Circuit Bending Audio Greeting Cards

Everyone has seen, received or given one of these audio greeting cards. They play songs, quotes from movies or TV shows and some of them allow you to record your own message. They’re fun the first time. Maybe the second time too. By the third time, you’re afraid to open the card. What we’re about to do is make these things way more fun for a much longer time.


Materials:
American Greetings/Carlton Cards Sound or Music Greeting Cards
22 AWG Wire (solid core just to make your life easier)
Saliva and Finger
Breadboard
Various Resistors (between 50KOhms and 150KOhms)
Various Potentiometers (between 50KOhms and 150KOhms)
Various Capacitors
Various Switches
Electrical Tape
Soldering Iron
Solder
 
Skills required:
soldering
knowledge of breadboard
curiosity

Step 1 Pick a card ....

Buy an audio greeting card

If you can pull the card open a little bit, around where the white strip/switch is, without ripping it, look for resistors. If you see some, you’re set. If not, try a different one. We recommend American Greetings or Carlton Cards, because we’ve ripped them open ourselves and those work out well.

After the card has been paid for, try and pull the card open around where the switch is until you expose the entire inside of the card.