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Step 6Connecting Everything Together
We'll now be connecting all our loose parts together creating the final package, our Shake Microphone. This will involve inserting the mic element into place, attaching the speaker, and soldering it all together on the circuit board we created in the previous step.
1. Let's begin by widening the holes where the LED legs used to go. The microphone will be placed into the cavity where the LED once was and the yellow and white wires will be run through the LED's holes. Use either the tip of your wire cutters or the tip of your Phillips head screwdriver, place it into the hole, then spin the tip in order to grind and enlarge the hole. (picture #1)
2. Hold the circuit board we previously completed onto the side of the flashlight, like shown in the picture below, to get an idea of how long your wires will need to be. We will now be adding wires from where the old LED used to be to your circuit board. About 4 inches of both black and red wire will probably do, though it's always better to have excess. (picture #2)
3. Cut your wire to length and begin soldering the red wire to the right pad and the black wire to the left pad. You may be able to use the solder that is already there to attach your wires. Be patient and be sure to heat up the solder and wire enough so that they stick together well. (picture #3)
(refer to picture #4 before moving on)
4. Cut a small strip of cardboard about 1/4" by 4-1/2". (picture #5)
5. Wrap the cardboard strip around your thumb to bend it into shape and stick it into the end of the flashlight. (picture #6)
6. First, wrap your red and black power wires around the flashlight push switch to get it out of the way. Second, feed the white and yellow wires of the microphone through the old LED holes. It doesn't matter which wire goes through which hole. Lastly, carefully squeeze the sides of the metal mesh inward in order to make the microphone fit into the top of the flashlight. Be careful not to hurt your fingers as the metal mesh can have sharp edges. (picture #7)
(refer to picture #8 before moving on)
7. Cut another piece of cardboard about 1" by 4-1/2". Wrap it around around the base of the speaker and use a piece of tape to hold it all together. (picture #9)
8. Using electrical tape or duck tape, attach the speaker to the bottom of the flashlight. I prefer electrical tape because it tends to look much nicer, but in this case, I only had duck tape available. (picture #10)
9. Solder the extra red and black wires to the corresponding speaker leads. (picture #11)
10. Attach the red power wire from the shake flashlight to the power rail on the circuit board, and attach the black ground wire from the shake flashlight to the ground rail on the circuit board. Looking at the back of the circuit board with pin 1 and 8 of the IC facing forward, the power rail is on the left in the center and the ground rail is on the right. Solder the wires into place. (picture #13)
11. Attach the red wire from the speaker to any hole directly adjacent to the ground leg of the 220uF capacitor, solder it to the ground leg of the capacitor. Attach the black wire from the speaker to the ground rail. Flip the circuit board over and solder them into place. (pictures #14 and #15)
12. Attach the white wire of the microphone to the rail shared with pin 4 of the IC. Attach the yellow wire of the microphone to the rail shared with the 0.1uF capacitor and the 10M ohm resistor. Flip the circuit board over and solder them into place. (pictures #16 and #17)
Congratulations! At this point you should actually have a fully functional Shake Microphone. Give it a try! Give the microphone a steady shake for about 10 seconds, press the button on the side of the flashlight and then speak into the microphone. If you hear your voice coming out of the other end, you'll know immediately that you did everything correctly. If for some reason you don't hear anything. Go back and check all your connections on the circuit board before moving on.
13. Take the plastic cup and place it top down. Put the speaker end of the flashlight onto the bottom of the cup and use a pen to trace the speaker. (picture #20)
14. Using an X-Acto blade, scissors, or even the wire cutter, cut the traced circle out of the plastic cup.
15. For the very last step, use electrical tape or duck tape to attach the plastic cup to the plastic ridge just above the speaker. (picture #21)
And that is all, you've just built yourself a Shake Mic! Just what you've always wanted too, a microphone that will never run out of batteries.
1. Let's begin by widening the holes where the LED legs used to go. The microphone will be placed into the cavity where the LED once was and the yellow and white wires will be run through the LED's holes. Use either the tip of your wire cutters or the tip of your Phillips head screwdriver, place it into the hole, then spin the tip in order to grind and enlarge the hole. (picture #1)
2. Hold the circuit board we previously completed onto the side of the flashlight, like shown in the picture below, to get an idea of how long your wires will need to be. We will now be adding wires from where the old LED used to be to your circuit board. About 4 inches of both black and red wire will probably do, though it's always better to have excess. (picture #2)
3. Cut your wire to length and begin soldering the red wire to the right pad and the black wire to the left pad. You may be able to use the solder that is already there to attach your wires. Be patient and be sure to heat up the solder and wire enough so that they stick together well. (picture #3)
(refer to picture #4 before moving on)
4. Cut a small strip of cardboard about 1/4" by 4-1/2". (picture #5)
5. Wrap the cardboard strip around your thumb to bend it into shape and stick it into the end of the flashlight. (picture #6)
6. First, wrap your red and black power wires around the flashlight push switch to get it out of the way. Second, feed the white and yellow wires of the microphone through the old LED holes. It doesn't matter which wire goes through which hole. Lastly, carefully squeeze the sides of the metal mesh inward in order to make the microphone fit into the top of the flashlight. Be careful not to hurt your fingers as the metal mesh can have sharp edges. (picture #7)
(refer to picture #8 before moving on)
7. Cut another piece of cardboard about 1" by 4-1/2". Wrap it around around the base of the speaker and use a piece of tape to hold it all together. (picture #9)
8. Using electrical tape or duck tape, attach the speaker to the bottom of the flashlight. I prefer electrical tape because it tends to look much nicer, but in this case, I only had duck tape available. (picture #10)
9. Solder the extra red and black wires to the corresponding speaker leads. (picture #11)
10. Attach the red power wire from the shake flashlight to the power rail on the circuit board, and attach the black ground wire from the shake flashlight to the ground rail on the circuit board. Looking at the back of the circuit board with pin 1 and 8 of the IC facing forward, the power rail is on the left in the center and the ground rail is on the right. Solder the wires into place. (picture #13)
11. Attach the red wire from the speaker to any hole directly adjacent to the ground leg of the 220uF capacitor, solder it to the ground leg of the capacitor. Attach the black wire from the speaker to the ground rail. Flip the circuit board over and solder them into place. (pictures #14 and #15)
12. Attach the white wire of the microphone to the rail shared with pin 4 of the IC. Attach the yellow wire of the microphone to the rail shared with the 0.1uF capacitor and the 10M ohm resistor. Flip the circuit board over and solder them into place. (pictures #16 and #17)
Congratulations! At this point you should actually have a fully functional Shake Microphone. Give it a try! Give the microphone a steady shake for about 10 seconds, press the button on the side of the flashlight and then speak into the microphone. If you hear your voice coming out of the other end, you'll know immediately that you did everything correctly. If for some reason you don't hear anything. Go back and check all your connections on the circuit board before moving on.
13. Take the plastic cup and place it top down. Put the speaker end of the flashlight onto the bottom of the cup and use a pen to trace the speaker. (picture #20)
14. Using an X-Acto blade, scissors, or even the wire cutter, cut the traced circle out of the plastic cup.
15. For the very last step, use electrical tape or duck tape to attach the plastic cup to the plastic ridge just above the speaker. (picture #21)
And that is all, you've just built yourself a Shake Mic! Just what you've always wanted too, a microphone that will never run out of batteries.
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