Simple 360 Speaker From a Box

Since most phone speakers point down, it's difficult to broadcast music in all directions. Pointing the speaker straight up helps, but too much of the sound goes straight up as well. Your best bet is to suspend the speaker just above a hard surface so that the sound can radiate outwards. This Instructable shows you how to transform a box into a simple 360 degree speaker.

1. Box, about the height of your phone - too tall and the phone gets buried in the speaker.
2. Ruler
3. Marker
4. Box Cutter
5. Tape (Optional, but preferred).

The box can be either square or rectangular (Note: The tissue boxes shown here are not ideal because of the plastic window, but they were the right sizes and I was able to reinforce the opening with clear packaging tape before proceeding).

Use the marker to draw diagonals on all sides of the box. The lines should touch end-to-end and not cross. For a rectangular box, divide the box in half before drawing the diagonals.

Cut off one corner. It should look like a pyramid with a triangular base. Trim off any extra flaps. If using a square box, you should have (4) pyramids and a pile of trimmed off flaps. If using a rectangular box you will also have (4) large triangles. Save all the scrap pieces for potential use later.

Trim off about 1" (2.5cm) from the top of each pyramid.

Position the triangular pyramids back-to-back to create a larger pyramid with a square base. If available, use tape to secure the bottom edges together. If not, you can notch some of the scrap pieces and slide into a corresponding notch in the speaker.

Start the music on your phone and slide it into the speaker. The phone should be positioned slightly above the bottom, so prop it up with some scrap if needed. If the box is not too large you should still be able to adjust the volume without having to remove the phone.

If you used a rectangular box, you can use the large scrap triangles to create deflectors to direct the sound downward. When done you will have created a simple public announcement (PA) speaker system.

Corrugated cardboard is more difficult to cut, but it is easier to assemble without tape. As this Instructable would most likely be needed in a "use whatever you can find" situation, I wanted to show different construction materials and methods.