Beats by Jeremy and Jacob [DIY Headphones]

The reason why we have made this instructable is because we were assigned to make working headphones by our physics class. Our final headphones came out with clear music and sound that we could hear and may not be the best in style, but they really are good. They work off of neodymium magnets and 28 gauge wires. the plastic cups can be changed with other containers and the head connector should be plastic or solid, not a cotton or sewn headband.

Step 1: Materials

The list of materials that you'll need to make your headphones is above in the photo along with a few that I didn't have a chance to take a picture of. Those products include: a cup or your cone, a few rubber bands will hold a tissue (your diaphragm) together to the speakers, the aux cable that connects to your phone, your headband or the piece that goes over your head. You will also need something for the headphones to get a sound out of if that isn't obvious.

Step 2: Wrapping the Wire

The fist and most important step is to wrap your wire around a post it that is around a glue stick. You're then going to use electrical tape to make sure that the wire doesn't move around and isn't untangled. This is just a side note; me and my partner wrapped the wire around the glue stick 50 times.

Step 3: Sanding

After wrapping the wire, carefully sand each end completely. Use sandpaper for this process becuase throwing sand at it wont work. These ends need to be seperated from the coil and have some distance because this is going to connect to your phone and to the other speaker.

Step 4: Taping Down

After that you'll need to take the sticky note off of the coil and put it on the cup. Place the magnet in the center and then tape the coil down the cup so it wont fly off.

Step 5: Creating a Copy

After you follow the fist steps and have your first headphone, you're going back to create a copy of it. Create a copy of what you have just built so you'll have two.

Step 6: Connecting

After they have both been built, connect the two of the sanded part longest or the shortest(whatever you want)wires to each other and twist. Make sure that the wires don't go up. Then connect the other two wires to the terminal in the aux cable. One wire for each hole. Make sure to twist well and carefully here as well.

Step 7: Your Finished Headphones

If you did every thing correctly and it works, Congrats! If not oh well, just kidding the next page will tell you where you could have went wrong. But if you finished they may look better than mine. If not well then at least they work. You can always go back and add more wire and/or getting a larger or stronger magnet to make a better sound and try improving its quality. Have fun listening with your handmade headphones!

Step 8: If the Headpones Don't Work

Okay so you're only on this page for 1 reason, the headphones didn't work. Well I've listed all the reasons I couls that they couldn't work.

-the wires need to be in a different position

-the wires aren't connecting the two speakers correctly

-the coils are loose and possibly unraveled

-if you didn't use the correct materials go over the previous list of materials I gave you

Step 9: Conclusion...How It Works

Summaries: 3 Main components, why voice coils vibrate, how vibrations turn into what we hear, and how variables affect quality or loudness of sound.

The 3 main components in any speaker are the magnet, the voice coil, and the diaphragm. These components work together to translate the electrical signal into sound that you can hear. The permanent magnet is fixed and the voice coil acts like a magnet that is mobile. The diaphragm vibrates and amplifies the vibration pushing the sound towards your ear. Voice coils vibrate in order to translate electrical signals into physical vibrations that make sound waves that your ear can hear. The voice coil is an electromagnet, a coil of wire. As pulses of electricity pass through the coil the direction of its magnetic field changes rapidly. Speakers push and pull air molecules, creating sound waves, the waves are received by your ear drum which your brain interprets as sound. Includes explanation of results from prototyping (how variables affect quality or loudness of sound)

Step 10: Where to Buy the Materials

I have a list of locations that will have the materials you'll need to create your headphones

Electrical Tape- Dollar tree, Home Depot, Fry's electronics, Target the internet, and other stores

Wire- Home Depot, Fry's electronics, Walmart, the internet, and others

Plastic cup- almost anywhere

Headband- Dollar tree, 99 cents store, Walmart, Target, and many many more

Rubber bands- Home Depot, Target, many more places

Sand paper- Home Depot