nemat
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri May 20, 2016 4:02 am

An internal PC speaker as a buzzer

Mon Aug 22, 2016 5:15 pm

I've got a few internal PC buzzers/speakers lying around and intend to use one of them with RPI 3.
I'm absolute beginnner, so go easy on me. ;)
I've seen a few examples of using PC speakers as a buzzer on the net, though many use breadboard to connect it to a PI.
Some threads say no way for direct connection of PC speaker to a PI, it required to use some kind of transistor.

So my question is Is there a way to connect a passive buzzer/internal PC speaker (I think it is 5v) to a RPI3 and get some tones out of it? Even some low tones.

I've tried to connect one of my speakers directly to my RPI 3 and got no sound at all. Tried to follow the schemes found on the net. Some use 5v, some use 3.3v, some use BCM 17 and so on.

I can program python, c or other languages supported on RPI but absolute beginner for such a thing as for electrict circuits.

Thanks.
Nemat

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Burngate
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Re: An internal PC speaker as a buzzer

Tue Aug 23, 2016 9:40 am

Is it a buzzer or a speaker?

A buzzer just requires voltage - whilst there's power, it generates its own waveform to drive its diaphragm.
A speaker requires you to generate its alternating waveform, but that means it can generate a wider range of sounds.

If you've tried connecting 5v (or 3v3) directly to it without success, it's probably a speaker (and you may have broken it)
Try connecting it to a 3.5mm jack and plugging it into the AV socket, and playing music through it. Even if it's very quiet, hearing something will prove you're on the right track.

After that, you'll need to know its impedance, etc. in order to know what circuit you require to drive it.

nemat
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri May 20, 2016 4:02 am

Re: An internal PC speaker as a buzzer

Tue Aug 23, 2016 3:20 pm

Thank you for your replay.

I think it is just a buzzer. Moreoever, it is a passive buzzer. Found out how to distinguish a passive buzzer from an active one.
Also, find out, that one need to supply alternating voltage in order to make a sound out of passive buzzer.
And to do so, one can use RPI's PWM. But still no way for me. Will dig further and if someone can direct me in my journey, please do so.

As no progress with a buzzer, will try to use the led diode, connected through a resistor.

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