E
F
2. When you’re reasonably sure of where
the ceiling joist (studs or framing) are (and
are TOTALLY sure that there isn’t an
electrical cable, water pipe or heating duct
in that vicinity of your proposed cutout)
position one of the cardboard mounting
templates and draw around the inside
outline with a pencil.
3. Drill a 1-inch hole in the center of the
pencil outline which you have just drawn.
4. Obtain a length of stiff wire such as an
un- wound, totally un-bent coat hanger.
Bend it so that the last 12 inches is at a
right angle to the rest.
5. Insert the angled part into the 1-inch hole
you just drilled and probe to left and right to
con- firm that a stud is not close on either
side.
6. If there is a close stud on one side, just
re-position the cardboard template a few
inches in the opposite direction and re-draw
your pencil outline, keeping the 1-inch hole
within the pencil outline’s inner boundaries.
• If there are no obstructions, cut the hole
along the pencil outline. If the surface is
wallboard, simply cut it increasingly
deeper with a utility knife until it gives way
and then pull it out by grasping the cut-
out through the 1-inch hole.
·
If you’re
dealing with lath and plaster or thick
paneling, you need to use a different
technique. Drill 1-inch holes at opposite
sides of the pencil outline.Then use a
keyhole saw or a hacksaw blade with
VERY slow strokes to saw through and
remove the inner surface.
7. Temporarily place the Acoustech speaker
into the cut-out to insure that it fits properly.
It’s OK if the hole is slightly large, since it
will be covered by the speaker’s outside
frame. Actual installation will happen later,
after you’ve routed the speaker wires.
8. Repeat if installing more than one
speaker.
9. Now it’s time to drill the hole on the
OTHER end – at the point where the wires
from the speakers will exit to the amplifier/
receiver.
• Use the same 1-inch drill bit as before.
• If you want a totally finished job, install an
outlet box against a stud and cover it with
a TV cable or single outlet plate which
has one hole in the middle for the wires to
exit from.
DRAWING 7
DRAWING 8
Now you know where the wires have to run.
It’s time to actually route them.
If you have an attic or overhead crawl
space, your two steps are:
1) Route wire(s) up from the amplifier to the
crawl space;
2) Route wire(s) across the crawl space to
the speaker(s).
RUNNING CONNECTING
WIRE(S)
ROUTING WIRE UP TO SPEAKER
(ATTIC CRAWL SPACE) - DRAWING 7
1. You’re about to ascend into your attic.
Grab the following:
·
Tape measure
·
Cordless drill with a 1-INCH BIT (or
non-cordless model with long extension
cord)
·
A VERY long roll of speaker wire
·
Wire cutters – either diagonal pliers or
wire strippers which include a cutting
surface.
·
Plumb bob or string with a small weight
(such as a metal nut) on the end
·
Tape – any kind will do
2. Crawl up into the attic with all the afore-
mentioned stuff and proceed to a spot
that’s directly over a speaker cut-out
hole.
3. Time to use that roll of cable. Push a
cable through the speaker cut-out.
4. Making sure the end doesn’t get pulled
back up through the hole, reel out cable
while moving across the attic/crawl
space until you reach the location above
your amplifier.
5. Extend at least 10 (TEN) more feet of
cable for the roll and cut it.
6. You now have a cable running from the
speaker. Repeat steps above if installing
more than one speaker. Time to get them
down the wall to where the amplifier will
be.
7. Drill a 1-inch hole through the horizontal
2 x 4 directly above the amplifier wall
outlet.
8. Now you’re going to guide cables down
to where they’ll emerge from the wall.
Since this hole isn’t too big, just stuffing
them down and grabbing them won’t
work.Instead, it’s time for the plumb bob
or string-with-weight (or wire if there’s
insulation to contend with). Tape the two
cable ends (which come from the
speaker) to the plumb bob string just
above the weight and lower the whole
thing down through the 1-inch hole
above the amplifier. You’ll likely have to
“feed out” the attached cable to get the
weight to descend.
9. Continue “feeding out” both cables until
they and the weight hit bottom. Tie the
free end of the plumb bob string to
something so that it doesn’t fall down the
hole.
10.Exit the attic crawl space.
11.Go over to the 1-inch amplifier wire hole
and look for the extended string/plumb
bob and attached cables. If they’re not
visible, fish around for them with your
stiff wire/unbent coat hanger and pull
them through the hole.Then rescue the
plumb bob from the attic.
12.At the speaker hole, things are much
easier. You can just reach through and
grab the cables. Pull their whole free
length out the cut speaker hole. You’ve
done it!
The main thing to remember when hooking
up a speaker is that two conductors in the
speaker wire are not interchangeable. One
will be used as a POSITIVE (+) conductor
and the other as a NEGATIVE (–)
conductor. These correspond to the RED
(+) and BLACK (–) connectors on your
Acoustech Ceiling Speaker and also to the
speaker terminals on your amplifier or
receiver.
HOOKING UP YOUR
SPEAKER(S)
IDENTIFYING “+” and “–”
You need to be able to discriminate
between the two conductors in the zip cord.
If your wire has transparent insulation, this
is easy: One conductor will be copper-
colored and the other silver-colored.
Generally, professionals denote the copper
one as POSITIVE
(+) and the silver one as NEGATIVE (–). If
you’ve used wire which has an opaque
insulation, there are still differentiating
markings. Examine the wire closely and
look for:
·
A series of ribs or grooves on one
conductor
·
A painted stripe
·
A single strand of yarn intertwined with the
multi-stranded wire in one conductor.
Denote any of these as the POSITIVE (+)
conductor for similar connections on both
ends.
5
