Need audio experts for a custom project!

So I am in the middle of building a snow goose caller. It plays snow goose sounds through speakers to imitate and attract snow geese. I need help with what amp/speaker combination can get me the results I am looking for. I don't know much if anything about audio equipment so I was hoping some people here that have alot of experience with 12 volt audio equipment.

During the snow goose spring migration back north, the government issues a "conservation order" where electronic callers can be used. The goal is to allow hunters to harvest more geese as there overpopulation is harming there own habitat.

Snow geese are loud, very loud. A single goose hundreds of yards high can sound like it's right on top of you. A flock of hundreds can be deafening.


So here is what I am shooting for:

Volume: loud, as loud as I can get it

Sound quality: Just needs to be clear with no distortion. These are just goose sounds so nothing crazy.

Battery: will run off a 12v lithium ion battery.

Amp: Needs to be suitable for outdoor use/marine grade.

Speakers: also suitable for outdoor use. 2 speakers will run off one amp. Speaker distance from the amp needs to be as long as possible but don't want to loose volume sound quality. 10/15ft maybe?


Here is the equipment I have right now:

Battery: 12v 10ah Dakota Lithium Battery

Amp: Rockville RXM T2
Specs: https://www.rockvilleaudio.com/rxm-t2/
I have no idea if this is what I need.

Speakers: I ran the amp above on cheap outdoor Pyle speakers. 300w, 4ohm impedence. It wasn't loud at all, even all the way up in a small room it was disappointing.

The sounds right now are playing from an mp3 hooked to the amp using RCA type audio cable.

As I said before I am hoping someone in here with a bunch of experience in sound systems could help me out. Maybe a long shot but its worth a try.

 

Are you building this as a portable piece? Like you can place it on the truck bed and remove later as a single box?

What enclosure are you using for the speakers?
There are couple videos on YouTube that you can build a “boombox” using 12v car audio equipment. That’s where i would start.

of course you’d need amp kit. I would imagine 8awg would be good enough for your setup. You’re probably powering 2 speakers correct?
So i would gather.

Cd/mp3 radio
Amp kit
Speakers

build an enclosure to house all of that. Hook up radio to amp and gain match it so no distortion. Hook up speakers.

you should be good to go.
As far as speakers. Nothing against pyle but i would settle with pioneer or kenwood.
Even a pioneer or kenwood radio from walmart would work. They are cheap.

 

The idea was to have everything but the speakers in something like a pelican case. 2 speakers would run out of equipment in one case.

I guess I never thought about buying actual speakers themselves and then putting them in an enclosure. Everything I have looked at was just like an outdoor stereo speaker or like boat/utv speakers. Size wise the whole speaker would not exceed say like 12" x 12" footprint or so. I don't know anything about speakers....

What exactly is the radio for? Just to use as an mp3. My long term goal is to use a mp3 board and program my own rf remote and everything. The sounds would just be loaded onto the board and switched with a simple click of a button from the remote. I don't need to see what sound is actually playing.


After looking at a video like you mentioned I see what your saying. Just build a box with the speakers and all the equipment inside. I would like to spread the speakers out.

 

I would use something like this and call it a day... 105db is loud!

https://fugoospeakers.com/products/fugoo-element-pack-of-2

 

I will add I have one of these already made using a Boss marine amp I found on Amazon. It runs 4 6" Pyle cone speakers on a 12v lead acid battery. But it is not loud enough. I want something louder and also wanted to redo the packaging of the whole setup.

I really just need to know what amp speaker combo do you think will work to get the result I want for cheap. Volume is a top priority, sound quality is not.

 

I just don't see how this can produce enough volume. I mean some commercial snow goose callers even run 24v systems.... Nor would the battery probably last long enough. Also don't want to use Bluetooth. I need something that's gonna be really hurting your ears if you turned it on inside...lol

 

You need a horn style speaker for outdoor like that.

What about a PA system similar to what are on cop cars.

 

They usually are made using horn style speakers. Though I thought maybe I would want to try to use a traditional style speaker to get just a little bit better sound quality, though I said not a top priority. I would just need to know how to match speakers and amps to get what I want. My current system with the Pyle horn speakers sounds pretty bad when the volume is cranked up.

 

https://snowsdownlow.com/shop/electronic-calls/snomad-series/snomad/

Essentially here is what I am trying to replicate. But just with my own design/features. I have no idea what amp they use. They say the speakers are only 30 watt. I hooked this Rockville amp to 300 watt speakers and it wasn't that loud. That's what I don't understand. Those where not horn style speakers though. Maybe there system isn't all that loud, idk never heard it in person....

 

This setup utilizes a 300 watt amp.
https://www.performancecalls.com/product/snomachine-electronic-snow-goose-call/
Seems like a project I would just buy a prebuilt setup.
What exactly are you wanting the premise kits do not give?

 

Use the amp you have, connect 2 of these guys and turn it up until it distorts, then scale it back.

https://www.grainger.com/product/SPECO-TECHNOLOGIES-PA-Weatherproof-Speaker-Horn-38L979

Those systems use PA horns just because they're super fucking loud, cheap, and sound quality is fine without much bass.

You'll never get the volume you want out of cone speakers without spending some decent loot because they're just not built for that and it'll still be massive compared to horns

 

Ok after doing some more research I see these horn speakers are the way to go and was just looking at that exact model. With those specs what would be a good marine grade amp to use? Going to go with 2 channel, so really it only need to make a little more then 40 watts per channel @ 8ohms? Things I was reading say that it's good to at least double your wattage for your amp to have ample headroom. So I just need an amp that makes 80 watts per channel at 8ohms or 160 watt at 4ohms?

The amp I have now can make 400 watt per channel at 4 ohms so 200 watts at 8 ohms. Which is way more then I need right? Maybe I could go with something smaller/ cheaper.

 

I know some of those use super cheap ebay/Amazon amps. Was wanting something with a little more quality. Plus not use an mp3 player and build a high quality rf remote to control it and multiple other units.

 

You definitely can go smaller, something like this would be fine.
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_777M1002/Sound-Ordnance-M100-2.html?tp=35757

 

Curious are these USA made? Man that is the same price is the Rockville one I have. I'm sure it's quality is way better though...

Was kinda wanting to go marine route, but it should be well protected in a case. They look even more expensive.

After looking around though this looks like a solid option.

 

I think everyone is on the right track here.. Regarding the "300w speakers", remember that speakers have no wattage, it's simply a range of power input they can theoretically handle. Horns tend to be very efficient, so you'll translate more of the power into sound with a more efficient speaker. Speaker choice can depend on the frequency range you're trying to reproduce as well; horns may or may not be a good choice, unfortunately. You can crank a tweeter with 1000 watts of bass and it's gonna sound like almost nothing but also probably burn out.

A class D amp is super efficient as well, hence their small size for their output. But power is power - a 100w D amp is a 100 watt A amp is a 100w any amp, essentially. The benefit with a D is it'll be smaller and shouldn't use as much energy to recreate the sounds you're after... But that doesn't mean you can skimp on size, either. RMS wattage will be more important, as that's what it's capable of putting out for sustained periods. Peak wattage is fine and dandy, but it's not sustainable, so if you're continuously cranking it, you'll blow something as the amp nears it's limits - whether that's a speaker, the amp or a fuse, who knows. Think of it in terms that the amp controls the speaker - you're better off with a stronger amp and "less powerful" speakers than vice versa.

 

This is the way to go for sure
You need horns to get the kind of output you need from a portable system period and this is not a car stereo thing at all.

You need to look at commercial pa horn and drivers and they need to have the bandwidth to reproduce the call and I have no clue what that really but I build commercial systems and am happy to help if I can.

The first thing I would do is get a Spectrum Analyzer app for your phone and play the call and look at the frequency response on the Analyzer to determine exactly the frequency range needed to reproduce that spectrum in a convincing way.
You should be able to record the Analyzer output so that you can tell the horn frequency needs.

Next find a horn or norns that seem like they will work within that range and get hold of something to try it out.
Many Pro Sound Reps will let you try devices for special projects like this so that you can try to design something that will work and be able to utilize the stuff that they sell.

Where are you located?

 

You can also find a horn loaded megaphone and just see if that will work right as it comes.

Why reinvent the wheel if not needed?!

https://www.google.com/search?q=meg...24DKAQ_AUoAXoECAIQAw&biw=1257&bih=695&dpr=1.5

These are designed to do exactly what you are trying to do as long as the call you use is within the frequency range of the one that you find.

Obviously you will need one with an input for a source with the call on it or you will need to mod one to do so.
There are already batteries and ampos inside and these are designed to cover a large area from a portable self powered device.