How to use sub/amp in house application?

[Brian]

I have spare subs and amps and boxes here from prior systems that I want to
put to use. I want to hook a sub and amp to my computer for bass for music.
Now, I have the line out with RCA's already to plug in to the amp, my
problem is how do I power and ground an amp in an indoor application? The
amp I would use has a 30amp draw or so.

I know I would need an invertor. Radioshack had a big bulky inverter, 10amps
juice and was $80. There must be an easier and better way to do this. Can
anyone make any suggestions?

Brian

[cyrus the virus]

In article >,
"Brian" > wrote:

> I have spare subs and amps and boxes here from prior systems that I want to
> put to use. I want to hook a sub and amp to my computer for bass for music.
> Now, I have the line out with RCA's already to plug in to the amp, my
> problem is how do I power and ground an amp in an indoor application? The
> amp I would use has a 30amp draw or so.
>
> I know I would need an invertor. Radioshack had a big bulky inverter, 10amps
> juice and was $80. There must be an easier and better way to do this. Can
> anyone make any suggestions?
>
> Brian
>
>

if you want to do it correctly.. about the only thing you can use from
what you have are the subs.

more than likely the enclosures you have will be too small for home use.
and using car amps can be messy to use in the home.. as far as wiring
goes.

parts express has a sub amp for about the same price as that inverter.

but if you just want something there.. i've used an old r/c car battery
charger i had lying around to test and use car amps in the home.

hth,

--
cyrus

[ocran]

Think about this, then do some research: Why are amps so big? Why to the
get so hot? The first half of an amp is used to condition the
electricity, or in other words, convert it to alternating current, as
you know, the power that comes out of your wall is also alternating, if
you cut a couple coils and get some resistors, you will be able to hook
your car amp up to AC with no problems.
--
ocran
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CarAudioForum.com - Usenet Gateway w/over one million posts online!
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[cyrus the virus]

In article >,
"Brian" > wrote:

> Thanks for the post! I've been thinking.. how about.. you know the little
> portable battery jump starters / emergency 12V power supplies? How about if
> I was to plug that in to a wall via the adaptor, as if charging the unit...
> then simply crunch my amps power and ground wires between the charger /
> power units gator jaws. That should provide it with the 12V that it would
> need, and keep the power flowing from a wall outlet. Then throw some rubber
> around the jaws to keep the wires from shorting on eachother/anything.
>
> This sounds like it might be doable. Any big problems with this?
> Brian
>
>

heh.. sure it might work, probably not the best idea though.

--
cyrus

[Sam Carleton]

On Wed, 06 Aug 2003 at 01:32 GMT, Brian wrote:

> Thanks for the post! I've been thinking.. how about.. you know the
> little portable battery jump starters / emergency 12V power
> supplies? How about if I was to plug that in to a wall via the
> adaptor, as if charging the unit... then simply crunch my amps
> power and ground wires between the charger / power units gator
> jaws. That should provide it with the 12V that it would need, and
> keep the power flowing from a wall outlet. Then throw some rubber
> around the jaws to keep the wires from shorting on
> eachother/anything.
>
> This sounds like it might be doable. Any big problems with this?

Brian,

Well, I like the general idea with one extra twist. Why not go out
and buy some type of battery (motorcycle, car, or riding lawn mower)
and hook it up between the charger and the amp?

Sam

--
See my links engine for a collection of sites that
might be of interest to you. Your additions will
make this engine more powerful global resource.
http://www.miltonstreet.com/scarleton/links/

[Kevin McMurtrie]

In article >,
ocran > wrote:

>Think about this, then do some research: Why are amps so big? Why to the
>get so hot? The first half of an amp is used to condition the
>electricity, or in other words, convert it to alternating current, as
>you know, the power that comes out of your wall is also alternating, if
>you cut a couple coils and get some resistors, you will be able to hook
>your car amp up to AC with no problems.
>--
>ocran
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>CarAudioForum.com - Usenet Gateway w/over one million posts online!
>View this thread:
>http://www.caraudioforum.com/vbb2/showthread.php?threadid=153113
>

Not quite. The amplifier uses a 25K Hz to 100K Hz transformer to keep
the components small. 50/60 Hz AC is of no use to it.

You can tap a DC power supply into the amp to skip its power inverter.
Most likely it's in the area of +/- 35 volts unregulated. It's not a
great idea, though. Car audio equipment often has inferior sound
quality compared to home audio equipment. Most of a car sound system's
cost goes into the power inverter and its compact size, both of which
are unnecessary in home use.

[Mark Zarella]

Um...for all the money this would cost, why not just buy a home amplifier?
Hell, even most pawn shops that sell electronic equipment have old
amplifiers for under a hundred...

--
Mark Zarella
zarellam at upstate dot edu


"Sam Carleton" > wrote in message
...
> On Wed, 06 Aug 2003 at 01:32 GMT, Brian wrote:
>
> > Thanks for the post! I've been thinking.. how about.. you know the
> > little portable battery jump starters / emergency 12V power
> > supplies? How about if I was to plug that in to a wall via the
> > adaptor, as if charging the unit... then simply crunch my amps
> > power and ground wires between the charger / power units gator
> > jaws. That should provide it with the 12V that it would need, and
> > keep the power flowing from a wall outlet. Then throw some rubber
> > around the jaws to keep the wires from shorting on
> > eachother/anything.
> >
> > This sounds like it might be doable. Any big problems with this?
>
> Brian,
>
> Well, I like the general idea with one extra twist. Why not go out
> and buy some type of battery (motorcycle, car, or riding lawn mower)
> and hook it up between the charger and the amp?
>
> Sam
>
> --
> See my links engine for a collection of sites that
> might be of interest to you. Your additions will
> make this engine more powerful global resource.
> http://www.miltonstreet.com/scarleton/links/

[Sam Carleton]

On Wed, 06 Aug 2003 at 03:55 GMT, Mark Zarella <> wrote:
> Um...for all the money this would cost, why not just buy a home amplifier?
> Hell, even most pawn shops that sell electronic equipment have old
> amplifiers for under a hundred...

Mark,

Don't tell me you are one of those logical people that like to do
things the easy way! Besides, your route would not allow Brian to
have a spare charged battery handy incase he needs one :P

Sam

> "Sam Carleton" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On Wed, 06 Aug 2003 at 01:32 GMT, Brian wrote:
>>
>> > Thanks for the post! I've been thinking.. how about.. you know the
>> > little portable battery jump starters / emergency 12V power
>> > supplies? How about if I was to plug that in to a wall via the
>> > adaptor, as if charging the unit... then simply crunch my amps
>> > power and ground wires between the charger / power units gator
>> > jaws. That should provide it with the 12V that it would need, and
>> > keep the power flowing from a wall outlet. Then throw some rubber
>> > around the jaws to keep the wires from shorting on
>> > eachother/anything.
>> >
>> > This sounds like it might be doable. Any big problems with this?
>>
>> Brian,
>>
>> Well, I like the general idea with one extra twist. Why not go out
>> and buy some type of battery (motorcycle, car, or riding lawn mower)
>> and hook it up between the charger and the amp?
>>
>> Sam
>>
>> --
>> See my links engine for a collection of sites that
>> might be of interest to you. Your additions will
>> make this engine more powerful global resource.
>> http://www.miltonstreet.com/scarleton/links/
>
>


--
See my links engine for a collection of sites that
might be of interest to you. Your additions will
make this engine more powerful global resource.
http://www.miltonstreet.com/scarleton/links/

[ocran]

It was a thought, has anyone ever done it?
--
ocran
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CarAudioForum.com - Usenet Gateway w/over one million posts online!
View this thread: http://www.caraudioforum.com/vbb2/showthread.php?threadid=153113

[teamamc]

get a battery charger. thats how i hooked up a whole stereo in my room. so
it should work for u qutie nicely
"Brian" > wrote in message
. ..
> I have spare subs and amps and boxes here from prior systems that I want
to
> put to use. I want to hook a sub and amp to my computer for bass for
music.
> Now, I have the line out with RCA's already to plug in to the amp, my
> problem is how do I power and ground an amp in an indoor application? The
> amp I would use has a 30amp draw or so.
>
> I know I would need an invertor. Radioshack had a big bulky inverter,
10amps
> juice and was $80. There must be an easier and better way to do this. Can
> anyone make any suggestions?
>
> Brian
>
>

[n8 skow]

Two big problems with simply charging your battery indoors during use.

1. Possibility of overcharge of the battery and consequent leakage or
explosion
2. The production of hydrogen gas in the house as the alkaline battery
charges

Best thing to do is to get a home audio amplifier than can operate at the
impedance your speakers need...

n8


> Thanks for the post! I've been thinking.. how about.. you know the little
> portable battery jump starters / emergency 12V power supplies? How about
if
> I was to plug that in to a wall via the adaptor, as if charging the
unit...
> then simply crunch my amps power and ground wires between the charger /
> power units gator jaws. That should provide it with the 12V that it would
> need, and keep the power flowing from a wall outlet. Then throw some
rubber
> around the jaws to keep the wires from shorting on eachother/anything.
>
> This sounds like it might be doable. Any big problems with this?
> Brian
>
>
> "cyrus the virus" > wrote in
> message
> ...
> > In article >,
> > "Brian" > wrote:
> >
> > > I have spare subs and amps and boxes here from prior systems that I
want
> to
> > > put to use. I want to hook a sub and amp to my computer for bass for
> music.
> > > Now, I have the line out with RCA's already to plug in to the amp, my
> > > problem is how do I power and ground an amp in an indoor application?
> The
> > > amp I would use has a 30amp draw or so.
> > >
> > > I know I would need an invertor. Radioshack had a big bulky inverter,
> 10amps
> > > juice and was $80. There must be an easier and better way to do this.
> Can
> > > anyone make any suggestions?
> > >
> > > Brian
> > >
> > >
> >
> > if you want to do it correctly.. about the only thing you can use from
> > what you have are the subs.
> >
> > more than likely the enclosures you have will be too small for home use.
> > and using car amps can be messy to use in the home.. as far as wiring
> > goes.
> >
> > parts express has a sub amp for about the same price as that inverter.
> >
> > but if you just want something there.. i've used an old r/c car battery
> > charger i had lying around to test and use car amps in the home.
> >
> > hth,
> >
> > --
> > cyrus
> >
> >
> >
>
>

[Sanitarium]

I second the vote for a parts express subwoofer amp. They are REALLY
well made, and are excellent on a watt/dollar basis. My brother bought
one for a home theater project using a kappa perfect 12" sub. Sounds
SOLID. IMHO blows away other high end home subs at a fraction of the
cost. The amp was around $125 and the sub was an extra from his car
audio system.

I dont think a car battery in the house is the safest thing. There have
been threads/discussions on battery explosions and fires before. IMHO
you should read those threads first before going this route.

A bench power supply would work but IMHO the wire bundles and such would
be messy.

Good Luck,
Garrett

Brian wrote:
>
> I have spare subs and amps and boxes here from prior systems that I want to
> put to use. I want to hook a sub and amp to my computer for bass for music.
> Now, I have the line out with RCA's already to plug in to the amp, my
> problem is how do I power and ground an amp in an indoor application? The
> amp I would use has a 30amp draw or so.
>
> I know I would need an invertor. Radioshack had a big bulky inverter, 10amps
> juice and was $80. There must be an easier and better way to do this. Can
> anyone make any suggestions?
>
> Brian