tone gen schematic needed 2

[francist44]

I need a schematic for a simple 6-12 VDC tone generator with an adjustable frequency of range of 70 - 100hz. OK I'm not electronics engineer; just model builder of large RC scale warships. And thus I'd like to build my own tone generator for the ship's fog horn and maybe for a klaxon to sound before the model fires any of it's 4 terrier missiles.
Thanks

 

[MikeHalloran]

555

Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[VEBill]

Yep, 555.

For example:

http://www.ohmslawcalculator.com/555_astable.php

Another option would be an Arduino or similar uC.

 

[VEBill]

By the way, if you can wait for shipping, you can purchase a 555 circuit board, or several, from eBay for next to nothing.

 

[ScottyUK]

70Hz - 100Hz is going to need a decent-sized driver housed in a fairly large enclosure to reproduce it. That's way down into the bass frequencies and below what a lot of domestic sound systems can reproduce with any accuracy. Unless this is a _big_ model of a ship you aren't going to have room for any driver capable of reproducing 70Hz. Realistically you're looking at a few hundred Hz, and a ship's hooter is not a pure note so you might want to include a bit of distortion.

 

[francist44]

Thanks great info. I;m thinking about trying one or twp these mini amps with the tone generator. The model's hull will be fiberglass and about 8'with a 10" beam. That should be big enough to fit thes=audio equipment and everything else. Also, a hull that big will hopefully act like an hollow body guitar. I will look into buying those 555s on ebay.

Jameco Part no. 127255
Manufacturer VELLEMAN INC.
Manufacturer no. K4001
Catalog 142 , page 154
http://www.jamec

FYI: The model will be a scratch build of USS Boston CAG-1 @ 1/8' = 1'o.com/Jameco/Products/MakeImag/127255.jpg

 

[ScottyUK]

Your tone generator link got mangled:

http://www.jameco.com/Jameco/Products/MakeImag/127255.jpg

Looks like a proper old-fashioned warship:

http://www.vr-24.org/SquadronScrapbook/USS_BostonCAG1_cobe.jpg

Would be nice to see a photo once you complete it.

Although it's not very patriotic of me to to say so, I think some of the best-looking capital ships were built by Germany during the second world war - Tirpitz, Bismarck, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau.

 

[francist44]

Yes, the Tirpitz, Bismarck, Scharnhorst,and Gneisenau, had great lines; but I think HMS Hood had more pleasing lines, as did HMS Tiger.

The photo is kind of fuzzy, but this is probably my favorite ship, CB-1 Alaska officially a heavy cruiser, but with 9 12" rifles. 12 5" DPs, and a length of over 800', many consider it Battle Cruiser. I already built her.

 

[OperaHouse]

I would suggest you use an Arduino 328 MINI. These are only $2.33 shipped to you. This will allow multiple time delays, random operation, lights etc. I was asked to automate this display. I had bind of timers, just make it move and flash a little they said. Buying the first socket for a timer would cost more than a micro. Now it has sound, motion and lights. Random functions mean that you can watch it for 15 minutes before it seems to repeat.

 

[OperaHouse]

Forgot only one picture at a time. Here is the plane made from DC-8 parts Wingspan is about 100 feet.

 

[MikeHalloran]

OperaHouse has a good idea there.
You can certainly get an Arduino up to speed faster and cheaper than you can a homebrew circuit built around a 555.

The Arduino MINI is the size of a postage stamp, so may be difficult to work with, depending on your eyes.
I'd be inclined to try an Arduino Uno instead.

Or maybe a Raspberry PI.

Or any of a thousand tiny computers that have become available in the past decade or so...



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[OperaHouse]

The MINI is the size of two postage stamps and the pin spacing is exactly the same as a UNO or a 555 chip. You want something small enough to fit in, a UNO is quite large. I remember a Klaxon being unharmonious. I would use TONE function on one pin at an off frequency and the 490hz PWM function on another pin at 50% ANDed to make an unnerving sound. Plenty of pins left to drive LED and motors. On the plane the nacell at the back had red strip LED driven by a random number generator to imitate flames. The sound ws a combination of a jet engine rumble and packman boop bops. The cavernous resonator cavity gave a throaty sound. RANDOM function is great for animation. Let your imagination go wild!