OK, flares are cut and modified. They look awesome! I'll post some pics when the project is completed. After the flares are attached, each port will be approx 11"
Well, I dont know about those "flanges" you have. The Flared ports that adire and Partsexpress sell are "smooth radius" almost like a Trumpet horn. I dont know if those jobbies you got will do much for ya regarding chuffing and so forth, or any idea how those would be calculated re: WinISD/LSPCad. You might be better off just "rounding off" the MDF at the end of your PVC pipe. I mean, you can make a rounded 3" pair of holes, and if they work, then you're done, if not you can try the 4.5 flares you bought and see if thats better.
Re: WinISD, you whould get the T/S parameters for the tempest and put them in yourself. There's a good page Here with parameter files for a lot of subs. Im pretty sure the Shiva and Tempest are in there, though you should (of course) verify the data yourself.
I'm actually flaring the MDF at a straight angle then inserting the modified flange port into the MDF so it fits perfect. I'll post pics when I'm done but it does look very smooth and effective.
Nice pictures BTW. Hopefully those ports turn out nice.. I'm looking to buy a tempest soon and would like to save the extra $$ if possible by doing what your doing..
Everything should be built by the end of the day. I'll have to wait overnight for the glue to dry before I can hook it up. Right now It's all screwed together lightly just to make sure the measurments are correct.
I had a question though. My flares are fairly small (adds about another 1" to the tube) and I can't really make the calculations in LSCAD because the required fields seem to be "greyed out" for the pre-loaded Tempest Ported design (the flare radius box). It seems like the calculations are pre-set for a straight tube at 29.3 CM. Would I be alright going with this length and then adding the flares on to make it an aditional 2" ? I did the calculations in an online port calculator and the worst that can happen is my tuned frequency will drop from 18 hz to maybe 17 hz. Is it bad to go with a lower tuned frequency with this design ? If so then what is the drawback ? Low SPL ? And if so will it be that noticable ?
haha, alright . I'll go borrow my works digital cam right now and take some pics (I'm building the sub here at work on my free time). Gotta love being a computer tech with a smooth running network .
I'm not joking. I'm a computer tech for a school. They have a workshop here and don't mind the sub being built here at all. I usually find time to work on the sub before and after work, as well as on my lunch break. The school is going on a golfing field trip for most of the day so I can basically work on the sub for most of the day if i wish _.
Don't get me wrong though. This can be a tough job. When shit goes down I have alot of stress and am working around the clock. Also, being the only tech, I can't take any days off for being sick or to go on vacation. This is the first time I've had a chance to take advantage of things here at work and I take my job very seriously (which lets me do stuff like this because the network is running smooth as a result).
Ok, here are some pics. Keep in mind that one side is not screwed down yet so if it looks out of line, it is because I didn't wanna make things too tight yet . Oh, also keep in mind my schools digital cam kinda sucks, so bear with the horrible colors .
I also have to sand down the flares so they are very smooth. So far they are simply just cut with a skill saw.
Well, the project is going longer than expected. DIY subs really do take quite a bit of time. I thought it would be a piece of cake but the final finishing touches take the longest time it seems. Tonight I am gluing/screwing the bottom plate and then adding the driver and ports. I really hope I can fire it up tonight but I think tomorrow is more realistic. I'll post some pics and maybe some numbers within these next few days. I'm not really sure what to expect really ..... like I said, I've never really heard a good sub before, let alone a DIY .....
I have a "loft" type HT/Living room so placment might be very difficult as well. But who knows, maybe a larger sub like the Tempest might make it easier ?? .....
There are people that have the skill, talent, and patience to build things, and there are people that buy products because the have none of the above. I'm a person that buys products. I highly suggest people only go the DIY route if you have the time and patience to tackle such a task (not being married would help too). I have been through so many obstacles with this sub and today is the worst. I have everything sealed, screwed, glued, and ready to go. All I need to do is install the driver. I go to install the driver and the magnet sits on the fricking brace, it's about 1.5" too high. I spend hours routing and sanding to fix this screw up. Now the entire enclosure is filled with saw dust and chips of wood. So now I throw away all of my polyfil that was once in my sub, and vacume everything out. Now I have to go spend another $13 on Polyfil tomorrow and re-stuff it. I have purchased so many little things for this project that really add up. So far I've spent $400 on this sub. Plus a week of fighting with the wife because I'm working on the sub about 2 hours every evening away from her. It's not worth it. My wife is on my back and I am running into so many little problems and it's all compounding to the point where I feel like calling it quits. I'm too close to finishing to quit though. I really hope this thing performs ... because that would be the icing on cake if it does not.
Sorry for the rant but I'm pretty frustrated ATM.
I can really see how going the SVS route is ideal for most people.
I've been where you are at and can feel for you, sorry for being so bummed.
But everytime I've had a few days to settle down, i always realized that the problems were always of my doing. Either I rushed something and didn't measure correctly or misread the diagrams etc.
But that is why I like DIY, everything is under my own control. I'm currently assembling my Shiva and so far so good. But then I've done something like this before.
I think it didn't help that you tried to rush into this as your first project. You need to pace yourself and when a problem comes up, stay calm and deal with, it's part of DIY.
And even with $400 invested (that's CAD right?) that's still way below what something from SVS would run you.
My shiva will cost me less then $200 USD (that's not including an amp, which i already had), a bargain to me!
After every storm, it'll be sunny again You'll be fine... The next time you'll probably say "I love my Tempest more than my wife... " If you wife still complains about it, just crank up your Tempest and let it vibrate the whole house...then make love to her... see how she likes the sub now? Just j/k...
The thing about DIY is you need to really go over your project and your measurements many times... and be patient... It took my more than 3 weeks to complete my sub. It took me at least 20 times going over my measurements. And I still make the same mistake as you did. The brace is blocking the plate amp. I have to take out everything (polyfil, driver...) and saw part of the brace off... vacumm the saw dust and put back everything... Crank it up and Hope everything works out fine for you...
If you think that's bad, I had to re-do the bottom endcap on my Sunosub II becuase I had originally gone with three long 4" wide ports that ended up too long, and then I went with one 6" wide port. I literally sawed off the bottom endcap from the sonotube because it was already glued/nailed/caulked in place.
You guys are too cool. It's nice to know I'm not the only one that screwed things up on their sub . I seriously thought I was handicapped when it came to building things (maybe I am, who knows ). Problem is, I have no experience with construction (I'm a computer geek).
Anyways, I've calmed down and had a good nights sleep, made love to the wife *nods to Al* and today is a brand new day. The driver now fits perfect and all I really have to do is glue/seal the two 3" pipes w/flare into the enclosure with PL Premium.
I believe that once you get the sub fired up and put on a bass-heavy DVD, you'll look at your sub and think to yourself, "Hey, I built that thing and it puts to shame anything that I could have bought at Best Buy." and it will all be worth it. Hey, your wife may even be impressed too, and all will be forgiven.
My STUPID mistake was also near the completion of my sonosub. I had the enclosure on its top and was using brads to tack in the bottom endcap and I knocked the whole box of brads into the enclosure. I had to fasten a magnet to a yard stick and go fishing for brads through the opening for the driver. Some were stuck to the batting I had fastened to the wall of the sonotube -- it wasn't fun. Of course, it was late at night and I had planned on finishing with the brads and going to bed, but it wasn't meant to be.
Glad to see that you've calmed down a bit, Joe. Keep at it. It will all be worth it.