This is a bit strange request but any comments appreciated. One of my first wood working projects, 50 years ago, was a scratch built mahogany grandfather clock. The German made movement with mechanical parts has wore out. Probably my fault for not oiling it once a year or so.Duh.
The price 50 years ago was about $35 US. Now it's $400 $800 + . Our Dollar is also shot. So I bought an electronic movement complete with chimes and a 3" speaker for under a $100. The good part is not to having to wind it , the bad part is it sounds like a 3" speaker. I checked my stock of speakers from the 70's and came up a Radio Shack used as a center speaker. Light weight and good efficiency. Sound, so- so but a lot better then the 3" unit. I was concerned about the clock chip handling the power but it worked and nothing has smoked yet. This is a battery powered system so I'm limited. There is no plug where it sits in the hall entry way. Clock chimes don't need a loud sound that keeps one awake a night any way.
Any suggestions for a speaker that might work as a plug in and not blow up the chip or battery?
The price 50 years ago was about $35 US. Now it's $400 $800 + . Our Dollar is also shot. So I bought an electronic movement complete with chimes and a 3" speaker for under a $100. The good part is not to having to wind it , the bad part is it sounds like a 3" speaker. I checked my stock of speakers from the 70's and came up a Radio Shack used as a center speaker. Light weight and good efficiency. Sound, so- so but a lot better then the 3" unit. I was concerned about the clock chip handling the power but it worked and nothing has smoked yet. This is a battery powered system so I'm limited. There is no plug where it sits in the hall entry way. Clock chimes don't need a loud sound that keeps one awake a night any way.
Any suggestions for a speaker that might work as a plug in and not blow up the chip or battery?
Okay... That's a bit unusual. Cool nonetheless.
You should be fine with any speaker of the same impedance as came with the kit. So if it came with an 8 Ω speaker, find an 8 Ω replacement. It may be worth building a small power amp for it if the amp in the kit is running out of power. Something around an LM386 should work.
The Tangband speakers I've fiddled with have been pretty decent. I suggest making some sort of enclosure within your clock to properly load the driver.
Tom
You should be fine with any speaker of the same impedance as came with the kit. So if it came with an 8 Ω speaker, find an 8 Ω replacement. It may be worth building a small power amp for it if the amp in the kit is running out of power. Something around an LM386 should work.
The Tangband speakers I've fiddled with have been pretty decent. I suggest making some sort of enclosure within your clock to properly load the driver.
Tom
Do you think it's even possible to match the sound of mechanical chimes with a speaker? I have some AR's and KLH's from the past and they never could match the sound of my piano. I have no idea what is available today.
I don't think you'll get a good chime sound from an eBay chime kit. However, with the right "chime generator" I don't see any reason you wouldn't be able to get a realistic chime sound.
How did the original chimes work? Was there a hammer beating on some tubular bells or something? Could you use a solenoid to make the hammer move?
Another idea: Can you get a decent MP3 player and download a good recording of some chimes you like?
Or throw an Arduino and MP3 player shield at it.
Tom
How did the original chimes work? Was there a hammer beating on some tubular bells or something? Could you use a solenoid to make the hammer move?
Another idea: Can you get a decent MP3 player and download a good recording of some chimes you like?
Or throw an Arduino and MP3 player shield at it.
Tom
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This is just an idea - and I've no idea if it would actually work - but instead of a convention speaker driver, what about attaching a surface transducer to the side of the bell?
The original chime was a stack of carbon steel rods that felt hammers hit. It is/was a Rube Goldberg affair with gears sprockets coming off the clock mechanics I never was a fan of old thing built just because it was always that way. I love the battery powered quartz movements that one never has to wind and is always dead on the time. I have some that will reset for daylight saving time. I also have some that pick up a radio signal to keep time to the 3rd digit.
The sound of a real piano or bells seems to be impossible to duplicate. The sound is good . Years and years ago I messed around with electric guitars and was amazed the wide range of the harmonics. Never did come close to duplicating that. Have no idea what goes on to day. My ears are of course worn out but I still can hear distortion or off key. I love my piano when in tune. Temp and humidity cause real audio problems.
So just looking around here to see if anyone had a similar clock problem.
I like to make and build clock cases. Today I saw one made from a surveyors transit with a round, drum type clock on top. A pendulum about 3.5 ft between the legs of the transit. I put that on my list for my shop use. Klock-Kit has all sorts of clocks parts for sale . I can't believe the price of some big ones. $5000 and up. I've made some copies of Amana Colony's that sell for $1220 for $ 50.00 worth of good wood. Also started making urns for cremation remains. I think I will make one for my self with a built in clock and speaker . Powered by barometer pressure changes.
Is this the right site for these questions? I think I will build a speaker that gets good reviews just for fun. I see plans offered here and maybe I can build a speaker case to look like a clock. What's a good proven speaker with a bright , live, sound to start with?
Of Topic, -we saw Sully (the movie) today at a Imax theater. Man- that is one of the better movies I have ever seen. Wouldn't it be fun to have a Imax sound system in your House?
The sound of a real piano or bells seems to be impossible to duplicate. The sound is good . Years and years ago I messed around with electric guitars and was amazed the wide range of the harmonics. Never did come close to duplicating that. Have no idea what goes on to day. My ears are of course worn out but I still can hear distortion or off key. I love my piano when in tune. Temp and humidity cause real audio problems.
So just looking around here to see if anyone had a similar clock problem.
I like to make and build clock cases. Today I saw one made from a surveyors transit with a round, drum type clock on top. A pendulum about 3.5 ft between the legs of the transit. I put that on my list for my shop use. Klock-Kit has all sorts of clocks parts for sale . I can't believe the price of some big ones. $5000 and up. I've made some copies of Amana Colony's that sell for $1220 for $ 50.00 worth of good wood. Also started making urns for cremation remains. I think I will make one for my self with a built in clock and speaker . Powered by barometer pressure changes.
Is this the right site for these questions? I think I will build a speaker that gets good reviews just for fun. I see plans offered here and maybe I can build a speaker case to look like a clock. What's a good proven speaker with a bright , live, sound to start with?
Of Topic, -we saw Sully (the movie) today at a Imax theater. Man- that is one of the better movies I have ever seen. Wouldn't it be fun to have a Imax sound system in your House?
For the simplest possible solution, search the local thrift stores for a cheap speaker (complete with box) that will fit inside your clock. I find boom-box speaker enclosures quite frequently at the local thrift stores, and one of those would probably work well.
A similar possibility is a Raspberry Pi, which is a tiny, cheap, Linux PC. It can play mp3's, and you can use the Linux Bash shell "at" command to play an mp3 at specified times. It would need a little coding knowledge to put together, but not much. If you have computer-savvy kids or grandkids, one of them might enjoy the challenge.
A clock chime will be a lot easier to reproduce (with reasonable accuracy) than a piano. It's funny that we now use the word "piano" to describe the instrument originally named a "pianoforte". It's the "forte" part that makes it so difficult to reproduce the sound of a piano accurately with an amp and speaker!
I read of one experimenter who found that he needed over 100 watts of amplification to generate the same sound level as an acoustic piano in the same room. He also needed a high quality speaker system that could handle 100 watts, over the entire frequency range of a piano.
The first requirement (100 watts RMS) is pretty easy to come by these days. The second requirement, not so easy!
-Gnobuddy
If you're up for some electronics, coding, and tinkering, I think these are interesting ideas. The tricky part will be triggering the MP3 player at the proper times.
A similar possibility is a Raspberry Pi, which is a tiny, cheap, Linux PC. It can play mp3's, and you can use the Linux Bash shell "at" command to play an mp3 at specified times. It would need a little coding knowledge to put together, but not much. If you have computer-savvy kids or grandkids, one of them might enjoy the challenge.
A clock chime will be a lot easier to reproduce (with reasonable accuracy) than a piano. It's funny that we now use the word "piano" to describe the instrument originally named a "pianoforte". It's the "forte" part that makes it so difficult to reproduce the sound of a piano accurately with an amp and speaker!
I read of one experimenter who found that he needed over 100 watts of amplification to generate the same sound level as an acoustic piano in the same room. He also needed a high quality speaker system that could handle 100 watts, over the entire frequency range of a piano.
The first requirement (100 watts RMS) is pretty easy to come by these days. The second requirement, not so easy!
-Gnobuddy
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