DIY Electronic Caller

[Cygnus]

Hi All

Following on from my last post re the Fox Callers,I took the plunge and had a go at making my own.
For anyone who is interested, the parts are all freely available on Ebay and from Maplins. In case the BBC are watching, other providers are in existence !!!
My plan was to have a bash at making up a caller at a reasonable cost and in the process enjoy the creativity of it all.
The story so far.
1. On to Ebay and source one of these car novelty sound kits.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/280645010155?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_4300wt_952

£12.68 postage paid

2. Visit Maplins for 8X AA batteries and battery holder and battery clip

£13.67
I bought the mixed pack of batteries,as I needed others anyway, which was £9.99.
The battery clip and holder cost £2.68

3. Solder up the joints and away you go. The amp has a mic input which you attach an MP3 or phone to
and play the sounds through the amp. I was dubious as to the sound level but when i tried it I found it very loud and capable.
The whole lot goes into a small plastic tool box (15"X5") and its ready to go.
For a total outlay of less than £20, I think its been a worthwhile venture.
Hopefully a couple of pictures below.
All I need now is some decent weather and try it out.
As always, glad to hear what everyone thinks.
Cheers
Alan

 

[Cougar]

Alan it looks great, well done. Now lets see some foxes next to it!

Matt

 

[bobjs]

Nice one bud

thats a cracking idea,

when i first seen the picture i thought it was a cb radio and you had the speaker set on the mic and using the pa side of the cb.

let use know how you get on,

bob.

 

[baconbuttie]

Bob, you've given me an idea ! How about an FM transmitter hooked up to my iPhone with my playlists of calls, and a waterproof FM radio sat in the field ... might be worth investigating.

Currently I use a Music Angel in a plastic box, with a 20-minute sequence repeating from a Micro-SD card (under £10 total) until I can raise funds for better, and I have an FM transmitter somewhere in the car.

 

[stratts]

Good idea mate did you call any cows in with the built in animal sounds?!

Just a thought rather than the small batteries could you not use a 12v 7.5ah lamp battery for about the same dosh? I know it'll be a bit heavier but with it all going in the box it won't matter

 

[jonty h]

heres one i made

works well but a little to big to fit comfortably in my coat pocket

 

[MARKG]

View attachment 11969 Made one with radio shack mini audio amplifier £10 from amazon. Plug Mp3 player straight in.

 

[KMCK]

Hi could you tell me what i would need for that set up Jonty

 

[Cygnus]

Hi All
Glad to see all the ideas,thanks for that.
KMCK, you must be close to me,
give me a PM and I'll let you see the components and make your
mind up.
Cheers

Alan

 

[mereside]

i have just ordered one of those radio shack amps to go with my ipod nano i have a speaker just incase its not loud enough ,great ideas coming through

 

[KMCK]

I have just ordered this to connect to my phonehttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Generation-...BN42/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327526209&sr=8-1

 

[jonty h]

mini amp as already mentioned
horn speaker off e-bay
mp3 player (the thinner the better)
all held together with sticky backed velcro

 

[david1976]

Hi could you tell me what i would need for that set up Jonty

Looks similar to this: http://www.varmintal.com/coy5-20.htm scroll down the page past all the free .mp3 calls and you'll find it.

 

[jonty h]

Looks similar to this: http://www.varmintal.com/coy5-20.htm scroll down the page past all the free .mp3 calls and you'll find it.

thats the one

 

[MGD]

where would i find the mp3 sounds?? thanks matt

 

[jonty h]

where would i find the mp3 sounds?? thanks matt

i bought a CD with 40 calls on it from e-bay for £5, downloaded them then pick which ones you want on the mp3

 

[bewsher500]

just how loud do you need to play the sounds?
I have some very small golf ball sized speakers that when cranked up are quite loud.

never really used one so not sure if blaring it out works better

 

[Cygnus]

Hi All
Further to the caller set up, I have come up with another possibility.
Instead of using an MP3 for the calls,there is the option of using a old music playing mobile phone with a sim card.
Download the call in MP3 format onto the phone,set as your ringtone and when required call the phone.
The call length will be restricted to the amount of time the phone will wait until switching off the unanswered call.
Just make sure that the voicemail is switched off too.
Any further ideas,send them in.
All the best

Alan

 

[KMCK]

That.s they way i was using last year Alan. when my daughter upgraded her phone i got her old one,just a matter of redialing if using vodafone dial 1210 to turn off voicemail.

 

[black lab]

Hi All

Following on from my last post re the Fox Callers,I took the plunge and had a go at making my own.
For anyone who is interested, the parts are all freely available on Ebay and from Maplins. In case the BBC are watching, other providers are in existence !!!
My plan was to have a bash at making up a caller at a reasonable cost and in the process enjoy the creativity of it all.
The story so far.
1. On to Ebay and source one of these car novelty sound kits.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/280645010155?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_4300wt_952

£12.68 postage paid

2. Visit Maplins for 8X AA batteries and battery holder and battery clip

£13.67
I bought the mixed pack of batteries,as I needed others anyway, which was £9.99.
The battery clip and holder cost £2.68

3. Solder up the joints and away you go. The amp has a mic input which you attach an MP3 or phone to
and play the sounds through the amp. I was dubious as to the sound level but when i tried it I found it very loud and capable.
The whole lot goes into a small plastic tool box (15"X5") and its ready to go.
For a total outlay of less than £20, I think its been a worthwhile venture.
Hopefully a couple of pictures below.
All I need now is some decent weather and try it out.
As always, glad to hear what everyone thinks.
Cheers
Alan
View attachment 11930View attachment 11931

Thank's for the info, made mine up today VERY LOUD, will try it out this week coming
ATB
Wullie.