Electronic Help Needed ***

[koolmoecraig]

I have one of those little electronic boxes that says pre-recorded stuff when you press a button.  Kind of like those talking greeting cards.

Anyway, I was wondering if it would be possible to increase the volume by simply installing a bigger speaker or would I have to increase the voltage as well?  It currently runs on two AA batteries.

I'm pretty much an idiot with stuff like this.

What's the easiest way to so this?  Basically, I want to add some sort of amp to it.

Thanks!

[koolmoecraig]

This is for an arcade machine.  I'm going to wire it to trigger when you insert a quarter.

[Ken Layton]

In general, a bigger speaker may or may not help. If the speaker was more efficient (a.k.a. "sensitive") you'd have more volume.

[RandyT]

Basically, I want to add some sort of amp to it.

Basically, you'll want to add some sort of amp to it


Ok, the long answer.....you should be able to actually connect a mini-phono plug in place of the speaker and plug it into your PC's aux audio in.  The levels might not be correct though, and may need an extra resistor somewhere to bleed off some of the output if it is too "hot."  From there, use the mixer app to get the volume where you want it.

But don't be surprised if it doesn't sound all that good once it's amplified


RandyT

[vidmouse]

I'm wondering if you'd have better luck
1) making a recording of the sounds,
2) cleaning them up/amplifying them with some sound editor program, and then
3) using software on your PC to trigger the sound when it recognizes a coin input.

I think Goldwave shareware can do (2) at least, if not (1) and (2).
I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to write a program to do (3) and have it map to key inputs that you'd hook up.  I bet I could write (3) if you get really stuck...

[SavannahLion]

I think Goldwave shareware can do (2) at least, if not (1) and (2).

What about Audacity? I taught my GF some of the basics. She uses it, along with another tool, to resample and crop MP3's for her cell phone. If I have to hear Fergalicious one more time, I think I'll crack.