Make an IPod Speaker From a Hallmark Music Card

by justinseiter

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Intro: Make an IPod Speaker From a Hallmark Music Card

Ever get one of those cards for your birthday that plays music when you open it? Don't throw it away! With a little help from Tony the Tiger, you can use it as a speaker for your iPod.

STEP 1: Required Materials

Hallmark Music Card
Old headphones
One empty cereal box from a Kellogg's Cereal Variety Pack - I used Frosted Flakes, but you can choose your favorite cereal. It will not impact the outcome of this project. ;-)
Glue Gun
Electrical tape
Utility knife
Not required, but helpful: Soldering iron

STEP 2: Remove Speaker From Card

Use a utility knife to cut along the top and bottom edge of the card to expose the speaker.

Cut the speaker wire at the base of the circuit board first and then gently remove the speaker from the card. If you don't cut the speaker wire first you could end up ripping the wire from the base of the speaker and then you'd really need a soldering iron.

The speaker is fixed to the card with a small circular piece of double sided tape, so it shouldn't be too difficult to remove. Avoid the urge here to use your utility knife to "cut away" the speaker - you could accidentally cut right into the speaker itself.

Finally, strip about a quarter inch of insulation from the wires.

Side note: In case you're wondering, the Hallmark card is powered by a CR2032 3V Lithium Battery. This is the key ingredient for making an LED Throwie and is the power house for a bunch of other Instructables. The battery isn't necessary for this Instructable, but holding on to it could prove to be handy down the road. ;-)

STEP 3: Prep Headphones

Cut headphone wires at the base of each headphone (L & R). You'll only need one of the two lines so pick the one you want to use and cut the other where they converge mid-way down the length of the chord.

Next, strip the wires. You may notice some fiber-like material interlaced with the leads themselves. Strip this stuff out with your utility knife or you will not be able to get a solid connection from your headphones to the speaker (thanks to Richard at my local Radio Shack on that one). Alternatively, you can use a soldering iron to burn this stuff away. I found this method much easier and a bit more effective.

STEP 4: Connect

Connect headphone wires to speaker wires. I'm not sure if it matters which ends you connect, but make sure you're getting sound before you seal the deal, so to speak.

Once you've connected your leads (again, soldering here is a good idea, but not necessary) insulate and tidy up the exposed connections with some electrical tape.

STEP 5: Prep Cereal Box

You'll want to cut a whole slightly smaller than the full diameter of the speaker. Remember the nice beveled edge Hallmark utilized to fix it to the card with double sided tape? We'll want to do the same thing here. A 1.25" diameter hole should be perfect. There's a dashed line that runs through the middle of the box that will help center you up before you cut.

You'll also want to cut a small hole towards the bottom rear of the box to feed the headphone jack through. Feeding the wire through the back/bottom of the box not only makes it look nice, but also weights the box so that it doesn't fall forward on its face when you stand it up on end.

STEP 6: Secure Speaker, Seal Box and Rock

Run a small amount of glue along the beveled edge of the speaker and quickly attach it inside the box. Hold it to give the glue a chance to dry. Secure it by adding some spots of glue along the top and bottom edges of the speaker where it meets the box. Try not to glob it on so that you don't add more weight. I ended up using way more than I should have, but it didn't make the box unstable.

Finally, glue back together the top and bottom of the box as it was originally sealed, connect an iPod and kick out the jams.

318 Comments

link22 10 years ago

Dang! My dad put both wires from the headphones into both wires from the speakers and I didn't work. DO NOT DO THIS! It is unfixable,

link22 10 years ago

As loud as the card played the audio

link22 10 years ago

Can I use a different heat source to burn away the fiber stuff?

droski21 11 years ago

hmmm... so do I cut before the wire splits or after? Thanks in advance =)

4lifenerdfighter 12 years ago

So are the headphones just used for their TRS plug and the card just for its speaker? This Instructable is a bit hard to follow.

mg9990 12 years ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0v-JZLp06Y

I made this video, based off of this instructable :) hope it helps anyyone. feel free to ask me questions

nickiek 13 years ago

Im trying to use a set of ipod headphones for this and there are four wires in it. A green, red, a green and red, and a copper wire. im trying to attach them in almost all combinations and they are not working. any tips?

mg9990 12 years ago

Ok so what you need to do is separate the RED and COPPER wires from the headphones. You can tape the other 2 to the cable or cut them or keep them for adding a second speaker the same way. Then you need to take a lighter and burn the red and copper wires until they are black, but leave a little hint of color at the bottom so you can tell which is which. When you burn them, you will light the fiber insulation in the middle that keeps you from making a conection when you tie/solder the wires together. :) Hope it works for you! I found my project did not work with a pair of headphones that were broken (thought i'd try it). Make sure your headphones work before you use them!

Nirgal38 15 years ago

You'll notice on the back of the speaker that there's the number 8 with the Greek letter omega following it. That's a measure of the impedance of the speaker. Your iPod was designed to work with a headphones of a certain impedance. If your speakers don't match that impedance, it can cause problems (too much current drain, etc.). An amplifier will help avoid the problem of impedance matching. Fortunately, it's easy to build an amplifier using parts readily available at any Radio Shack that still carries electronics components (not all do... especially the ones in indoor shopping malls). Just my 2 cents.

PKTraceur 15 years ago

Finally, I know what the Omega sign stands for on those speakers... it was drving me crazy!

Nirgal38 15 years ago

The omega is shorthand for ohms, the standard measure of resistance in electronics. It's also the unit for impedance which is why you'll see the old style twin lead antenna wires listed as 300 ohms while standard coaxial cable is listed at 50 ohms (in the US, anyway). In any case, whether with speakers or antenna wires, for the best performance, you'll want to make sure that the impedance matches or you have a means of matching it. For speakers, amplifiers generally do the trick. Most speakers are 8 ohm although I've seen 4 ohm speakers. The typical impedance of earbud style phones is 32 ohms. Just another 2 cents... hey, this is adding up!

Laminarin 15 years ago

You can also put speakers (or other coils) in series and the impedance is additive (4 X 8ohm series=32ohm) but the sound will be quiet b/c of the high impedance so an amp would again be good.
A cheap (about 60 cents US) amp is a LM386. You can wire according to page 5 of the datasheet (http://cache.national.com/ds/LM/LM386.pdf)
pin
6 battery +
4 battery -
3 ipod out jack tip
2 ipod out jack collar
5 small capacitor and speaker in series (other end of speaker is
ground or neg on bat)

It runs on 4-12 volts and puts out ~0.3 watts.

BBFNN 12 years ago

um i know in way late but Total Resistance is R1+R2 not R1 X R2

Nirgal38 12 years ago

BBFNN, if you look at what he's written there, his math is sound. It works out as:

8 ohms + 8 ohms + 8 ohms + 8 ohms = 4 x 8 ohms = 32 ohms.

wotot2 15 years ago

what will happen to an ipod if i do this??? i would like the truth however harsh.
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