Bike Helmet-Mounted Speakers

Hi all. I'm a nyc bike messenger. I want to listen to music while I
work, on a cd or mp3 player, but I don't want to wear headphones that
block traffic noise. I'd like to attach a speaker to either side of my
helmet. Sound quality isn't terribly important, but volume is. I want
it to be loud enough to hear over manhattan traffic, you know?

What kind of speakers might work? Would the power of the cd player/mp3
player be enough to power them, or would I need extra batteries?
Basically, I'm looking for advice on how to make this work. Thanks a
ton for any help.

 

http://dkc3.digikey.com/PDF/T043/1215.pdf

Good Luck!
Rich

 

I should add that, although I know the bare basics, (i.e. red is
positive, black is negative) I don't know much else. I can't really
make heads or tales of ohms, watts, etc. Some minor hand-holding would
be infinitely appreciated.

 

This isn't the answer you asked for, but my recommendation
would be to use headphones. Just don't get the kind that make
a tight seal to the ear canal. Most modern headphones will be
OK. The problem with speakers is that the farther away you
get from the ear canal, the more bass is lost and the more
power it takes to get the same apparent level.

Just my $0.02 worth....



Bob Masta
dqatechATdaqartaDOTcom

D A Q A R T A
Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis
www.daqarta.com

 

A better choice would be those tiny ear hanger headphones they sell with
MP3 players. They hang over your ear, and sort of push inside. They work
well for running, anyway, and I don't think they would interfere with a
bike helmet.

--
Regards,
Robert Monsen

"Your Highness, I have no need of this hypothesis."
- Pierre Laplace (1749-1827), to Napoleon,
on why his works on celestial mechanics make no mention of God.

 

In your posting you mention that you want to hook a speaker up to
"either side" of your helmet. Why don't you simply use one earphone?
That will still let you hear traffic noise. Alternatively, I often hear
people's music blasting from their headphones on the subway. If I can
hear them 10 feet away, I would think you could take the same
headphones and attach them to your helmet away from your ears. Then a
simple turn on the volume and you'll have music and traffic noise!

 

did it twice for driver and passenger using simple speakers of the kind they
use in small transistor radios, say 250mW, 3" diameter
built them right into the helmet, behind the black inside fabric into the
shock-absorber material (white kind of insulation stuff)
used a 3 pin connector hanging at the front left side of the helmet (loose
connection, just incase of...)
never had any probs with it, and nice sound too for many many miles