MagnaMod Part Deux (Picture Heavy)

[TMR]

well vacation time and as promised, making some progress on the MagnaMod Model B-ABBX..
getting up the energy isn't easy at my age.. then I think.. Ira built a bad ass JVC so there's no excuse!

lets get crackin!

once I sat down I went into modding mode.. I had it all thought out in my head.. easier said then done though.. I had planned on putting all the circuit boards on the front inner bottom since there was enough room so I thought.. heh forgot about the battery compartment and the AC transformer and power board.. so I was huh great where the hell are the boards gonna go now.. (boards being LED,4 power sources and amp) so I sat there for about a half hour thinking of how I was gonna make it work.. I came up with some crazy ways that I knew wouldn't work.. funny that I just started and a problem comes up immediately.. I had to take into account the Maggie circuit boards when I put them back in.. uhg.. then I remembered I bought a second Maggie.. so I tore it down and I could now see where there might be some room.. thank god I bought another! so I went to work.. pics and descriptions to follow.. I am doing it in steps to prevent burnout.. tomorrow starts the AC routing..

here I am retrofitting the AC to run from back to front.. all wires from back to front are un pluggable in case something fails or I wish to add more stuff..





of coarse I need to be aware for live and neutral wires.. everything is marked..

next.. I install all wiring for the 4 power supplies to the power block..



then finding a spot to retrofit into the boombox.. after a little maneuvering and cutting spot is found..



ok power to all boards is done.. next is the LED boards definitely the most challenging part.. but I streamlined it just a bit.. went from what could have been a nightmare to feasible..







well that was fun! NOT! actually worked as intended for once!

ok.. now onto how to retrofit the LED boards.. after a little help from my other Maggie problem solved..




the other will got behind the Android tablet (other side of cassette well) ok! on to the last part for today.. where to put the amp and amp PSU.. well I had no choice but to put it on the inside back.. luckily there isn't to many wires involved.. still was a pain to wire it up though.. worked better than expected..

had to do a little cutting but looks good!






now for the wiring.. nice and professional and all can be unplugged from the front if needed.. just mega glued them in place.. no chance of ever coming loose.. ever..




so that's it so far.. got 7 days of vaca left.. this will be done by then.. I promise

let me know what you think..

 

[blu_fuz]

7 more days to finish a masterpiece!

 

[baddboybill]

I have a question about last pics. How are you going to be able to use adjustable pots on board?


Bad Boy Bill

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

 

[im_alan_partridge]

I cant wait till this is finished

 

[TMR]

as far as the pots I will adjust and leave them as is.. there were no 2.1 amps this small that were without the pots.. and actually a little bit more custom tailoring of the sound never hurts.. the amp is rated 25watts X 2 and 50 watts for the center sub.. sooo yea this will kick some ass.. pretty sure of that..

 

[baddboybill]

Bad Boy Bill

 

[TMR]

much was accomplished tonight! I realize that I only have 6 days to get the major stuff done.. so I went ahead and put the power supplies and wiring in.. taking a look at what I needed to do I naturally sighed and didn't really have the stamina to proceed.. but once I got into it I knew I had to go the extra mile.. feel really good where I'm at now.. as seen in one of the pics the back case went back on with no issues or force.. that's a big deal considering what I had to fit in there.. tonight will be the hardest part.. wiring up the LED's.. wish me luck.. it will not be easy.. other things to be done.. install the line level speaker circuit.. turning the speaker output to line level.. the LED boards will also be tapping into the line level circuit temporality until I buy a second line level circuit and use the center speaker output to power both sets of LED's.. sorry getting a little ahead of myself..

anyways here are the pics from tonight.. hope you enjoy!

getting the power supplies all wired and ready for install



inside left all set!



behind cassette well.. LED on one side Android tablet on other (not installed yet)




picture of it all done




and the ultimate test? closing the case with zero force or obstruction




thanks for checking it out.. more to follow!

 

[Northerner]

Utterly bonkers!...and fascinating!...don't really know what's going on with this, a bit over my head, but loving the commitment...looking forward to the end result, just hoping it's not a big bang and some smoke lol

 

[TMR]

lol you and me both..

seriously though.. I thought it out for quite a bit before I proceeded.. so I do feel safe that the end result will be awesome.. as long as all the parts work as intended.. lol I'm just as excited as all of you guys are believe me.. but I have to take it slow as to not goof it up..

 

[Beosystem10]

I see no reason you'd goof it up, that's all very tidy in there, very professional looking.

 

[Cpl-Chronic]

Nice!!! Always love a good modding to bling it out & thump it up!! Waiting to see the end results!!

Cheers,
Cpl

 

[hemiguy2006]

Man this is turning out really nice.
You got the skillz to pay the billz my brudah!!!!
Cant wait to see it all done

 

[baddboybill]

Are you using any of the original boards or will this be just MP3 player? Looking great so far and can't wait to see it


Bad Boy Bill

 

[TMR]

good news is Bill all the original parts minus the cassette deck will be inside and fully functional.. why ruin the great look by gutting it out completely.. I'm basically pimping the original concept is all.. the cassette deck well will use the same 4.3 inch Android tablet as in my Panasonic RX-5250 Android boombox.. this time it will have a more custom in dash look unlike the Panny.. since the Maggie's front holds all the electronics.. making the tablet a permanent part of the front of the case.. ok back to the mod..

LED's were hooked up.. tedious but without a hitch.. had to bend the right side LED wires down to allow the tuner portion to be put back.. wasn't easy but was done with no issues.. here's the finished portion..

LEDs bent back (looks better than you may think)



next pic is the tuner board reinstalled.. no issues thank god!



last pic is of the left side behind the cassette well.. LED's on this side have more room to play with so will stay as pictured..




I also wired up the speakers so there ready to hook up to the amp on the back.. had to stop there as I need 30AWG wrapping wire for the Android tablet on/off contact and reset switch.. this is super thin solid core wire from Radio Shack.. will make the trip today.. also need a separate on/off switch for the imported goodies (AMP/LED/USB PSU's) the one I bought on Ebay is way to big and sticks out to far.. Radio Shack has what I need luckily.. would hate to wait for shipping from online purchases.. ordered another line lvl circuit off the Bay but it's not 100% needed.. but just in case.. unit will still be done by end of vaca..

oh one more thing.. we all know the AUX IN on this unit is wacky to say the least.. I have the schematics and looking at it the AUX IN runs through the ALC chip.. this is why you need to press RECORD to use the AUX IN.. easy fix.. I put a screw in the record switch to always be "on" so that solves that problem! kinda sucks that theres not an easier way.. but to keep the Maggie all original that's what I had to do..

that's all for now.. sorry for all the reading.. but it helps to explain whats going on and how to make it all work..

 

[floyd]

awesome project!
i got 3 of these babies so i might as well do something to at least the 1 parts box . i love this model .

 

[oldskool69]

Looking outstanding and as always once again, quality work. Have you assembled the shell with some templates where components will go to determine how rattles and leakage (potential farting) will be handled?

 

[TMR]

another awesome question OS69.. all the boards have been lightly glued in place in case I need to make any adjustments.. once everything is working as intended I will glue them permanently in place.. and any vibrations will be dealt with.. I know this will shake like a mutha hucker but I'm hoping I can fine tune it so the bass doesn't come off as cheesy.. I have 3 ways to tailor the sound so I'm sure I can dial it in.. I went to Radio Shack and got the final pieces to the puzzle.. the Android tablet will go in tonight.. and the first firing up will also happen.. I honestly cant wait.. I really hope everything works as intended.. I'm sure it will but you never know..

take a look at what I did to the front.. added the cassette keys and tape counter back in to give it a more natural look.. what do you think?

covered up the cassette keys area with metal plate..




then glued just the keys back where they would normally go.. came out really awesome!




the final look.. (cassette tape counter is there too!)

 

[Alberto]

BRO!! That is some great work!

 

[Beosystem10]

That's really taking shape now, Will the cassette keys be functional or purely there to screw with people's minds?
It's a great idea to put those back on there but imagine if you could use them to control the phablet, say pressing play to enter the music library and record to use a search facility like soundhound? A tiny microswitch under each key would do that if you hooked the switching up via an inline remote from a standard pair of earbuds of the sort that come packaged with most devices these days, then in via a spur at the micro USB which will leave the 1/8" socket free to provide the sounds to the amps.

Tell ya what, this whole thread has me seriously considering doing a similar thing to a suitable box that might otherwise be fit only for the fire. Especially as Tesco, Argos and Associated Dairies among others are now doing decent phablets with 7" cap screens for under £70 and suitable amps are available at under £12 each.