Anyone know how to make a small speaker amp?

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D

dude

Diamond Member
Oct 16, 1999
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Ok, here's the setup:

I have a dvd player that is playing a cd indoors. I also have 2 speakers wired going outside. Problem is the speakers are near a roadway and cars passing by make it too low to hear. If I turn up the volume so the outside speakers are audible, the indoor speaker volume becomes too loud.

What I need now is how to make an amp for the speakers outside. <U> It does not have to be anything complicated.</U> They just need to be boosted about 10-20 decibles louder than the indoor speakers. Sound quality is a distance second as traffic outside causes enough noises for me to not care. This should be for a pair of 2.5" - 3" speakers.

I tried yahoo but there are too many hits and all of them are trying to sell me something. I want to be able to go to radio shack and buy bread board and some small components to make this. I remember doing this a looooooooong time ago (about 14-16 years ago) and that knowledge I had is also long gone. I'm good with soldering so that's not a problem. Athlon XP trace soldering are a cinch! ;)

Thanks for any help you can offer! :)
 
amdskip

amdskip

Lifer
Jan 6, 2001
22,530
13
81
I remember in high school having little soldering kits for this. We placed it in a plastic project box and it actually worked:)
 
Colt45

Colt45

Lifer
Apr 18, 2001
19,721
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how many watts?

you could use a mixer too.. to drop the db in the house.
 
H

Heisenberg

Lifer
Dec 21, 2001
10,621
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If you want simple, and I mean simple, you can make an amplifier out of a single transistor. I don't remember the schematic off the top of my head, but it shouldn't be that hard to find. You can also add subsequent transistors if you need more amplification.
 
Colt45

Colt45

Lifer
Apr 18, 2001
19,721
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just thought about it, and since the signal in is already going to be amplified from the main amp in the house, youre going to have to build something with high level input.

ive built single tranisistor amps before.. 0.7w tho..
 
H

Heisenberg

Lifer
Dec 21, 2001
10,621
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Is there any other amp in-between the DVD player and the speakers? If there is then clipping could be a problem. You could always attenuate the signal, but that might defeat the purpose. Need a little more info on your setup.
 
D

dude

Diamond Member
Oct 16, 1999
3,192
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71
Signal is amplified from the DVD Player only. Nothing in between.

 
D

dude

Diamond Member
Oct 16, 1999
3,192
0
71
Originally posted by: Heisenberg
Originally posted by: Eli http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=980%2D0735 Hmmmm... They used to have lots of amplifier kits, from like 2.5W to 25W.... But I don't see them anymore..
Click to expand...
I forgot Radio Shack carries/carried those. Something along that line is probably the best way to go.
Click to expand...

That totally defeats the purpose of building it! :D
Plus, I'd much rather tinker... that way, in the future, should I ever need it, I'll know how to make it, end of this crazy, comma'ed sentence. :D

Oh, it doesn't have to be powerful, a few watts is fine. It's a pair of 2.5 or 3 inch speakers only.
 
D

dude

Diamond Member
Oct 16, 1999
3,192
0
71
Because of the excellent audiophille I am, I will have absolutely no regard for quality. It will be outside under the awning so I don't care about effeciency (heat output) at all, or I can screw a cpu heatsink to it :D

Eli: Oh yeah, the Radio Shack item is $44! I need this cheaply done!

Colt45: No, I don't want to add a mixer in there. It adds to the cost and requires electricity, which is somehting I don't want to run outside.
[edit] Ok, If I do require power, maybe a 9volt AC adaptor, if possible.

Heinsenberg: Do you know the search term to look for this? I'm hoping to have this done by tomorrow! :D

Thanks! :)

 
H

Heisenberg

Lifer
Dec 21, 2001
10,621
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This, this, and this should be enough to get you started. I searched for 'single transistor audio amplifier'. If the signal is straight from the DVD player something like above should work okay. You may have to adjust the various resistor values to get the correct attenuation and avoid clipping.
 
D

dude

Diamond Member
Oct 16, 1999
3,192
0
71
Hehehhe..... I was hoping for a parts list and a simple diagram in layman's terms, not Alien speak from Zeta Quadrant Sector 16. :p

I'll try to figure it out.... Need to visit the zeta quadrant now.... :)
 
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