Seems to me that you could either pull the amp out entirely, and mount it in another box, or get rid of the speaker and add another audio jack to the ball.
I picked up one of those Dollar Tree ball amps. The chip inside is stamped YX1613
I picked up a few more today (Gordon?) and can confirm that my store is selling two different types in their battery/tablet/audio/electronics section. Pic attached if it helps anyone track 'em down.
1) the one marked "audio cable not included" is just like the one I posted originally, amp chip is a TI LM4871, comes with an old-school heavy PM speaker, fabric cone.
2) the one marked "audio cable included" has the YX1613 amp and a newer speaker, paper cone & smaller magnet.
Also when I got mine most of the boxes were torn or open, but luckily there was one that was intact.
I was also lucky to find a Stereo to Left and Right channel cable at a surplus electronics store.
Gordon,
Find an excuse to venture elsewhere.
Erco,
Seeing the batteries in the lower left of your photo I find it funny that Alkaline batteries always seem to leak but I have a few multimeters with ancient regular batteries that are still fine.
Alkaline batteries always seem to leak but I have a few multimeters with ancient regular batteries that are still fine.
Isn't that funny? They don't make 'em like they used to... My little Cessna 152 has an emergency locator beacon for crash tracking. Hopefully I never need it. It's powered by a big pile of Duracell alkaline D cells.
Found some! They had come in over the last day or so, and even then, were picked through with most of them off the shelves (this DT is always a shambles).
I haven't tried them yet but I have a project that could use them.
While on the subject of DT, anyone spot the little motorized cars in their toy section that have an all-drive motor and two LEDs for lights in front. A switch underneath turns it on or off. The car only goes forward, but I want to use them to demonstrate using two such toys, and removing the tires on opposite sides to make a 4WD. Stupid me, I only bought one a few months back when I first saw it.
Also, the robot claws seem to be gones-ville. 99 Cents store carried a smaller version (I think Erco used it for a video), but the stores near me aren't carrying the cheaper toys these days. Most of it is brand stuff, like Star Wars and LEGO. Disappointing. They had a number of items in their toy section for $3.99-$7.99, and the toy section was maybe a third the size it used to be.
XLNT. Those little motorized LED cars are awesome, I first saw them over a year ago, I must have 30 of them. Have used & cannibalized for many robot & toy projects. Not sure which DT robot claw you mean. I do have several of the mini red & blue ones from 99 cent store.
Just recently, DT started carrying some generic LEGO bricks and baseplates. Got me thinking...
The claw was from 99 CO. I have one but I'm resisting cutting it up, plus I don't want to write about it if it's not going to be available. The older, bigger claws have been around for 30+ years, but they're not a buck...more like $10 these days. (I did encounter some a few years back at DT, but I don't expect to find them there now.)
I'm looking at the pickup sticks sold at Harbor Freight for use as a cheap gripper, but the "boom" is made of metal and is a bit more work to cut open.
I'll look around at the other DTs in my area to see if any have any more of those little cars. Last I looked a few weeks back they didn't, Their bulk buys site doesn't list them.
Just recently, DT started carrying some generic LEGO bricks and baseplates. Got me thinking...
I had heard LEGO sales were slumping and they were looking for new markets. Maybe this is one of them. 99CO is carrying some small LEGO branded sets. LEGO and Star Wars in a 99 Cents Only store? What's the world coming to?!
Didn't I also read they were modifying the plastic used in the bricks? They've traditionally used ABS, which is very dimensionally stable. I don't recall the new mixture, but there's a move to make the pieces more ecologically sustainable. For my typical use, a slight tight or loose fit doesn't matter, as I usually glue stuff together. ("I'm a robot builder, not a LEGO purist!" Dr. :Leonard McCoy, Stardate 3034.7.)
I don't get what I call Lego for Dummies where the sets come with instructions on what can be built with the set.
The sets I grew up with had no instructions so we made whatever we could dream up.
Yes, I found the ball speakers. They had the ones with cable attached, which is nice, but naturally the cable is too short to reach from the audio jack on the microcontroller to where I have the speaker.
I had to go to a different Dollar Tree to get the little blue 4WD cars, and neither store had any poster board. It's getting to be prom/graduation time here, and I guess people are making lots of signs. (I use the board as photo backdrops.)
DT's blocks are generic, not LEGO branded. And yes, LEGO is hurting just like everyone else. They had a huge growth spurt a few years back, then layoffs last year.
Ball speaker with integral cable? Is that the one from 99 cent store with internal Lipo? Bomb theme?
I went to Dollar Tree to get some spices and all the speakers balls were gone.
The electronics area was either picked clean or hasn't been restocked yet.
I guess it's mega hording time now for the older ones, Erco. :P
Dollar Tree has these amplified speaker balls for a buck (duh) in their hardware section. Roughly baseball-sized, flat bottom, 2xAAA batteries, nice old-school 1-7/8" steel frame PM speaker. Certainly not Veho quality nor hi-fi but plenty good enough for many projects. A fair amount of room inside for some extra gizmos & circuitry. 3.5mm input jack, no cable. Amplifier chip stamped LM4871, which if authentic is a decent chip from TI: http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/lm4871.pdf
I only bought one today but I'll hoard a few more next trip.
Hi Erco,
Thanks for the tip on these speakers. I found 1 black and 2 reds of the 1-7/8" steel frame PM speaker / no cable type today.
Dollar Tree has these amplified speaker balls for a buck (duh) in their hardware section. Roughly baseball-sized, flat bottom, 2xAAA batteries, nice old-school 1-7/8" steel frame PM speaker. Certainly not Veho quality nor hi-fi but plenty good enough for many projects. A fair amount of room inside for some extra gizmos & circuitry. 3.5mm input jack, no cable. Amplifier chip stamped LM4871, which if authentic is a decent chip from TI: http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/lm4871.pdf
I only bought one today but I'll hoard a few more next trip.
Hi Erco,
Thanks for the tip on these speakers. I found 1 black and 2 reds of the 1-7/8" steel frame PM speaker / no cable type today.
Thanks,
Zappman
Hmmm, I picked up another pair of these speakers, today at a different Dollar Tree, 1 red no cable or batteries, 1 blue with cable. This red speaker has a 4 Ohm 3W speaker, that is different then the other speakers I have, it was hot glued into the case (it rattles in the case without the hot glue) also this speaker has a 4th screw in the bottom to keep the batterty door closed. The cable with that came with blue speaker has about 7.5 inches of wire. I have been testing the speakers with BlockyProp and an Activity Board WX (Rev A)
Comments
Wish I could join you for that lunch.
I picked up a few more today (Gordon?) and can confirm that my store is selling two different types in their battery/tablet/audio/electronics section. Pic attached if it helps anyone track 'em down.
1) the one marked "audio cable not included" is just like the one I posted originally, amp chip is a TI LM4871, comes with an old-school heavy PM speaker, fabric cone.
2) the one marked "audio cable included" has the YX1613 amp and a newer speaker, paper cone & smaller magnet.
I was also lucky to find a Stereo to Left and Right channel cable at a surplus electronics store.
Gordon,
Find an excuse to venture elsewhere.
Erco,
Seeing the batteries in the lower left of your photo I find it funny that Alkaline batteries always seem to leak but I have a few multimeters with ancient regular batteries that are still fine.
This amplified speaker just mixes stereo signals to mono on the PCB.
Isn't that funny? They don't make 'em like they used to... My little Cessna 152 has an emergency locator beacon for crash tracking. Hopefully I never need it. It's powered by a big pile of Duracell alkaline D cells.
I haven't tried them yet but I have a project that could use them.
While on the subject of DT, anyone spot the little motorized cars in their toy section that have an all-drive motor and two LEDs for lights in front. A switch underneath turns it on or off. The car only goes forward, but I want to use them to demonstrate using two such toys, and removing the tires on opposite sides to make a 4WD. Stupid me, I only bought one a few months back when I first saw it.
Also, the robot claws seem to be gones-ville. 99 Cents store carried a smaller version (I think Erco used it for a video), but the stores near me aren't carrying the cheaper toys these days. Most of it is brand stuff, like Star Wars and LEGO. Disappointing. They had a number of items in their toy section for $3.99-$7.99, and the toy section was maybe a third the size it used to be.
Just recently, DT started carrying some generic LEGO bricks and baseplates. Got me thinking...
I'm looking at the pickup sticks sold at Harbor Freight for use as a cheap gripper, but the "boom" is made of metal and is a bit more work to cut open.
I'll look around at the other DTs in my area to see if any have any more of those little cars. Last I looked a few weeks back they didn't, Their bulk buys site doesn't list them.
http://www.daisojapan.com/p-30326-robot-hand-2-assort-10-pks.aspx
Also try the oddball discount stores because sometimes you can find things that other stores don't have or they may have it for less.
I had heard LEGO sales were slumping and they were looking for new markets. Maybe this is one of them. 99CO is carrying some small LEGO branded sets. LEGO and Star Wars in a 99 Cents Only store? What's the world coming to?!
Didn't I also read they were modifying the plastic used in the bricks? They've traditionally used ABS, which is very dimensionally stable. I don't recall the new mixture, but there's a move to make the pieces more ecologically sustainable. For my typical use, a slight tight or loose fit doesn't matter, as I usually glue stuff together. ("I'm a robot builder, not a LEGO purist!" Dr. :Leonard McCoy, Stardate 3034.7.)
Any luck finding those ball speakers?
I don't get what I call Lego for Dummies where the sets come with instructions on what can be built with the set.
The sets I grew up with had no instructions so we made whatever we could dream up.
I think the "Lego For Dummies" idea is that is training for kids so that they can build IKEA furniture as adults
I had to go to a different Dollar Tree to get the little blue 4WD cars, and neither store had any poster board. It's getting to be prom/graduation time here, and I guess people are making lots of signs. (I use the board as photo backdrops.)
Ball speaker with integral cable? Is that the one from 99 cent store with internal Lipo? Bomb theme?
The electronics area was either picked clean or hasn't been restocked yet.
I guess it's mega hording time now for the older ones, Erco. :P
Hi Erco,
Thanks for the tip on these speakers. I found 1 black and 2 reds of the 1-7/8" steel frame PM speaker / no cable type today.
Thanks,
Zappman
My wife got me two for Valentine's Day!
Hmmm, I picked up another pair of these speakers, today at a different Dollar Tree, 1 red no cable or batteries, 1 blue with cable. This red speaker has a 4 Ohm 3W speaker, that is different then the other speakers I have, it was hot glued into the case (it rattles in the case without the hot glue) also this speaker has a 4th screw in the bottom to keep the batterty door closed. The cable with that came with blue speaker has about 7.5 inches of wire. I have been testing the speakers with BlockyProp and an Activity Board WX (Rev A)
Most excellent. It's that pioneering spirit of experimentation that keeps this forum lively!