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you gets what you pays for

730 views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  americanclassic 
#1 ·
On the subject of cheap junk

A while back on a whim, I bought this so called 'motorcycle amplifier' from

an Ebay seller in China for £17.99 free postage







As usual, took it apart.





The speakers might be waterproof but the case certainly isnt

so I dont know how long it would last if it had to live outdoors

like my bike.

The speaker clamps are rather thin and a bit sharp on the edges.

none of it really inspires to be honest

I know, its cheap, what did I expect?



In use

well it works in its own limited way so cant complain too much there.

But.

the radio has a small knob to select FM stations

This was fiddly to use even without motorcycle gloves and drifted off station

even on the desk using a bench power supply.

Trying to tune it or select stations whilst riding a bike would be a bad idea



Theres an RGB led which backlights the big dial in the centre

this randomly changes colour and gets very irritating very quickly

it could also be distracting on a bike at night

It played files from my MP3 player but didnt have much bass.

The tone controls werent up to much.

It didnt use a lot of current so wouldnt drain the battery but I doubt it

would be loud enough in the real world unless you have a very quiet bike,

a big fairing and ride slowly on quiet roads.

Oh, and stay out of the rain as well.



I'll find a use for it somewhere or cannibalise it, but its not going on the bike.

I considered putting it in the van as this had a radio and obsolete cassette player

but I've since modified that by hacking out the tape and adding an input for my MP3 player.

Its not loud enough anyway.



Its like they say

You gets what you pays for.
 
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#2 ·
I build amplifiers Reg, but mostly valve amps for guitars. for quality control I used to crash test all my amplifiers extensively on the way to gigs back when I used to skateboard everywhere. Some of them managed spectacular somersaults and broke my fall a few times and then still worked!. sometimes... usually had to kick them a few times first. I'm not going to bother motorcycle crash testing my amps.



I reckon these chinese speaker/amp combo wouldn't stand up to a skateboard crash test, but they could be useful for the bathroom thought, if you find some way to properly waterproof em.



some people buy cheap chinese valve amps for nada and then modify the circuit, re-house them and build them properly and then sell them for £££...
 
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