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View Full Version : Any guess on watt output of different boards?



TroyO
03-28-2008, 03:03 PM
I have the board from the Lightsaber construction kit, so that's my personal primary interest, but curiousity leads me to see if anyone has compiled a list of wattages for different boards? I tried a search bust most wattages reference speakers, not the actual output and booster amplifier yeilds a blank.

The reason I am asking is I was looking at IC's and there's a couple of tiny 8 pin DIP's that can do a watt or two. Would it be worth making a booster amp? Would the difference be --- "Ehhhh.... I think I can hear a difference" or "Holy cow, this really sounds good!"?

Circuit schematics for basic amps are all over, and using an IC you'd be looking at 4 or 5 components so it could be mighty small.

So... overall, anyone who has experience with multiple boards care to even shoot out a WAG as to relative outputs?

Novastar
03-29-2008, 12:01 AM
Well... hmm... I have to admit, I'm somewhat confused. Are you talking about wanting the speaker to be LOUDER? Or... to be able to power the LED "more effectively"?

In any case... the only things I feel I can help with are that LEDs are mainly current-sensitive, and once you reach the optimum "forward voltage", extra voltage to them becomes somewhat irrelevant. At that point, they would prefer a healthy diet of exactly the amount of current they most prefer. For example, a Luxeon III green "likes" about 1000ma of current, or... at least... that is its rated "max continuous current". You can certainly overdrive to a certain extent, especially with driving circuitry.

As to speakers... well, most all speakers have a different optimum/nominal power input, and naturally a maximum. Some like a little, others are happy with more. But... even THAT doesn't guarantee loudness. What DOES guarantee louder, fuller sound... is RESONANCE. :)

Sometimes, the power of a sweet & ***y speaker takes a backseat to a lower-powered ghetto speaker... which is blessed with sweet & ***y RESONANCE. :)

hambleta
03-30-2008, 06:02 PM
If you're trying to increase sound out of a sound board you might try getting a cheap audio amplifier IC from radioshack. Power it with its maximum positive and maximum negative voltage. Doing this will decrease your chance of hitting the rails. You might want to measure the input signal from the sound board to insure that your gain won't push you over the rails. If its going to, just limit your gain with a couple resistors and you should be fine.
I don't think wattage or current are going to be something you're going to have to worry about. The current being pumped out isn't likely to break a 8 ohm speaker that's usually being used.

TroyO
03-31-2008, 07:44 AM
Novastar, I mean specifically the sound output of the various drivers. The LED's themselves I think I have a handle on. I know some are weaker than others, and some (Like the CF) are better, but by how much? Resonance can definitly make a difference, as does speaker quality but how about some good old fashion horsepower? ;-) (Drag racers motto... some is good, more is better and too damn much is just about right.. ;-)

Hambleta, the Radio Shack audio IC was exactly the type I was talking about. The MR sound board isn't bad, but I was wondering if it would make a huge audible difference to power it up some.

Since watts are not linear with volume (IE... 10XWatts to double volume) would bumping the (My guess is about .5 watts) output of the MR up to say 1 to 1.5 watts be a huge difference or would it be hard to tell?

Novastar
03-31-2008, 11:35 PM
Ok, I see your thinking now Troyo. You're probably right that "horsepower" can increase sound output, but in some cases (like CF, or even on the H-blade), there IS indeed a sound amp!

But definitely look into resonance. Believe me--I knew very little about resonance until messing with sabers. I'm no sound engineer, nor am I a wiring expert (my experiences with sabers began in late 2005)... but after playing with resonance... the results are *ASTONISHING*.

If you can get your sound to reverberate throughout your entire hilt... acting more OMNI-directional than the standard "MR style" speaker-aims-out-the-back-that's-it-no-side-holes... you will hear a MASSIVE sound increase.

It also costs nothing but a few drilled holes and moving plastic & metal around. Amps cost money, take up space, take up more battery power... and can wreck your speaker if it can't handle the "horsepower" as you say! :)

TroyO
04-01-2008, 09:26 AM
I see what your saying about space...It's amazing how fast space management becomes an issue..... especially when your trying to power a 10 watt saber, LOL. (8XAA) Ahhh the good old days with a 4 pack of batteries. ;-P

(But my first home build was actually one of the neon tubes, so it was an 8 pack of NON recharchables then.. and "sound" was a pager motor with some masking tape on it so it would buzz...LOL.)

Amazingly enough though, I don't think the hilt will be huge. I have to do some layout experiments but I think I can keep the density pretty high.

But high density will (I would think) kill resonance. An amp may be easier.

hambleta
04-02-2008, 09:42 PM
The Audio Op Amp should in theory increase the sound level but I don't think it's worth it. What it sounds like you're really looking to do is use a power amplifier on the board and I don't think the cheapo IC gives you enough of gain or allows you enough head room on your rails to amplify it up. You'd probably take up more room trying to boost your sound than you would if you added a resonance chamber. A resonance chamber doesn't have to be huge to get a decent effect an inch, inch and a half should do just fine.
The Audio amplifier needs to be powered well enough to prevent clipping otherwise the sound will be distorted. The sound that comes out might be louder but it won't be recognizable. That's only if it clips.
If you really want to go ahead and experiment and see if you get the sound quality out of it that you want. If you do go ahead and implement it. If not just go for the resonance chamber.

Novastar
04-03-2008, 12:28 AM
I see what your saying about space...It's amazing how fast space management becomes an issue..... Bloody right! You are more right than you know!

To this day, I have *NO* idea how I fit:

* Heatsink (from TCSS, black anodized 1.25" emitter/mount/bld holder)
* Crystal Focus
* 4 indicator LEDs or 3 indicators and a MOTOR (+ a switch)...
* Latching on/off switch
* 7.4v Li-Ion 18650 cells
* Recharge / kill port
* Aux button
* Resonance for speaker
* Speaker itself (36mm or 45mm)

...all in 10.5" of space, 2.5" of which is for the blade and heatsink. The rest of which is 1.25" sink tube that couples into 1.5" of sinktube. The 18650s barely fit! In fact, they can ONLY fit in one part of the saber! But the SD card is accessible quite easily, although not at the pommel... by removing 4 screws.

Anyhow... it was a challenge. A bloody messy one. :cool:

TroyO
04-08-2008, 10:53 AM
Hehe... my count so far:

8x AA's
MHS style 1 bladeholder and a sink tube adapter
MR Joe Jedi saber board
2X buckpucks
My own interface/extend retract and relay board
The power switch
1 or 2 indicator/flash LED's. (I'm playing with the 7 color flash LED from Rat shack)
Speaker assembly from MR Vader
Power charging port
If I can find it, a pager motor.

I'm hoping for managing it in 11 inches or less. I'm using a 4 pack of AAs in a square config, and the other 4 AAs in a flat config in hopes I can slide the boards and buckpucks on top.

I plan to install the speaker first, then an openish space that will have the Flashy LED and the power port (maybe the pager motor) between the speaker and the pommel with holes in it. The thought is to give the sound some room to develop, as it passes around the other stuff and to have the flashy LED glow out the back end of the saber.

I gave up on adding the audio amp... I ended up using a bigger home made board than I had hoped to do what I wanted.

TroyO
04-08-2008, 11:06 AM
Hamblata... I see what you mean by rail to rail, but my saber is a little unique in that it's running at 9.6V so I would have more headroom than most.

I decided not to go for it at the moment and see what I can get, as described above. If I can't get something OK as described above I may still give it a whack.