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My Invention - The Beatwagon

mix.masta.mullet - 2012-08-01 02:43

Hey guys. 

 

I thought I'd show you some pics of the mobile DJ unit I've made using my boomboxes! 

(The pics below go from the beginning of the build to the finish)

 

I was after a JVC NB1 for ages (wanted the big sound), then when I took it out I was blown away by the sound but really wanted to be able to mix and scratch my records from home... the cogs started turning and I was made aware of deep cycle leisure batteries and dc to ac inverters... the cogs really started turning then, realising the amount of portable power that was possible! I went to the drawing board, utilised some scrap metal and a sack truck, and a few weeks later it was born - The Beatwagon!

 

I started with just one kaboom, on the surface where the turntables go, but as is the way with how bass travels, it lost it's umph through no real contact with the floor etc - so I got another one! The 2nd sits on a fold out box which lays onto the ground and provides the bass, where the other provides more mid to highs at head-height. 

 

Anyway, it weighs a ton but it is (in a loose sense) portable! We've had some awesome days down by the river this summer, just pulling out our favourite hiphop, reggae, funk tunes and having scratch jams. It sounds immense as you can imagine from 100 odd watts of kaboom power

 

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deliverance - 2012-08-01 02:47

fantastic a must at a barby

claret.badger - 2012-08-01 03:04

nice

should have used Handy Trax to keep the weightdown - and make it more DC friendly

 



mix.masta.mullet - 2012-08-01 03:13

Originally Posted by Claret Badger:

nice

should have used Handy Trax to keep the weightdown - and make it more DC friendly

 



ah no way man, im a turntablist! you couldnt scratch on those things. plus we run laptops and mpcs and allsorts off it, its a proper performance cart!

stereo.mad - 2012-08-01 04:32

That's awesome! Well done on the build
How long do you get out of the battery?

mix.masta.mullet - 2012-08-01 04:42

Originally Posted by stereo mad:
That's awesome! Well done on the build
How long do you get out of the battery?

cheers man! i had it out the other sunday and it boosted for around 10 hours without flaking out!
the battery is 140ah, which is pretty big. i run one boombox from that, as well as two turntables, mixer and laptop. its a combined wattage of around 100/150, so a 200w inverter takes care of the conversion between dc and ac. the other boombox runs off some heavy duty rechargeable d cells so as to maximise the amount of time the main battery will run for.

retro - 2012-08-01 04:52

That's awesome! 10 hours is plenty of time for a gig. We used to tap light poles for power back in the day.

mix.masta.mullet - 2012-08-01 05:17

Originally Posted by retro:

That's awesome! 10 hours is plenty of time for a gig. We used to tap light poles for power back in the day.

haha awesome! proper block party steez!

retro - 2012-08-01 07:02

Originally Posted by Claret Badger:

nice

should have used Handy Trax to keep the weightdown - and make it more DC friendly

 



Reminds me of this old Newmark PT-O1 I used to take to the record stores.

 

 Newmark-PT-01

brutus442 - 2012-08-01 08:57

Nice job MM Mullet. You'll give Deadmau5 a run for his $ on any street!

mix.masta.mullet - 2012-08-01 09:21

Originally Posted by retro:
Originally Posted by Claret Badger:

nice

should have used Handy Trax to keep the weightdown - and make it more DC friendly

 



Reminds me of this old Newmark PT-O1 I used to take to the record stores.

 

 Newmark-PT-01

haha awesome!

boomboxace - 2012-08-02 19:20

Very cool man , i like it !

bba

nak.d - 2012-08-03 04:19

Great job. Are you and your Boom Cartâ„¢ for hire?

mix.masta.mullet - 2012-08-03 04:39

Originally Posted by boomboxace:

Very cool man , i like it !

bba

cheers bro!

Originally Posted by Nak D:

Great job. Are you and your Boom Cartâ„¢ for hire?

haha yea can be! i set up a facebook page for the beatwagon so people in exeter (where i live) knew where it was going next and if they wanted it at an event they could get in touch. im taking it down to an abandoned warehouse tomorrow as a local hip hop mc is making a music video! breakdancers, graffiti, mc and the beatwagon!

nak.d - 2012-08-03 05:35

Can you take some photos and put them up here? Would be cool to see them!

mix.masta.mullet - 2012-08-03 05:46

Originally Posted by Nak D:

Can you take some photos and put them up here? Would be cool to see them!

from the shoot? yea i hadnt thought of that, good call!

mix.masta.mullet - 2012-08-07 06:11

Originally Posted by Nak D:

Can you take some photos and put them up here? Would be cool to see them!

heres a couple of shots from the video shoot at the weekend! notice how i had to substitute one of the kabooms for my old panasonic - it got stolen from a festival! Still sounds ok, the panasonic takes care of some sound at head-height (highs, mids) and the kaboom provides the power.

am now in the market for a kaboom if anyone wants to help me out with a nice deal

 

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nak.d - 2012-08-07 19:07

Thanks for posting these shots. Looks like everyone had a good time. Sorry to hear about one of the kabooms, tough break. The replacement Panny looks rather nice

dougie - 2012-08-07 22:30

Dude, that setup is SOOOO WICKED!

mix.masta.mullet - 2012-08-08 01:46

Originally Posted by dougie:

Dude, that setup is SOOOO WICKED!

haha cheers man!