Snailis Spiralis

PHOBoS · Last edited by PHOBoS on Mon Dec 19, 2016 2:37 pm; edited 1 time in total

my vacuum cleaner broke and while I was disposing of it I noticed the sound the tube (or rather hose, but vacuum tube sounds nicer Wink

) made.
Being the professional scrap collector that I am I couldn't just get rid of it without trying something with it first. So inspired by the cooper time
cube I wondered what it would sound like with a speaker on one end and a microphone on the other and that's what I am working on now.
Unlike the time cube my goal is not a delay but rather the resonating sound you get when sounds travels through a tube

I started by mounting a small speaker on a piece of wood and adding the tube to the other side. I glued part of a rubber band on the end,
which was quite a challenge, for a snug airtight fit. After that I breadboarded an amplifier for the speaker and a small microphone amp
to do the first test. That actually worked quite well, the sound isn't very profound but it does definitely add something and I thing it could
work great for drums.

snailis spiralis - 01.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

127.78 KB

Viewed:

720 Time(s)

This image has been reduced to fit the page. Click on it to enlarge.

snailis spiralis - 02.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

146.89 KB

Viewed:

768 Time(s)

This image has been reduced to fit the page. Click on it to enlarge.

snailis spiralis - 03.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

109.87 KB

Viewed:

738 Time(s)

This image has been reduced to fit the page. Click on it to enlarge.

PHOBoS · Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2016 1:29 pm Post subject:

here are some photos from the mic and preamp (will post schematics later). the microphone is an electret type
which I rolled up into some foam which fits loosely in the tube but just tight enough so it doesn't move.

snailis spiralis - 05.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

178.99 KB

Viewed:

724 Time(s)

This image has been reduced to fit the page. Click on it to enlarge.

snailis spiralis - 04.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

202.96 KB

Viewed:

723 Time(s)

This image has been reduced to fit the page. Click on it to enlarge.

snailis spiralis - 06.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

213.1 KB

Viewed:

738 Time(s)

This image has been reduced to fit the page. Click on it to enlarge.

blue hell · Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2016 2:00 pm Post subject:

Ah! a vacuum tube filter Cool

PHOBoS · Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2016 2:28 pm Post subject:

to hold the vacuum tube in place I mounted a carboard tube on the board by screwing it to a wooden disc. I used a hole saw to cut out the
disc and it was a bit too small but with the help of some tape and a ring of another cardboard tube (which fit right in the other one)
I got it mounted to the board. The microphone end of the tube is held in place by some thick foam and I used part of a measuring
spoon to cover that end up. I painted it yellow because the pink head at the end of the tube just looked, well, VERY WRONG Embarassed

so now I have some more testing and soldering to do. I did already solder up the amp though but haven't tested it yet, so that's next.

snailis spiralis - 07.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

147.68 KB

Viewed:

700 Time(s)

This image has been reduced to fit the page. Click on it to enlarge.

snailis spiralis - 09.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

166.27 KB

Viewed:

707 Time(s)

This image has been reduced to fit the page. Click on it to enlarge.

snailis spiralis - 08.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

157.81 KB

Viewed:

683 Time(s)

This image has been reduced to fit the page. Click on it to enlarge.

snailis spiralis - 10.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

197.01 KB

Viewed:

698 Time(s)

This image has been reduced to fit the page. Click on it to enlarge.

snailis spiralis - 11.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

199.12 KB

Viewed:

720 Time(s)

This image has been reduced to fit the page. Click on it to enlarge.

dougseidel · Joined: Feb 10, 2010 Posts: 74 Location: NJ

you are the coolest

Antimon · Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2016 1:53 pm Post subject:

Wow...

AlanP · Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2016 5:05 pm Post subject:

I don't get it, where does the 400VDC go? Wink

robsol · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 6:07 pm Post subject:

Cool! I love the sounds you get out of those hoses.

I wonder if stretching it will create a similar effect like you get in an LFO'ed flanger...? Not that it's that easy when curled up...

Also another idea is to have a speaker at each end and put the mic somewhere in the middle. You can get some strange ringmodulated sounds out of that.

PHOBoS · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 6:14 pm Post subject:

oh 2 speakers Razz

I think I might have another hose somewhere, unless I actually threw it out, will check tomorrow but first have to finish this one.
Could indeed be very nice!

PHOBoS · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 6:42 pm Post subject:

soldered up some more circuits, from left to right: input buffer/amp, speaker amp with resonance control (feedback from the mic), output mixer/amp.
The output mixer hasn't been tested but it worked on breadboard, the rest works ok. Cool

I have an idea for the design but for that I'd probably have
to temporarily remove the hose and I am not sure if that will be very easy because of the rubber band, but I will give it a try.

snailis spiralis - 12.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

195.28 KB

Viewed:

583 Time(s)

This image has been reduced to fit the page. Click on it to enlarge.

wackelpeter · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2016 12:50 am Post subject:

PHOBoS · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2016 3:22 am Post subject:

patience young grasshopper, the ride isn't over yet.

(or get a vacuum tube, hold it up to a speaker and listen at the other end to get an idea)

robsol · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2016 8:24 am Post subject:

PHOBoS · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2016 9:08 am Post subject:

Industrial type hoses probably sound great if you put some nine inch nails through them.

RingMad · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2016 11:54 am Post subject:

Haha, looks like fun!

This is basically the same idea as the Pipe Bomb, a distortion/tone thing by Jamie Heilman, which was a PVC tube with a speaker on one end and a mic on the other.

I found it on some site years ago, but never got around to building it.
However, I thought of a variation... the waterpipe bomb... wherein the pipe is filled with water and the speakers/mic are waterproof... sound travels differently in water, which could be interesting?

.:James:.

AlanP · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2016 6:37 pm Post subject:

Or possibly a vacuum jar, and experiment with gasses?

Cfish · Joined: Feb 24, 2016 Posts: 477 Location: Indiana

Cfish · Joined: Feb 24, 2016 Posts: 477 Location: Indiana

PHOBoS · Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2016 4:51 pm Post subject:

some interesting ideas there. Not sure what water would do but hydrophone recordings can be interesting. It would be a tricky built though,
maybe an aquarium would be fun to experiment in. When I looked up some information about the time cube I came across the mention
of using different gasses and I think there was a comment that it would probably not have any effect. I don't exactly remember why,
either it was because of it being a closed system or too small.

As for stretching the tube that would change the resonant frequency so it will have an effect. The vacuum cleaner hose I have doesn't
stretch a lot though but it could work. Of course you would have to find a way to do this without causing any vibrations which would be
picked up by the microhone.

In the meantime I made a base for it which is actually painted by now (but still drying). So maybe I can start putting it together a bit tomorrow.
I also did some other small things but you'll get to see that when it is done or at least in another photo.

snailis spiralis - 13.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

135.85 KB

Viewed:

507 Time(s)

This image has been reduced to fit the page. Click on it to enlarge.

PHOBoS · Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2016 12:41 pm Post subject:

Finished it just before the end of the year Razz

. Here are some snailgut photos and the schematic. I added a switch to change the polarity of the output for
the speaker and the result is that it actually seems to change the resonant frequency. I guess this has to with it being mixed with the original signal. For
power distribution I used a piece of stripboard as a busbar. I'll record some sounds too but I first have some other things to do before NYE.

snailis spiralis - 20.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

198.97 KB

Viewed:

501 Time(s)

This image has been reduced to fit the page. Click on it to enlarge.

snailis spiralis - 21.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

236.89 KB

Viewed:

504 Time(s)

This image has been reduced to fit the page. Click on it to enlarge.

snailis spiralis - 22.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

226.07 KB

Viewed:

519 Time(s)

This image has been reduced to fit the page. Click on it to enlarge.

Snailis Spiralis.gif

Description:

Filesize:

39.53 KB

Viewed:

585 Time(s)

This image has been reduced to fit the page. Click on it to enlarge.

PHOBoS · Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2016 12:44 pm Post subject:

and some more photos Cool

snailis spiralis - 14.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

155.81 KB

Viewed:

509 Time(s)

This image has been reduced to fit the page. Click on it to enlarge.

snailis spiralis - 15.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

143.69 KB

Viewed:

523 Time(s)

This image has been reduced to fit the page. Click on it to enlarge.

snailis spiralis - 16.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

149.52 KB

Viewed:

525 Time(s)

This image has been reduced to fit the page. Click on it to enlarge.

snailis spiralis - 18.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

208.15 KB

Viewed:

520 Time(s)

This image has been reduced to fit the page. Click on it to enlarge.

blue hell · Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2016 2:00 pm Post subject:

Oh that looks great!

robsol · Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2016 2:05 pm Post subject:

Yeah that is beautiful. Very Happy

Grumble · Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2016 3:22 pm Post subject:

nice!

Antimon · Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2016 3:39 pm Post subject:

Haha love it! Especially the little mushroom. Smile