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I live in a city where's it's pretty common for people to blast music at what used to be absurd levels because of very large, yet portable, battery powered spea

I live in a city where's it's pretty common for people to blast music at what used to be absurd levels because of very large, yet portable, battery powered speakers. You used to need a decent budget for D batteries if you were going to do this with an 80's boom box, but now you can run a full-sized PA speaker for hours on the built-in Li-ion batteries, so it's way more common.

bravoetch 2y ago
Imagine how loud it will be with a Dyson Sphere connected to the Disaster Area portable speaker.
immibis 2y ago
I met someone who claimed to have invented the digital amplifier chips these speakers use, using some new technology I don't remember but it sounded innovative at the time - possibly a new semiconductor material. He said he's very sorry.
- jareklupinski 2y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class-D_amplifier#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class-D_amplifier#History > Practical class-D amplifiers were enabled by the development of silicon-based MOSFET (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor) technology. > The first class-D amplifier based integrated circuit was released by Tripath in 1996, and it saw widespread use. say thanks :) i started going down the analog electronics route with audio amplifier projects
  - immibis 2y ago
    Class D is old hat. He claimed to have made them many times smaller or cheaper for the same power output, possibly by changing the material - don't remember exactly.
- spankalee 2y ago
  Oh yeah, that's a big contribution too. These speakers can get so loud. There's a lake here and you can hear them loud and clear across the whole lake, at least a half mile away.
cma 2y ago
Rechargeable NiMH D-cell batteries have been around for decades for not too much, probably not more than the boom box for several sets 25+ years ago.
marcus_holmes 2y ago
One of the Startup Weekend ideas I keep playing with is a Bluetooth jammer that can selectively stop these public nuisances. I know it's illegal, but so was Uber when it started. And yes, being able to block people's headphones and other stuff would be bad, but I'm moving towards that being acceptable collateral damage. Fed up of rude idiots playing really bad music at massive volume (and why is it that only people with appalling musical taste enjoy blasting it?).

bravoetch 2y ago

Imagine how loud it will be with a Dyson Sphere connected to the Disaster Area portable speaker.

immibis 2y ago

I met someone who claimed to have invented the digital amplifier chips these speakers use, using some new technology I don't remember but it sounded innovative at the time - possibly a new semiconductor material. He said he's very sorry.

jareklupinski 2y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class-D_amplifier#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class-D_amplifier#History > Practical class-D amplifiers were enabled by the development of silicon-based MOSFET (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor) technology. > The first class-D amplifier based integrated circuit was released by Tripath in 1996, and it saw widespread use. say thanks :) i started going down the analog electronics route with audio amplifier projects
- immibis 2y ago
  Class D is old hat. He claimed to have made them many times smaller or cheaper for the same power output, possibly by changing the material - don't remember exactly.
spankalee 2y ago
Oh yeah, that's a big contribution too. These speakers can get so loud. There's a lake here and you can hear them loud and clear across the whole lake, at least a half mile away.

cma 2y ago

Rechargeable NiMH D-cell batteries have been around for decades for not too much, probably not more than the boom box for several sets 25+ years ago.

marcus_holmes 2y ago

One of the Startup Weekend ideas I keep playing with is a Bluetooth jammer that can selectively stop these public nuisances. I know it's illegal, but so was Uber when it started. And yes, being able to block people's headphones and other stuff would be bad, but I'm moving towards that being acceptable collateral damage. Fed up of rude idiots playing really bad music at massive volume (and why is it that only people with appalling musical taste enjoy blasting it?).