I need something that is LOUD ,but is still small ,and lightweight. HELP!

[Daisy Delores Frank]

Ok so I am working on making a giant hammer (like 6 foot tall) that is constructed using a PVC pipe for the handle and hollowed out foam for the head. I want a 5 second or so long clown laugh to be played through the head of the hammer each time i push a button that will be placed in the handle. Now this sound player (don't know what else to call it) will need to be relatively loud because where I will be using it is pretty noisy ,yet lightweight because I will be swinging it around all night. I plan to drill holes into the face of the hammer so that the sound can travel out and also i will be using a strong bonding agent probably some kind of cement to attach the sound player to the side of the inside of the head so its not just being swung around inside there. I was thinking about using a doorbell or something along those lines but i'm not sure if it will be loud enough or if it would even work inside of the hammer. Someone suggested that I use a hmdx bluetooth speaker ,but i'd rather not have to keep reaching into my pocket every time I want it to laugh
i'm also slightly paranoid about the music on my phone going off instead. I really know nothing about these kind
of electronics so i have no idea what i'll need or even how to connect these things. I really appreciate any help
as i have no idea what i'm doing. Sorry if this seemed somewhat scatterbrained and lengthy i just wanted to make
sure i didn't leave out any details and explained it as clearly as i could. If you need anymore details please let me know Thanks again!!

 

[hevans1944]

Welcome to the Forums, Daisy!

I would mount a small inexpensive loudspeaker, about four or five inches diameter, in the hollowed out foam hammer head. Maybe mount two of them if the head is like a sledge hammer with two faces. Yes, drill plenty of holes in the foam to let the sound out. Run the speaker wires inside the handle and solder them to a phone jack that you can mount to a PVC pipe cap at the end of the handle of the PVC pipe. Cement the cap on with PVC cement after the wiring is tested. The electronics for laughing clown (the sound player) will have a cable that plugs into the phone jack and trails from the bottom of the handle whatever distance is needed, like a microphone cord on a stage. (Never-mind that everyone uses wireless microphones now.) This will allow you to separate the (probably expensive) sound player from the cheap giant hammer with the el-cheapo speakers inside. Ask someone with a modicum of electronics experience to rig up one of those recording greeting cards to a small audio amplifier to drive the hammer speakers. Find what you need at your local Radio Shack and Hallmark greeting card stores. For recording laughter, you are on your own... unless you can find a greeting card with laughter already recorded. Good luck! Don't wait until the last minute to get all the stuff together, tested, and working reliably.

 

[KrisBlueNZ]

Hi Daisy and welcome to Electronics Point

Thanks for the thorough description of what you want to do. It really helps us to know the overall project. These are my thoughts. We have lots of people here who will have other suggestions as well.

I guess you'll need to put some kind of speaker in the front of the hammer, and an amplifier, battery, and sound source (an iPod maybe?) in the handle. (You don't want the heavy battery in the end - it would make it hard to swing around).

If you want to maximise the sound output at the front of the hammer head, mount the speaker near the front of the head, on a rigid baffle and keep an airtight path from the speaker cone to the front of the hammer, so no sound can escape out the sides or around the back. You could use the rest of the head of the hammer as an enclosed soundbox for the back of the speaker; line it with some old carpet or underfelt to stop it from vibrating. It will need to be rigid too.

An alternative might be a fully enclosed speaker such as a wide-range horn tweeter (https://www.google.com/search?q=horn+tweeter&tbm=isch). These are available pretty cheaply on eBay. Get one with a wide frequency response, especially at the low frequency end. This will sound a bit tinny but the laugh should be recognisable, especially if you can find a recording of a high-pitched or squeaky-sounding laugh.

To drive the speaker with good volume, you'll need a mono (single channel) amplifier capable of delivering at least 10 watts, preferably closer to 30, that can be powered from a battery. Again eBay will help - a suitable amp is here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-12V-2A-2..._Audio_Amplifiers_Preamps&hash=item35dfcc072e

This amplifier will need a DC supply. If you choose that one I linked to, 14V DC is good. You could use nine alkaline D-cells in series, which would give you several hours of use, I estimate.

I also noticed an interesting item at http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bluetooth-A...mplifier_Parts_Components&hash=item2a4603b62d - a Bluetooth receiver and amplifier. I'm not sure how you would use it.

You could get the signal from an iPod or any MP3 player, or there are options available through eBay. I searched for audio playback, and found lots of voice recorders which could probably be used, and I searched for audio player, and found this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Useful-...2617?pt=Other_MP3_Players&hash=item418a139209 - it's a remote-controlled audio player that uses an SD card for its data. Since you don't need remote control, you could mount the remote transmitter right next to it.

Let's see what others suggest.

 

[shrtrnd]

It may not produce the sound you want, but I've found the smallest, loudest, speakers I've ever run across are the little piezo-element speaker/sirens that are very inexpensive.

 

[Daisy Delores Frank]

Thanks everyone who replied I really appreciate it! I got some very good ideas from you guys and think this hammer thing might actually work! One of my friend also brought up using one of those small recording devices that they put inside of Build-a-Bears where you can record your own message which i'm guessing are very similar to the recording greeting cards that hevans1944 suggested. Does anybody know if this can be hooked up to speakers because if so I could just fix it snugly into the handle that way I could just push the device and I wouldn't need to rig up a button or activation switch.

 

[bikemech]

I doubt it would produce enough power to simply hook it up to a larger speaker, think you would need some sort of amp or small preamp to get the volume you require,

Possibly a pocket guitar amplifier, think they produce around 10 to 15 watts that may work and you could also use the speaker from it.

 

[KrisBlueNZ]

I doubt it would produce enough power to simply hook it up to a larger speaker, think you would need some sort of amp or small preamp to get the volume you require

Yes, she will need an amplifier of some kind, which will need batteries.

 

[bikemech]

Yes, she will need an amplifier of some kind, which will need batteries.

correct Kris,
was thinking of something like this

The MS-2 is the ultimate in portable battery/mains operated micro amps, packing full Marshall tone into a tiny case measuring just 14cm x 11cm x 6cm. This mighty micro Marshall has switchable Clean and Overdrive modes. A single Tone control provides full focus of bass to treble.
The MS-2 has headphone output for those who want to rock in private. This output can also be used to drive an external power amp when your rambling is done.
Features/Specifications:

• Output: 1 Watt
• Volume: Yes
• Tone: Yes
• Gain: No
• Headphone Jack: Yes
• Power: 9v Battery

these can be picked up at online auction sites verry cheap ;-)
altho this one is only capable of 1 watt

 

[KrisBlueNZ]

In post #3 I suggested a BTL audio amplifier module capable of at least 10W. These are also available pretty cheaply on eBay.

 

[bikemech]

In post #3 I suggested a BTL audio amplifier module capable of at least 10W. These are also available pretty cheaply on eBay.

thought these were 10 to 15 watts, think 1 watt may not be enough,

 

[BobK]

But it only goes to 10

Bob