Wave Shield kit speaker way too quiet

Adafruit Ethernet, Motor, Proto, Wave, Datalogger, GPS Shields - etc!

Moderators: adafruit_support_bill, adafruit

Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.
Locked
User avatar
JS123
 
Posts: 28
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2018 4:55 pm

Wave Shield kit speaker way too quiet

Post by JS123 »

Hello,

I just got and assembled the Wave Shield kit https://www.adafruit.com/product/94

The speaker included with it (8 ohm 1 watt) is useless. Way too soft.

My intended purpose of the wave shield is to be part of a talking clock and it needs to be loud. Loud enough to hear from the other room if need be. My missus is a bit hard of hearing and she could not even hear it at maximum volume from a few meters away. It was softer than me loud whispering.

The WAV files are normalized for maximum volume. They play fine through headphones attached to the headphone jack.

So I need another amp circuit to give this speaker a boost? Or an amp and a speaker that will really play from soft up to too loud (to make sure it can cover all required levels).

Can anyone recommend one of the amps and speakers if need be?
https://www.adafruit.com/?q=class%20d

Thanks for any help or ideas.

User avatar
adafruit_support_bill
 
Posts: 88037
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:11 am

Re: Wave Shield kit speaker way too quiet

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

The little op-amp circuit on the shield is only about 1/4 (0.25) Watt. Perceived sound pressure levels are not linear. So doubling the amplifier power is like turning it up just a notch on the dial. To double the sound level, you need about 10 times the watts. So going to 2.5 watts would probably make it audible to all corners of the same room. https://www.adafruit.com/product/2130

To project into adjacent rooms you will probably need more than that. This amp has 20 watts/channel. https://www.adafruit.com/product/1752
If you feed the signal to both channels and use 2 speakers, you will get up to 40 watts. To get that level of output, you will need to use a 12v power supply and 4 ohm speakers.
https://www.adafruit.com/product/1732

Another option is to use a set of powered speakers and run one of the speakers to the next room:
https://www.adafruit.com/product/1363

User avatar
JS123
 
Posts: 28
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2018 4:55 pm

Re: Wave Shield kit speaker way too quiet

Post by JS123 »

Thanks.

I think I will go for the larger 20 watts per channel
https://www.adafruit.com/product/1732
Better to have it too loud and turn it down than too soft and have to buy the higher wattage kit later

I can join the wave shield to the amp with one of these male to male stereo cables right?
https://www.adafruit.com/product/2698

Power is an issue. I am going to need 5v for the Arduino and wave shield, 12V for the amp, and 5V 2.5 Amp for the LED matrix that is going to be the display.
https://www.adafruit.com/product/420

Eventually all these bits are going into a single kit enclosure to make a talking clock. So I would like a single power cable going to the wall to power it all.
If I went for one of these 12V power adapters
https://www.adafruit.com/product/352
what is the simplest way to get that one adapter to power the 3 components? Is there a kit or board that takes the 12V in and outputs 12 and 5 volts?

Thanks for helping so I get the right parts before ordering.

User avatar
adafruit_support_bill
 
Posts: 88037
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:11 am

Re: Wave Shield kit speaker way too quiet

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

The male-to-male stereo cable will work to connect the two. The output of the wave shield is mono, but the jack is wired so that it splits the signal onto both channels of the cable.

There are lots of 5v/12v dual output 'brick' style power supplies. Unfortunately, most are only 2A for the 5v: https://www.amazon.com/Vktech-Adapter-H ... B00D2LS2AO
But since you are putting this in a closed box, you could go with something like this: https://www.jameco.com/z/NED-75A-MEAN-W ... 04655.html
That one is a bit overkill on the 5v side, But you will probably need 3A @12v to achieve 20W output.

User avatar
JS123
 
Posts: 28
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2018 4:55 pm

Re: Wave Shield kit speaker way too quiet

Post by JS123 »

Great. Thanks for all your help.

User avatar
JS123
 
Posts: 28
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2018 4:55 pm

Re: Wave Shield kit speaker way too quiet

Post by JS123 »

I got 1 of these supplies
https://www.jameco.com/z/RD-65A-MEAN-WE ... 23505.html

Stupidly I assumed that it has a AC plug input at the rear (like a PC power supply unit).

But, this has 3 screw connections for the AC input right next to the DC outputs. I am comfortable with DC and soldering, but am I going to end up killing myself wiring AC to this power supply is my concern.

I am sure I can carefully strip a power cable and screw the ends into the respective spots, but I really don't want to screw up and make the case live.

Any advice? Thanks.

YouTube does it again. This looks to answer my queries.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETbgiXe8o58

The only thing that worries me if I accidentally touch that live AC screw somehow and zap myself. Once the AC is wired up and working could I just cover the AC contacts in hot glue or maybe 2 part epoxy glue to guard against shocks?

User avatar
adafruit_support_bill
 
Posts: 88037
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:11 am

Re: Wave Shield kit speaker way too quiet

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

The video is correct. Green wire goes to GND. The black wire is 'Line' and the white wire is 'Neutral'.

If you want to cover the screw-terminals for safety, my first choice would be electrical tape. Hot glue would work too. I would avoid epoxy since it would be permanent. There would be no way to repair it if a wire accidentally pulled loose.

User avatar
JS123
 
Posts: 28
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2018 4:55 pm

Re: Wave Shield kit speaker way too quiet

Post by JS123 »

Just a final resolution for this.

The Amp
https://www.adafruit.com/product/1752
and 2 of these speakers
https://www.adafruit.com/product/1732
powered by one of these supplies
https://www.jameco.com/z/RD-65A-MEAN-WE ... 23505.html

Did the trick. The whisper quiet wave shield output is boosted LOUD to be easily audible in other rooms. Loud enough that it has to be turned down a bit. So for others needing a boost to the wave shield, that amp and those speakers gives a nice clean amplified sound.

User avatar
adafruit_support_bill
 
Posts: 88037
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:11 am

Re: Wave Shield kit speaker way too quiet

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

That is good news. Glad to hear that it is working for you. Thank you for the follow-up.

Locked
Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.

Return to “Arduino Shields from Adafruit”