Comments on: Leafcutter’s DIY Steel Can Hydrophone & Preamp. Step-by-step guide

By: musikgear » Blog Archive » construire un Steel Can Hydrophone & Preamp

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 21:45:56 +0000

[...] Leafcutter’s DIY Steel Can Hydrophone & Preamp. Step-by-step guide | leafcutterjohn.com. [...]

By: the music of sound » Detritus 28

the music of sound » Detritus 28 — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 08:56:47 +0000

[...] > Swim and/or listen with the fishes with Leafcutter Johns DIY Hydrophone & Preamp [...]

By: Leafcutter John

Leafcutter John — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 02:12:59 +0000

“you look like a real piece of work when your at the cash register” Hahahaha Great stuff! Might try this idea.

By: Whit Menzel

Whit Menzel — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 23:51:21 +0000

The best hydrophone i have ever made was also the simplest design i have come across, it requires a standard radio-shack electrolytic mic, some wire,a container of laxative(mineral oil) and a condom. No joke, you look like a real piece of work when your at the cash register but the results are amazing. first you hook up the mic as show on the box, plug it into your preferred amp to test it, next fill the condom with mineral oil and place your mic inside. tie it up and your ready to go. The mineral oil doesn’t conduct electricity so the electronics are safe, the oil also approximates the acoustic impedance of water this means that very little sound is reflected off the condom and you get a rich signal.

By: phlavor

phlavor — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 23:48:51 +0000

You can also fill the can with oil to compensate for buoyancy and maintain the effect of liquid sound transmission without shorting the electronics. I know of someone who found great success in using old 35mm film canisters filled with vegetable oil and quarter sticks of dynamite when seeking sound design sources for submarine explosions. Before the inclusion of the oil, he was having problems with blast compression. I’m sure that the rubber duck isn’t creating such issues though.

By: jaime

jaime — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 04:05:38 +0000

ei, you have a great idea, but you use a hot glue, my experience with hot glue and elements in wifi antennas is that hot glue don’t do it. try to use epoxi for wire hole and silicone for the mike inside. sorry for my english!

By: Leafcutter John

Leafcutter John — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:25:40 +0000

The tin can is surprisingly easy to work with and the corrugations and folded end seams make it quite strong. I like the idea of using Kiwi Shoe Polish cans, you might have to make a smaller circuit to fit in there though – you could use surface mount devices maybe.

By: jc

jc — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:13:05 +0000

That’s really cool! I was wondering if a round Altoids Mint can might be easier to work with. Just screw it shut and blast some sealer around the edge. Or maybe one of those Kiwi Shoe Polish cans might work well, too.

By: Leafcutter John

Leafcutter John — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:25:31 +0000

Yeah the rubber duck sounds a bit bonkers.

I reckon silicone sealant would work ok, but to be honest the hot glue worked really well. It is fairly cheap, is easy to handle, dries very quickly. The unit here has been submerged for hours and absolutely no problems so far. It’s worth noting that if the case is properly soldered the only place water can leak is through the cable entry so this area needs special attention.

I like the idea of singing underwater, will give it a try but i fear you’d have to let the water touch your vocal chords to get much to happen. Actually on second thoughts it sounds horrible, you try it and let me know if you survive.

Alex who designed the preamp has done lots of experimentation with different piezo configurations and suggested the dual arrangement to boost sensitivity, furthermore he suggests that you can add even numbers of piezos to form a long array which exhibit a figure eight polar pattern.

By: Johnny

Johnny — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 01:44:14 +0000

I almost wonder how well caulking would work for waterproofing (the kind of stuff you seal windows with). How has hot glue worked out for you?

Also, I notice you are hooking up two piezos in series, any reason for this? I thought it might be neat to put one piezo on each side of the can, and make a stereo hydrophone.