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Electronic Canary Circuits

Electronic Canary
Feeling chirpy? Attract new friends with this modified hartley oscillator. You could also use it as
a replacement doorbell.

Notes:
This circuit is a modified hartley oscillator with a couple of extra components included. The
transformer is a small audio transformer, type LT700. The primary is center tapped with an
impedance of 1Kohms at 1KHz . The secondary has an impedance of 8 ohms. The inclusion of
R1 and C1 give this oscillator its characteristic "chirp". As the 100u capacitor charges via the
4.7K resistor, R1 the bias for the transistor is cut off. This causes the oscillation to stop, the
capacitor discharges through the base emitter circuit of the transistor and oscillations start
again. Altering these components alters the frequency of the chirp. The chirp is also voltage
dependent. When the push button switch is operated the 100u capacitor is charged. When its
released, the oscillation decays and the chirp becomes faster.

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Electronic Siren

Electronic Siren

Notes:
The sound produced imitates the rise and fall of an American police siren. When first switched on
the 10u capacitors is discharged and both transistors are off. When the push button switch is
pressed to 10u capacitor will charge via the 22k resistor. This voltage is applied to the base of the
BC108B which will turn on slowly. When the switch is released the capacitor will discharge via the
100k and 47k base resistors and the transistor will slowly turn off. The change in voltage alters the
frequency of the siren. The oscillator action is more difficult to work out. As the BC108B transistor
switches on its collector voltage falls and so the 2N3702 transistor is switched on. This happens
very quickly ( less than 1us). The 22n capacitor will charge very quickly as well. As this capacitor
is connected between the collector of the 2N3702 and the base of the BC108B, it soon reaches
almost full supply voltage. The charging current for the capacitor is then much reduced and the
collector emitter voltage of the 2N3072 is therefore increased; the collector potential will fall. This
change in voltage is passed through the 22n capacitor to the base of the BC108B causing it to come
out of saturation slightly. As this happens its collector voltage will rise and turn off the 2N3072
transistor more. This continues until both transistors are off. The 22n capacitor will then discharge
via the 100k, 22k resistor, the closed push button switch, 9V battery, the speaker and 56 ohm
resistor. The discharge time takes around 5-6msec. As soon as the 22n capacitor is discharged, the
file:///D|/Electronics/Music%20Circuits/Electronic%20Siren.htm[28-04-10 3:56:19 AM]

Electronic Siren

BC108B transistor will switch on again and the cycle repeats. The difference in voltage at the
collector of the BC108B (caused by the charging 10u capacitor) causes the tone of the siren to
change. As the 10u capacitor is charged, the tone of the siren will rise, and as it is discharged, it
will fall. A 64 ohm loudspeaker may be used in place of the 8 ohm and 56 resistor, and the values
of components may be altered to produce different sound effects.

file:///D|/Electronics/Music%20Circuits/Electronic%20Siren.htm[28-04-10 3:56:19 AM]

Metronome Circuit

Metronome Circuit

Notes:
This circuit uses a couple of Op-amps to produce an interesting sound effect. The left hand CA741 is
wired as a standard astable and produces the timing pulses, controlled by C1, R2 and VR1. The
output is fed via C2 to the second op-amp and is also direct coupled via the zener ZD1 to Q1. The
right hand CA741 is configured as an integrator, its purpose being to distort the output pulse from the
first op-amp. This produces a ringing effect on the output pulse and gives the circuit a characteristic
"tick" sound. The output pulse at the first op-amp will cause the zener and Q1 to conduct on every
positive transition. The 1k resistor R8 then acts as a low impedance shunt at the input of the integrator
and produces a characteristic "tock" effect. R8,R7,R9,C3 and C4 may all be adjusted to tailor the sound
effect.

file:///D|/Electronics/Music%20Circuits/Metronome%20Circuit.htm[28-04-10 3:56:19 AM]

Title

Sound Effects Generator 2

Notes:
All sound effects are generated internally by the HT2884 IC. Power is a 3 Volt battery, but the IC
will work with any voltage between 2.5 and 5 Volts. Switch S1 is the on / off switch. The output at
pin 10 is amplified and drives a small 8 ohm loudspeaker. Pressing S3 once will generate all the
sounds, one after another. S2 can be used to produce a single sound effect, next depression gives
the next sound effect. There are 2 lazer guns, 1 dual tone horn sound, 2 bomb sounds, 2 machine
gun sounds and a rifle shot sound. Standby current is about 1 uA at 3 Volt, so battery life is very
economical. The IC may be obtained from Maplin Electronics order code AZ52G.

file:///D|/Electronics/Music%20Circuits/Sound%20Effect%20Generator%202.htm[28-04-10 3:56:19 AM]

Title

Sound Effects Generator

Notes:
Nothing too complicated here. The IC produces all the sound effects, the output at Pin 3 being
amplified by the transistor. A 64 ohm loudspeaker can be substituted in place of the 56 ohm
resistor and 8 ohm loudspeaker. The 2 pole 4 way switch controls the sound effects. Position 1
(as drawn) being a Police siren, position 2 is a fire engine sound, 3 is an ambulance and
position 4 is a machine gun effect. The IC is manufactured by UMC and was available from
Maplin electronics code UJ45Y. At the time of writing this has now been discontinued, but they
have have limited stocks available.

file:///D|/Electronics/Music%20Circuits/Sound%20Effect%20Generator.htm[28-04-10 3:56:19 AM]

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