The car’s simple horn is fine, but it lacks finesse for finer communication. For example, some car horns are not very good at short indicator signals and can only sound loud, regardless of the situation. For a more fashionable solution, [Tom Hammond] raised a custom car horn capable of reproducing a wide variety of sounds.
The system uses an Adafruit Audio FX board. This is a unique part that is designed to enable people to build sound-based projects without the need for a microcontroller or other similar hardware. Instead, the device can be connected to a computer via USB in mass storage mode, and its 16 MB of internal memory can be loaded with audio files. It then plays them when the buttons are pressed connected to its 11 trigger inputs.
The FX audio board has an output to a 120W amplifier, which is then fed into a pair of 15W PA-style horns. These are incredibly powerful devices, even though they lack bass, so they’re really only good for emitting low-quality sound in noisy environments. This is perfect for a car horn.
The result is this [Tom] can press a few buttons on its dashboard to play a variety of sounds, from the friendly sound to animal noises and disgusting sound effects. The great thing is that the sounds in question can be easily customized according to the user’s taste. [Tom] also deserves the tip of the hat to explain in great detail how to actually install the project in the middle car.
We don’t often see car horns around these parts, although they create an awfully loud alarm clock. If you have your own exquisite car accessories that you make, don’t forget to send us a line!
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