Garage setup

[jamhead]

I have a pair of JBL outdoor speakers I used in my screened-in patio in our other house that is currently sitting in a closet. I'm thinking of mounting them on the wall in my garage and also set up a dartboard area so when our friends come over, the wommen can talk about whatever they talk about and the guys can throw darts/drink beer in the garage.

So, I have these speakers but don't know what to hook up to them. I have an older Onkyo 2 channel power amp, but I feel leaving that in the garage probably isn't good for it's life expectancy. Also, hooking up a portable CD player to the amp could pose a problem with having to run to the HT room to get the CD's.

Any ideas for something fairly cheap? I don't own an Ipod (just a small mp3 player for running).

 

[Maximo]

Jammy,
Check Craigslist. You can get $50 receivers pretty regularily there.

 

[Rope]

Toss a cover/blanket over the Onkyo when not in use.

Rope

 

[jamhead]

Toss a cover/blanket over the Onkyo when not in use.

Rope

I could do that, but what source could I use? You think I could use my mp3 player (sandisk 4gb) and connect using a 3.5mm to RCA connection?

Obviously sound quality isn't a concern...it would be background music for drunken dart throwers.

 

[Rope]

Toss a cover/blanket over the Onkyo when not in use.

Rope

I could do that, but what source could I use? You think I could use my mp3 player (sandisk 4gb) and connect using a 3.5mm to RCA connection?

Obviously sound quality isn't a concern...it would be background music for drunken dart throwers.

I see no reason that would not work, famously. Put the tunes on the sandisk you like to listen to and let er rip. When you're through plotting and planning against the female gender, turn the Onkyo off, and toss a cover over it.

Rope

 

[jomari]

actually had this in my garage a couple years ago in the older house, but more for playing ps2 games (yes, THAT old)...

anyhoo, it shouldnt be a hassle to have an AVR, video one for dvd player, and aux for the mp3 line - with this in mind you can switch sources on the fly, considering how smart phones can connect wirelessly and stream pandora or jango or slacker...

id be more concern about lighting the dartboard. this was a major issue for me because you want to avoid two things
- light too close where its er... how do i describe it - the light would be TOO bright, where it looks like a heatlamp on a roast at hometown buffet
- shadows. you'd like to see as less of it as possible. i try to use
+ the triple on 20
+ triple on 3
+ (optional 14 and er... i think 7 - the ones on the side)
and place a dart there, gauge how far the spotlight would be, and see how close or angled it would be.

lastly, make sure the path of the dart doesnt hit the lamp itself (this is dangerous and may recoil back at you.

i also like to have a carpet on the floor close to the board, just for amatuers.

 

[Dennie]

I picked up a "Boombox" or now they are calling them "Shelf Systems" that has detachable speakers. In other words, it has spring loaded speaker jacks on the back and I have hook up my outdoor speakers to it. I think it cost under $100.

It has a 3 CD Carousel, 2 cassette tape players and input for an Ipod. Has solved all my garage/backyard listening problems.

So, maybe look at "Shelf Systems"! Amazon has a bunch.


Dennie