UmbrelAudio: Sound Dome Umbrella

Intro: UmbrelAudio: Sound Dome Umbrella

aka the Dome of Silence, umbrelAmp, Decibrella, and Uni-Directional Umbrella Speaker

Hey Instructabrarians!

Well it's the start of the rainy season again in Vancouver, ugh, which means I get to bust out my brand new, globular Dome Umbrella!  I absolutely love umbrellas (they're awesome! They make a nice fashion statement and they are incredibly useful, not just for rain) and will use any opportunity to take mine out!  

But you know, for as awesomely useful as umbrellas are, I don't think they've quite reached their full creative potential.  Don't get me wrong, there are some amazing LED and Flashlight Umbrella Instructables here, but I still think there's more creativity that can be done with these things.  That's why I decided to take a tip from Brown Innovations and start off the season with my latest Mattraption™, the umbrelAudio™: Unidirectional Umbrella Speaker!  

Note: Mattraption and umbrelAudio are registered trademarks of Matt Co. This build is dedicated to tm36usa for showing me how combining two everyday objects, when fused together can become an  infinitesimally useful device.

STEP 1: Abstract

If you've ever been to a music store or library, then you've probably seen one of these things hanging from the ceiling.  Devised by Brown Innovations, the Localizer Sound Dome speaker is a parabolic unidirectional speaker that's able to direct audio such as music to one specific location.  This, in turn, creates a localized sound area for the listener, creating an incredibly enjoying atmosphere.

My build is pretty much the same, except I'm using a Dome Umbrella instead of a plastic bowl because the double function of an umbrella makes it so much more useful.  Plus it's just cooler.

STEP 2: Materials and Parts

OK, so most of the parts I used came from two places: Target and Home Depot.  The rest of them came from spare things around my household that were either broken or unwanted anymore.

Materials
1. Dome/Bubble Umbrella (has to be this kind)
2. Battery Operated Speaker (IMPORTANT: must have a flat side, where you can attach the Copper Wire to).
3. Small length of Copper Wiring (around 1 cm thick)
4. a 3/8''-1'' Direct Burial Ground Clamp
5.  Optional: Assorted lengths of Earphone/ Speaker Wire
6. Nylon thread
7. Hooks (also optional)
8. Heat Shrink

Tools
1. Hot Glue
2. Metal Hammer
3. Pliers 

STEP 3: Drill a Hole

Before we start anything, drill a hole beneath the Ferrule (end cap) of the umbrella.  This will be of the utmost importance when we hang it up later on.

STEP 4: Preparing the Speaker Mount

Alright so the first major part in this project, after you've accumulated all of your materials, is to begin creating the mount for your speaker.  The way this is going to be connected to the umbrella is using the Copper Wire and Brass Ground Clamp.  We will first be constructing the Copper Wire mount.

First, using your pliers, bend the Copper Wire into a zigzag shape, with at least 3 curves.  This will be used to attach to the flat side of your batter operated speaker (mine was conveniently located on the batter pack). Next using your metal hammer, pound the bent copper wire until metal can be placed flat down. 

Finally, hot glue it to the speaker.

STEP 5: Soldering the Wires

OK, so in this next step we can begin on rewiring and soldering the speaker wire itself.

Now considering how long your speaker wire was originally you may not need to do this step- a good length should be around 1-2 feet long.  My speaker's input wire was only 5 inches and certainly not long enough, so I extended it to around 4 feet long.

Using your Soldering Iron and Broken/Spare Earphone Wires, cut off the earphone parts and connect a long strand of earphone wires together, leading from the speaker and to the banana jack at the end.  Remember to use the Heat Shrink for protecting your solders.

Note: The reason I made my strand so long was because I planned to hang up my umbrelAudio and wanted to be able to use it from any point in my dorm room.  You do not have to make it this long.

STEP 6: Connecting It Together

So now that you've finished creating the parts and soldering the wires, it's time to put it together!  Now, if you've done the previous steps correctly, this step shouldn't be difficult in the slightest. 

First, attach the Brass Clamp to the Thick Copper Wire, using a screwdriver to tighten the screw bolt.  Next, attach the Brass Clamp to the metal umbrella rod, but hand tighten the clamps together as you do not want to bend the umbrella rod.  Make sure that the speaker is placed at least 5'' away from the top of the umbrella, to maximize the Sound Space of the umbrelAudio.

STEP 7: Optional: Hanging It Up

Finally, in order to get that true Cone Of Silence feel, find a suitable place to hang up your umbrelAudio to the ceiling.  Using rubberized metal hooks, I was able to hang mine on my dorm room's lighting fixture.  

STEP 8: Finished!

Alright, you are now finished with creating Matt Co's electronic umbrella speaker, the umbrelAudio!  You now have the coolest, most waterproof speaker apparatus available!

Now go  give it a test listen in the rain.

So until next time, See You, Space Cowboy!

STEP 9: References

For more information about Sound Domes and how these devices work, please visit Brown Innovation's website for their complete line of unidirectional speakers.  For the Sound Dome Manual, from which I based my research on, you can visit it here: [1]

For another glimpse at musical umbrellas feel free to take a look at the Oto-Shigrue, devised by Yusuke Kamiyama and Mai Tanaka.  They are currently sold at a hefty price of $100 each.

Comments

[PeterTheUnGreat]

I love this - so simple yet it instantly marks the user out as completely barking - brilliant

[SHIFT!]

Thanks PeterTheUnGreat! I absolutely love the idea of combining the elements of two simple things (in this case a speaker and an umbrella) and making something completely new as a result! It's a bit of a running theme with my instructables.

[Danger is my middle name]

This is awesome. I'll have to try it!

[SHIFT!]

Yeah totally! I think you guys must get a lot of rain being so far up north. I know that UBC does.

[CassandraM8]

I was wondering (sorry if this has been answered already in the comments) if this is something that can keep a person in the next cubicle from hearing my music. I really want to just trap myself in either white noise or music without any infiltration from the rest of the office, but wearing headphones all day hurts my ears too much.

[SHIFT!]

Hey Cassandra, Thank you for your interest in this project! The Sound Dome umbrella is for focusing music to one central location. However It will not block music from someone else within the proximity.  If you want something like that, you might want to invest in a thicker plastic dome lowered closer to your head, a la Cone of Silence from Get Smart.

Cheers

[CassandraM8]

Thanks!!!

[BillG3]

Do you suppose you could use one of those photography umbrellas? If so, there is another use... for lighting your studio when creating a video blog.

[magdugal]

awsome dude..

[r4n]

GREAT take on the "Cone of Silence" !

[psycho_3852]

now i feel like watching Cowboy Bebop :)

[jkok1]

Does this still fold up, even somewhat for storage?

[VISOR-MAN]

What do you mean by a "flat side"? Is it just a speaker with a flat bottom, nothing technological? Why does this "flat side" make a difference?

[SHIFT!]

By "flat side of the speaker" I really just meant any place where you could harness the Brass Wiring to it securely with the Hot Glue. If you have a rounded or unique shaped speaker, you can also dremel out a hole and attach the wire through it, or possibly wrap it around.

Ultimately, you just need a secure way to attach the speaker to the wire and a flat side really helps when attaching the glue.

[VISOR-MAN]

Oh right - okay. Thanks

[salazam]

And you could plug it into your ipod and listen to music when it's raining outside!!!

[SHIFT!]

Oh yes completely. It's also very helpful when trying to make phone calls and you're in a loud outside area.

[bijikenyot]

and, when a lighting is coming after you,
you will get into pieces...
hahahaha

[PaulMakesThings]

No more so than when you use any other umbrella in the rain

[bijikenyot]

yeah...i dont know why rain and ipod always have mangnetizm

*newbie word... :D :D


but i can make sure, you can use this umbrella on the heavy metal concert
to listening BACH or MOZART
hahaha lol