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Becker mexico - amplifier upgrade

Started by s class, 16 September 2009, 03:28 AM

Papalangi

Here is the diagram for the Mexico,


Here is the diagram for the Europa II,


Here is the diagram for the Gran Prix,




At least I hope the links  work.

Michael
'83 300SD, I'm back!  It's the son's new car (12/2020)
1976 450SEL, 116.033  Sold it to buy a '97 Crown Vic.  Made sense at the time.
1971 250C, 114.023
1976 280C
1970 250/8

jpstuckey

The body donor car that we bought already had a fancy Alpine setup installed and all original wiring deleted, so I did the same oscilloscope dance as S-class and wired in a pair of RCA jacks.  Sound quality is good, but volume level is modest in spite of amp output.  I set the gain all the way up on amp, but it is obviously still a bit lower than original Becker tin box.  What I would really like to have is a bit of bass; anybody found something that works without being aesthetically objectionable?

John
John

koan

Quote from: Patrick Bateman on 23 September 2009, 04:56 AM
indeed, there is a mini din connector of 8 pins, i just looked at my old one. What does this connect to ?

Marked on the circuit as "Measuring socket/Remote Control Socket",  just earth (pin1) and 4 wires (pins 3, 4, 7, 8)  connected. Can't immediately see what it's for, seems to be connected AM and FM detectors. Might allow a remote control box to tune and  band select.

Don't recall seeing it on the back of mine but that doesn't mean it's not there, no longer have photographic memory (?)  <- smiley for failing memory.

koan
Boogity, Boogity, Boogity, Amen!

s class

koan, that would make sense.  WHen installed in centre-divider 600's and 6.3's, these beckers were equipped with a second unit in the rear compartment that provided a volume control and seek/tune functions. 


[color=blue]'76 6.9 Euro[/color], [color=red]'78 6.9 AMG[/color], '80 280SE, [color=brown]'74 350SE[/color], [color=black]'82 500SEL euro full hydro, '83 500SEL euro full hydro [/color], '81 500SL

Big_Richard

wow, an optional input for a record player - I've always wondered if there were ever a design to play actual vinyl records in a car with some level of stability. Nowadays there are record readers that use non contact laser pickups versus the traditional stylus for many thousands of dollars, but they didnt exist back then!


OzBenzHead

Quote from: Patrick Bateman on 24 September 2009, 05:42 PM
wow, an optional input for a record player - I've always wondered if there were ever a design to play actual vinyl records in a car with some level of stability. Nowadays there are record readers that use non contact laser pickups versus the traditional stylus for many thousands of dollars, but they didnt exist back then!

PB: I do remember a record player in a mate's car back in the late '60s.  Can't recall the brand or name, but it played 7" vinyl -- albeit rather skittishly on most Oz roads.  It was aurally painful and wasn't a market success, at least in Oz.

Here is a heap of them:  Link.
[img width=340 height=138][url="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a215/OzBenzHead/10%20M-B%20Miscellany/OBH_LOGO-2a-1.png"]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a215/OzBenzHead/10%20M-B%20Miscellany/OBH_LOGO-2a-1.png[/url][/img]

Big_Richard

awesome, that's very interesting OBH  8)

being born in the 80's means i missed out on a lot of cool things like that ;)

I never really owned records my self, my older brother and sister did - All i had were "compact cassettes" and then "compact discs" Oooohh ahhh!  ::)

the invention of highly efficient compression algorithms such as the MP3 format, has rendered physical  "recordings" of any type practically redundant. Everything can be done electronically without ever exchanging anything physical at all. Today's kids have it all at the click of a mouse ;)




OzBenzHead

Quote from: Patrick Bateman on 25 September 2009, 04:05 AM
[...] highly efficient compression algorithms such as the MP3 format [...]

Have you tried AAC format, PB: "lossless" compression? Doesn't clip the extremes like MP3 does (files are marginally fatter than MP3, but not by much).

Examples:
Song length -- 3 m 20 s
1. AIFF -- 33.7 MB (one of the two uncompressed "full fidelity" formats)
2. WAV -- 33.6 MB (the other uncompressed "full fidelity" format)
3. AAC -- 3.2 MB (a.k.a. M4A and 'Apple Lossless')  "high fidelity" -- to almost all adults' ears sounds full, not clipped
4. MP3 -- 3.1 MB (very lossy at upper and lower ends -- very noticeable through good reproductive equipment)
and I shan't even start on OggVorbis or other formats.  ;)

[img width=340 height=138][url="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a215/OzBenzHead/10%20M-B%20Miscellany/OBH_LOGO-2a-1.png"]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a215/OzBenzHead/10%20M-B%20Miscellany/OBH_LOGO-2a-1.png[/url][/img]

Big_Richard

I think i need to try this AAC format, sounds very promising. Although, I'd hardly consider the audio equipment in this house high end - the only amplifier here was produced in the mid 70's  ::)

out of interest, i have tested my audible hearing range with a tone generator, i can easily hear up to 21kHz. The lowest i don't know - since that would be limited by the responce of my povo speakers/amp.  8)

Papalangi

I used to make "mix tapes" all the time to play in my 1972 Renault 12 Estate.  I had one Led Zeppelin tape that had a skip in it.  One day while playing real loud at school, it started skipping.  I counted four (the number of times it had skipped during recording) and whacked the side of the car.  The music stopped skipping!

I got some of the oddest looks form my friends.

Michael
'83 300SD, I'm back!  It's the son's new car (12/2020)
1976 450SEL, 116.033  Sold it to buy a '97 Crown Vic.  Made sense at the time.
1971 250C, 114.023
1976 280C
1970 250/8

s class

Finally, I have the Mexico working after attention by a Becker specialist here.  He got the tape transport sorted, repaired the power supply to one board that wasn't getting any juice, and got the seek function to work (mostly - more on this later).

I have identified the L and R output co-axes, and am busy mounting RCA jacks on the rear. 


[color=blue]'76 6.9 Euro[/color], [color=red]'78 6.9 AMG[/color], '80 280SE, [color=brown]'74 350SE[/color], [color=black]'82 500SEL euro full hydro, '83 500SEL euro full hydro [/color], '81 500SL

s class

The RCA jacks are mounted.  I must organise a picture.

I have found out that the VK5 traffic adaptor has a little mono/stereo toggle switch on it.  Which is interesting. 


[color=blue]'76 6.9 Euro[/color], [color=red]'78 6.9 AMG[/color], '80 280SE, [color=brown]'74 350SE[/color], [color=black]'82 500SEL euro full hydro, '83 500SEL euro full hydro [/color], '81 500SL

TJ 450

Sounds good S Class (pun not intended 8)).

I recently fitted a modern head unit in place of the Becker in the 6.9, while I was driving the car daily. I also fitted a separate power amplifier a few months ago, along with a 10" Cerwin-Vega subwoofer in a sealed enclosure painted in Mission Brown. The sub is located directly behind the driver's seat and actually integrates quite nicely with the front 4" dash speakers.

What I intend on doing now is performing this modification to the Mexico, so as to make use of the 50WPC power amplifier and mount the modern deck back in the 450. There is no stereo in the 450 at the moment.

Previously, I just had a TRS socket hanging out the back of the Mexico as a trial.

Tim
1976 450SEL 6.9 1432
1969 300SEL 6.3 1394
2003 ML500

s class

I supported the radio in a milling machine to make the holes precisely.



[color=blue]'76 6.9 Euro[/color], [color=red]'78 6.9 AMG[/color], '80 280SE, [color=brown]'74 350SE[/color], [color=black]'82 500SEL euro full hydro, '83 500SEL euro full hydro [/color], '81 500SL

TJ 450

A job well done. They look like good quality sockets too.

Tim
1976 450SEL 6.9 1432
1969 300SEL 6.3 1394
2003 ML500