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Seeking tiny speaker suggestions

 

As I develop my kit, I'm attempting to keep as much of it as compact as possible. This means that most times ear buds are preferable. But sometimes, I like to listen to SSB chatter in voice and maybe prefer to not be tethered to a 3 foot cord. Sometimes this means also sharing the audio with another person.
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I would prefer to find one that's extremely small, have AUX input to use male to male cord, self-contained power if possible, and if internal power, then charged via USB C.?
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Just curious if anyone in this forum has used anything similar. AliExpress has dozens of pages of suggestions, but after thumbing for half an hour I gave up.
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Greg KD9UQP
 

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Hi George, not an expert here but I do own several speakers. A couple squished golf ball sized ones. They are the ones with the male 3.5mm plug sticking out the side. I have a black one and a red one.

?The red one lasts longer because it has a bigger battery but the black one is a bit louder. My go to speaker right now is a JBL GO2. It’s a bit bigger than I’d like but it has some good fidelity and really reveals all audios pops, squeaks, and thumps the radio has to offer.

Myron WV?H?

On Oct 18, 2024, at 6:51?AM, Greg KD9UQP via groups.io <gregatchrysler@...> wrote:

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As I develop my kit, I'm attempting to keep as much of it as compact as possible. This means that most times ear buds are preferable. But sometimes, I like to listen to SSB chatter in voice and maybe prefer to not be tethered to a 3 foot cord. Sometimes this means also sharing the audio with another person.
?
I would prefer to find one that's extremely small, have AUX input to use male to male cord, self-contained power if possible, and if internal power, then charged via USB C.?
?
Just curious if anyone in this forum has used anything similar. AliExpress has dozens of pages of suggestions, but after thumbing for half an hour I gave up.
?
Greg KD9UQP
 

Links?
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72 de N4REE, Bob Easton - QRP CW forever
 

Hi,
?here’s my two cents.?
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Speaker is Walmart onn brand. Works great sounds fine. Not ultra compact but everything for a POtA activation fits into a harbor freight 1800 size hard case. ?Just need an antenna to go with. Have fun!
 

My go-to is also the JBL GO2.
I absolutely love the sound quality.
Battery SEEMS to last forever…
best speaker I have found.
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But I went hiking with my QMX and had forgotten to fully charge the speaker.. typically it will run for days.. but it gave up the ghost way out in the woods.
so, be sure to bring your headphones as a backup.
72
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Love this one: ? And the price is nice on refurb (which I bought, indistinguishable from new).? Even has a FM receiver in it.
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I thought about doing the QMX internal speaker mod, but decided on this instead.? Better sound, less work.
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73,
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Robert, WA2T
 

Oh, and Bluetooth too.
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My Soundcore Mini has been working great all summer long. I just wish it had a USB-C charging port...

va3rr

On Sat, Oct 19, 2024 at 09:39 AM, <rentwist@...> wrote:

I thought about doing the QMX internal speaker mod, but decided on this
instead.? Better sound, less work.

73,

Robert, WA2T
 

Hi Bob - Here are the links to my suggestions.
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72
Myron
 

Lucille, I found USB-C power devices for my POTA activities. INIU still offers 3 devices that offer 12VDC. I lost the email, but you can contact ?Karlin?from INIU Service Team for a list if you are interested. I also use a wall adapter USB-C device to power my QRP-Labs QMX's in the shack. So far, all of them putout 12V + or -? .1V.
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73, Rick K8BMA?
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I have a Danelectro Goldtone 10w mini guitar amplifier. Input is a 1/4" socket on top, but an adapter works just fine.


I have another amp that appears to be obsolete, and was replaced with a new model with different features.

I found these on Amazon among others, probably very similar in function. They have at least a 1/4" guitar input jack. Some also have a 1/8" CD or MP3 jack for accompaniment. These?come under the heading of "practice amplifiers", though some street buskers have similar gear because it's battery powered or rechargeable.?
  • There's a lot of different, randomly-generated company names selling this one. It seems to be a common OEM speaker.
  • This is a different brand name for an identical amp, the Aroma AG-04. The Aroma AG-03, under the Monoprice brand, is no longer?available, but this is. It also has Bluetooth input, so you can play music on it from your phone. I wouldn't use Bluetooth for amateur radio listening unless it was phone. CW has too much latency.
  • Here's another from Lekato, a totally different form-factor, and it has BOTH BT and a 1/8" aux jack in the back, or you can use a 1/4" adapter on top of the unit. It is rechargeable using USB-C:?
  • This one is a bit iffy. It's a "Fender" mini practice amp. It's 1 Watt. It runs on a 9v battery. Reports are that it works, but some say it breaks easily. I think it's a tad pricey, and it speaks volumes (no pun intended) on how low the Fender name has fallen. I have blues harmonicas made by Fender, and they're pretty decent, but this amp looks a little cheesy. It IS, however, small. Have a 1/4" adapter handy, because that's it's only input.?
  • If I was going to get one of these mini Fender amps, I'd get this one. It's _3 Watts,_ and has a more attractive retro amp look. Still 9v battery to power it, and a 1/4" jack, so have an adapter for your aux cable from your radio.?
  • The reviews on this speaker seem better. It's rechargeable, though it uses a microUSB instead of USB-C. It has a 1/4" input for a guitar on top, and a 1/8" input for accompaniment, or for just playing music on it.?
  • One last amp, this one a mini copy of a Marshall stack. Marshall has a decent reputation, and the number of one-star reviews is around average for any electronic device. 1/4" input, 1W out, 9v battery, and oddly, a 1/4" headphone jack. There is a coaxial socket for a wall wart, but if you want it for portable use, this seems unnecessary. Though you might have a Talentcell with a 9v output, so that might be an option.?
Please remember, except for the Danelecto Goldtone?amp at the top, I have not tried ANY of these amps. I've seen a few of them. I like portable guitar amps because they usually have controls to let you tweak the tone of the sound, which can greatly lead to comfort when copying code for a long period. I wish Monoprice still had the two amps I got from them, both OEM from somewhere and rebadged, of course, but they work well. One, Monoprice Indio, is just a plain 10W portable amp that I use with a microphone for jamming with blues harmonica, but it also works great amplifying radio audio. The other was only 5w, but was smaller, and had a slot for a microSD card. This let you play music from the card, or to record audio that you're playing through the speaker. (That's the Aroma AG-03 I was hoping to post here.) Goes to show you that things change at lightning speed out there.

I hope this helps.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
73,
Gwen, NG3P
 

I bought a small Bluetooth adapter from Amazon that works both ways as a server or client. One of these can plug in the headphone jack and TX to a larger Bluetooth speaker. My adapter has about 3hrs run time per charge. I’ll take a picture in the am after work.?
 

About a year ago I got this rechargeable speaker off Amazon. Works well and is very small and compact..could be smaller, still looking for the ultimate speaker. A few days ago I also got a power supply from Amazon as well for when not mobile find it works well with the opportunity to use 9 or 12v. Usually use a 9v battery as I am just listening. ( Don't have my HAM license.. yet? )
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Short question my QMX was but built by QRP, does anyone know if it will run on 12v as well, tried it and it seem to be ok. Asking because I just ordered the QMX+ and in the order they emphasize 9 or 12v power source.?
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Thanks Roy..
 

Regarding 9V/12V question: The QMX/QMX+ can be built for 9V or 12V operation - it is a hardware difference. Hans describes this well, along with the differences of the 9V/12V decision near the beginning of the assembly manuals for the QMX/QMX+.? You should take a look at that write-up before you decide on which voltage to order.? The 12V unit will work fine on 9V, but the output power will be lower when transmitting (about half).?? A unit built for 9V, for receive-only, will work fine at 12V.? But do not transmit if you are running a 9V unit at 12V - you will likely burn out the final amplifier quickly (put it in CW practice mode to disable transmit).
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So is the QMX you already have built for 9V?? If so, my personal opinion would be to use 9V on the QMX+ also, just so I don't get power supplies for the two confused and inadvertently cause damage...? This is what I am doing with my kit build of the QMX+ I just got, since I built my QMX for 9V.
 

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Myron, etc.,?

The first two on your list just don’t stay charged unless you plan ahead on your POTA expedition because the battery is too small. ?The third one will work well as it has a much larger battery. ?I have the red one little one and it’s always dead when I need it. ?The Anker one is a good one. Sounds good and has a large battery.

Be the REASON someone smiles today.

Dave K8WPE

On Oct 19, 2024, at 10:52?AM, WV0H <thelastdb@...> wrote:

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Hi Bob - Here are the links to my suggestions.
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72
Myron
 

I've been using the Anker all summer (120+ POTA activations). It works great and I've never had the battery go flat. Surprisingly good sound for its size.
 

Got a tiny grey speaker (boombox with stereo plug) from Temu, right after the QMX+ in this video.?
 

While the small Bluetooth TX/RX (typically selectable) devices, which Damon mentioned, that plug into the headphone jack of your radio do work… please be aware that they typically introduce too much latency between your keying and the CW side tone to be comfortable for most people.?

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However, if you do really fancy the idea of cutting the headphone cord, you can find versions of the TX device and earbuds that can get you about 40ms or less of latency — which I find workable for the CW speeds most people stick to. They must include Qualcomm’s aptX-LL low latency codec at this stage. There are other variants that increase audio quality and dynamic range, and do have a positive impact on latency reduction, but aren’t tuned specifically to minimize latency over Bluetooth like aptX-LL is. Both the TX/RX dongle and the headphones can be had for around $45 all-in. But you’ll be very limited on earbud options. I have the below earbuds and do like them, but they do have a wire that stretches between the two earbuds and lays comfortably on your neck — the buds themselves are very small and light and the battery last a very long time. While there’s no wire between your head and the transceiver or dongle, the little bit of extra wiring that connects the two buds together likely acts as a larger Bluetooth antenna while offloading some of the audio processing. ?

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Oops almost forgot to include the Earbuds product info:

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HomeSpot Neckband Wireless Earbuds aptX Low Latency Bluetooth 5.1 Headphones Qualcomm? CVC? for Gym, Running, Gaming & Meeting Compatible with iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, Google [[[Product name on Amazon]]]
 

On Sun, Oct 20, 2024 at 06:27 AM, Todd W2TEF wrote:
...using the Anker all summer (120+ POTA activations).
I have several Anker/Soundcore products (headphones, earbuds, speakers) and they are of uniformly high quality, with good features and value.??
73, Don N2VGU
 

What's that nice tiny paddle? Looks 3D printed... Is it affordable?

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