Homemade speaker

This was posted on the forums and I think it is cool and I wanted to get it out there a little more so this is instructions on howto make your own speaker at home for around $5 dollars

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.

[img]http://www.josepino.com/other_projects/speaker/1-materials-a.jpg[/img]

First, roll one strip of paper over the magnet. Use tape. Do not tape the paper to the magnet.

[img]http://www.josepino.com/other_projects/speaker/2-first-roll.jpg[/img]

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.

folded business cards 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. I did use a cardboard. Using wood, the sound is better as wood vibrates less than cardboard.

Check the wires, it should not touch anything. The wires may cause some noise and/or a rattle noise, so try to keen both wires separated.

I did use an old audio plug. The picture shows a stereo one. If there is only two metal connectors, that is a “mono” plug.

Carefully, I did remove about 1/4″ of the enamel coating to expose the copper wire and Twisted each wire with each wire from the plug. Stereo plugs have 3 wires. Only connect two of them. watch out, Some stereo plugs have two wires in each plastic tube.

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 multimeter (find one among the best Hvac multimeter reviews, for example), 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.

***WARNING*** DO NOT use AWG 24, 26, or 28. You need to use AT LEAST AWG 30.

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 Radio Shack. (Dang! I don’t get paid for this advertisement) Some craft strores sells the wire. You may even use the wire from old electronic parts if you have a background about electronics.
Magnets: I did purchase it from the craft store. Ceramic magnets are ok, but the sound is better using neodymium magnets. Some hardware stores sells 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.

Forum Post here

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