http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bi...RECORDER_.html

Remember several posts looking for ways to add sound to some projects. 30 seconds for $2.00, seems like a very good deal. Bonus is that it's already wired up, not just a chip. Haven't order any yet, but thinking about getting a few.

 

Buying cheap tacky junk and using the internals if often the most cost-effective way of doing things but don't expect good quality. You might want to replace the cheap and nasty 1" plastic speaker with a decent paper cone speaker.

You might also be able to adjust the sample rate by changing the value of a resistor or capacitor, so if you want 15 seconds at higher quality then it could be handy.

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Some cheap ones sound like a buzzer.

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Harvey, please let me know how they sound. I will get a couple for little one time projects. Golf cart reverse voice, etc.

One problem, the $2 unit will have a shipping cost, so you might want to search their catalog for other items.

 

This sort of thing often appears in cheap stores from time to time so it's a good idea to check them out every now and then.

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I have bought from them before. They are a surplus company. So they might be OK and it was just a bad movie and they did not sell.

Or, they might be junk. I would not expect great quality from them for sure.

 

I order 10 of them, a 12 volt SLA & charger, and a few other odds and ends. Should be here late next week.

I've ordered from them many times, some stuff can be found cheaper, sometimes there are some great deals. Usually try to look through the new stuff weekly.

I don't anticipate that it will play back very loud off 2 AAA batteries, can only hope it retains the recording after the power is removed. Considering the size, expect the 'speaker' to be a thin piezo beeper type, and likely just good enough for voice.

I'm planning on gutting them anyway for other projects, so adding a simple transistor amplifier or LM386 won't be a big deal. Thinking these will match up nicely with my IR proximity detector.

Will keep you all posted, guessing they have a huge quantity, since they didn't post a limit, and give a discount on 10 or more.

Edit: Hoping the little plastic figure is of the softer plastic type, dog toys...

 

Just make sure that it isn't PVC which can contain plastisisers that are poisonous.

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Hmmm... Maybe that's why these are surplus.

Jake's a Labrador, he has eaten some pretty weird and potential hazardous stuff, some I know got swallowed, from what he left the following day... Mostly, he just chews things up into little bits for me to clean up after work. Fortunately, he's been focusing on paper products this past month. Forgot to close the bathroom door Friday, whole roll of toilet paper shredded and distributed throughout the house. Must have been a real treat for him...

 

Fortunately it should be easy to tell if it's PVC that contains nasty plasticisers. Don't give it to your dog if it's made of the same soft and chewy PVC used to insulate cables, make jelly shoes or safety gogles.

Just another thought, it might use the cheap speaker as a microphone which will sound terrible. The problem is that converting it to a high quality electret microphone might be troublesome.

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I really don't give him junk like that to chew up, well lots of old shoes... But usually, I try to limit him to normal toys. I don't want him to think it's okay to chew on just anything that catches his interest. If they are consistent with materials in his other toys, maybe...

Really not expecting high quality sound from these things, just a reasonable reproduction. Most likely the PCB will have a large black blob in the middle. Not too bad, as the board has to be less than 2.5 inches square. Might not be worth worrying about a electret, as the sample rate will most likely be low.
Just have to wait a week, to see if I scored a good deal, or some barely usable junk, closest I get to gambling...

 

Please let us know if they are useful to modify or just an ASIC semiconductor IC die in an epoxy blob on a PCB.

I need a circuit that will record about a second, then immediately play back at double or quadruple speed, then repeat this sequence over and over in order to hear infrasonic frequencies in the 5-60Hz region.

Bob

 

I can't see it being abything other than a black resin blob ACISC. The only thing is you might not be able to control the sample rate and the could be an internal 20Hz high pass filter.

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Naaw, it's likely made in China and that polymer is too complex for them to handle--- they prefer lead!

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Been held hostage all day waiting on the UPS guy. Tracking says its been out for delivery since 5:48 AM, about 4:30 PM now... Least I had another project to keep me busy. They deliver until 7 PM, so still a chance I'll get to play around with them this weekend.