Another update on the custom GE “Franken-TV” for Hepcat Restorations! See the first two installments if you haven’t already.
Shane came up with a pair of very cool Grundig satellite tower speakers off of a high end Grundig Hi-Fi console, and inquired whether we could adapt the TV to use these speakers externally. Of course we can!
I’ve fitted the TV with a secondary car audio amplifier and 12 volt power supply to drive his speakers, shown above. Trying to find proper speakers to fit in the mondo openings was going to be a real challenge…. as it’s not really the size that was going to be an issue- I could throw some 6x9s in there just fine. The issue is that most speakers do NOT generally have shielded magnets, and stray magnetic fields wreak havoc on color CRTs. Ever place a magnet near the screen of a color tube TV? If so, then you know what I’m talking about! Using the external speaker towers actually alleviates some of the potential engineering difficulties by having allowed me to use standard (albeit small) shielded TV speakers inside the cabinet. Not bad though, as these little speakers are still designed to handle some power, but not like the Grundigs soon to be paired up!
The back cover has come together nicely. Originally, I hadn’t envisioned having any of the donor’s black plastic cabinet being used in any way, or at least being visible like this. Lacking the facilities to craft an all-wooden back cover, this ‘hybrid’ was the best I could come up with by freehanding with the old jigsaw. Not too bad, but on the lower limits of what I’d call acceptable. Oh well, Onward and upward!
Sierra Classic Car Audio 