Battery powered bluetooth speaker

cults3d

After my trusty 2007 MacBook Pro finally kicked the bucket :-( I decided it was time to breathe new life into some of its parts. The sound quality of those tiny speakers was always top-notch, so I built this battery-powered Bluetooth speaker. It's compact enough to slip right into your laptop bag and packs a punch with its 1200mAh battery that lasts for many hours on end. The speaker grills are cut from the MacBooks original ones. Happy making! Sources The Fusion360 file is up on GitHub. Parts list You can easily source all the additional parts online. Although the Bluetooth amp is rated for 5V, it runs just fine off the 3.7V LiPo battery. 1x set of speakers from MacBook Pro model number A1226, A1211 or A1260. 3W Bluetooth amplifier module TE657 This module goes by many names, so compare pictures when you're unsure.ebay.com / banggood.com / google LiPo charger module TE585 a.k.a TP4056ebay.com / banggood.com / gearbest.com / google LiPo battery 1200mAh ca. 53 x 30 x 10 mm ebay.com / banggood.com (1000mAh) / gearbest.com / google Mini sliding switch ca. 19.5 x 5.5 x 5mm Two short M3 screws Ideally two terminals from a 2.54mm 90° header Micro USB power supply for charging If you find a great source for any of the components not listed here, leave it in the comments. Assembly Prepare the speakers Remove the mounting tabs and the microphone section from the speakers. Be careful not to cut into the soundbox itself. Check the last picture for guidance on where to make the cuts. Prepare the grills Cut the grills by scoring them with an X-Acto knife and breaking them over a sharp edge. Then use a file to fit them into the recess in the top part of the housing. Remove the black textile backing from them to boost sound quality. Electrical connections We need to make these connections: The black wire of the battery to the "Bat -" Terminal of the charger module. The red wire of the battery to the "Bat +" Terminal of the charger module. The "Bat -" Terminal of the LiPo charger module to the GND terminal on the Bluetooth module. The "Bat +" Terminal of the LiPo charger module to one terminal of the sliding switch. From the sliding switch to the +5V terminal of the Bluetooth module. The speakers to the output of the Bluetooth module. Additional Tips You could solder the battery directly to the charger module. A better solution is to use two 90° 2.54mm header terminals and solder them to the charger. I used the terminals without the plastic part and shorted them a little to maintain a low profile. That way we make sure the module still fits in below the left speaker. Then you remove the two 2.54mm crimped contacts from battery plug housing and plug them onto the header contacts without soldering. Remove them one by one from the housing, making sure to isolate them with heat shrink tube or tape right away. The cables to Bluetooth module/switch can be soldered directly to the charging module. Whatever solution you use, make sure to never short the two battery contacts. In the best case, you'll damage the battery; in the worst, you'll create a small fire. Same as for the battery, the crimped contacts of the speakers can be reused by removing them from the plug housing. The cable for the right speaker needs to be shortened though. Mounting the parts The charger module and the switch can be either glued or "heat-staked" into the housing. Speakers and the battery can be fixed with some double-sided tape, but that's not strictly necessary. The grills are glued in. I used hot glue for that. Finally, you can wrap a piece of black tape around the light pipe that leads to the status LED on the Bluetooth module, which reduces light bleeding into the surrounding housing. The housing itself holds together well when the two halves are pushed together just through friction.