Styrofoam Plate Speaker

Get surprisingly good results from disposable picnicware! Turn an ordinary styrofoam plate into a decent sounding speaker. Original project design from Jose Pino. See the Test Results in the video.

Step 1: What You Need...

1. Ordinary Styrofoam Plate
2. Sheet of regular paper
3. 2 business cards
4. A Piece of cardboard larger than the plate
5. Magnet Wire (preferably 30-32 gauge)
6. A neodymium magnet. I got mine from CMS Magnetics
7. Scotch tape
8. Hot glue

Comments

[ssiddiqui4]

I have a problem. I am using very thin wire (not sure what the gauge rating is) I salvaged out of those retro telephone ringers. I tried to loop it around the paper cylinder several hundreds of time, but when I connected it to my amplifier, I guess it had little resistance, and the amplifier overheated, burning it. (a) Is very thin wiring safe for this project? (b) Can I hook this speaker up to my phones audio output jack?

Thanks for answering!

[MadGuitarist]

hey kipkay can i use a ring magnet with the top ring and middle core?

[Thundermoon99]

will it work with a paper plate????

[j_grizzley]

Great guide! I don't have an amplifier that has an "out" plug to hook up to a speaker, but I did have an old guitar amp with an input for a guitar. The speaker will double for a microphone if you hook it up to the input.

[jeremy_smith]

I made everything and checked it with a battery and it worked well, *BUT I HAVE A QUESTION*. i can't figure out how to hook it up to a jack and plug it into anything, i would appreciate the help, thankyou fellow DIYers.

[tmherrin]

Once I saw this on Kip Kay's website, I had my class at school make it - I got my magnet wire from RadioShack (it came in a package of three (red, green, and 'goldish'). I just cut a section of speaker wire from a spool of it (I had that laying around from a project - intially got it at Wal-Mart). I was unable to get sound from a headphone jack - I don't think they are powerful enough. I ran mine from my amp (Technics circa 1960 400watt) and it played great (for a styrofoam plate mind you).
We did find that the thinner wire that came in the RadioShack package was better than the middle-sized wire and we could not get the larger wire to work at all.

[jeremy_smith]

I NEED HELP!!!!

[its2l8men]

buy a jack

[spikelea]

if i remember correctly, mythbusters tried this and it didn't work. is that just me or did they do it wrong. Also, where do you get the cables he used to hook it up?

[bigjeff5]

You remembered incorrectly - this is basic speaker design. Pretty much all speakers work exactly like this, they just use different materials (bigger magnets, more optimum diaphragm materials/shape, more compact frame, etc). The principals are identical.

As Fred the Penguin said, what Mythbusters tested was a hoax posted on the web, saying that you could just attach a penny to a paper plate covered in aluminum foil, then attach one audio lead to the penny and one to the foil and get sound. Since no electromagnet is created by the penny, and there is no permanent magnet to attract or repel, no movement occurs. Since there is no movement, there is no sound. Thus it was a fake.

Look up "penny speaker" and you'll see the difference between that fake speaker and this real speaker.

[egriff]

you know this is working because the plate vibrates.

[Fred the Penguin]

they used a different system by household hacker.

[jnunez8]

what if i use bigger size magnet????

[beginnertoday]

OK I luved it but would like to know how to connect those two (magnetic or copper whatever they were)wires to the headphones and is it necessary for the resistance to be close to 8ohms and can one use it with mobiles:)

[Blubber300]

What if the magnet was donut shaped?

[lunarpanel]

Thanks for this great Instructable, I did a instance of your design that uses a 1/8th of an inch wooden flexure instead of a styrofoam plate: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeanbaptisteparis/4797539302/in/set-72157624500231474/
Cheers, Jb

[aduy]

can you make a jpg of that pattern so i can print it out?

[jbertjj123]

its cool... thanks for teaching....

[Dream Dragon]

Looks really good, is there a reason you went for two suspension units? I'd think it would be more stable with 3, but maybe stability isn't a major loss in this system? It's an interesting demonstration of the principle in any case.

[ekswen]

Never posted anything hre before. Question, made the speaker, worked, but could get no volume from it. Held ear close could here speaker. Wrong magnets, too little wire on the core. I am an old geezer, help

[merseyless]

i was bored, so i made an astable multivibrator at 5v and put 20 winds around my finger. the wire had a large enough gauge to support the coil and i just suspended it over a magnet with a paper cupcake cup. that buzzing sound made my day

[AMP678]

this is so cool! does the shape of the magnet matter?

[Numex]

cylindrical is preferabal but it doesn't really matter. you'll need neodymium though because they have to be strong. they're only a buck or two

[AKninja04]

Would electrical tape have any affect on this project instead of clear tape?

[zvillesurfer]

electrical tape should be fine.

[LkArio]

This is an awesome instructable!

[Da Nugesta]

Fantastic 'ible but you do not know the impedance of the coil so you could damage the amp! :(

[Da Nugesta]

oh sorry just read about the multimeter checking (stupid me) duh

[mman1506]

you know that kipkay didnt make this a article in make magazine shows how to do this (like stated in video) wich wasnrt written by kipkay

[bizz]

brilliant!! haha ordering my magnets now - where did you get your wire from? x

[zwllwy]

You can find some wire in a local electronic market. I got the magnets there as well.

[SRChiP]

If not cone or flat, what type of speaker is the Hard disk one? (No diaphragms.) I found out that keeping the head's coil near the magnet is enough to make it hear. (Even holding it in hand)

[dombeef]

Cool!

[wotot2]

Is it critical which polarity you glue down with the permanent magnet?

[rk1776]

no, here u are creating an electromagnetic field. polarity is only crucial when u are using multiple terminals or hooking up some sort of complex system

[AUAnonymous]

From what I guess no, because gluing the magnet one way up instead of the other way up would essentially do the same things as connecting the alligator clips to the opposite wire of the headphone cable.

[jimmytvf]

the plate creaks a little but it's a great speaker for the price of it nice speaker kip!

[rk1776]

try a syrofoam bowl, not so flimsy

[kaaaaabooooom]

just made one it really does sound great but theres just one problem when my one is used for more than about 30 seconds it starts smoking any idea how to eliminate this. thanks.

[rk1776]

u probably dont ave enough resistance for your output check your stereo or whatever u are using and use an ohmmeter

[danimal310]

try more wire on your coil.

[Father Christmas]

my guess, the current is too high, but i dont know much about these things.

[shams]

yes man this thing rocks.but i think it can only give you midrange right?not the higher notes or bass?

[rk1776]

depends on what u use for your diaphram. a flimsier and larger diaphram causes more bass while a firmer smaller causes more high range

[fabrivassa]

can I use a rectangular styrofoam plate for this? will a circular plastic plate work?

[rk1776]

yes but it will lower quality because it isnt firm enough. in other words it will vibrate a lot and may lower sound quality, although it may make a cool reverb effect.

[bowser197]

I will definitely be trying this out... Also was wondering if this could be done with a paper cup to get some bass. Any thoughts/ideas...?

[rk1776]

a plastic cup would actually give more high-end sound. a paper plate makes a great sub though

[PKTraceur]

Anyway to increase qualit and sound? Stronger Magnet? Bigger? Better coils? More Wraps? -PKT (Formerly RoAr)

[rk1776]

try a syrofoam BOWL it works a lot better quality wise and it is louder

[cantthinkof bettername]

I had to put my ear a few inches away to hear off my mp3 player. When I push the suspension down it is louder. I'm now shortening the suspension. I have 50 some coils. is more or less coils louder?

[rk1776]

if u lessen the coil too much the resistance will lower and blow your output, too much will blow either speaker or output i have made two and if u use a syrofoam BOWL it works SO much better i also made one with a PAPER plate it is like a sub-woofer, awesome hope this helps

[Mungerbees]

Awesome project man! I just completed my own and it works great! thanks!

[Ark22]

Amazing, but what are you holding in your hand at the end?

[charlie millionaire]

his clip on microphone that's why it gets louder cause he puts the mic closer

[Calon Merc]

It appeared he was holding a portable mic to the plate to make it a bit easier for the viewers to hear it.

[Mr. Squishy]

What is the music playing on the speaker?

[colinquerty]

Yes it works well. Thank you!

[metalgreek]

awesome! but I have a question. OK so i want to hook this up to my iPod so how would i do that? just like strip a headphone cord for the jack and hook it up like that or do i need to do it another way? P.S. I love all these videos you make they help me out with a lot of problems in life lol like when i need something to accomplish something else

[keefurxxcore]

If your wire is stripped, and has three wires, you can only use two. Use the Red and Green, or Copper and Red. Just make sure they don't touch.

[PhantomAGN]

That will work, though you might want to add an amp.

[srswanson]

Is there any approximation on the length of wire needed for the coil? I'm planning to do this project for my kids school tech club and am trying to estimate how much wire to order. Thanks, -Scott

[ragnotis]

I'm using a 0,20 mm enameled copper wire and I've found that every 7 meters I have a resistance of +/- 4 Ohm. So if you want to "replicate" a speaker suitable for your home stereo, you should use 14 meters (8 Ohm). 0,20 mm correspond to AWG 32.

[cantthinkof bettername]

I made with three suspensions made from a cardboard package, a shake-up flashlight magnet, copper wire from a dead microwave, a used Styrofoam plate which I burnt when I was getting the enamel off, tape,and regular glue. I clamped on end to a mono audio input jack, and the other end I tied around the end.

[MikeDaMan]

Mine works! Thanks kipkay!

[CrashMGD]

you rock. me and my dad made one. killer bass

[bolasqs]

coooooooool.Can I just ask a silly question?how do I hook it up to my mp3 player or laptop? Thanks!

[chimpanzeeboy]

You get a headphone wire, and cut it just before it splits, strip the wire, and attatch (solder/twist) to the two wires from the speaker!

[emuman4evr]

Wow I found an instructable I can actually do. Thank you kipkay, but can i still eat off the plate? o.O

[chibiturtleboi]

let me guess, because it didn't involve soldering? if so, same here =D lol

[linkmaster03]

Same here! :D Thanks Kipkay, this is an awesome Instructable.

[srswanson]

magnetsforsale.com offers these magnets in both laterally and axially magnetized versions. I'm assuming the Axially magnetized version is the correct one. Can anyone confirm this?

[stopmoclay]

this is great but ( this is probably a stupid question ) how do I hook it up to my mp3 player or pc?

[Neo1]

Since they don't cost much it would be awesome to wire 8 or more together just to make something like surround sound.

[fwjs28]

i worship you!

[doroncd]

This was great- I used it as a workshop activity with middle school kids and families. Thanks for keeping it simple, cheap and educational :-)

[okiuiyd]

cool!..i get more knowledge about it. thanks.

[Soupraok]

KipKay, your my hero!

[popit]

This is cool! It actually works. I didn't have enough magnet wire to make it louder though and I used a hard drive magnet.

[empy]

hey, i used a HD magnet too :)

[brundawg]

So, I'm very interested in making one of these, as a cheap sound system for college (and it goes along with my cardboard furniture) But I have a few questions About how loud are these? Is there any way to increase the volume? (More Magnet wire/ bigger magnet?) How could I string multiple speakers together?

[kaaaaabooooom]

hi kipkay great instructable just wondering if the magnet you used is the same as a rare earth magnet

[conrad2468]

not exactily hi-def but he sure hit this one on the head!

[thebigal]

Thanks for the instructable Kipkay. I just built one and it sounds great!

[vrw]

Step 3 says "use multimeter to check coil resistance"; But I think "resistance" we are talking about here is *AC* resistance and not DC; Resistance we are talking about here is actually resistance to changing current signal. Typical multimeters check only DC resistance. Multimeter will show zero ohms for a properly made coil. I think it will be difficult to measure resistance. One solution I can think of is to CALCULATE it using a formula which takes into account no. of turns, radius etc.

Thickness ("Gauge") of copper-wire may be important in this case.

Kipkay, could you please post radius, length of coil and gauge of the wire ?

[ductapedemon12]

can u use ceramic magnets? or a few of those magnets on the back of those magnetic flashing earing things? o ya and would paper plates work?

[MerleCorey]

man kipkay you got some hairy arms bro.

[RiddleOfSphinx]

I think I'll make one of these for my Zune and an old pair of earbuds ;)....Props for the next gen Mr. Wizards...lol ( I loved that show btw :D ).

[acaz93]

Mr. kipkay , do you know where i can find a neodymium magnet like that one ?

[Dms12444]

I got my magnet here united nuclear

[Kipkay]

I just added a link to CMS Magnetics

[acaz93]

Thank you , i've just discovered i have two ceramic magnets , wonder if those will work too ...

[Grey_Wolfe]

They will, you just have a diferrent size to power ratio, so your results will very. This project simply needs permanent magnets, honestly the principle doesn't care what type. Most speaker use ceramic magnets, IIRC.

[jstwinkles]

Yay! I got it to work! The only thing is it isn't very loud. I'm guessing that it's due to the fact that I am using a semi-powerful ceramic magnet. Does anyone have any tips on how to make it louder? Should I just have more coils? Perhaps a thicker gauge?

[Applebohn]

I'm not totally sure but I'd bet if you did more wraps with the wire and a used a bigger magnet would make sense that is would be louder.

[Yerboogieman]

where did you get the magnet wire?

[weretater]

Kipkay got all his hair chopped off! COOL

[Kipkay]

I only wish that was true..

[CalcProgrammer1]

I'm wondering how this sounds. From the video, it looked like it had some serious movement going on. I might try building one of these if I ever get the special thin wire you need. Also, I don't have a round neodymium magnet, though I do have a neodymium hard drive magnet. Since it's not round, probably not very useful though. I also have a standard small magnet off of an old 2" speaker that broke, it's round and would probably work, but not very strong.

[plane phanatic]

Yet another great project from Kipkay. Keep up the good work. 5/5 stars.

[rjohs]

Absolutely fantastic instructable!!!!!

[heyzuphowsitgoin]

iv been wanting to make a speaker for a loong time! as usual great instructable!

i was looking into making a speaker and I talked to the guy at radio shack (a very smart guy) and he said that I could cook my music supply without a resister or something. He said to use 8 ohms. what is a safe range of ohms so that it does not suck all the power and if I went to hook my laptop up fry the sound card? also, will more coils=more ohms because of the resistance of the thin wire? and if I used thicker wire, could I have more coils with less resistance (ohms) and would more coils give me a more powerful speaker if I give it enough power?

sorry for all the questions, I'm 14 and don't know an incredible amount about electronics and speakers.

thanks, and once again great instructable!

[Grey_Wolfe]

Never apologize for asking questions. A question unasked is never answered. And it is the responsibility of those with knowledge to pass it on to those who seek it.

IIRC, more coils = stronger speaker, stronger magnets = stronger speakers as well.

Do keep in mind your resistance, as not enough will burn out your sustem as both the RS guy and acaz93 have stated. But too much resistance will lead to excess heat or lack of function, so there's a balancing act to be performed. As your resistance also effects your vibration strength (relatively) I believe.

It's been awhile since I've done speaker stuff, so some of my info's fairly general, still trying to jog my memory.

Someone correct me pleas, if I'm way off base here.

[acaz93]

Zero ohms would kill your Sound card , 4 or more won't

[Father Christmas]

i know what you are trryin to say, but jsut to harrass you i am goin to ask, what about 1,2 or 3? lol

[comodore]

I agree, you never disappoint Mr kipkay. But I liked better when you were making your own stuff, not from make magazine... rate:*****

[angelofdeth68]

you never disappoint! 5/5