Hi all, newbie here. I have been searching and reading the forums here with great interest. I have learned a lot but have not been able to nail down all the info I need for my intended project. I am a little torn about whether I should have posted my inquiry here vs. the Design & Build forum, but since I am not planning to design a circuit nor solder indvidiual components to a PC board, I am starting here. 🙂
I have been investigating building a set of battery-powered "active speakers" with FM radio receivers inside. Think of a mono boombox. The purpose is to distribute 10 - 20 of these on the ground in a park-like setting to have non-obtrusive ambient background music during a small car or crafts show. For comparison, I am currently using a set of 10 of these cheap Sardine "UFO" radios which only have little 3" speakers which I was able to source for $20 each, but can no longer find. They are barely adequate, but I have not found a bargain on any more of them. I like these since the speakers point upward and are therefore omnidirectional. If I can come up with a DIY solution that has slightly more sound to add to these, I will be in a good spot. I need something that will run on reasonably inexpensive batteries for 4-5 hours continuously. I can build or source boxes and 4"-5" speakers.
Since I want to couple the amp with an FM radio receiver, I want to ensure I pick an appropriate amplifier and incorporate the necessary shielding/filtering to avoid RF interference. I prefer to use boards that are populated to the extent possible, rather than having to add my own customized circuitry for things like audio output filtering (which I am not skilled at and wouldn't be able to do 20 times over).
Does anyone have a recommendation for a low-power (either a 5V input or 12-24V input) amp board that would be good for this out of the box with minimal customization?
I have been investigating building a set of battery-powered "active speakers" with FM radio receivers inside. Think of a mono boombox. The purpose is to distribute 10 - 20 of these on the ground in a park-like setting to have non-obtrusive ambient background music during a small car or crafts show. For comparison, I am currently using a set of 10 of these cheap Sardine "UFO" radios which only have little 3" speakers which I was able to source for $20 each, but can no longer find. They are barely adequate, but I have not found a bargain on any more of them. I like these since the speakers point upward and are therefore omnidirectional. If I can come up with a DIY solution that has slightly more sound to add to these, I will be in a good spot. I need something that will run on reasonably inexpensive batteries for 4-5 hours continuously. I can build or source boxes and 4"-5" speakers.
Since I want to couple the amp with an FM radio receiver, I want to ensure I pick an appropriate amplifier and incorporate the necessary shielding/filtering to avoid RF interference. I prefer to use boards that are populated to the extent possible, rather than having to add my own customized circuitry for things like audio output filtering (which I am not skilled at and wouldn't be able to do 20 times over).
Does anyone have a recommendation for a low-power (either a 5V input or 12-24V input) amp board that would be good for this out of the box with minimal customization?