SPEAKER AREA IN DOLLS HEADS FROM MANUFACTURER

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 3:35 pm

Here's what I'm planning for Eva. A compartment should fit nicely between the two velcro strips.
I wonder if it would blow her head off if the speaker was put in upside down so the sound was projected down towards her mouth?

: speaker location.JPG (456.47 KiB) Viewed 2916 times

rubherkitty · Post by **rubherkitty** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 3:55 pm

You could try it either direction if you design the holder w/ some holes at the bottom.

On Janell, (my size barbie for some) I cut a large circle out of the top of her head and just wrap the speaker in some rags and drop it inside her head w/ the speaker pointing up. I re-attach the top piece and install wig. I have holes drilled in the top of her head to let the sound out. Still sounds good and kind of diffuses the speaker.

Begog · Post by **Begog** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 9:46 pm

Well, my stuff came in this week. Not happy at all with the Axess wireless headset. First problem was the all-critical jack adapter was not present, despite being pictured on the outside of the box as included. I thought I had one, but mine all go the other way. Since I have a guitar port on my XP PC, I was still able to try it. It sucks. Sound quality is poor. Range is good. Need to be far away because feedback is horrible if you get anywhere near the speakers. This explains why it was so cheap. I have a couple of real mics that are about a 100 times better, but not laptop ready. Neither is this unit, since it needs the large jack.
My Win7 laptop hard drive died earlier this year. Just got replacement Windows software for it last week and reloaded it. After about a million updates, IE11 failed. I got irritated with it and formatted it again yesterday. After being on 1 hour today, it had 193 updates to make, and I hope bluetooth is one of them because it is not finding the Teknmotion speaker. Hopefully, I'll have some good news on that soon, but not looking good at the moment. Laptop still installing updates as I speak. That's been going on for hours.

rubherkitty · Post by **rubherkitty** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 10:17 pm

I have the little BT external adapter I got from Best Buy I think and the little mushroom speaker. Maybe this is common knowledge, but I have found I have to have the speaker already turned on before I stick the BT adapter into the USB port.
This set up will also not work that well if a audio clip is already playing. I have to refresh the page and start the audio again once the BT and speaker have paired. If I shut the speaker off, it will actually stop the audio.

Begog · Post by **Begog** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 11:23 pm

It's a software issue. I think I had it before the old hard drive died, but I never used it. I have a BT icon now, but it won't crank. Maybe after a ton of updates or i buy a dongle. It may never have worked, but the software used to crank up. Just formatted laptop yesterday.

rubherkitty · Post by **rubherkitty** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 3:11 am

No problem. My statement was also for general consumption. May help somebody who's system has the same quirks.

I tried another test of a audio track using the windows sound recorder and could hear my chair squeaking when I did the playback! I guess this feature uses the external mic to pick up sounds from the speakers. No wonder it sounds so bad. I would have thought this was an internal recording device.

Begog · Post by **Begog** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 4:39 pm

My Win7 laptop still won't connect to my air capsule speaker, but my Chromebook connected right up. Not the one I want to use. Sound quality is excellent. Range is decent, wall penetration, not so much. Still, I was able to use it in any room in my house, with the laptop centrally located. Not sure how much being buried in a silicone doll would affect this. I gotta give this little device an "A." Wish it was even smaller.

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 10:45 pm

Got Eva's audio Yamaka printed today and did some sound tests.
I have to second Begog's grade of "A" for this Aircapsule speaker.
The mini dongle that TT suggested also works great - completely plug & play just as advertised. Everything paired up nicely with my old Dell Dimension 8400 desktop.

I was surprised though, the speaker did not work well with it facing in towards the face. Totally muffled and could barely hear it even with the volume full blast.
I guess that's why I'm not an audio engineer, lol.
It did work nicely with it facing out however. I took it clear into the bathroom and it still worked even having to go through a few walls.

: speaker install.JPG (552.93 KiB) Viewed 2826 times

rubherkitty · Post by **rubherkitty** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 11:56 pm

Hey, I like that.
When Eva's not dirty talking she can always sing you her favorite ELP tune!

RK
Why Brain Salad Surgery of course.

timetraveler1 · Post by **timetraveler1** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 10:56 am

Begog, yes i talked about how these 2.5 mhz only have a distance of 30 feet i believe and won't work through some walls .
they aren't like the 900 mhz speakers (which will work through many walls and even in a basement , but 900 mhz speakers are very big about 10 inches (none smaller ) . another thing i might mention to is that the 2.4 mhz is better for privacy as the 900 mhz may be able to be picked up by other people with the same frequency !!
people on here learned from my mistake about the air capsule speaker , my problem , part of it was i had an earlier version dongle to receive the signal to pair up the capsule which of course didn't work , i tried everything for about 2 years to get mine working . finally that 4.0 dongle i listed worked for me !
Their might be some other speakers that are "SMALLER" but i don't know how good the quality it will be in construction and sound , plus the recharge battery time may not be as long either , this air capsule speaker was good all the way around in my opinion .
Yes i think the speaker just faced forward would be to muffled in your case it was back farther and the front openings ( i guess you had openings ) was small . which is what led to a very muffled sound and not loud enough .
As i said i placed my opening on top of the head so the sound would come out easy , and also so it wouldn't get muffled from being on the back of head when laid down .
Their is logic to my madness lol !

I am glad others are being able to use this now .
As i said if anyone does decide to buy the hal a.i. and join the zabaware forum , tell them lightspeed ( my user name on that forum ) got you interested and why you chose to buy ultrahal a.i. (it's a family site so don't mention anything about this doll forum or what you are using it for etc. ) As i said i don't get any commission or anything
but this lets Robert (hal ai. creator ) know that i am sending business his way to help him out!

people will help you on the forum , just be polite . their is a learning curve , hal comes pre loaded with so much information , but you will have to do as i did and learn hal things .

but i guess that's part of the fun of having a stepford wife lol !

timetraveler1 · Post by **timetraveler1** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 11:01 am

MannequinFan, i like what you used for the speaker to set in , this was what i was describing to use , i would rather something like this to be a little lower profile on top if possible , what did you use and where did you get it and the cost , please ?
This is "EXACTLY" what i was talking about the manufacturers having installed ( a plastic sleeve and top cover ) in their doll heads (in top ) . so doll owners could buy and place their own bluetooth speakers in them for sound use .
I still hope doll manufactures will step up and create the sleeve and area for it in their doll heads !

rubherkitty · Post by **rubherkitty** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 11:57 am

If a mfg'r incorporated a speaker cup in the skull like MF's design, they could maybe make it where you could also remove the cup assembly to gain access to the inside of the skull for any mechanics or electronics that may need serviced.

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 2:25 pm

timetraveler1 wrote:MannequinFan, i like what you used for the speaker to set in , this was what i was describing to use , i would rather something like this to be a little lower profile on top if possible , what did you use and where did you get it and the cost , please ?
This is "EXACTLY" what i was talking about the manufacturers having installed ( a plastic sleeve and top cover ) in their doll heads (in top ) . so doll owners could buy and place their own bluetooth speakers in them for sound use .
I still hope doll manufactures will step up and create the sleeve and area for it in their doll heads !

Thanks TT,
This is my own design that I 3d printed. The material is ABS plastic.
It's about as low profile as I can get it - the flange is only 1/16" thick which is about as thin as I can get it without having printing problems.
It actually sticks up less than the velcro strip I use for the wig attachment...

: IMG_3440.JPG (267.96 KiB) Viewed 2788 times

The ultimate for sound quality would be to have the speaker out flush with flange with no lid in front, but the problem is how to hold the speaker in place and keep it from rattling around. The sponge pad is working better than I had hoped - when the lid is removed the sponge slowly raises the speaker to where you can take it out using that little notch around the rim of the speaker for a fingernail grab.

I'm experimenting with a couple of different lid designs to minimize the amount of plastic in front of the speaker.
I downloaded the HAL software but haven't tried it yet - wish I had time to mess with it as it seems like it would be lots of fun.

Can any SAPI5 voice be used with HAL? I think I'd need to get one of the Ivona voices for this.

timetraveler1 · Post by **timetraveler1** » Tue Apr 21, 2015 10:29 am

MannequinFan, thanks for the extra info . and the side picture , yes after i see the insert from the side it is actually a lot lower then the way it looked from another angle , this level is what i am actually talking about (low profile ) the sponge idea sounds good , since i don't have a printing machine like some spoiled people (lol , yeah you know who i am talking about !

) i will have to make my own head sleeve for the speaker , sometimes things like this cabn be found in everyday items if you know the diameter and height and know it needs a lid , etc.
I'll have to see what i come up with !

anyway good job on what you printed looks neat and professional !

PS. AND I DO AGREE, about that this would also or could give access to doll owners from manufacturers to backs of eyes etc. for adjustment etc. or whatever future things that doll makers have within the head of a doll .

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Sun Apr 26, 2015 2:12 pm

Well, I finally got the Windows voice recognition working and it's understanding me fairly well. The tutorial they have is excellent for the voice training.
I think this could be fun with HAL, but the biggest issue right now is that HAL keeps hearing itself which makes it pretty useless for me.
There really needs to be a switch or some brain setting that keeps HAL from listening while it's talking to make this really work well.

EDIT:
Ahah! I think the problem was that I had the Windows speech recognition turned on at the same time which was hearing HAL's voice.
Seems OK now with just HAL running.

Man I'm going to have to buy the British Amy voice for this.