Introduction
Having a way to talk to your friends privately can be really fun. Walkie talkies are a great way to do this, but sometimes you don't want other people listening in on your conversations. Luckily, with a few simple materials, you can build your own secret walkie talkie to talk to your friends!
Gather the Necessary Materials
To build a secret walkie talkie, you will need:
- Two old headphones or earbuds
- Wire strippers
- Soldering iron and solder
- Two small push buttons
- 9v batteries and battery holders (one for each walkie talkie)
- Small project boxes or Altoids tins to hold the walkie talkies
Having these basic electronic components and tools will allow you to assemble your own homemade walkie talkies. The key is using the headphone wires and soldering to create the radio transmission between the two units.
Take Apart the Headphones
The first step is to take apart two pairs of headphones or earbuds. Carefully cut off the actual earbud speakers - you won't need these parts.
What you want is the wiring that runs up to each earbud. Strip off some of the plastic coating on the ends of the wires using your wire strippers.
This will expose the copper wiring inside that you can use to transmit your radio signal.
Solder the Wires and Components
Next, take one of the headphone wires and solder it to one terminal on the push button. Solder the other headphone wire to the second terminal on the push button.
The push button acts as your transmit button - when pressed, it will complete the circuit and transmit your voice.
Solder longer wires to the other end of each headphone wire and connect them to the positive and negative terminals on the 9v battery holder.
Place the battery holder, push button, and wired headphone components into your Altoids tin or project box. Do the same for the second walkie talkie unit using the other headphone wires.
Test the Transmission
Once soldered and assembled, turn both walkie talkies on. Press the push button on one unit and speak into the headphone wires while holding the open end near your mouth.
Have your friend hold the other walkie talkie unit with the headphones near their ear. They should be able to hear your voice transmitted over the radio!
The open headphone wires act as both a microphone to pick up your voice and a speaker to transmit it to your friend.
Using Your Secret Walkie Talkies
To use your homemade walkie talkies, hold an open headphone wire near your mouth and press the push button to transmit. Tell your friend to listen on their unit with the headphone wire held near their ear.
The headphone wires allow you to speak privately into the walkie talkie without others nearby overhearing your conversation.
Make sure you and your friend stay within about 100 feet of each other for the best transmission. Have fun talking secretly without anyone else hearing with your homemade secret walkie talkies!
Troubleshooting Tips
If your walkie talkies aren't transmitting:
- Check the wiring connections and solder joints
- Make sure the batteries are fresh in both units
- Move closer together and test the transmission again
- Switch out the headphones/earbuds for a different set
With some tweaking, you should be able to get your secret headphone walkie talkies working to share private conversations!
Conclusion
Building your own secret walkie talkies using old headphones, electronics components, and basic soldering skills can give you a way to privately talk over radio waves. Use them to have fun chats with friends without anyone else listening in. And best of all, you'll learn useful making and electronics skills in the process!