A sound tube is a very intuitive gadget: Make a sound in one end of the tube. Close it to store the sound inside the tube. Release the sound by opening the tube's other end.
To indicate that a message is waiting to be released, a string of leds lights up when the tube is put down vertically, with the speaker-side up. When the speaker-side is down, the leds are off.
My first idea was to make a Sound Jar with just one opening, the jars' lid. Open the jar, make a sound into the jar and close it. The stored sound should be set free when opening the jar again. Making that work turned out to be a little tricky for me. So I made the jar into a tube, which simplified the electronics a lot.
We use our new Sound Tube as a message container, replacing the notes on the kitchen table to tell family members our whereabouts and yes, they can have some cookies. Other kinds of use can be seen in the video...
No video playing? Have a look at it here...
The Sound Tube works really well and it is very intuitive in it's use. Picture 3 in this step is a sketch of the upcoming Sound Tube version 2.0. Idea is to stick together two funnels to get the shape in the sketch. Or 3D-print the whole casing in one time...
If anyone has thoughts on how to turn this Sound Tube into a real Sound Jar with just one lid to open (even more intuitive!?), please let me know :-)
Making this Sound Tube is not very difficult. The heart of the machine is a hacked voicerecorder, that can be bought at various spots. The circuit that makes the leds blink is very basic and well doable for starters in electronics and soldering (although some precision-soldering was required at one point with my particular voicerecorder). When you have the stuff needed, the Sound Tube can be made in a couple of hours, I think. Have fun!
To indicate that a message is waiting to be released, a string of leds lights up when the tube is put down vertically, with the speaker-side up. When the speaker-side is down, the leds are off.
My first idea was to make a Sound Jar with just one opening, the jars' lid. Open the jar, make a sound into the jar and close it. The stored sound should be set free when opening the jar again. Making that work turned out to be a little tricky for me. So I made the jar into a tube, which simplified the electronics a lot.
We use our new Sound Tube as a message container, replacing the notes on the kitchen table to tell family members our whereabouts and yes, they can have some cookies. Other kinds of use can be seen in the video...
No video playing? Have a look at it here...
The Sound Tube works really well and it is very intuitive in it's use. Picture 3 in this step is a sketch of the upcoming Sound Tube version 2.0. Idea is to stick together two funnels to get the shape in the sketch. Or 3D-print the whole casing in one time...
If anyone has thoughts on how to turn this Sound Tube into a real Sound Jar with just one lid to open (even more intuitive!?), please let me know :-)
Making this Sound Tube is not very difficult. The heart of the machine is a hacked voicerecorder, that can be bought at various spots. The circuit that makes the leds blink is very basic and well doable for starters in electronics and soldering (although some precision-soldering was required at one point with my particular voicerecorder). When you have the stuff needed, the Sound Tube can be made in a couple of hours, I think. Have fun!
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The heart of the Sound Tube is a voicerecorder: A nifty circuit with a microphone, a speaker and two push-buttons attached to it. These voicerecorders are available in various types. I bought mine at Conrad.com for €15,- in february 2011. The voicerecorder on the picture is a much easier model to use for this Sound Tube
For the tube and the lids, I used a cardboard tube (outer diam 74 mm) used for sending posters and the like by mail. I bought it at an art supply store.
Everything on the list will set you back around $30,-, if you have to buy it. Chances are that most of it is in your shed somewhere...
Here's the complete list...
For the electronics (everything is available through Conrad.com (for Euros), Velleman (North America) and Farnell (Australia and Europe):
For mounting the electronics:
For the tube:
Tools needed:
For the tube and the lids, I used a cardboard tube (outer diam 74 mm) used for sending posters and the like by mail. I bought it at an art supply store.
Everything on the list will set you back around $30,-, if you have to buy it. Chances are that most of it is in your shed somewhere...
Here's the complete list...
For the electronics (everything is available through Conrad.com (for Euros), Velleman (North America) and Farnell (Australia and Europe):
- 6 low current led's, pick a color.
- NE555 timer ic
- a "roller ball switch" or tilt switch
- Electrolytic capacitors: 100 uF and 22 uF
- Ceramic capacitor: 0,01 uF
- Resistors: 390 Ohm, 1 kOhm and 56 kOhm
- 2 microswitches
- A voicerecorder. The one in the picture is perfect for the goal, because the two push-buttons can be replaced very easily. My voicerecorder had one push-button on the pcb, which was tricky to attach to a microswitch.
- Some supple wire
- A pre-etched pcb with copper rows
- Jumper wire
- 9 Volt battery with connector
- a small switch that can be mounted on a pcb board
For mounting the electronics:
- Tie raps in various sizes
- 5mm plywood, or a sheet of hard plastic (ABS, acrylic glass or PVC)
- Glue
- Bolts and nuts and washers, size M3 or so
For the tube:
- Cardboard tube diameter 74 mm with two lids that fit pretty tightly into the tube
Tools needed:
- Soldering gun (and solder, and desolder of course...)
- Third hand
- Pliers
- Powerdrill and a 4 mm drillbit
- Sharp knife
- Glue suitable for fixing wood and plastics
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you open the lid of an empty jar (empty is signalled by LEDs or lack thereof) and can then record. This makes the jar full. (signal by LEDs, etc)
You listen to a recording by opening the jar.
You empty the jar by turning it over and pouring the sound out. A mercury switch of some sort?
The only thing I'm not sure about is when to start recording again after emptying. As soon as you turn the jar back upright (makes it unobvious how to leave the jar empty), or should one have to close and open the lid again (awkward to empty the jar and then leave a new message)? :)
With some bonus LEDs and a counter, could the age of the message be indicated? (it'd be nice to know if there is something new, or if it's the same as the last time you saw the jar... :)
Also, have you thought of using an arduino board to control it all. I bought mine in July and it seems like it would work great for something like this.
Grappig idee, leuk gemaakt !
Y.
En ook misschien een beetje omdat dat voorkomt in het filmpje op 0:33.. :D
Y.
Think of like a seasoning jar or something. Many have a lid with two ways to open it; one side for precision pouring, and the other for pouring larger amounts of seasoning. So just use one side for recording, and the other for playback. If you had a lid like that, you could probably whip something together.
Technically it is one lid, but it still isn't what exactly what you're looking for. Or, if you want something else, I might have another idea.
If you manage to mount a record button on the outside of the jar, and somehow tweak the system to alternate between record and play modes, you could get that to work. Or you could even use a switch to toggle record and playback.
I don't know if either idea is exactly in line with what you want, but at least you have somewhere to jump off of for now.
I also considered the use of an Arduino to keep track of opening and closing of the lid. I have little experience in digital electronics, but I guess it can be done...
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