Homemade speaker

Homemade speakers are fairly simple and easy to make. I got the idea to make this when my brother had to make a speaker for physics class and well i decided to make an instructable for it. So here it goes...

Supplies Hardware

X1 Electromagnetic wire Wire Strippers

X1 Regular disposable drinking cup (NOT Plastic!!) Electrical tape

X1 Paper plate 12" (for sub woofer) Soldering skillz and equipment

X1 Small Paper Dixie cup 3oz. ( for tweeter) Hot glue gun

X3 Semi-powerful magnet

X1 boom box (something that has red and black ports for speakers)

You also need some 3 ft.x 1ft. plywood and nailing materials

X6 Rubber bands...

Step 1: Cutting the paper down

You need to make both the tweeter and mid range smaller in size so you need to have a two inch base for the mid and a 1/4 of an inch base for the tweeter

Comments

[CamoBedding]

Cool, Thanks for posting.

[TheLodgeShop]

Great Post.

[Moonlight27]

Can I just qlue the speakers to the box without the rubber bands?

[squirt8500]

no because it needs to be able to vibrate

[LexanPanda]

Actually, it'll vibrate just fine even if they're glued in place. With the rubber bands, they have more freedom of motion and can be theoretically louder, as well as better sounding. Just make sure nothing is scraping, or you'll get some nasty buzzing sounds.

[s omer]

WERE IS THE MAGNET

[squirt8500]

I didnt show it but you can hold it behind the coils or you can rig something to hold it there

[Unitrix]

Couldn't you just twist em all together? What's the difference between soldering and twisting the wires? don't you get the same result?

[squirt8500]

ya but soldering give a more secure connection

[Unitrix]

so soldering all wires gives better sound quality right?

[hitachi8]

no .

absolutely no difference .

[squirt8500]

ya

[Moonlight27]

Does the speaker actually boom? Can I use something else like a card board for the cylinder which will be used for the copper coil?

[squirt8500]

the speaker is more proof of concept so it isnt very loud, no, you cant subsitute a copper cylinder for the coil

[Moonlight27]

What I meant was the paper cylinder, can I replace it with cardboard? Can I just glue the magnet and the wire on the plate/ cup?

[squirt8500]

yes, and yes it would do the same thing

[Moonlight27]

Please make one that uses power from an AC outlet or USB for louder sounds.

[Moonlight27]

Where do you put the wire coils and magnets?

[Moonlight27]

Approximately how many coils do I have to make on each speaker?

[Moonlight27]

I think you need an audio jack. I prefer a 3.5 mm 'cause thats the most common audio jack for phones and computers.

[jj.inc]

Now that I have finally got to this I have one problem.  It isn't loud enough.  Right now this couldn't even meet laptop standards.  Do you know if increasing either coil size or magnet power would fix the problem.

[squirt8500]

 Either getting thicker magnet wire or doing fewer wraps of the wire would make it louder, i am adding a new section to the instructable for performance enhancements so check it out

[jj.inc]

 Could you add pictures of the magnet

[squirt8500]

 You should just be able to use any magnet, even a strong refrigerator magnet should work.

[lolbutter]

I also would like to see, but mainly because you are not very clear on exactly where to put the magnet(s). Even a paint drawing would help.

[squirt8500]

 you have to do some experimentation before you get the distance right because every coil is different so if you have a magnet just turn on the speakers and find the optimum distance, it should be less than 2" away from the coil

[lolbutter]

So does any copper wire that is jacketed work? I have some 16 gauge PVC jacketed copper wire, and I would like to use it. That should work right?

[sergio leo]

oo
---

[jj.inc]

 so is the electromagnetic coil just wire or is it magnetic special wire

[squirt8500]

It's both, the core of the wire is just regular copper wire but it has a enamel on it that electrically insulates it from the other wires so that it doesn't short out.

[jj.inc]

 Thank you 

[rgawron]

Great job! I made even more simple speaker: rgawron.megiteam.pl/2010/02/11/home-made-speaker/ but it sounds pretty quietly.

[wingchangwow]

could this be turned into a subwoofer?

[squirt8500]

I doubt that it would be loud at all, but you could try!

[knektek]

thanks for this instruct' i have just found 2 magnets that looked a bit like speakers but without the speaker coil so thank you for showing me how to make speakers

[pyrorower]

I have been trying to find an instructable on how to make an actual speaker for a while now, thanks a bunch!

[Sparrow40k]

Can you make this easier to do, like add more pics and all. thanks like it so far. Blake

[squirt8500]

 sorry i did this a long time ago and dont have any extra photo's, but if you have any questions i'll try my best to answer them

[Sparrow40k]

Great!, first of all. Does this work like a real speaker(like my computer speaker.)
If so..
Will plastic party plates work?
To copper wire is that just sticky taped to the back?
Are there magnets?
That's all now..

[squirt8500]

* Yes but you should probably put a resistor inline with the coil as to not blow it out think something low though
* Plastic plates would work but i dont think it wold sound as good
* Yep
* Yes but you have to hold them near the coil, you could make a jig to hold them though