Slashdot Mirror
Death Star Subwoofer
bmfs writes "A subwoofer so powerful it could loosen fillings, shake out the cholesterol from arteries and generally make a lot of noise. It seems that the Death Star, ignoring the weakness that ultimately lead to its complete destruction, was a pretty good design... so someone made his own (with a lot of help from a housemate). The Death Star Subwoofer is currently up for sale on Ebay."
Let's see how you handle it...
Q: I am short, useless and provide no value. What am I? A: a sig
Just like George Lucas' legal team!
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
looks more like a "deaf" star, yo.
*pauses to pour out a 40 for my fallen homies who have joined the force*
Are the construction photos of the Death Star Subwoofer. He won't ship it due to size and weight so you need to be local to Reading, UK to pick it up. These photos betray enough of the design to build your own fully armed and operational battle station.
Urge to post... fading... fading... RISING!... fading... fading... gone.
"Now witness the FULL POWER
of this fully armed and operational BASS STATION"
This isn't the bass you are looking for...
I'll turn into a supernova and burn up everything. Well I'll turn into a black little hole and you'll turn into string.
from the eBay listing:
"a subwoofer so powerful it could loosen fillings, shake out the colesteral from my arteries and generally make a lot of noise. It seemed to me that the Death Star, ignoring the weakness that ultimately lead to it's complete destruction, was a pretty good design... so I made my own (with a lot of help from my then housemate)."
from the post:
"A subwoofer so powerful it could loosen fillings, shake out the cholesterol from arteries and generally make a lot of noise. It seems that the Death Star, ignoring the weakness that ultimately lead to its complete destruction, was a pretty good design... so someone made his own (with a lot of help from a housemate). The Death Star Subwoofer is currently up for sale on Ebay."
Hmmm...the copy and paste is strong in this one. At least he fixed a couple spelling/grammar errors.
Who's going to build the Bass-tille?
Striking fear in the authors of godawful fanfiction, I am here, appearing in darkness, Tuxedo Jack!
The Q&A section alone is worth reading TFA.
Q: Look at the size of that thing!
A: Cut the chatter Red 2.
I think Jar Jar Weasley dies when the Dark Lord Vadermort blows up Hogobah... oh never mind.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
The subwoofer installed is an Alpine 12" SWS-1242D, rated at 900W peak power, 300W rms. The enclosure is filled with foam wadding and ported. The ports are vented directly out the bottom of the subwoofer. The design was modelled on WinISD to calculate the port lengths... it's proper stuff :) There are two 4mm binding posts at the back for connection to a power amplifier. I'll be adding the amplifier to e-bay as soon as I type out a description, but any amplifier will work.
These suckers have put in yet another thermal exhaust port that would be the prefect fit for a couple of proton torpedoes. Idiots never learn from history. The Bose alliance is going to have a field day with this.
Reportedly, the force was with it.
-Rob
Biblical fiscal responsibility
A subwoofer so powerful it could loosen fillings, shake out the cholesterol from arteries and generally make a lot of noise.
Just like many of the chavs who drive past my office every day.
I'm about 250 yards from the road, and mini-roundabout they have to stop at. There are doubled glazed windows, and insulated timber walls between too.
Some of these chavs have bass so loud and powerful, it physically hurts even when sat at my desk, or is low enough to give people headaches, or pop ear drums like when leaving a tunnel.
Deathstar has nothing on these people, if you can call them people anymore... Zombies probably covers it better, what with their pickled brains and all.
"I find your lack of bass disturbing."
Who do you pay to get your ebay auctions posted on slashdot!?!? He'll be having a very nice christmas I'll bet...
1, 2, 3, 4, 5... That's the combination on my luggage!
I can't acess ebay auctions at work you insensitive clod.
I never spellcheck and I freely admit it. Save your karma for more worthwhile "lol erorrs" replies
1. Make silly Star Wars / Star Trek gadget.
2. Put it up on eBay
3. Notify Slashdot
4. Profit!
He should have thought about it more. Even if the shipping was a hundred or so, I'm sure he could have found people that would be willing to pay much more for it even with shipping since some Star Wars fans can be rather rabid and obsessive... *cough* Time to return to my homemade Star Trek bridge.....
In undeveloped countries, the consumer controls the market. In capitalist America, the market controls you.
... it will still be insignificant when compared to the power of the Force.
Bryan R.
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, or $12.50 as seen on eBay.....
You mean Boromir, right? The guy killed by the Cylons because he entered a stargate during a Wraith attack.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
I happened to check out the listing when there were only 3 comments posted on Slashdot about this. The ebay counter was around 4000 at the time and now it's up to 11000+ about 5 minutes later! Behold, the power of Slashdot!
THIS is a subwoofer.
TODO: Something witty here...
no no no its , ,Its a Base station
That's no moon
The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
--Mike--
Just let us know when you build your Imperial Car Destroyer. Put the plans up here (slashdotting be damned). I bet it would be a real babe magnet.
"Hey, baby! Anyone ever tell you look just like Natalie Portman? Come over here and check out my ride. It's got 385 Tauntauns under the hood. Maybe we can go over to my apartment. I've got hot grits and Death Star loudspeakers. Yeah, baby."
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
I've got a Weber propane BBQ painted to look like Jabba's barge. If I put it on eBay, can you make it a Slashdot news item tomorrow?
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
I sell Jar Jar Binx piñata.
- shadowmatter
all your vibes are belong to us
That's no subwoofer, it's a small moon!
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
From TFA: "That won't fit in our apartment"... My Girlfriend
Obviously, the power of this deathstar pales in comparison to the power of the Wife Acceptance Factor (OK girlfriend, same thing basically in this case) How about Wife Acceptance Force?
WAF -Bane of audiophiles, pretenders and geeks in general
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." ~The Honorable Daniel Patrick Moynihan
See, this is the first thing that women do when they get their hooks into you - make you get rid of something you put hundreds of hours and pounds into, just because "it won't fit into the apartment". It's not about that, it's about her controlling him with sex, just seeing how high she can make him jump.
Next she's slowly going to start getting rid of his bachelor friends, the better to control him. This is why any reasonable man should steer clear of "modern" women. Start your own business, invest well, buy and build cool stuff, and always keep women at arm's length - lest you become a pussywhipped fool who replaces his brilliantly engineered subwoofers, motorcycle, and sports car with window treatments, no sex, and a minivan.
Dumbass.
'Be always mindful, even when ditch-digging.' --D. T. Suzuki
The guy has his plans posted on how he built this thing.
Now is see why it weighs 65Kilos.
640YB ought to be enough for anybody.
I AM a beowulf cluster of these things, you insensitive clod!
I'd bid if it could produce a sound that would make me shit my pants.
On what, exactly, are you basing this? The enclosure is a ported 10-cubic foot enclosure - 5 times the recommend cabinent space - which is a good thing for (properly modeled and constructed) subwoofers because it increases efficiency and helps the low-frequency extension. I'm sure it's not a "one-note" bandpass monster, but then again, that's a good thing.
Wattage? Again, increasing the volume size of the cabinet results in a more efficient design which means that you (literally) get more bang per watt. Then again, if you were to double the peak power, you would only raise the peak SPL by a max of 6 dB (and probably less since thermal compression would become more of an issue with the increased power).
And the Alpine driver? I'll be the first to admit the car audio drivers tend to be overpriced and have less bass extension than comparably-sized home audio driver (car subwoofers depend on cabin gain for low-frequency response). However, the Alpine SWS-1242D is reasonably priced (available for as low as $80). Also, the large cabinet volume will help with the low-frequency response.
This probably isn't the best subwoofer on the planet, but I'd bet that it sounds reasonably good, perhaps even great. It's hard to say without looking at measurement results, or hearing it. But criticizing it without taking a closer look at the facts is a disservice to everyone.
The Death Star subwoofer is, well, a subwoofer. Most subwoofer crossovers filter frequencies above 80 to 100 Hz, per Dolby & THX recommendations, so the maximum frequency that will (hopefully) be generated by this sub is 100 Hz. The wavelength of 100 Hz is roughly 10 ft. The half wavelength at 100 Hz is 5 ft. The diameter of the Death Star subwoofer is 3 ft.
Basically, the smallest half-wavelength that will be generated by the subwoofer is greater than the diameter of the cabinet, so standing waves just aren't an issue here. It is something that needs to be considered for higher-frequency speakers, but a lot of the "rules-of-thumb" that are applicable to mid/high-frequency speakers don't apply to subwoofers because the wavelengths of bass frequencies are so large. (some gotcha's, like baffle-step, may apply, depending on the geometry of the cabinet)
and here's how to build it!
http://www.objectreality.co.uk/DeathStarPlans/
Of all the things that could be picked up from American culture, this has to be the worst.
Some would say the truck-driving redneck is worse than the ricer, but that's because they don't understand how vile these people really are.
So, from me to you, I deeply apologize for having not exterminated the infestations over here before it could spread to the rest of the world.
Many Bothans died to bring us this information.
--- -a- "I'd love to change the world, but it'd be easier if the universe exposed its API."
"We'll give you two thousand now, plus fifteen, when it reaches [my house]."
Bidder's question to seller: "Why would you ever get rid of this? It's so cool, who cares what the wife says."
Seller's Answer: "She's rich... with more wealth than YOU could image!"
12 inch driver, big whoop. get'cha an EV 30W organ/reinforcement woofer someplace, 30 inch diameter and something like only 25 watts drive power, and build something that will crush that little clock-radio sub on eBay.
some notes. excellent article in a 1960s popular electronics on building it. you need a reflex or exponential horn cabinet, depending on how many mcf of room you want to rattle. cutoff frequency is 80 HZ, don't drive it any higher. you will need to use at least 1-1/4 plywood with stout internal bracing, screws, and glue to put the cabinet together, and 1-1/2 inch is better. "stout internal bracing" means clear hardwood 2x4 or larger.
this speaker was also used in the EV Patrician speaker system back in the day, as well as electric organs for churches and halls. they are very easily damaged in transit, and should be shipped in either the factory box or the original cabinet it was found it.
last ones I saw on eBay were $3500 each. they used to be $125 drivers back in the day. shipping of the speaker alone is over 100 pounds.
make a tennis-ball woofer with one of THOSE puppies, and write if your confuser survived turning it up. long been a dream of mine to whip one up, but never had the money or room....
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?