Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Timothy Hunter on February 10, 2022 at 2:40am

you could use the wire but i doubt the coil as it is is of any use.  Its a 100V line PA speaker.  audio output from an amp is fed into a transformer and sent down a pair of wires. as many speakers as you want can be used as long as the are less in total wattage than the amp used. at the speaker the 100V is transformed down by the local transformer to an 8 ohm low wattage to drive a speaker. 

you could strip the wire out of the transformer and wind your own coil around a magnet and custom make a pickup. heaps of youtube videos on pickup winding.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsZb2pzzyy0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKS0ZWCHI4g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPvIYBYeZ7k

just a few random examples......

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Permalink Reply by Andy Busch on February 10, 2022 at 4:41am

Thanks Timothy. I had seen these vids before; good refresher. Sorry, I’m a total dunce about ‘lectronics, but do I need the copper coil/transformer on the speaker to use the speaker? I’ve seen vids where there isn’t one, so I don’t think so, but I don’t know. If not, it might be fun to wind and build my own single coil pup.

I was thinking of using the speaker, BTW, as either just a speaker on a DIY amp, or maybe as a mike on, say, a stompbox.

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Permalink Reply by BrianQ. on February 10, 2022 at 9:30am

Some people use smaller speakers as pickups in foot stompers, but I suspect that that wire is a bit too thick for a conventional pickup, that looks to be 2-3 times the size of the standard 42awg pickup wire? That particular model is a 25v transformer & is actually being used to protect the speaker from the voltage going through it?  FYI Rauland made PA & Intercom systems for offices, hospitals & transportation terminals? I would pop that in an amp, it’s hard to get vintage speakers in that condition so cheaply these days? 

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Permalink Reply by Andy Busch on February 10, 2022 at 10:18am

Thanks Brian. So, am I to gather that the transformer isn’t a necessary piece of equipment if I’m going to pop it in an amp? And I also gather that when the worker guy gave me that speaker (rather than just pitching it) it was kind of a fortunate score. Cool! Now I have to decide what kind of amp to build.

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Permalink Reply by Carl Floyd on February 11, 2022 at 4:08am

Is the speaker marked with the impedance?

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Permalink Reply by BrianQ. on February 10, 2022 at 10:31am

Right, in an ordinary low wattage amp you don’t need it, but it’s necessary if you’re going to add an External speaker Jack to the amp?, because there will be a need for voltage to drive the extra speakers? What’s the power rating on the speaker?

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Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on February 10, 2022 at 1:55pm

I've messed with  these types of things  a bit back in the day .  it looks doable .  and its easy to test .    unscrew the thing . cut the wires  at the speaker  tab .   plop an earth magnet on it   bare the  wire ends and attach a cord  or jack."even temporary" and  plug into an amp.   .  hold the thing over top of an existing  guitar  , strum the strings .   and you will know .

and you might have a huge  madmax looking pickup that probably has a bunch of noise  and hum ..  but might look cool.

and  you still have a cool usable vintage  speaker.

Or ... you could try and  take it all apart ,  to salvage the wire alone . but  I am reminded of the guy that built a doghouse to hide in... to avoid building a bird house  for his wife.  lol ..  alot  more work  for less than impressive results ,, compared to  the cost of a spool of wire .

but wheres the fun in that ;-)

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Permalink Reply by Timothy Hunter on February 12, 2022 at 2:53am

yes you can use the speaker without the transformer. just cut the two copper wires coming from the transformer to the speaker tabs and unscrew the transformer from the speaker.

the speaker is just a normal 8 ohm speaker the transformer is there to reduce the 100V line to what the speaker can handle. the impedance of the output of the transformer will be 8 ohm to match the speaker. 

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Permalink Reply by Andy Busch on February 12, 2022 at 2:59am

All really helpful guys—thanks. One more Q: where do I look to get instructions on how to use the speaker to build a basic amp? I’m REALLY not good with tech stuff; schematics give me a headache. If there are vids and other “for dummies” instructions, that would work. Thanks again!

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Permalink Reply by BrianQ. on February 12, 2022 at 8:09am

You could buy a pre-wired artec 2.5watt amp board,? All it needs is an enclosure & speaker? I have watched plenty of those “for dummies” videos & most of them are made by “dummies” who also don’t know what they’re doing, so beware? Also, impedance can be easily tested with a multimeter? That black mark on the rivet may be a polarity marker? (Black is Negative) 

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Permalink Reply by Timothy Hunter on February 13, 2022 at 3:17am

a multimeter will only give you the DC resistance of the voice coil. Impedance is an AC thing .music/sound is an AC signal.... 

DC resistance will probably be around 6 Ohms. 6.8 for an 8 Ohm impedance speaker if i remember correctly.

for a first amp you are definitely better off with a kit module where all you need to do is add a input jack a speaker and power. CB Gitty sells a kit i think. you can use your speaker just fine. 

to find correct polarity of the speaker connectors use a AA battery try negative on one connector and tap the other connector with a wire. if the speaker cone moves forward ie out of the frame then that is the positive connector and the other is the negative. of course the opposite if the cone moves in to the frame. just don't hold the battery on the contacts too long or you could burn out the voice coil.

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Permalink Reply by Andy Busch on February 13, 2022 at 4:02am

Great advice. I saw the vids about how to find the polarities of the speaker, and you nailed it. I plan on ordering an Artec rig from CB Gitty. It will be fun. Thanks!

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