Credits
This work is inspired by someone who built a Phoniebox in a Peli Case. It was not documented at all - only blurred pictures, which I sadly can't find anymore on the web. If someone finds a link - send it to me and I will post it here.
When thinking about how to improve the acoustics of a Peli Case, the compact Bose Wave backhorn speakers came into my mind. Driven by that I stumbled across this nice backhorn speaker design by guppyk: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4668173 which served as a base for the innards of my music box.
All the electronics and software part are derived from the original Phoneibox design, which is well documented on the web and, at least on the software part, still evolving. The best entry point in my opinion is this GitHub page: https://github.com/MiczFlor/RPi-Jukebox-RFID
Alternatively, for the German speakers (or Google-Translate users): https://splittscheid.de/phoniebox-bauanleitung-toniebox-alternative/
How to build the music box
- Print everything in PLA or ABS
- EXCEPT for the "bumper" parts - those need to be printed in TPU or any other flexible material, otherwise you will not be able to mount them
- While printing: Build the electronics on a small breadboard
- The Breadboard only needs the dimension of 3x20 holes
- Hook the connectors up as shown in the last picture (the red boxes indicate the connectors)
- I added another connector to the on/off shims Button (white wires in pictures, see picture from underneath the electronics board for more details)
- plus there is a wire for the led in the on/off button (blue wires, see picture from underneath the electronics board for more details), directly linked to the +5V / GND pins.
- Solder the raspi, the on/off shim, the breadboard and the HifiBerry MiniAmp together with some longer pins. Do not use the original header, as this will take up too much space
- hook it all up and test it thoroughly (I had some cold joints on the board, requiring to de-sodler everything 3 times or so...)
- cut / mill the Pelican Case - use the milling templates for this. I was advised to fix the router to a table and rather move the box by hand. This gave me much more precision - there are pictures of this in the gallery. The templates are high enough to move the peli case sideward and parallel to a flat surface.
- The holes for the buttons and fiber optics may be cut with a metal drill (no wood drill!)
- Add wires to the buttons and connectors screw them in place
- Add heat set inserts (mine are from "RUTHEX")
- Glue everything together with a lot of black sikaflex glue / sealing compound
- Do not forget the wireless charger ;-)
- And especially do not forget the fibre optics
- I also used the Sikaflex to 120% seal the buttons from the back.
- Install the speakers
- Route all cables
- Cut covers for the speakers (Mine are made out of 1.5mm perforated stainless steel)
- Screw the covers and the "Bumper holders" to the base
- Slide the bumpers on that, If you want to make sure nothing goes wrong - add some Sikaflex ;-)
- Wire everything up
- When wiring up the fibre optics: the fibre optics clamp may bend the fibres too much. After destroying some fibres I decided to just drill into it from the top and give the wires a little more space. I attached them with a staple I heated up with a soldering iron
- For hooking up the fibre optics in the card reader I simply drilled a hole into it, just deep enough to reach into the transparent element, then stick the fiber into it and attach it with some Sikaflex
- A last note: Space is limited - so take short cables. Every excess mm makes the installation harder. If there should be some cables to hide - there is a compartment underneath the card reader (see photos)
- Install the software
- Enjoy :-)
Remarks
- Obviously this makes the entire Phoniebox a bit more complicated than the advertised "weekend project" but therefore you get a Phoniebox / raspberry based smart speaker, not everyone has.
- This speaker may not be entirely IP65, but it will withstand a shower and some tough outdoor conditions (you should never the less not submerge it...).
- The sound quality is surprisingly good taking into account the footprint and restrictions given by a Pelican case.
- The weight of 1.8kg makes it portable, also for a 3 year old, while preventing to long / high mid-air trajectories.
- The wireless charging is not required. With my offspring's usage pattern the battery lasts for a week and is quickly recharged via USB-C. Never the less it's a cool feature with room for improvement.
- The Samsung Smart Tag used is the "Plus" version. I had it lying around and if the box gets lost somewhere, there is a better chance of recovering it.
- I am not using the Phoniebox Spotify Plugin but am storing all the files locally on the box. Initially this generates some more work for downloading everything. But therefore it is really hassle free in operations.
- I have added some welcome and goodbye message to the software, tremendously enhancing usability for small kids
- There are some good sites giving hints on how to speed up the boot-up process - also a bonus for small kids ;-)
Materials required:
I will leave out bits and pieces like the heat set inserts, screws etc.
| # | Item | amount | potential source |
| -- | -------- | ----- | ----- |
| 1 | Peli Case 1120 | 1 | |
| 2 | Raspberry Pi Zero 2 | 1 | |
| 3 | HifiBerry Mini Amp | 1 | |
| 4 | Pimorino OnOff Shield | 1 | |
| 5 | Powerbank Zendure ZDA3PD | 1 | https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B077TCDMKQ/ |
| 6 | Neuftech RFID reader | 1 | https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B018OYOR3E/ |
| 7 | Visaton FRS 5 X WP | 2 | https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B01KVI0SR0 |
| 8 | Button ISR3SAD200 | 5 | https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B0825RCZJS/ |
| 9 | Button Iluminated | 1 | https://www.reichelt.de/drucktaster-il-12-mm-gewoelbt-loet-sw-led-rt-il12l-sw-ledrt-p178428.html
The screws and distance sleeves for the Raspberry are M2.5, the ones for the speaker are M4 and the screw for bolting the clamps to the main body are all M3.
Enjoy the build!
HM5T
