Need a beeping device

[Richard]

Hi,
I am looking for a component to control from a microcontroller to make
a beeping noise, nothing to loud but to sound electronic and not like a
buzzer. I just need an audible alert that is not to irritating. Any ideas
would be great, I don't have a DAC on the microcontroller, and the
simpler the better.

Thanks

 

[Shaun]

Hi,
I am looking for a component to control from a microcontroller to make
a beeping noise, nothing to loud but to sound electronic and not like a
buzzer. I just need an audible alert that is not to irritating. Any ideas
would be great, I don't have a DAC on the microcontroller, and the
simpler the better.

Thanks

Go to a Radio Shack store if there are any in your area, they have beepers.

Shaun

 

[Michael Black]

Define 'simple'. If your microcontroller has spare PWM or frequency
outputs,
a capacitor and a speaker (or even an earbud from a broken headset)
will do the job. Is size important (wristwatch-style piezoelectric
transducers are small), or parts count (there are sonic-output
functional modules), or mounting in a panel (things like Mallory
Sonalert come with mount hardware kits)?

Or the traditional way, a unijunction transistor feeding a speaker,
which beats a 2transistor multivibrator feeding a speaker since it uses
one active component (albeit one likely harder to find).

555s basically took over that field when they came along.

Michael