# Transducer speaker



## Dan The Welder (Jul 18, 2012)

Has anyone made a transducer speaker or modified an average speaker to make one? I need options and I would really appreciate the feedback


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## GCWyatt (Aug 30, 2012)

Could you be more specific about what you're doing? Technically, a moving coil speaker is a transducer. Are you trying to make a surface transducer out of a speaker coil?


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## Dan The Welder (Jul 18, 2012)

GCWyatt said:


> Could you be more specific about what you're doing? Technically, a moving coil speaker is a transducer.  Are you trying to make a surface transducer out of a speaker coil?


If you mean by surface transducer, a speaker to make a floor move with sounds, then yes


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## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

Making a floor move is going to be a pretty tall order. Floors are specifically designed 'not' to move and I doubt an average speaker would have much effect.

You might be able to buy a big sub woofer and convert it somehow, but if you have to purchase something, you might as well buy an actual 'bass shaker' [google] - which is the sort of transducer you ask about. These are actually designed to shake small things like a couch or recliner to give a little more 'feel' to the sound, so I still don't know what effect they would have on something rigid like a floor.

A big subwoofer tuned at or around the resonant frequency of the room could give the effect of something 'thumping' on your chest, but the vibration would be transferred more through the air and you'd likely need several hundred watts of amplifier power.


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## BioHazardCustoms (Aug 5, 2009)

I think he's looking to do something like the 19MHz transducer speakers that www.onlyfactorydirect.com had at TransWorld a few years ago.


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## Hippofeet (Nov 26, 2012)

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10975

Not too hard to make. If you want big, get an old outdoor PA speaker, and gut it.

I would mess around and see how a PA speaker with the cone mounted right to the floor (not bare concrete) sounds.


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## Dan The Welder (Jul 18, 2012)

I wanted to make a plywood bridge to mount it under


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## Hippofeet (Nov 26, 2012)

Sounds perfect. No pun intended.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Do your shopping for prices on speakers, actual transducers, etc. and see what works best for you in your situation. Keep in mind that whatever you use will need to be powered by an amp, and that if the transducer and amp & sound source will be exposed to the elements (snow, rain, etc.) that they need to be either protected from or have the ability to withstand the elements.
See what your actual costs will be with parts, required tools, etc. so that you know which item is really the best deal for you.


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## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

Ah. Well, a bridge would be easier to move than a floor. 

Though I still don't know how much 'movement' you would get out of a speaker vs just feeling a slight vibration. Considering even a very large speaker cone weighs maybe an ounce or two and moves maybe +/- 0.5 inch. A bridge could easily weigh several hundred pounds with a few people on it.

If you want a decent amount of movement, you might almost be better off with a small motor and an eccentric crank arm. If you want a lot of vibration, a motor with an eccentric weight on the shaft will shake things up. Either of these could triggered to come on with sound and at such low frequencies, I don't think your body would 'feel' the difference between vibration and having a movement specifically in synch with sound.


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## Dan The Welder (Jul 18, 2012)

corey872 said:


> Ah. Well, a bridge would be easier to move than a floor.
> 
> Though I still don't know how much 'movement' you would get out of a speaker vs just feeling a slight vibration. Considering even a very large speaker cone weighs maybe an ounce or two and moves maybe +/- 0.5 inch. A bridge could easily weigh several hundred pounds with a few people on it.
> 
> If you want a decent amount of movement, you might almost be better off with a small motor and an eccentric crank arm. If you want a lot of vibration, a motor with an eccentric weight on the shaft will shake things up. Either of these could triggered to come on with sound and at such low frequencies, I don't think your body would 'feel' the difference between vibration and having a movement specifically in synch with sound.


I like this idea, how might I make or buy something similar


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## Hippofeet (Nov 26, 2012)

I can't take a picture, I'm on the farm. I made one with a low rpm AC motor, from allelectronics, IIRC, and welded a nut to a tube so I could tighten it on the shaft of the motor, with a 2 inch arm with another larger nut welded on that (the eccentric weight corey872 is talking about). with the motor mounted on something that has some movement, It makes a low rpm shake. Otherwise, for more of a buzz, you can use an old vibratory sander, or even a pneumatic vibrator like they use on grain bin transitions, but those tend to be large, expensive used, and take a lot of air.


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## Dan The Welder (Jul 18, 2012)

I'll look into it


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## stagehand1975 (Feb 22, 2010)

Look up buttkicker. These are bass coils that you macanicaly attach to what you want to vibrate. But that is all will will do is vibrate what you attach it to. If you mount it to,a floor, you will feel the thumps of a heartbeat or heavy foot steps but it won't move the floor. Like a subwoofer, these require a large amp and crossover to isolate low frequencies.

If you want to move a floor. Make a.motion platform. I dont remember which company it.was. but you can buy and airbag.system. one airbag under each corner connected to air, valves and a controller. Just like the airbags on a tractor trailer.


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## Bernee (Jun 28, 2013)

This might be what your looking for....http://www.parts-express.com/cat/tactile-transducers/18


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## hedg12 (Jul 6, 2008)

I have these http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=299-028 on the chairs in my home theater (hate them for movies, but the kids love them for playing video games.) They do shake the seats pretty well, but if you're shaking something that needs to handle foot traffic you'd need several of them with a bunch of power. I have to agree with Cory - a motor with a counterweight would probably be easier and most likely cheaper.


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## Dan The Welder (Jul 18, 2012)

Thanks guys


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