Hi guys,
i want to use a buzzer instead of a simple speaker
to play some voices or even some short musical
fragments.
Is this doable ? I searched on google for simple tests
or examples but i could not find any though i was able
to find some projects using buzzers for simple sounds.
I just want to know if what i want is possible and if
it is much harder to implement than with a simple speaker.
I was thinking about using it into a small toy for children.
I also saw some small speakers with a plastic vibrating
membrane in a few other toys. From what you told me i
understand is better to stick with those to keep my design
simple.
Thanks :)
On Nov 27, 2007 4:53 PM, David VanHorn <spam_OUTmicrobrixTakeThisOuTgmail.com> wrote:
> Strictly speaking, a buzzer makes the tone all by itself, and only
> needs to be fed a DC current. There is some mixing of terms out there
> though.
>
> You'll have a hard time overriding the onboard tone generator in a real buzzer.
> -
> Hi guys,
> i want to use a buzzer instead of a simple speaker
> to play some voices or even some short musical
> fragments.
> Is this doable ? I searched on google for simple tests
> or examples but i could not find any though i was able
> to find some projects using buzzers for simple sounds.
> I just want to know if what i want is possible and if
> it is much harder to implement than with a simple speaker.
>
> Thanks in advance,
> spanac
The kind of transducer used for "beepers" can be used as
a crude speaker, however if you look at the response curve
you'll see why the fidelity will be dubious for real music
(not the greeting card quality stuff) or voice.
On Nov 27, 2007 8:50 PM, Spehro Pefhany <.....speffKILLspam.....interlog.com> wrote:
> The kind of transducer used for "beepers" can be used as
> a crude speaker, however if you look at the response curve
> you'll see why the fidelity will be dubious for real music
> (not the greeting card quality stuff) or voice.
>
> Best regards,
> Spehro Pefhany
Oh yes, i forgot about greeting cards. What are
those using for a transducer ?
> On Nov 27, 2007 8:50 PM, Spehro Pefhany <speffspam_OUTinterlog.com> wrote:
>> The kind of transducer used for "beepers" can be used as
>> a crude speaker, however if you look at the response curve
>> you'll see why the fidelity will be dubious for real music
>> (not the greeting card quality stuff) or voice.
>>
>> Best regards,
>> Spehro Pefhany
>
> Oh yes, i forgot about greeting cards. What are
> those using for a transducer ?
Bonded piezo element is what I've seen. At least it's not sitting in
a tuned cavity.
> i want to use a buzzer instead of a simple speaker
> to play some voices or even some short musical
> fragments.
Buzzer or beeper ? Some Googling reveals companies
making "piezo buzzers" that do 'X beeps per minute' !
The buzzers I'm thinking of used to be, maybe still are, in
PCs, fax machines etc. A little black cylinder that's got a
magnetic core and no internal driver. If that's what you're
thinking of too, you probably could play tunes on it. It
sounds similar to a horn driver
Anything that moves can make a sound. I had a program
for the Commodore 64 that could play tunes on the 1541
drive's stepper motor. Fantastic fun until you find the head
alignment has been buggered
> Oh yes, i forgot about greeting cards. What are those
> using for a transducer ?
1) low-side transistor, piezo paralleled with a 1k resistor
or ~ 100mH inductor
2) piezo between two micro pins, alternating drive
Piezos are basically capacitors. They're also bi-directional
transducers and if hit or knocked are capable of generating
enough voltage to damage a micro, so you need to add
protection
They'll play simple tunes well enough, but I don't know about
reproducing a voice. As it happens I'm playing about with ISD
chip audio conditioning today and will try a piezo to see if it's
any good
> They'll play simple tunes well enough, but I don't know about
> reproducing a voice. As it happens I'm playing about with ISD
> chip audio conditioning today and will try a piezo to see if it's
> any good
Super ! Just what i was looking for :) Please share with us/me the
results of your experiment after you try it, i really want to know if
it works.
And yes, i was actually using the word "buzzer" instead of the
piezo element you were talking about, the one that can generate
electricity if hit. At least this is what i was thinking about.
Thanks for the link, i am checking it right now
I am sure you mean peizo instead of buzzer. Because buzzer makes
only bzzzz sound no thing else and it needs dc voltage only but
peizo is a capacitor. you can use it as microphone to sense
impact "shock sensors, drum pads etc. To answer your question
yes you can use it as speaker but you need to add resistor on it but
it is going to be very low output. This is once of the reason pulse or
play melody is better choice.
> i want to use a buzzer instead of a simple speaker
> to play some voices or even some short musical fragments.
Things have become very ambiguous. Originally a "buzzer" was an
electro-mechanical device where a mechanical switch caused
intermittent activation of a magnetic coil, resulting in sound when
driven from DC. (think SPDT relay with he coil in series with the NC
switch contacts.) A speaker had a paper cone, a big honking magnet,
and a coil, and reproduced a relatively broad range of audio
frequencies. Speakers were "large."
Then came piezo disks, metal and mylar diaphragm "speakers", and
things like "sonalerts" with electronics built it to provide "tone
generation" as well as actual sound-producing devices.
You haven't said why you want to use a "buzzer" - I'm suspecting
small size and physical robustness, in which case you still have a
lot of options that seem to be called "speakers." Here's a good
selection:
In general one seems to trade off frequency response for volume;
assuming you're willing to put up with the sort of volume and tone of
a typical cell phone ring (which isn't so bad these days), there are
a lot of options. The piezo setups used in (for example) smoke
alarms are much louder, but generally only at a particular
frequency. Small "speakers" with high sound quality exist and get
used in headphones, but may not be loud enough for use at a
distance. The back tubular thing found on most modern PC
motherboards is probably catagorized as a "speaker", probably is
electromagnetic, and probably can be driven with the same sort of
electronics as a standard paper cone speaker...
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> results of your experiment after you try it, i really want to know
> if it works.
Well, it does work sort of. Not very loud, the bandwidth is
hopeless but you can understand what's being said. I recorded
a song phrase off the nearest radio station - happened to be
Chris De Burgh's "Lady In Red" (shudder) - on the ISD. Played
back through an amplified speaker it's fairly reasonable quality
and good volume. OK waveform etc. Far better than the ISD's
squawky drive of course. Played back through a piezo, she not
so good. Sweetening the recorded sound to a tight mid-range
for voice would help, but volume is a problem. One option might
be to try a 555's PWM configuration. I saw an application circuit
in a magazine a long time ago using it this way and they claimed it
was a passable "digital amplifier". I suspect the piezo would give
you better volume with PWM rather than direct audio
The other thing I learned today is that a CD is big enough to get
a 70mm x 25mm piece out of to cover a 16x2 LCD. They melt
and can be formed pretty easily with a hot air gun too. And the
polycarbonate still has the pretty rainbow effect too. Aaaah. Makes
you appreciate how flimsily that aluminium is stuck to the plastic
though. One little tear and it's off
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BTW, I was setting a talking watch this afternoon and
remembered that has a piezo. The voice is synthesised,
quite understandable and recognisable as a woman's.
Presumably the drive is digital
> BTW, I was setting a talking watch this afternoon
> and
> remembered that has a piezo. The voice is
> synthesised,
> quite understandable and recognisable as a woman's.
> Presumably the drive is digital
>
>
> --
> Why did you use 2 opamps to drive the piezo speaker?
> Curious.
Dear Curious,
It's part of the existing circuit. The first amp is a buffer for
the ISD output (tone control omitted), the second amp is
actually a 2W power amp for the speaker
> > i want to use a buzzer instead of a simple speaker
> > to play some voices or even some short musical fragments.
>
> You haven't said why you want to use a "buzzer" - I'm suspecting
> small size and physical robustness, in which case you still have a
> lot of options that seem to be called "speakers." Here's a good
> selection:
> http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/products.asp?dept=1217
I want to use it in a speaking toy, the volume should be ok for a
range of 2, 3 meters. I checked the link above and i only wish there
was something like this available for my country because the prices
are great. They only ship the goods in US os a few other countries.
> In general one seems to trade off frequency response for volume;
> assuming you're willing to put up with the sort of volume and tone of
> a typical cell phone ring (which isn't so bad these days), there are
You are right, the speakers from a "mp3 ringing-toned phone"
is more than ok considering the fair volume and good signal quality.
I will try to order some items from the distributors of spare mobile
phones parts and see how are they performing.
> > results of your experiment after you try it, i really want to know
> > if it works.
>
> Well, it does work sort of. Not very loud, the bandwidth is
> hopeless but you can understand what's being said. I recorded
> a song phrase off the nearest radio station - happened to be
> Chris De Burgh's "Lady In Red" (shudder) - on the ISD. Played
> back through an amplified speaker it's fairly reasonable quality
> and good volume. OK waveform etc. Far better than the ISD's
> squawky drive of course. Played back through a piezo, she not
> so good. Sweetening the recorded sound to a tight mid-range
> for voice would help, but volume is a problem. One option might
> be to try a 555's PWM configuration. I saw an application circuit
> in a magazine a long time ago using it this way and they claimed it
> was a passable "digital amplifier". I suspect the piezo would give
> you better volume with PWM rather than direct audio
I want to implement something similar to what you've done, record
and then play-back the sounds. From your experiment i get the picture,
the piezo is much better as an alarm than as a speaker.
I will try to use the ringing speaker from a cellular phone to see if
it is any good. Thank you for sharing your results :)
> > Why did you use 2 opamps to drive the piezo
> speaker?
>
> > Curious.
>
> Dear Curious,
>
> It's part of the existing circuit. The first amp is
> a buffer for
> the ISD output (tone control omitted), the second
> amp is
> actually a 2W power amp for the speaker
>
On Nov 27, 2007, at 10:07 PM, Dumitru Stama wrote:
>> http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/products.asp?dept=1217
>
> I want to use it in a speaking toy, the volume should be ok for a
> range of 2, 3 meters. I checked the link above and i only wish there
> was something like this available for my country because the prices
> are great. They only ship the goods in US os a few other countries.
Did you check Wouter's web shop (Netherlands)? He seems to carry
some of the same products as electronics goldmine; I don't know
whether he has the same sources, or just has some sort of reselling
arrangement, but it looked to me like his prices were still pretty
good... http://www.voti.nl/shop/p/misc.html
> Did you check Wouter's web shop (Netherlands)? He seems to carry
> some of the same products as electronics goldmine; I don't know
> whether he has the same sources, or just has some sort of reselling
> arrangement, but it looked to me like his prices were still pretty
> good... http://www.voti.nl/shop/p/misc.html
Great, i just placed an order ! Didn't know about his online shop and
about the fact he sells surplus items. I think his shop is one of the few
in Europe... I learned something today :)
> >> www.goldmine-elec-products.com/products.asp?dept=1217
> >
> > I want to use it in a speaking toy, the volume should be ok for a
> > range of 2, 3 meters. I checked the link above and i only
> wish there
> > was something like this available for my country because the prices
> > are great. They only ship the goods in US os a few other countries.
>
> Did you check Wouter's web shop (Netherlands)? He seems to
> carry some of the same products as electronics goldmine; I
> don't know whether he has the same sources, or just has some
> sort of reselling arrangement, but it looked to me like his
> prices were still pretty good... http://www.voti.nl/shop/p/misc.html
No specific arrangement, I just buy some things from them and resell.
But of course I do buy large quantities, and occasionally they have a
special price and then I refill my stock. If you are in the USA buying
directly might be cheaper and more convenient, but of course I don't
object if anyone prefers to buy from me :)
Wouter van Ooijen
-- -------------------------------------------
Van Ooijen Technische Informatica: http://www.voti.nl
consultancy, development, PICmicro products
docent Hogeschool van Utrecht: http://www.voti.nl/hvu
> Great, i just placed an order ! Didn't know about his online
> shop and about the fact he sells surplus items. I think his
> shop is one of the few in Europe... I learned something today :)
definitely not the only one, but there aren't many. two I know (and
occasionaly buy from):
dutch, some interesting army and medical surplus, but often they have
only a few of each item: http://www.baco-army-goods.nl/
gmail.com> wrote:
