WARNING: I know literally nothing about electronics. I can solder. I know what side of the battery is which. That's it. Now, I'm asking for help with a circuit.

Hello!

I was hoping someone on here could help me with a simple project.

I have this sound module that I bought off of amazon last year. It has a speaker, a board (you can load songs or audio clips onto it with a micro usb), a button, and is powered by a battery pack of 3 AA batteries. I have had no trouble using it before, but I just want to increase the volume. By a lot. Like I want to make this speaker as loud as a loud dog bark, for example (that example was very random). Right now it's max volume is not very loud, probably as loud as a greeting card you could find at the store, as that is what the sound module is meant to be put inside.

I think that if I want to increase the volume that I will need to buy a better speaker and an amp. This is where I'm stuck. I can solder, but I'm not quite sure where to place the amp in the circut, what amp to buy (preferably cheap), and what speaker to buy (also preferably cheap). I have wire, and I'll attach the link to the wire I have. I hope that type of wire will work, but please let me know if it will not. Here's the wire link. And here is a link to a similar sound module like the one I am using. They might be exactly the same.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what amp and speaker to buy, and where to place the amp? And does anyone know if that wire will work or what I should get instead. Also, how do I wire this/fit this into the circuit shown below?

I'll attach to this pictures of the information on the board, battery pack, and speaker, even though they are a bit tough to read. Also, if there is another site or something that you think can help me out better, please let me know and I can ask them. Anything helps!

Thank you, and have a great day!

 

Welcome to AAC!

I would start by experimenting with a PC speaker system. You can get these for a low price at a second hand store.

Get a 10-ohm 0.5W resistor and replace the speaker on your module with this resistor. The sound signal to your amplifier will come from the connection made across this resistor.

 

We do not know what "increase the volume. By a lot. Like I want to make this speaker as loud as a loud dog bark" means.
My dog bark is VERY loud when the dog is very close to me but is not loud 5m away.
10W is very loud when the larger speaker is in a proper enclosure designed for it and it is fairly close to you. At 5m distance then 100W or 200W is needed to be very loud.

 

Let's say your dog is about 10 feet away. That loud. Also, it would be great if the new speaker could be no bigger than 3-4 inch diameter, since it is going in a prop.

 

Welcome to AAC!

I would start by experimenting with a PC speaker system. You can get these for a low price at a second hand store.

Get a 10-ohm 0.5W resistor and replace the speaker on your module with this resistor. The sound signal to your amplifier will come from the connection made across this resistor.

Thanks for the help! A PC speaker system looks a bit too big- I forgot to say that the speaker should be 3-4" diameter max because it is going inside a prop....

 

I would not go less than something like this for good volume at 4".

Full Range 4" speaker

But note that it wants an approximately 7 inch cube for an enclosure. That is always going to be the problem.

 

If you don't have room to put the speaker in a box, then the low frequency response will be lost, so the speaker will sound rather tinny.

What the room you have for the speaker?
If you want to make it fairly flat, a 1' x 1' x 2" inside size enclosure would meet the volume requirements of the speaker referenced in post #6.

What type of sounds do you want to reproduce?

 

I think he wants to make a dog bark sound. Perhaps he needs a woofer.

 

This one is even better and says it needs only 69 in^ sealed box.

5" x 5" x 2.75" (inner dimensions) would be that size.

 

With an input of its maximum power of 30W, The Visaton 4" speaker in an enclosure will produce 94dB at a distance of 2m. 94dB is loud like food mixer or a gas lawnmower.

 

The Dayton speaker is almost 3 times the cost of the Visaton speaker and plays slightly louder and plays to a slightly lower frequency. They will sound almost the same.

 

Thanks for the help! A PC speaker system looks a bit too big- I forgot to say that the speaker should be 3-4" diameter max because it is going inside a prop....

You are not going to get loud sound with a 4" speaker alone.
The speaker box is an integral part of any loudspeaker design. You need to try an X-mini speaker, something like this.

 

You can get a pretty loud sound out of a 4" speaker, especially if you don't need a full range of frequency and so can channel most of the power into a narrow band that the speaker or horn can handle without damage. BUT, sound energy requires an input of electrical power. Finding an amplifier is no problem; there are tons of options on Parts Express or Amazon. I don't think three AAs are going to cut it, though. Maybe four would do it but a chunky 12V nicad or sealed lead-acid battery would be more likely to get it done. You're talking system design, and all the components need to work together within the constraints.

 

If you don't have room to put the speaker in a box, then the low frequency response will be lost, so the speaker will sound rather tinny.

What the room you have for the speaker?
If you want to make it fairly flat, a 1' x 1' x 2" inside size enclosure would meet the volume requirements of the speaker referenced in post #6.

What type of sounds do you want to reproduce?

I want to make loud roaring noises, for a fantasy animal prop. Does anyone have any advice on wiring as well?

 

You do not have enough space for a speaker to make loud roaring noises. The noise will sound like a running electric food mixer.

A speaker needs 2 wires from the output of the power amplifier. The input of the amplifier needs a shielded audio cable from the sounds producing circuit. The amplifier and sounds circuit need 2 wires from the battery.

 

I agree. A roar is low frequency and making a low frequency seem loud requires a lot of power.

Maybe you can instead use a transducer and turn some nearby surface into your "speaker". Something like this:
https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-BCT-3-44-x-32mm-Bone-Conducting-Transducer-295-269
I'm not saying that's the right device, just showing an example of the concept.

 

I am tired of the guessing game about the space you have. You have been told repeatedly that you need some volume (space) to get any volume (loudness) out of a speaker. But you have not told us what space you have. Depending on the characteristics of the prop, it could even BE the enclosure. We need details to help you any further.

 

Welcome to AAC.

That board is based on the MY1650-16S MP3 player which is a very cool chip. It can do some pretty neat stuff, though most of it’s capability is not being used in that implementation.

As far as as a speaker goes, you do have a problem because you are contending with physics which is always going to win. But, you may be able to do something reasonably good if you think about it a little differently.

First, if you try to embed the speaker in the prop it will necessarily be muffled. You can try a couple of different things to avoid that. One, which has been mentioned, is to make the prop the radiator. The outside of the prop would actually act as the diaphragm of the speaker in that case.

You can do this a few ways. Two that come to mind are:

1. Attach a transducer directly to the inside of whatever makes up the outermost skin of the prop. This would be effective if the skin is rigid but much less so if it is soft and flexible.
   
   
2. Put a speaker inside the prop. with a free space in front of it and nothing blocking the outermost skin from its radiation. This would work for a rigid skin but also has a chance of working with something flexible.

If seems more likely to me you would succeed instead by putting a speaker inside, with it’s own housing, and an unobstructed path to the outermost skin. A speaker with a well designed housing will produce much more bass, and you will need that with the sort of sound that you want.

You might think that would be a large item but maybe not. Look at this.

​

These were designed for LCD monitors, and you can see they are not very big. You could use one or, even better, if you can fit them, both. If you mount them inside and arrange what amounts to a speaker grill (or grills) on the prop, you should be able to get a fairly Loud sound out of them before they distort.

One other trick you might try is to use a bluetooth transmitter and have an external subwoofer produce intense, low bass. Since this is not very directional, a hidden subwoofer could add the low end convincingly.

Alternatively, if the scenario can handle it, you can do all of the audio wirelessly so the speakers aren’t limited. Or, most of the audio, with some coming directly from the prop to make it the source as in the case of the subwoofer but trader band.

Good luck.

 

The bone conduction transducer can cause a rigid prop to produce frequencies down to 300Hz which is a fairly high frequency.
A roaring sound made by a cat?

 

If the prop is very rigid and completely enclosed, it could make up the actual enclosure and with a tuned ported enclosure, would produce quite loud sound. But I doubt it would be rigid enough to do that without vibrating badly itself at high volume levels.

In terms of practicality and really realistic sound, the best bet would be a two or three way speaker system wit the bass driver being external in a box with maybe 1 cubic foot of volume. The sound would still appear to come from the prop because bass sounds are not locatable by our hearing.

Edited to add: Just visited the Halloween store. Lots of props with sound effects. All of them awful in sound quality.