Homemade Portable Speakers
by prosper58 in Circuits > Speakers
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Homemade Portable Speakers
As simple as it was to make them, these 2 portable speakers took quite a while to perfect (about 3-4hours, due to so many errors and mess ups ._.) . I won't post a step-by-step, but I'll explain how I made them. The large speaker has better sound quality, but both are decent. Since these speakers aren't powered by batteries, they run off the MP3 player's power alone. Decent output, and they don't run the MP3 player dead any faster than headphones.
Large Speaker-
Components:
Body Fortress Whey Protein Mix container - Or any similar container.
Medium sized speaker - Could be scavenged off of anything.
Unused set of headphones.
Steps:
1.Place speaker magnet-size-up on the top of the container's lid (in the center) and use a pencil to trace around the speaker's edge.
2.Use a utility knife to cut the circle out as accurately as possible and sand the edges of the hole.
3.Carefully use hot glue to glue the speaker into the hole. Make sure the magnet side is on the inside of the lid.
4.On the headphones, cut one of the wires after they branch off in 2. Before: Y -- After: I
5.Cut off the headphone/ear-bud on the remaining wire. Make sure to leave as much wire on this end as possible.
6.Strip the wire and separate the 2 inner leads. They should each be a different color.
7.Solder each lead in the headphone wire to a lead on the speaker. Do a sound test by plugging the headphones jack into an MP3 player and playing music. If it works, hot glue over the soldered areas to secure everything.
8.Just put the lid back on the container and you're done.
Small speaker-
Components-
Ice Breakers container.
Small speaker.
Dole Fruit Cup. (My method- Eat the fruit, save the cup.)
Unused set of headphones.
Steps-
1.Take the lid off of the icebreakers container. (Open large tab and pull it off) Then wash the bottom. (you won't need the lid)
2.Place speaker magnet-size-up on the top of the Ice Breakers bottom (in the center) and use a pencil to trace around the speaker's edge.
3.Use a utility knife or other method of cutting plastic to cut the circle out as accurately as possible and sand the edges of the hole. I just used my soldering iron to melt the hole in. It was much easier than using a knife. Only do this if you're sure your soldering iron will survive it. And be careful for the plastic fumes.
4.Carefully use hot glue to glue the speaker into the hole. Make sure the magnet side is on the inside of the container bottom.
5.On the headphones, cut one of the wires after they branch off in 2. Before: Y -- After: I
6.Cut off the headphone/ear-bud on the remaining wire. Make sure to leave as much wire on this end as possible.
7.Strip the wire about half an inch and separate the 2 inner leads. They should each be a different color.
8.Solder each lead in the headphone wire to a lead on the speaker. Do a sound test by plugging the headphone jack into an MP3 player and playing music. If it works, hot glue over the soldered areas to secure everything.
9.Use a utility knife or soldering iron to cut a small groove into the top of the fruit cup. Make sure the groove is big enough to pull the headphone wire through.
10. Put hot glue all around the rim of the fruit cup, then press the icebreakers bottom onto it, making sure the headphone jack goes through the groove. (this way you can pull the headphone wire out to extend the range or push it back in for it to be more portable)
If these instructions are hard to follow, just examine the pictures or video closely. This should
Large Speaker-
Components:
Body Fortress Whey Protein Mix container - Or any similar container.
Medium sized speaker - Could be scavenged off of anything.
Unused set of headphones.
Steps:
1.Place speaker magnet-size-up on the top of the container's lid (in the center) and use a pencil to trace around the speaker's edge.
2.Use a utility knife to cut the circle out as accurately as possible and sand the edges of the hole.
3.Carefully use hot glue to glue the speaker into the hole. Make sure the magnet side is on the inside of the lid.
4.On the headphones, cut one of the wires after they branch off in 2. Before: Y -- After: I
5.Cut off the headphone/ear-bud on the remaining wire. Make sure to leave as much wire on this end as possible.
6.Strip the wire and separate the 2 inner leads. They should each be a different color.
7.Solder each lead in the headphone wire to a lead on the speaker. Do a sound test by plugging the headphones jack into an MP3 player and playing music. If it works, hot glue over the soldered areas to secure everything.
8.Just put the lid back on the container and you're done.
Small speaker-
Components-
Ice Breakers container.
Small speaker.
Dole Fruit Cup. (My method- Eat the fruit, save the cup.)
Unused set of headphones.
Steps-
1.Take the lid off of the icebreakers container. (Open large tab and pull it off) Then wash the bottom. (you won't need the lid)
2.Place speaker magnet-size-up on the top of the Ice Breakers bottom (in the center) and use a pencil to trace around the speaker's edge.
3.Use a utility knife or other method of cutting plastic to cut the circle out as accurately as possible and sand the edges of the hole. I just used my soldering iron to melt the hole in. It was much easier than using a knife. Only do this if you're sure your soldering iron will survive it. And be careful for the plastic fumes.
4.Carefully use hot glue to glue the speaker into the hole. Make sure the magnet side is on the inside of the container bottom.
5.On the headphones, cut one of the wires after they branch off in 2. Before: Y -- After: I
6.Cut off the headphone/ear-bud on the remaining wire. Make sure to leave as much wire on this end as possible.
7.Strip the wire about half an inch and separate the 2 inner leads. They should each be a different color.
8.Solder each lead in the headphone wire to a lead on the speaker. Do a sound test by plugging the headphone jack into an MP3 player and playing music. If it works, hot glue over the soldered areas to secure everything.
9.Use a utility knife or soldering iron to cut a small groove into the top of the fruit cup. Make sure the groove is big enough to pull the headphone wire through.
10. Put hot glue all around the rim of the fruit cup, then press the icebreakers bottom onto it, making sure the headphone jack goes through the groove. (this way you can pull the headphone wire out to extend the range or push it back in for it to be more portable)
If these instructions are hard to follow, just examine the pictures or video closely. This should