject:

Anyone? I can probably still return these so, any help would be great.

J-Ro · Posted: Nov 21, 2005 5:37 pm Post subject:

QNev, Yes it will but I hope they don't take them back. Stupidity is not covered under warranty.

It's hard to tell but how deep is the enclosure...looks too shallow.

QNev · Posted: Nov 21, 2005 6:33 pm Post subject:

J-Ro, They're about a foot long in total.. This is just the end cap on which I mounted them.

As for the hole, I'll try and get a better pic of it.. It's about a pinhole size so it's pretty damn small and i'm not sure if it went all the way through? Still won't work?

Stupidity? Haha... The screwdriver skipped off a stripped screw head and it hit the rubber surround. The stripped screw was all we had because we were one short in the mounting hardware bag in the box Razz

chavez · RIP MHL 04/25/1958 - 01/11/2006

QNev, everyone pokes a speaker or 2 when they are young and stupid.

The speaker will still function, and being that it is on your tower and not in an enclosed environment like a car interior, you probably won't even notice it.

The speaker will not last as long, and moisture could enter the enclosure, but it will get you by for a while.

QNev · Posted: Nov 21, 2005 11:30 pm Post subject:

Any way of sealing it?

Brit Rider · Posted: Nov 22, 2005 6:17 am Post subject:

QNev, You can seal it yes, use some strong glue such as super glue. apply a small amount to the front and rear of the repair... that will hold and work great.

Don't leave it as if you are running the speakers at their peak the hole can grow.

Looks good..

wesgardner · Posted: Nov 22, 2005 6:23 am Post subject:

Hey QNev,

I think I'd try some sort or flexible goo, maybe 3-M 5200 (it's polyurethene and will allow movement) to seal the hole so it doens't get bigger.

Like chavez, says, it'll work fine and if it's really just pin-hole size, you'll probably never notice it...next time however...well, you know what to do next time Shocked

Keep posting up pics, BTW, where did you get those end caps?

Wes

J-Ro · Posted: Nov 22, 2005 9:16 am Post subject:

QNev, I was giving you a hard time....everyone has done it once. After that you are really careful around mounting screws. Embarassed

chavez · RIP MHL 04/25/1958 - 01/11/2006

J-Ro, or you just buy a finder-driver for your drill. I won't use a drill to set screws without one.

J-Ro · Posted: Nov 22, 2005 9:53 am Post subject:

Got one, still can happen though Embarassed

QNev · Posted: Nov 22, 2005 5:56 pm Post subject:

wesgardner, Dad went down to a local plumbing store and bought just some 6" end caps, we marked 'em up and stuck a jigsaw to them and cut the circle, and then I used a sander to sand the inside. It worked great, and we didn't have to buy thicker pipe so we saved some $$$. I threaded them, and worked with that.. They hold up well...

We still need to buy pipe to mount the couplings on, and the closing end caps. The U-Hooks aren't going on until we can get around to measuring the tower thickness, which I completely forgot about when dad took the boat in for storage Confused

QNev · Posted: Nov 22, 2005 6:00 pm Post subject:

chavez, what would that do as compared to a screwdriver (which I used to set the screws/thread the PVC).

wesgardner · Posted: Nov 23, 2005 7:19 am Post subject:

Hey QNev,

The reason I asked about the end caps is there seems to be two variations - the ones you got (which I like) and others with a more rounded end...

Lookin' good...

Wes

QNev · Posted: Nov 23, 2005 8:20 am Post subject:

Ohhhh... My bad.

Where can you get the ones with a more rounded end? I was thinking of using those for the caps that would be facing forward on the tower.

wesgardner · Posted: Nov 23, 2005 10:21 am Post subject:

Hey QNev,

I saw 'em at Home Depot and Lowe's...haven't bought anything yet as I'm still working on getting a tower

Wes

chavez · RIP MHL 04/25/1958 - 01/11/2006

QNev, it has a sleeve that slides over the screw and prevents skipping off the screw and into whatever you are screwing.

Unless you are a dee dee dee like j-ro Laughing

J-Ro · Posted: Nov 23, 2005 10:38 am Post subject:

chavez, Hey I resemble that remark.

You just offended me which means you're offended and every member of POOP is offended.....way to offend everyone Asshat!

QNev · Posted: Nov 23, 2005 5:48 pm Post subject:

Not a bad idea... I should look into one of those...

QNev · Posted: Nov 27, 2005 12:20 pm Post subject:

I picked up a 6" PVC sewer pipe at Terrasen Waterworks, and it was actually free! Today dad and I are cutting it to join the couplings to the end caps and we're trimming down the couplings a little bit to shorten these things up. We'll have to finish the cutting before 3:00 ( Grey Cup Razz

) I'll probably have some pics up by the end of the day.

I was looking around at paint for these things and stumbled upon some chrome paint for plastic, and best of all it will match the tower Razz

! Anyone think it's a good idea?

Brit Rider · Posted: Nov 27, 2005 5:07 pm Post subject:

QNev, I've never known that chrome paint to work well... it just comes out with too many blemishes on a large surface.
It works great for pinstriping and small spots though....
I'd try to avoid it unless you are having them done professionally and even then.. seek advice...

QNev · Posted: Nov 27, 2005 6:26 pm Post subject:

Brit Rider, thanks

I just had (what i think to be) a really good idea for these. They're about 1 1/4 ft long, which is really long for just one speaker in each, and to take up some space I was thinking of modifying a high power flashlight on the other end cap of each tube (Facing forward). I think it would be easier to mod these flashlights instead of wiring, so i don't think interferrence would be an issue. I could put some kind of button or switch on the outside of the tube.

Good idea, bad? Very Happy

Brit Rider · Posted: Nov 27, 2005 7:21 pm Post subject:

QNev, Battery life will suck terribly... I have one of those 1 million candle flash lights and if you hold it on constantly the battery doesn't last for very long at all...

I guess you could do the math roughly.. what wattage the lamps are divided by 12 gives you the amperes the lamps will require...

I reckon you'd be way better to wire them in... lights burn alot of power.

Think about it this way, most people run 55watt halogens on their tower.

4 lights x 55 watts / 12 = 18 amp supply required... Your standard boat alternator on a runabout is about 40 amps... thats almost half its power being sapped...

Maybe only 2 lights wouldn't be so bad BUT if powering them from a battery thats not on an alternator you aren't going to be getting light for very long! especially if they are simple battery packs...

just my 2 cents...

QNev · Posted: Dec 14, 2005 8:48 am Post subject:

Brit Rider, Touché

Okay... We're in another thing here... What is the best way to shorten these up? I believe it's 1/8" sewer pipe (as you can see) but we're thinking of trimming down the end caps. Any good way of doing this without it looking like a hack job?

QNev · Posted: Mar 05, 2006 1:09 pm Post subject:

Sorry about the long wait, but I've finally gotten back to working on these.

So far today:
-I have sanded down the PVC and cleaned it for painting
-Dad has joined the pieces

What we need to do:
-Sand off the excess glue which we have used to fill gaps
-Paint

Once we get the boat back, I'll buy some U-Hooks the right diameter, and the plan is to attach to some wood within the PVC to distribute their weight and prevent warping once mounted.

Vampyre · Addict Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 622 City: Ooltewah, TN

Looks good Q!