So finally i am here, with a finished project, so exited and proud to share it with you!

My goal was to make a high performance boombox with modern features with looks of a classic!

I will start off from the very beginning, hope this will not bore you to death... Approximately 100+ hours of work went into this, time was something i had lots of, as i broke both my legs in a work accident two months ago. Sitting in a wheelchair atm, but enough about me, this project probably saved me from insanity. This can turn out a little picture heavy, just a warning.

Component list:

PIONEER SK-353L

DX amplifier Model: HY-2009 AB-class chip

DX YSD-12900 Li-ion 9000mAh battery

Macrom M3C.61 car speakers

Velleman 20 led stereo VU-meters

This is what i started out with, found it on a local flea market for 10€ last winter. Here are the speakers, buttons, trim and cassette door (what was left of it) already disassembled. Remember the screw in the tape compartment if you will disassemble one of these...

The speaker grilles were a real pain in the arse to get out, they were glued or something all the way round. It was a real problem but i solved it with a solvent, soaked the base of the grilles for a long time and slowly they came loose!

Then it was time to gut it, only to leave the very necessary and guess what i found out? The plastic case was manufactured in Fukushima, Japan. Radio active area!

Then i had to fit all the new components into the case. I have to say, the case might first seem big and roomy but it is a quite tight squeeze after all. And it is very difficult to think three dimensionally inside of a box...

Lets do some modifications to the amp:

Lengthen cables for free positioning of parts, MP3/FM module, display, antenna, potentiometers. The pots are fitted onto the chopped original PCB, drilled new holes and "cleaned out" old copper. An old processor heat sink modded and fitted onto the amplifier chip.

btw, the PCB of this amp is not of high quality, one of the worst i have seen. But it works.

Potentiometers, volume, bass, treble. Original PCB.

Led VU-meters fitting in the original led-window:

Came as a kit, quite easy to solder

Made a Led mode (off-bar-dot) switch out of the original tape type switch:

Overview of the finished assembly:

MP3/FM module on top of cassette compartment

screen to the right of cassette compartment

new amplifier center backside

original AUX PCB connected to new amplifier

bottom: operational buttons, potentiometers

And with gutted tape player:

Had to make a new cover for the tape door, had some clear acrylic sheet laying around so i cut and polished it to perfection...

Printed out new texts in reverse on a white-on-clear tape and sticked them on the backside. Masked display and cassette area with sticky tape. Spray painted it black from the backside. Screwed the new cover to the original door with four HST hex bolts. Here it is test fitted and ready for painting:

To be continued in part two: full action

do you really think so?  

nice work samsnite .

Indeed i do! You know when you have been inside your house for two months...

Excellent job Samsnite, can you post a video of the LED's in action?

yep! but the meaning of my post was more or less that you seem to ignore step 1 in the 12-steps prog: "we admit we were poverless over our addiction..."

i mean: your project is INSANE! congratulations!! 

nice work samsnite

nice box the 353 i expected mine to be louder than it is,

looking forward to seeing the finished box

fabulous work and results !!

Brilliant wormanship Samsnite...you MUST post pics of the completed project.

Thank you all for the kind words! Yes i will post pics of it finished real soon, hold your horses!

There will be a video too! 

Beautiful work man. Do you wanna have a crack at my bombeat 40? .

Superb results. Looking forward to the next update

Great stuff... can't wait for the next instalment  

you make it look so easy, even obvious...

WE WANT VIDEOS! 

New post will be up in a moment.