Wireless speaker built into a piano...

[Anonymous067]

I am looking for a solution to getting a speaker wireless inside of a (moving) piano prop...

I have wireless systems to use to send the line level to the rig, but I'm not sure how to get power there without having a cable hanging out the back of the thing. Any suggestions?

I'm thinking along the lines of battery power...perhaps not even a special battery powered speaker, but rather a garage-built set up...DC Battery to AC converter? ANY ideas???

 

[Van]

one thing to keep in mind when using a battery/inverter set up to power speakers is the 60 cycle hum factor. You must have a high quality battery and an inverterwith more than enough capacity < available amperage> to do the job. A deep-cycle marine battery would do nicely if you could find room for it. I think you're on the right track, however, going for the wireless solution.

 

[Stookeybrd]

What I use for practicals like that is a car amp that runs on 12v. Depending on how much space you have inside the piano, either get a car battery, motorcycle battery, or wire together a 9v and two AA.

You don't need to have the amp be too loud because the effect should be feathered into the main PA, too. The amp will get the effect loud enough so that the audience can localize it to the piano, but then the fidelity and power can come from the speakers that are aimed at the audience. Having the effect in the PA also helps in event of a failure.

 

[Anonymous067]

I was most certainly thinking of feathering in the mains (I like that phrasing! haha), both for reinforcement purposes and for backup purposes...

Any specific ways to go from DC power (links would be nice) to 120? Any good battery powered speakers or anything of the sort?

 

[cpf]

Using a car stereo or 12V amplifier would be the quickest and most direct solution, however if all you have is line-voltage AC powered speakers, you'll need an inverter (as a number of people have mentioned).

As for specific recommendations, Xantrex manufactures inverters for the solar-panel crowd, and they're often the people building the consumer-level car inverters you see in electronics stores (check the labels). About the biggest thing to look for (and it'll be harder with consumer hardware) after adequate power rating is a pure sine wave-sometimes manufacturers cheat and just generate square wave AC, which some power supplies don't play well with. I've done what you're looking at doing before, and a basic inverter, array of sealed gel batteries, and a set of computer speakers worked perfectly.

Getting your hands on an inverter will vary depending on your area (Amazon has quite a selection), and you can check out the local electronics store to see what selection they have and see if it matches your needs.

 

[headcrab]

Running an AC powered amp with an inverter sounds rather like plugging the same amp into a dimmer. Most low power inexpensive inverters don't produce clean power, and it's more junk to move around. It seems that from the right place you can get a car amp for less than an inverter (of similar power requirements).

 

[Dover]

I would just use a battery powered boom box with an aux input. Fill it full of D cells and you are good to go.

Dover

 

[Anonymous067]

I'm still searching for some type of speaker, battery powered, that is smaller. Anybody have any suggestions? Links to specific products?

 

[wah0808]

I'm still searching for some type of speaker, battery powered, that is smaller. Anybody have any suggestions? Links to specific products?

Fender Amp Can... Fender Amp Can Portable Amplifier w/power supply