Thank to all of those before me for the great idea. I recently finished up my homemade e-caller and tested it over the weekend on some crows. Needless to say I had a "blast" using it.
I used the NADY DK1 Wirelss mic setup(WLT-14) - Very similar to the Azden one.
http://www.nadywireless.com/prod_pages/dkw1pg.html
I got the NADY system for $65 total with free shipping. Here's what I found out afterwards:
1. Need 12v power source for the receiver end so I had to adapt a 12V re-chargeable battery. I used the powersonic PS1212(12V 1.2Amp) Gel cell battery($15). The receiver draws about 70ma so I figured the battery would be good for around 15 hours of "on" time before needing re-charged.
2. Still need the RS Amp with the NADY receiver cause it will not power the speaker by itself. If i re-call correctly the AZDEN does not need the RS Amp?
3. The unit has very good range. I've had it 100 yards away and it worked fine.
If i made another i would probably go with the the AZDEN because of it only needing a small disposable 9V battery vs. the modification(some plugs/adapter) needed for the NADY 12V and most 12V batt's are heavy. Also because of the need for the RS Amp and extra 9V battery. You aren't really saving much because of the need for extra stuff.
I could've really cut down the weight(3lbs total) if I could've eliminated the 12v battery and the RS Amp & battery.
Here's what i figure the remote part of the unit costs to build/run:
1. Azden wirless DKW-1 1 @ $65
2. PS1212 Batteries 2 @ $15=$30 (spare)
3. RS Amp 1 @ $12
Total would be: ~$107 just for the remote part. You then add your speaker, caller(mp3,tape,cd), and enclosure. I bought a Sony Walkman so my total was around $165 with everything. I also have an MP3 player already but haven't had time to mess with it much. The pictures show the MP3 player hooked to the transmitter but I haven't loaded a lot of real sounds yet(just samples) so for now I use the Sony Walkman.
Anyways, I took the receiver board and Radio Shack Amp boards out of their respective enclosures and put them in my own enclosure. Here are some pics of the caller. It will work with whatever input device (tape, cd, mp3) you supply. Overall it works OK but the amp puts out some static noise that I'd like to eliminate with a better amp someday. I recently sanded and painted the caller as well.
BTW, Thanks to all of those that put this information out there to begin with. I would've never built one without your help.
[This message has been edited by gizz (edited 02-18-2002).]
I used the NADY DK1 Wirelss mic setup(WLT-14) - Very similar to the Azden one.
http://www.nadywireless.com/prod_pages/dkw1pg.html
I got the NADY system for $65 total with free shipping. Here's what I found out afterwards:
1. Need 12v power source for the receiver end so I had to adapt a 12V re-chargeable battery. I used the powersonic PS1212(12V 1.2Amp) Gel cell battery($15). The receiver draws about 70ma so I figured the battery would be good for around 15 hours of "on" time before needing re-charged.
2. Still need the RS Amp with the NADY receiver cause it will not power the speaker by itself. If i re-call correctly the AZDEN does not need the RS Amp?
3. The unit has very good range. I've had it 100 yards away and it worked fine.
If i made another i would probably go with the the AZDEN because of it only needing a small disposable 9V battery vs. the modification(some plugs/adapter) needed for the NADY 12V and most 12V batt's are heavy. Also because of the need for the RS Amp and extra 9V battery. You aren't really saving much because of the need for extra stuff.
I could've really cut down the weight(3lbs total) if I could've eliminated the 12v battery and the RS Amp & battery.
Here's what i figure the remote part of the unit costs to build/run:
1. Azden wirless DKW-1 1 @ $65
2. PS1212 Batteries 2 @ $15=$30 (spare)
3. RS Amp 1 @ $12
Total would be: ~$107 just for the remote part. You then add your speaker, caller(mp3,tape,cd), and enclosure. I bought a Sony Walkman so my total was around $165 with everything. I also have an MP3 player already but haven't had time to mess with it much. The pictures show the MP3 player hooked to the transmitter but I haven't loaded a lot of real sounds yet(just samples) so for now I use the Sony Walkman.
Anyways, I took the receiver board and Radio Shack Amp boards out of their respective enclosures and put them in my own enclosure. Here are some pics of the caller. It will work with whatever input device (tape, cd, mp3) you supply. Overall it works OK but the amp puts out some static noise that I'd like to eliminate with a better amp someday. I recently sanded and painted the caller as well.
BTW, Thanks to all of those that put this information out there to begin with. I would've never built one without your help.
[This message has been edited by gizz (edited 02-18-2002).]
