This works better than I expected...

tomsalwasser · Post by **tomsalwasser** » Wed Feb 19, 2014 6:11 pm

Greetings fellow sawdust makers,

I stopped by the new Rockler store this afternoon. Twin Cities woodworkers should check it out when in the east metro...it's very nice, much larger than the old store. While moseying the aisles I saw this: Rockler

I tried out the sample unit with my phone and it noticeably amplified the sound. It's not electrified, it's a block of wood. Might work well enough in a quiet room. It's in kit form at Rockler or fully assembled from Amazon.

Might be fun to try make one of my own design, maybe tweak it for maximum amplification.

Best,
Tom

algale · Post by **algale** » Wed Feb 19, 2014 9:39 pm

tomsalwasser wrote:Greetings fellow sawdust makers,

I stopped by the new Rockler store this afternoon. Twin Cities woodworkers should check it out when in the east metro...it's very nice, much larger than the old store. While moseying the aisles I saw this: Rockler

I tried out the sample unit with my phone and it noticeably amplified the sound. It's not electrified, it's a block of wood. Might work well enough in a quiet room. It's in kit form at Rockler or fully assembled from Amazon.

Might be fun to try make one of my own design, maybe tweak it for maximum amplification.

Best,
Tom

Interesting. Same basic concept as an acoustic guitar.

joshh · Post by **joshh** » Wed Feb 19, 2014 10:01 pm

I got one of these as a gift...basically a rubber version. It's really amazing the difference in sound! I'll bet the one you linked sounds even better.

scooter61 · Post by **scooter61** » Thu Feb 20, 2014 6:44 am

I made one of these for my niece for Christmas. Works great and she thought it was cool!

camerio · Post by **camerio** » Thu Feb 20, 2014 9:39 am

tomsalwasser wrote:Greetings fellow sawdust makers,

Might be fun to try make one of my own design, maybe tweak it for maximum amplification.

Best,
Tom

Tom let us know of your experiment.
I find that with my Ipad mini, if I put my hand at a 45 degrees in front of where the speakers are, it sounds much better, but I think i would like to adapt this idea to my Ipad. First time I see this.

dgale · Post by **dgale** » Thu Feb 20, 2014 10:40 am

The first tweak I'd consider is how to allow you to charge your phone at the same time…that would be a deal breaker for me, as I would want the thing to be a charging station at the same time.

tomsalwasser · Post by **tomsalwasser** » Thu Feb 20, 2014 11:31 am

scooter61 wrote:I made one of these for my niece for Christmas. Works great and she thought it was cool!

Hey scooter I'd enjoy seeing a picture of your version.

BuckeyeDennis · Post by **BuckeyeDennis** » Thu Feb 20, 2014 12:31 pm

Neat idea! I just played a bit with impromptu acoustic reflectors for my iPad (my hand, and a legal pad held at various curvatures), and they improved the sound tremendously.

A Google search for "iPhone passive amplifier plans" got quit a few hits. This one has plans in Sketchup, and in other formats as well.

These would be cool gifts for my wife & kids.

tomsalwasser · Post by **tomsalwasser** » Thu Feb 20, 2014 1:03 pm

BuckeyeDennis wrote:Neat idea! I just played a bit with impromptu acoustic reflectors for my iPad (my hand, and a legal pad held at various curvatures), and they improved the sound tremendously.

A Google search for "iPhone passive amplifier plans" got quit a few hits. This one has plans in Sketchup, and in other formats as well.

These would be cool gifts for my wife & kids.

LIKE! Oh wait, wrong social media...thanks very much for this link.

Per algale's comment above, I wonder if a thin hollow box with a hole like a guitar would do well? Guess there's one way to find out...

beeg · Post by **beeg** » Thu Feb 20, 2014 2:38 pm

tomsalwasser wrote:Per algale's comment above, I wonder if a thin hollow box with a hole like a guitar would do well? Guess there's one way to find out...

How about sitting it on top of a wide mouth mason jar?