Louder 555 timer output

Thread Starter

81zapper

Joined Feb 3, 2016
6
I'm am trying to create a machine gun sound from a 555 timer for an RC plane. I've got to the point where I like the sound it just is not loud enough. I tried a lm386 p but didn't help. Any ideas. Can a 555 timer output volume be increased ?
Running on 5 Vdc
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
5 volts peak to peak can produce 0.39 watts in an 8 ohm speaker.
The quality of the speaker is very important because they range from less than 80 db/ 1 watt to over 100 db for 1 watt.
If you want this to, "pop" you have to optimize the driver and the speaker.
Maybe even use higher voltage just for the sound.
 

Thread Starter

81zapper

Joined Feb 3, 2016
6
5 volts peak to peak can produce 0.39 watts in an 8 ohm speaker.
The quality of the speaker is very important because they range from less than 80 db/ 1 watt to over 100 db for 1 watt.
If you want this to, "pop" you have to optimize the driver and the speaker.
Maybe even use higher voltage just for the sound.
That sucks I'm trying to be as light as possible so speaker must be fairly small it will be going into a small park flying type plane .
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
I feel discouraged about this. Small, efficient, and effective don't go together in the audio world. I think your only hope is to find some special transducer which is not a paper cone speaker, and I still think you won't be able to hear it from 200 feet away.
 

hp1729

Joined Nov 23, 2015
2,304
I'm am trying to create a machine gun sound from a 555 timer for an RC plane. I've got to the point where I like the sound it just is not loud enough. I tried a lm386 p but didn't help. Any ideas. Can a 555 timer output volume be increased ?
Running on 5 Vdc
Run the LM386 at 9 V or 12 V?
 

Thread Starter

81zapper

Joined Feb 3, 2016
6
I feel discouraged about this. Small, efficient, and effective don't go together in the audio world. I think your only hope is to find some special transducer which is not a paper cone speaker, and I still think you won't be able to hear it from 200 feet away.
Thanks for your Help I thought I might of been going for something out of reach. well that's my new goal in life to invent something super small and extremely loud other than small children (LOL)
 

Alec_t

Joined Sep 17, 2013
14,280
Instead of a normal speaker you could try using a really loud self-oscillating piezoelectric screecher, as used in smoke alarms etc, driven in very short bursts by the 555 circuit.
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
A MOSFET bridge could give you 3W into an 8 Ohm speaker with a square wave.
Bob
Just a note on the math...a square wave carries 2X the power of a sine wave (which has the same voltage amplitude).
I buy speakers that can handle twice the power of my amplifier because the amp can't smoke the speaker, even if you crank it up all the way to square waves. (That doesn't work with a 2 way or 3 way speaker because the tweeters are designed to handle the normally low power in the upper frequencies, so you can still smoke the tweeties if you crank the amp to eleven.)
 
About 55 years ago, I had a toy machine gun which made sound by slapping a metal strap against a diaphragm. Some kind of motor with a cam. Used D batteries. That design used up a lot of power, but the concept is good.
Yup, use the motor and cam to slap a piece of spring steel to the bottom of your wing. It will sound like a drum... err, I mean, machine gun.
 
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