Problem with buzzers

May 10, 2006 10 Replies

I am trying to help my son with a basic electronic problem. He has a school project to complete where he has to construct an electronic circuit where a buzzer will "BUZZ" when an electronic current is added to the circuit. So I purchased a "Piezo transducer - HPE-127 and connected each end to each terminal of a 1.5v, 3v, 6v and a 9v battery. No "BUZZ", just a little static click and thats it. I stopped short of trying it in a mains outlet as I think my life insurance premiums may not be up to date.



Any polite suggestions would be most appreciated, bear in mind I know nothing about electronics other than if you stick your tongue on a nine volt battery it tickles. Thanks in advance.



Sue H


A piezo *transducer* isn't a buzzer ! You can indeed get 'buzzers' but they're not the same thing. Or is your son meant to provide the circuitry to make a transducer buzz ?

Graham

No, just to get a buzzer to buzz. Anyway to get a transducer buzzer to buzz?

Regards,

Sue H

"Sue Hanson"

** Hi Sue,

are you maybe related to the famous Pauline ?

The "please explain " you require is very simple.

There are two distinct devices :

  1. A piezo transducer.

  1. A piezo beeper / buzzer.

The former has no electronics, so can only make a click when a DC voltage is first applied.

The latter incorporates an electronic circuit to make the piezo part sing.

Both are usually very low cost items.

See:

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........ Phil

A transducer isn't a buzzer as such. Do you have the wording of the project ?

Here's some buzzers ayway. Not sure where you'd get them in Oz.

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Graham

Possibly insufficient current from the battery due to battery internal resistance; it can supply only so much current at once. For example, an aftermarket piezo automobile horn may draw too much current for the horn circuit, so the original horn circuit can instead be used to close an appropriate relay that connects the horn directly to the automobile battery for high current. HTH

"Sue Hanson" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@quokka.wn.com.au:

Please disregard the above nonsense Sue !

Graham

Ahh, thank you Phil. You have explained it so eloquently. I shall be paying Mr Smith a visit in the morning. As for Ms Hanson, our blood lines couldn't be any further apart than they are to the Allison clan. And I think thats a good thing.

Thanks to everyone who put in their two bobs worth.

Regards,

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You need a piezo buzzer, not a piezo transducer. The buzzer buzzes when provided with DC. The transducer only vibrates once for each "on" and "off" -- it assumes the voltage ot it will be cutting on and off at the desired frequency, thousands of times per second.

Pooh Bear wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com:

~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for catching my bad, OT. How do you like my new X-Face header?

Jaycar has a selection of piezo and non-piezo based sounders.

catalogue numbers AB-3452 - thses are probably the ones you want

AB-3459 - these are piezo based sounders and tend to squeal more than buzz AB-3463 - AB-3458 - If you visit the shop with a 9V battery in your pocket you'll be able to try before you buy.

Bye. Jasen

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