From Issue #3 , Page #70 | By Jeff Winston

Whole-house music systems are great. I listen to music throughout my house all week. Sometimes the radio, sometimes CDs, but usually that cool commercial-free stuff off my cable box. Some time ago, I decided to bring my music into my front yard (where I play with my kids), into my backyard (for the occasional barbecue), and, most important, into my garage (where I do my "guy stuff"). Since none of these environments are conducive to home-theater-quality sound, my goal was to find a way to achieve pretty good sound at a reasonable price. All it took was an old receiver, a few sets of the right speakers, some ancillary parts and a few of hours of my time.

STEP 1: Acquire the Parts

I chose the KLH Model 970A indoor/outdoor speakers. Available on the Web for about $30 a pair, these small, weatherproof devices provide better-than-boombox sound at a reasonable price. They also can play quite loud without a lot of power. Though I was happy with the 970As, KLH also makes a few higher-end indoor/outdoor models. These give you even better fidelity for a little more money.

For the main amplifier, I was able to find a used Pioneer receiver on eBay for $30 (plus shipping). Garage sales are also a good place to find old, pre-digital, two-channel models (the ones with analog tuning meters). Millions of these 30- to 50-watt models were sold in the ’70s and ’80s, and even though most people have upgraded, these older models still have plenty of life left in them. Otherwise, all you need is wire and connectors, a speaker switcher, an old window screen, and a cover to protect the receiver from the garage environment.

STEP 2: Install the Speakers

I started by mounting all three sets of speakers. For the set in the garage, I mounted the brackets onto a board and attached the board to the wall. The two outdoor sets were installed under my roof ledge at appropriate locations on the outside wall of my garage. The speakers come with brackets that can easily be screwed to the house, and then the speakers attach to the brackets with two supplied bolts. After the wiring was done, I also cut small strips of window screen and stapled them between the speakers and the roof ledge, and ran some duct tape across the bottom of the bracket behind the speaker. The screen and tape prevents birds from nesting is in what is otherwise (to them) an ideal location.

STEP 3: Site the Receiver

Find an out-of-the way place in the garage for the receiver, away from exposure to the elements and work areas. To protect the receiver, I took a large 21x15x11-inch plastic storage box (the type you find at Wal-Mart), and turned it upside down. I put two short lengths of 2x4 lumber on the box top to raise the receiver and allow for space to stow excess wire. Then, using metal shears, I cut out a large area in the front to allow access to the knobs, and drilled some small holes near the top on either side to allow heat to escape. I covered these holes with wall patching tape (the type that looks like a screen) to keep small creatures out, and used clear shipping tape to cover any sharp edges.

STEP 4: Run the Wires

Using speaker wire (22- or 24-gauge is sufficient) and a power drill, I threaded the speaker wire through the garage wall behind the speakers and ran it back to where I planned to put the receiver. You can use cable fasteners, or a staple gun (see Wiring Tip). After the wires were run, I used some caulk to seal the holes in the garage walls.

To source a signal from my main receiver, I made a custom stereo patch cable using dual-conductor line-level audio cable from RadioShack, and two sets of RCA male plugs. The cable has two "hot" leads and a common ground shield. By sharing the shield, you can attach two sets of RCA male plugs to each end. Fortunately, the room housing my main receiver shared a wall with my garage, so I routed the cable through a small hole in the common wall. Alternately, you can use pre-made cables if the distance isn’t too far, or a wireless connection (like a LeapFrog system) if you don’t mind spending a little more money.

STEP 5: Hook it All Up

Since I had three sets of speakers and the receiver had only two sets of speaker outputs, I employed a 3-way speaker selector from RadioShack. Carefully observing polarity, I connected the six sets of speaker wires to the selector box, and then went back to the speakers and connected them to their wires. I then plugged a multi-tester (in Ohm mode) into the speaker selector’s common terminals, one channel at a time, and checked all my wiring for proper connectivity by using the speaker selection buttons. As specified in the speaker documentation, each pair showed about 4 Ohms. If I had seen a much lower number, or an open circuit, I would have known that something was amiss.

Using two short lengths of speaker wire, I connected the speaker selector to the A speaker outputs of the receiver (again carefully observing polarity), and connected the custom cable from my main receiver to the receiver’s AUX. This would allow me to listen to the radio regardless of what was being broadcast on the whole-house system. Finally, I plugged the receiver into a nearby outlet (through a surge protector, of course), tuned a radio station, and tested the system. After I was convinced all was well, I used some twist ties to clean up my wiring, and put the cover on the unit. Then, I went back to my main receiver and connected the custom patch cable to the output of an unused tape loop. Back in the garage, I switched to the AUX input and cranked up the volume. My neighbors didn’t seem to mind, and now I wander my front and rear yards with music, sweet music, playing throughout.

Project Snapshot

Estimated Time to Complete: 3-4 hours
Estimated Cost: $200

The Problem
You love the music setup in your house, but spend a lot of time outside. Is it possible to extend that whole-house sound system to the garage without breaking the bank?

Parts Needed
A 30 to 50-watt stereo receiver (I got one used for $50),
a RadioShack 40-240 3-way speaker selector ($21.99),
3 pairs of KLH 970A indoor/outdoor speakers ($30/pair),
a Rubbermaid 21x15x11-inch plastic storage box ($12),
RadioShack’s 278-513 50-foot microphone/audio cable ($8.79),
75 feet of RadioShack 278-1509 speaker wire ($3.69),
a 4-pack of RadioShack 274-383 RCA plugs ($3.99),
a RadioShack 42-2385 FM dipole antenna ($4.29),
a pack of RadioShack 278-1669 cable fastners ($1.59),
caulk, old window screen, duct tape, and shipping tape.

Project Steps
Acquire the parts.
Install the speakers.
Site the receiver.
Run the wires.
Hook it all up.

Bonus Info

Wiring Tip
Contrary to popular opinion, you can run speaker wires using a regular staple gun. Just make sure that you don’t press too hard when stapling, and check that wire can travel freely back and forth under the staple. Otherwise the staple may pierce the wire, shorting the conductors together.

What About the Writer?

Name: Jeff Winston
Age: Over 30
City/State: Eastern Mass.
Occupation: Engineer
One thing people would be surprised to know about me:
I bike over 30 miles every week.