Hi guys,
Having seen someone's link to an iPod dock-horn, I figured I might as well see what the noise is about.
So I broke out the cardboard and masking tape (in typical scruffy teenager style), and made myself an exponential horn. Pictures attached. You get maybe 6-9dB gain out of mine, which is nice to have. Sounds reasonable enough - very good when you consider it's cost nothing.
Anyone else done something similar?
Chris
Having seen someone's link to an iPod dock-horn, I figured I might as well see what the noise is about.
So I broke out the cardboard and masking tape (in typical scruffy teenager style), and made myself an exponential horn. Pictures attached. You get maybe 6-9dB gain out of mine, which is nice to have. Sounds reasonable enough - very good when you consider it's cost nothing.
Anyone else done something similar?
Chris
Attachments
Great job Chris, the quick and dirty jobs are often the most rewarding.
Any plans to make a bigger one?
Any plans to make a bigger one?
Lovely 🙂 Thanks for posting this. Small miracles like this made out of cardboard and tape keep our sense of wonder alive.
Hi guys, thanks for the encouragements.
In order:
Boscoe, no plans were followed. I simply set a compass to its widest radius and went from there: iPod width at one end, 6" across at the mouth. I pretty much made it up as I went along.
Thunk, cheers. I might be thinking about making a bigger one: upon hearing it, my sister asked if a bigger one would be louder. One way to find out.
Rjbond, there were no calculations here. Optimal? Probably not. It definitely works, though. The problem is that I have no idea of the characteristics of the iPod speaker, so Hornresp isn't an option (AFAIK - if someone wants to show me how it can work this out, I'd be happy to learn).
Dave, I'll see what I can do - just don't expect anything as neat as the plans on your 'site.
Kristleifur, thanks again for the encouragement. I was amazed at what this could do, just with the expanding horn section - when I made a proper cradle for the iPod, there was more improvement (I'd guess it was down to sealing the iPod to the horn).
I'll try to get plans done this weekend for those of you that might be thinking of making your own 😉
Chris
In order:
Boscoe, no plans were followed. I simply set a compass to its widest radius and went from there: iPod width at one end, 6" across at the mouth. I pretty much made it up as I went along.
Thunk, cheers. I might be thinking about making a bigger one: upon hearing it, my sister asked if a bigger one would be louder. One way to find out.
Rjbond, there were no calculations here. Optimal? Probably not. It definitely works, though. The problem is that I have no idea of the characteristics of the iPod speaker, so Hornresp isn't an option (AFAIK - if someone wants to show me how it can work this out, I'd be happy to learn).
Dave, I'll see what I can do - just don't expect anything as neat as the plans on your 'site.
Kristleifur, thanks again for the encouragement. I was amazed at what this could do, just with the expanding horn section - when I made a proper cradle for the iPod, there was more improvement (I'd guess it was down to sealing the iPod to the horn).
I'll try to get plans done this weekend for those of you that might be thinking of making your own 😉
Chris
Much better than my method of sticking the bottom of the phone between my fingers to use my hand as a horn. I know nothing about building horns but your method looks like a great starting point. Even if you just post the basics of what you built, that would help greatly. Thank you for sharing!
I have actually been thinking about doing something like this for many years, but never started anything.
The problem I find is that it's common that the speaker is on the top of the phone and not the bottom, which makes a dock-horn a little tricky...
The problem I find is that it's common that the speaker is on the top of the phone and not the bottom, which makes a dock-horn a little tricky...
This is for those with a black belt in the deadly art of origami... a genuine classic vintage speaker enclosure.
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Here ya go, guys.
Nothing professional, but I reckon you'll be able to make one (or lots) if you wanted to.
When it comes to construction; tape, tape, everywhere.
I've completed a Mk2 version with gaffer (duct) tape - the masking tape was constantly peeling, so I replaced it.
For the curved bit (where I wrote it has to be smooth), I used about 5 layers of tape to give a smooth surface. Also taped the mouth edges for good luck.
For piece E (ironically, D-shaped), I drew around the near-completed horn to get the curve etc, then cut & taped that in place.
Have fun,
Chris
Nothing professional, but I reckon you'll be able to make one (or lots) if you wanted to.
When it comes to construction; tape, tape, everywhere.
I've completed a Mk2 version with gaffer (duct) tape - the masking tape was constantly peeling, so I replaced it.
For the curved bit (where I wrote it has to be smooth), I used about 5 layers of tape to give a smooth surface. Also taped the mouth edges for good luck.
For piece E (ironically, D-shaped), I drew around the near-completed horn to get the curve etc, then cut & taped that in place.
Have fun,
Chris
Attachments
I've been attempting to simulate this horn using Hornresp (which I'm slowly getting to be able to use). Is there any way to simulate only the gain of the horn using Hornresp? Finding the t/s parameters for the in-built speaker isn't an option, nor would it be helpful as there's plenty of DSP behind it. So, anyone got any ideas?
Of Apple's range of devices, this horn will work with the iPhone 3G onwards, and the latest iPod Touch. Anything with a speaker in the bottom (or top) should work fine.
Chris
PS - if anyone else tries one of these, I'd appreciate hearing about it.
Of Apple's range of devices, this horn will work with the iPhone 3G onwards, and the latest iPod Touch. Anything with a speaker in the bottom (or top) should work fine.
Chris
PS - if anyone else tries one of these, I'd appreciate hearing about it.
I have heard that an iPod can be used to drive a Klipschorn or similar high efficiency speaker.
This looks cheaper and lighter
This looks cheaper and lighter
gives me an idea. I don't use an iPhone but I'm going to make one for my Nokia 6300. The speaker is on the back side of the phone and I think I have an idea how I'm going to make a folded horn.
I just made one for my Droid X. The speaker is on the lower back side. Its my first horn. Has that bull horn effect but it does make it louder when its pointing at you. Will come in handy in the morning since I use my phone as my alarm. The Eagles "Hotel California" plays every morning at 6am. Will post pics later tonight.
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