HAND HELD HAPPY 20th BIRTHDAY “OOH-GAH” HORN

When I was younger, i had an ooh-gah horn on every vehicle I owned. They make a very distinctive sound and attract a lot of attention. Now that I am older but not any more mature, I use the horn at the cottage to call folks up from the lake for dinner. It can be heard for long distances, especially over water and makes a great signalling device at special events. Being hand held is just very convenient. I thought it would be the perfect way to celebrate 20 years of Instructables by creating a noisy party atmosphere. Watch the video to hear it.

Materials/ Tools

Ooh-gah horn: Available at Auto supply stores

Portable battery operated tool with battery and charger (12- 18 volt Preferred)- Check out Charity or Pawn shops.

2 inch plumbing ABS Tee

Push button on/off switch

Hook up wire

Electrical crimp fittings-(Spade and Butt connectors)

Scrap 1” Pine

2” plastic cap

Set of Allen keys

Wire crimper/ stripper/ cutter

Bolt, nut and washer to fit horn mounting

Epoxy glue

Drill with 1/4” bit and step bit

2” hole saw

Fine tooth hand saw

Take the tool apart with the Allen keys. ( Some may use Philips or Torx) Split the halves apart. Isolate the battery holder. Saving as much of the wire as possible cut off the holder with the fine tooth hand saw.. Discard the rest of the tool or keep for a future Instructable. Put the holder back together with epoxy glue then trim the battery holder with the fine tooth saw so it fits inside the ABS Tee. Extend the wires using butt connectors and hook up wire.

Apply epoxy to the battery holder and connect it to the lower part of the Tee. Push the positive wire out the front of the Tee and the negative wire out the top. See next step for switch shown in photo.

Drill a hole in the centre of the plastic cap with the step drill. Mount the switch in the hole. Crimp a spade lug to the positive wire and connect it to one of the switch leads. Crimp a spade lug to a piece of hook up wire. Connect it to the other switch lead and push the wire out the top of the Tee. Epoxy the switch assembly to the front of the Tee.

Use the hole saw to cut out a 2” disc from the scrap pine. Drill a second 1/4” hole in the disc. Attach to the horn using the bolt, nut and washer through the centre hole. Feed the 2 wires through the second hole and epoxy the disc to the top of the Tee.

Cut the wires to length. Crimp spade lugs to each and connect them to the leads on the horn paying attention to positive and negative. Connect the battery to the holder and blast away! Holding the switch down gives the “OOH” sound. Releasing it gives the “GAH” sound. Happy Birthday Instructables Robot!

CAUTION: This is for outside use only. Do not point it at people or animals!