After I built my
homemade speaker
With a plastic cup, some people started to criticize it without even trying to build one. The worst rant was the "quality of the sound". Other people started to make their own homemade speaker based on my instructions without even giving me the credit as the original author, so I decided to build a new version, simple and better.
When I said, "keep your socks up", I really mean it. I was working and doing some tests until finally I was able to build my own homemade speaker with the sound quality that competes with commercial speakers. Taken from http://www.josepino.com
As you can see on the picture, I did use a foam plate. I tried other materials and I found the best quality of the sound is produced by a lightweight material but strong enough to avoid excessive vibration. Paper plates are too soft, plastic disposable plates produces excessive vibration.
Bill of materials:
Foam plate.
Two strips of paper.
Two business cards.
Copper wire, AWG 32 (enameled)
Tape.
Glue. (Hot glue works great)
Neodymium magnet.
Audio plug.
10 minutes.
First, roll one strip of paper over the magnet. Use tape. Do not tape the paper to the magnet.
Testimonials
"It works! Love it... I used a ring magnet, and a plastic isolated wire, 70turns though. Beautiful sound... Love it." - Mindaugas from Lithuania.
"I was so impressed by the quality of the speaker, it truly is commercial quality with a paper plate! I love it! - Ben from MI.
"It took me a day but this works and the quality [of the sound] is AMAZING!" - Michael from Los Angeles.
Roll the second paper strip over the first one. Do not tape the paper with the first roll.
Remove the magnet after the paper cylinder is ready.
Glue the paper cylinder to the plate; try to glue it exactly at the center of the plate.
Start making the coil, keep the magnet inside so you don't crush the paper cylinder.
Make about 50 turns of wire (AWG 32). If you don't have copper wire AWG 32, then use AWG 30 but be sure the coil has at least 7 ohms. After you finish the coil, remove the magnet and the inner paper cylinder. Discard the inner paper cylinder and try not to damage the second one. The inner cylinder is only used to create a gap between the magnet and the coil.
Fold the business cards as the picture shows.
If the magnet is not high, try to make small three tight folds only, so the coil stays just above the magnet. [I mean, not wide folds]
Glue the cards to the foam plate. Try to align both business cards. (Parallel)
Now, Put some glue on the magnet and each business card...
Now, put the plate so the business cards and the magnet stick to the base. The "base" can be a solid cardboard or wood. Anything flat and rigid works fine. I did use a cardboard. Using wood, the sound is better as wood vibrates less than cardboard.
Check the wires, keep the wires away of the business cards or it may cause some noise and/or a rattle noise, so try to keen both wires separated.
Remove the coating from the copper wire tip. I did remove about 1/4" of the enamel so the circuit will be closed when connecting the wire.
Update: You can take the enamel off much easier with the flame of a lighter than a wire stripper or a razor. Thanks Gregg from WI & Thomas from papua new guinea for this tip!
Testing the speaker.
This step may help you to determine if the home-built speaker is working. Just touch the sides of ANY AA or AAA battery with both ends from the speaker wire. Do not hold the wires, just touch the battery sides slightly. While doing this, the speaker should produce a noise. If there is no sound coming from the speaker that means the wire setup is not good or there is a short circuit.
12/26/2007 - Update:
This diagram shows how it is connected to the plug. Using a Mono plug, just conect one end of the wire to the center connector and the other end to the side connector of the plug.
If you are using a STEREO plug, just connect one end of the wire to the center of the plug and the other end to ANY of the side contact from the plug. Don't forget to remove the coating from the copper wire (Yes, I told you, it should be enameled copper wire. Just bare copper wire is not going to work.
In case you are using a plug from cheap headphones, connect one end to the copper wire from the headphones cable and the other end to the red or white wire. Stereo headphones usually have three wires.
After the glue dries, your homemade speaker is ready! You can make two if you want to have stereo speakers. I did plug my homemade speaker to my computer and I was satisfied with the result, the volume is good, the quality of the sound is really good, basically works fine like a commercial speaker does.
If your speaker sounds Horrible, check:
Nothing touches the wires. The wires should move freely.
The cards are completely glued, apply glue on ALL AREAS and no corners are left unglued.
The coil have no loose wires. Try to keep the coil tight enough and secure it with glue or tape. Loose wire may vibrate and cause distortion.
The coil should not touch the magnet. Try to make the coil wider. Also, the coil should not touch the base of the speaker.
If the foam plate is too soft, it may not work well. It should not be folded, bent or have cuts. Loose parts can cause distortion. If the sound is not loud enough (don't expect miracles or it to be louder than a commercial speaker)
The sound is too quiet? No sound?
Be sure the coil have at least 50 turns or, if you have a multi-meter, more than 7 ohms.
Adjust the height of the coil in reference to the magnet.
Try to glue the business cards closer or away from the coil until find the perfect location/volume. Be sure the business cards are parallel.
Use neodymium magnets.
Be sure nothing touches the foam plate, only the business cards should touch it.
Some personal or portable audio devices doesn't have enough power to drive a speaker. Try many audio sources if you get no sound or the volume is low.
***WARNING*** DO NOT use AWG 24, 26, or 28. You need to use AT LEAST AWG 30. The wire should be isolated! Again, it should have a coating. Do not use any other kind of wire as it may short-circuit the audio output.
Learn more impressive wall speakers innovations from the company that speaks quality!
Where to buy the parts:
Foam Plate I did purchase the foam plate from the supermarket. Any brand. Business cards... that is for free from anyone. Wire: I did purchase the wire from ebuy, (Dang! I don't get paid for this advertisement) Some craft stores sell the wire. You may even use the wire from old electronic parts if you have a background about electronics. Corrected, Thanks Quinten! Magnets: I did purchase it from the craft store. Ceramic magnets are ok, but the sound is louder using neodymium magnets. I do recommend neodymium magnets for better results. Some hardware stores sell those magnets. Square magnets are ok, just make the coil square. Glue: Buy it from anywhere, It depends of how long do you want to wait. If you are willing to wait until the glue dries, use any kind. If you are some kind of crazy and wants everything done immediately (just like I'm), use hot glue or instant glue, but be careful! Your speaker will not work if your finger is glued on it.
07/29/09 - 01:02:16 Braundo from PA wrote: Nice of you to share this with everyone. I found the claim for you being the inventor a bit amusing. By inventing you really mean the first to show plans on a website. If you check out science catalogs that sell to schools you can find various kits that look quite familiar to yours and have been doing so for quite awhile. For example science kit and boreal labs has been selling one for at least 15 years. Perhaps they should complain about you taking their idea and not giving them credit.
07/29/09 - 01:09:38 José Pino wrote: Thanks. At the time when I devised the idea, I found no reference of anyone building speaker with Styrofoam plates.
08/02/09 - 19:40:36 RJ Moore from AZ wrote: Hey, remember me? Im the guy whose gona build a stereo system from your idea...the next project you should do is a cheap and easy subwoofer. Thanks for the idea of a styrofoam speaker.
08/06/09 - 22:03:40 beatriz nallar from bolivia wrote: i am trying to build it with a square styrofoam plate but it doesnt wprk. do you think it is because of the shape? or it might be i made a mistake in the basic construction?
08/07/09 - 01:00:28 José Pino wrote: Did you test it using the battery? The shape of the magnet and coil affects the performance but it should work.
08/09/09 - 03:00:14 Angelo Gargarello from Allen Park wrote: Hello I watched the video about 3 days ago and I just wanted to comment. this works great!! I got a big plate and a small plate and turned 2 plates a cupple magents into a sweet speaker box. LOL I am cheap and I put them in my car it sounds sweet
08/27/09 - 02:53:11 Luis S from California wrote: Im going to try this right now, hopefully I'll do everything right
09/01/09 - 09:32:12 jhon from in the middle of the sea wrote: i tryed it with 6 layers of paper taped together instead of the plate but i taped 2 layers all over the paper because i had no plates at home and it worked brilliantly i tried then with the plate because i brought some the next day and it turned out the paper works better
09/10/09 - 04:21:47 Tyler from Min wrote: i havent tried this yet but i do have a question about connecting to the audio jack. say i have 2 speakers i want to connect to the same jack, would i put both the negative wires on the same thing and both the positives on the other?
09/10/09 - 04:22:36 José Pino wrote: That is correct.
09/12/09 - 22:27:08 Stan from NY wrote: you say "your homemade speaker is ready! You can make two if you want to have stereo speakers." How would you connect the 2nd speaker to the same stereo plug if there is one speaker jack on a computer? Would you take the enabled wire from the 2nd speaker and without stripping the enamel and tie it to the 1st speaker's enameled wire? So the source is the same and sound is produced in both speakers?
09/12/09 - 22:40:35 José Pino wrote: For two speakers you need a stereo plug or connect both speakers in parallel. You need to remove the enamel from the tip of the wire.
09/13/09 - 01:03:24 Stan from NY wrote: ahh interesting, my thought is similiar to Tyler from Min, now i'm thinking of buying a stereo jack, would it be a 3.5 mm stereo plug? like as seen here: http://www.ozoneservices.com/products/OLP/extport/images/splitters-01b.jpg Also regarding tyler's question, which wire would be negative or positive, considering the enameled wire looks the same?
09/13/09 - 01:08:25 José Pino wrote: You need just one, like this one: http://media.digikey.com/photos/CUI%20Photos/SP-3501.jpg I guess I need to expand this article for more details.
09/16/09 - 18:28:03 kichu from india wrote: Sir,I couldn't find a neodymium magnet so I used an ordinary magnet. But I don't get much sound. Would the sound increase if I increase the number of coils around it? coil is 32AWG.Please help.
09/16/09 - 18:30:29 José Pino wrote: more loops may increase the volume but it also increases the weight of the coil, so more power is needed. If more loops doesn't work, you may need an amplifier.
09/16/09 - 20:34:07 Basim from Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia wrote: Hey! thanks alot! i have a question, do u mind answering it? can i join some other coil with the coil that i have used for the magnet, so that i can increase the length of the coil?
09/16/09 - 20:48:43 José Pino wrote: Yes, you can. Even better, you can use another magnet for the other coil, there will be two coils and two magnets driving the speaker, it will increase the volume.
09/16/09 - 20:55:05 Basim from Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia wrote: Sir, i dont really get you! could u clear it out for me sir? by the way i did the same as mentioned above and the checking with AA battery, it doesnt works for me! i dont know why. i have 61 turns, and still cannot figure it out. Please Help Me!
09/16/09 - 21:00:46 José Pino wrote: Please review the instructions, perhaps you missed an step.
09/16/09 - 21:15:16 Basim from Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia wrote: I think this is too hard for me! I will try to make the other one which u posted earlier. Do u have some opinions on that Sir?
09/17/09 - 06:11:25 Kevin from the Twilight Zone wrote: Jose, I just put one of these together today. When I hook up the AAA magnet, it reacts like you said. However, when hooking my laptop up to it, I get nothing. I used 26 AWG wire before I noticed you said atleast 30. My question, then, is will I get nothing at all with 26 at 50 turns, or is it more likely that my old headphone cable is bad? Thanks in advance!
09/17/09 - 06:20:18 José Pino wrote: Neither one or another. The problem with your speaker is the power. You laptop doesn't have enough power to drive the speaker. You need to connect the speaker to an amplifier OR connect it to an Audio equipment. If you have a cassette player or any home entertainment system, connect your speaker to the audio connector (No the headphones one).
09/17/09 - 14:47:06 Kevin from the Twilight Zone wrote: Yep! That did it. Now, what I'm trying to do is make a set of these for my car. Any suggestion seperate from just an amplifier to make them louder? Stronger magnet, more turns, etc.?
09/17/09 - 16:40:34 José Pino wrote: To make it louder: * Be sure there is little mechanical resistance. The coil should move freely and closer to the magnet. * Use a strong magnet * More loops and thinner wire will work better, let's say; 70 loops of AWG 38. * Experiment with different materials as it may affect the sound volume.
09/17/09 - 23:41:41 Basim from Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia wrote: Hey! can i use rectangular plastic plate instead of using circle one?
09/18/09 - 04:00:49 Kevin from the Twilight Zone wrote: One more question before I begin a variety of experiments. Have you ever tried or considered putting a coil around the magnet and attaching it to the same audio output? Logic would say that it would double the magnetism, and thus the volume. I'm just not sure if my logic is correct, or if the power to each coil would be cut in half, as there is now twice the load on the same power. What do you think?
09/18/09 - 04:06:32 José Pino wrote: That is an interesting idea. It may increase the volume, but also consider it will increase the weight, therefore may reduce the volume. I can't say what the results will be. Basin, I guess a square one will work.
09/18/09 - 21:23:18 Kevin from the Twilight Zone wrote: I'm going to give it a try, i'll let you know what the result is when I have finished!
10/12/09 - 11:48:29 dyAn from philippines wrote: hi! mr.Pino, we are using your sytro speaker in our investigatory project but it produced very low volumed sound.. we did the instructions, but it still doesn't work out, do you suggest we use an amplifier?
10/12/09 - 15:41:19 José Pino wrote: Did you test the homemade speaker with the battery as indicated? Another way to know it needs an amplifier, connect a regular speaker instead the homemade one. If it works then something is wrong with the homemade one. If the regular speaker also have low volume, then it will need an amplifier. Here is n easy-to-make mini amplifier: http://josepino.com/?lm386
10/17/09 - 09:41:42 dyan from Philippines wrote: what are the materials for the amplifier? :( We're desperate dude. We will not graduate high school. please help us :(
10/17/09 - 16:41:36 José Pino wrote: I can't copy and paste an article. Please go to http://josepino.com/?lm386 OR use another source of audio.
10/19/09 - 01:54:22 dyan from philippines wrote: thankss anyway. :)) i hope we'll get a good grade. :)Keep on rockin'!
10/19/09 - 03:15:09 azalea from philippines wrote: good day mr. Pino, are the business cards and the wooden base very important for the volume of the speaker? thanks!
10/19/09 - 03:19:21 José Pino wrote: The material used (business card and wooden base or cardboard) provides the best sound quality. It doesn't improve the volume,
10/20/09 - 15:42:27 Zac from USA wrote: Why would you say the speaker sounds as good as commercial speakers, what makes is comparable? thanks in advance!
10/21/09 - 03:15:44 José Pino wrote: If you build it right, The quality of the sound is basically similar to a commercial one. The volume may be as low as 75% than a commercial speaker. It depends about the coil, the magnet and the Styrofoam plate.
10/22/09 - 12:52:32 adoine from france wrote: Hello I don't see how you get 7ohms with 50 turns on a 1/2 in diameter magnet and 32awg.. 32awg has ~8 Ohms/600in.. thus 2*3.14*0.5in *50 turns = 157in, which would be about 2ohms. I must be missing the obvious.. thanks
10/29/09 - 04:22:44 gus from nyc wrote: so i did this and it was soo cool but i'd like to make it louder. i'm gonna buy some magnets, i know they should be neodymium, but disc or ring? what size? thanks!!
11/10/09 - 18:53:31 JR from From i dont really know, i guess you would call it the earth? wrote: i tried the 32 gauge, it works great, but i wanted it louder so i used a 54 gauge and now it works REALLY good, almost as good as a normal speaker, thanks!
11/20/09 - 04:00:38 chris from ri wrote: i made this speaker and hooked it up to various audio sources including a laptop, a radio, and ipods. i used a neodymium magnet and 32 gauge wire. my ipod made the volume the loudest of the audio sources, but it still was very quiet. do you have any suggestions of how i can make it louder?
As you can see on the picture, I did use a foam plate. I tried other materials and I found the best quality of the sound is produced by a lightweight material but strong enough to avoid excessive vibration. Paper plates are too soft, plastic disposable plates produces excessive vibration.
