Ideal Boombox

[Superduper]

Would be sturdy and not fragile, like eggs.. literally. You can drop it, perhaps even throw it and not damage it (too much to ask?)
Has protective handles. Everywhere.
Plays CD's since I have lots of them. Maybe even CD's encoded with MP3's so I can load 100-200 songs on a single CD.
Of course needs AM/FM Stereo.
Needs to have power and rock like a son of a gun.
Must be AC capable.
Must take batteries. Heck rechargeable batteries are even better.
... while we are at it, why not make it charge the battery while it's plugged in.
Maybe asking too much but like home receivers and other stereo gear, how about adding some AC jacks for auxillary use.
.... and since it's a boombox and portable, let's make those AC jacks GFI protected too.
And..... how about adding a cigarette lighter adapter so we can charge stuff like our MP3 players or smart phones.
........which we will want because of course it MUST have Aux-In capability for greatest versatility.
And since I love my iPod, would be great if it had an IPOD safe for storage and keep it safe so it doesn't fall off when you try to carry it.
Sure, I want lots of features but oh, and please not be too big.

Seems this would be highly utilitarian. Am I asking too much?

 

[-GZ-]

I think YOU should build one......by modding a Sanyo M9994

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

You want this...

 

[redbenjoe]

all that , norm......

plus - 2 big analogue meters
plus the tuner must be analogue with the famed :superduper: led dial and meter lights.

to save a ton of $$ and weight on metals or a very heavy/thick plastic case --
use polyethylene --as its light and it 'bounces' instead of cracks
so --it doesnt have to be an egg --just some small radius gentle corners
==============================

----reserving my rights to add still more features --later

 

[Superduper]

@ Chris, your picture of the "ideal" boombox did not come through.
@ Ira, let's not make this overly complicated resulting in a stars in heaven type of wish.

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

@ Chris, your picture of the "ideal" boombox did not come through.
@ Ira, let's not make this overly complicated resulting in a stars in heaven type of wish.

Let me be clear, I hate that Dewalt and I know that's not what your looking for,

but it can't be broken by falling, can charge stuff, might take batteries....

But of course, it's ugly as hell :frankenstein: irate:

 

[Superduper]

OK Chris.... I see you are the smartest one here, having figured out what direction I was going.

I never owned the Dewalt nor listened to it.

But THIS I have owned this Bosch for about 5 years now. I couldn't resist at the time but always wanted the iPod dock/cradle option which was a separate accessory. Never could bring myself to pay the $68 for just the dock when it came out. Recently, I finally got one for something I could afford. I always loved the fact that I could install scores if not more songs onto a single CD, and it would play for hours and hours at a time. Now that I have the boombox dock, I can play for days or weeks non-stop. Sound is very very good. It does pound, suprisingly so. This has been sitting for years so it's rather dusty. But I like the color scheme and the cool blue dial is very attractive. It also conveniently uses power tool batteries which it also charges so no more paying through the nose for a dozen "D" cells at a time. I never used it's "power-box" features since it's always been a boombox for me. I can also attest to the fact that this thing is practically bulletproof. I just opened it up to clean the volume and tune knob switches. After sitting 5 years, the controls weren't working as well as I wanted. A bit of deoxit, 1k grit paper, and a thin coat of silicone grease made it work perfectly again. However, each PCB, while weighing only 2 ounces is secured by a dozen screws -- way overkill but obviously, intended that this thing can be tossed and thrown with no fear. The entire center section is actually tethered to the outer cage with thick rubber mounts like you would find on motor-mounts. OK, some of you, maybe most of you will find this ugly. But this thing is now ready to power and blast my shop. Everything I previously said is true. It's barely over 1-cubic feet. Sounds much bigger. No cassette but aside from that -- it's everything I need. This is the older model. The new model also has subwoofer too. Never listened to it, but if it improves the sound of this one with deeper sub-bass, then it'll be uber tuber tastic since it already sounds pretty good to me.

As I said, highly utilitarian. I'm bringing this up because I don't recall this thing ever being discussed. Anyhow, this is my impression of this unique boombox.

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

OK, I didn't know it used a tool battery, that's cool. There are video's on youtube of these things being totally abused Thrown off roofs ect.

I just had carpet installed in my house and the guys had the Dewalt. I had to walk by with the J1 just to see what they would think and they were

So, in my mind...I still won

I bet if you were to gut that thing, tool battery, electronics and all, you could build a sick classic!

 

[stormsven]

Love all those construction work radios. Always lookin to snag one, but usually they going for big cash over here. Im still stuck with my Sony sports egg for rough weather .

 

[superlew]

I pick up one or two construction radios per year with the company c.c.
Funny thing is, they never really cross my mind as boomboxes, but more along the lines of tools.
I can tell you, they are pretty tough, but not indestructable. That's why I pick up at least one per year. The only one that has lasted is the one in the boss' garage -
- but that's because he works from an EZ chair.
One of the funniest things I saw last year was a DeWalt come out of the debris chute from 8 stories up and hit the dumpster at 60 MPH.
As a supervisor, I'm not supposed to laugh at stuff like that. As a Boomboxery member, I think it's a requirement.

 

[Ken]

I pick up one or two construction radios per year with the company c.c.
Funny thing is, they never really cross my mind as boomboxes, but more along the lines of tools.
I can tell you, they are pretty tough, but not indestructable. That's why I pick up at least one per year. The only one that has lasted is the one in the boss' garage -
- but that's because he works from an EZ chair.
One of the funniest things I saw last year was a DeWalt come out of the debris chute from 8 stories up and hit the dumpster at 60 MPH.
As a supervisor, I'm not supposed to laugh at stuff like that. As a Boomboxery member, I think it's a requirement.

 

[k2j]

OK, I didn't know it used a tool battery, that's cool. There are video's on youtube of these things being totally abused Thrown off roofs ect.

I just had carpet installed in my house and the guys had the Dewalt. I had to walk by with the J1 just to see what they would think and they were

So, in my mind...I still won

I bet if you were to gut that thing, tool battery, electronics and all, you could build a sick classic!

Thats the opposite of what I experienced.

We had some windows put in about 5 years ago and I offered up my TRC-931 at the time for the workers to use while installing them, they looked at me and laughed and said they had their own radio... Sure enough they brought in a Dewault boombox.

They were about 35-40 too, no respect kind of shocked me.

Oh well. The windows are great

 

[blu_fuz]

Ugly, but usefull....

 

[teamstress]

With no built in fm antenna, the reception isn't that good. Other than that they're alright.

 

[Superduper]

With no built in fm antenna, the reception isn't that good. Other than that they're alright.

It certainly doesn't look like a "regular" boombox. But given that it's designed to be operated in tough work environments, it does have quite a bit of oomph and carry in sound. In my opinion, sounds quite good. It does have FM antenna, although given the nature and intention of what this is for, it's a wire antenna that won't easily get bent and broken. On mine, reception seems fine.

As I said, there are other ones by dewalt, rigid, makita, milwaukee... etc. THIS is the only one I can speak to. The other ones are much more puny looking in my opinion and I've never been much motivated to get one of the other brands. When it comes to tools, Bosch never did me wrong, although they do tend to be rather pricey.

 

[teamstress]

The one I was using didn't have the antenna, so the reception was limited. It wasn't mine.

 

[floyd]

With no built in fm antenna, the reception isn't that good. Other than that they're alright.

It certainly doesn't look like a "regular" boombox. But given that it's designed to be operated in tough work environments, it does have quite a bit of oomph and carry in sound. In my opinion, sounds quite good. It does have FM antenna, although given the nature and intention of what this is for, it's a wire antenna that won't easily get bent and broken. On mine, reception seems fine.

As I said, there are other ones by dewalt, rigid, makita, milwaukee... etc. THIS is the only one I can speak to. The other ones are much more puny looking in my opinion and I've never been much motivated to get one of the other brands. When it comes to tools, Bosch never did me wrong, although they do tend to be rather pricey.

these sound great , I don't own one but heard them many times.