#PIEZO SPEAKERS HOW TO#
#PIEZO SPEAKERS INSTALL#
#PIEZO SPEAKERS SOFTWARE#
#PIEZO SPEAKERS DOWNLOAD#

This file demonstrates the use of the function softToneWrite which oscillates the selected pin at a given frequency. In the examples directory of the wiringPi repository is a file named softTone.c.

#PIEZO SPEAKERS INSTALL#

Compile and install the wiringPi project.

#PIEZO SPEAKERS DOWNLOAD#

Download the wiringPi project using Git.

Make sure you have git installed on your Pi with the following command.

In this example, you will install the wiringPi and we will modify a C example program to produce sound. There are python and other wrappers for wiringPi as well.

The wiringPi project provides fine control over the GPIO pins from the command line and C.

#PIEZO SPEAKERS SOFTWARE#

Now that the electronics are hooked up the software to run the GPIO ports is needed. Once your Raspberry Pi is booted up and configured move on to the next step. Follow your choice of purchase and installation. There are several guides to purchasing and installing an OS on your Raspberry Pi. It should look something like the image below. Third pin down on the right should do.Īfter these steps you should have an assembled piezo element on a membrane that will amplify the buzzing of the element attached to your Pi.

Connect the black jumper to a ground pin on your Pi.

Connect the red jumper to your Pi pin GPIO 22 or the 8th pin down on the left when the SD Card is on the top.

The plastic membrane will help make the sound louder and more consistent.

Put a drop of super glue in the center of the plastic membrane and push the element copper side down into the glue, holding it until it has set.

Cut a large circle from the plastic to make a vibrating membrane for the element.

Repeat the steps above for the black lead, black hookup wire, and black jumper wire.

Insert the other end of the red hookup wire into one end of the red jumper wire.

Optionally, you could cover this joint with heat shrink wire

Solder the piezo element red lead to the red hookup wire.

Secure the red hookup wire in the other clamp of the Third Hand so it is overlapping the lead from the piezo element.

Strip both ends of the wire using your wire stripper.

Secure the red lead from the piezo element in your Third Hand clip and tin the exposed wire by heating the wire and coating it with solder.

The instructions below use a bit of hookup wire to avoid snipping apart jumper wires. If you are willing to commit jumper wires to the project, cut and strip one end off of the wire and solder like below. To hook up the piezo element you will need to solder the stranded wires to something that can connect to the Pi pins. A piece of plastic packaging worked in my example

Thin plastic for a vibrating membrane.

Raspberry Pi - Model A or B with power supply and SD card.

Using this method and applying an oscillating signal will cause the element to vibrate at that same frequency as the signal. Piezo electric components also work in reverse, if a current is applied to the element it will bend or flex. Some uses of a piezo element include detecting vibrations such as knocks or sounds. Piezo electric elements work on the principle that some materials such as crystals will produce electricity when put under stress, bent, or vibrated.

#PIEZO SPEAKERS HOW TO#

This tutorial will show you how to connect an inexpensive piezo electric element to your Pi to produce simple tones. However for simple sounds, the Pi can generate frequencies on its GPIO pins that drive a piezo element to produce sounds. Projects that require a small, energy efficient footprint don't have room for big amplified speakers. However, neither solution is very light or portable. Adding sound to a Raspberry Pi project is a simple matter of hooking up an HDMI monitor with built in speakers or attaching amplified speakers to the audio port.

Piezo speakers