Send audio to two sled dogs carrying back packs

[ralphey]

I am a complete newbee with this stuff so any advice will be appreciated . I run with two sled dogs out in front of me . THey are hooked up to me by leads around my chest (can be funny to an onlooker , not me, when they see a rabbit)
SO i listen to an mp3 player now but I want to play music out load to keep the bears deer etc alert to the fact that I am coming through (and to move those rabbits on b4 we get to them)- not to mention that the dogs love the bagpipe music

I bought these dinky MP3 speakers on amazon but they really get drowned out by the ambient noise.

So I figure why not a car stereo. I have a pretty light weight 12 volt battery which I will put into my backpack and thats no problem

each dog has a harness and I was thinking of putting a speaker on each one of them

OK now I am technically challenged (never wired a car stereo)

There isnt anyway to make speakers run by sending the power they need through the air is there? (probably not otherwise tesla would have done it )

ie I will have to run speaker wire down their leashes to the speakers correct?

I have an 'I' phone an old MP3 player - can i get the music right from them to the speakers or do i need to get a car stereo to do that ? (Excuse my lack of understanding terminology by stereo i mean the brain thingy that use to be a radio then it played 8 track then tapes then cd's and now .... i am lost oh well )

and if i need a stereo and speakers where can i get the cheapest - (the dogs dont seem to be concerned about tonal qualities)

Any help to a complete newbee would be appreciated

The rabbits says thanks - the bears are mad as you might be taking dinner from them he dogs say its fine but no "immigrant song" ... when its 20 below they dont wnat to be hearing about coming form the land of ice and snow l

[El Heggunte]

Is that a troll post

[Clockwork]

Whatever you decide on, don't go cheap on the subwoofer.

[jagabo]

Get a backpack boombox.

[ralphey]

I think all of you guys must work for the government ..., you have been about as helpful-

I did like the joke though -

is a subwoofer a midget dog ?

reminds of my friend who told me it was a bad diode

I said is that when your die and owe someone money - you die owed

seriously though any ideas

[jagabo]

I was being helpful. Why make it so complex when you can just buy a backpack (for yourself) with a built in boombox or amp/speakers?

http://www.engadget.com/2004/11/18/the-audio-backpack/

But if you insist...

If you're going to carry the battery and the amplifier you'll have to to run speaker wires to the speakers on the dogs. Alternatively, you could have the dogs carry portable FM radios and broadcast to them with an FM transmitter.

http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-transmitter-classic-iphone-player/dp/B002S4Z2NQ/

[ralphey]

Sorry I thought you were making a joke - is there really something called a backpack boombox - i thought that was from the 70's when the guys use to carry them on their shoulders and that was what you referring to - see I told you I didnt know anything ... so I checked that out and it looks great do they make one that would run off a12 volt car battery ?

ALso if I understand the wireless lcd that would send the music form my iphone to the "stereo" and then the stereo would send send it out to the speakers and stereo and speaker would need to be hooked up to 12 volt battery - that one is more complex but it would be easy to recharge the small 12 volt battery in my car battery charger

[jagabo]

Sorry I thought you were making a joke - is there really something called a backpack boombox - i thought that was from the 70's when the guys use to carry them on their shoulders and that was what you referring to - see I told you I didnt know anything ... so I checked that out and it looks great do they make one that would run off a12 volt car battery ?

They run off their own batteries. The one I linked to claims to run for 10 hours off of six AA batteries.

ALso if I understand the wireless lcd that would send the music form my iphone to the "stereo" and then the stereo would send send it out to the speakers and stereo and speaker would need to be hooked up to 12 volt battery - that one is more complex but it would be easy to recharge the small 12 volt battery in my car battery charger

No, you broadcast to FM radios that the dogs are carrying. The radios contain the FM receiver, batteries, and speakers. Basically, you're turning your ipod into a short range FM radio station.

[Noahtuck]

Is that a troll post

I was thinking more of a crack head after his next post...

I think all of you guys must work for the government ..., you have been about as helpful-

is a subwoofer a midget dog ?

reminds of my friend who told me it was a bad diode

LOL!!

[Steve(MS)]

No, we don't work for the govt but we do work for bears.

[ralphey]

Steve(MS)

If u r working for the bears b careful - i carry a 45 to even the playing field with them - they carry their immense size and strenght - its usually an even trade off

Jagabo

thanks so much for the help. SO the wireless LCD would send my music to an fm radio in the dogs backpack

SO I f had one radio and two speakers I could put a speaker in each dogs backpack or I could put a complete radio and battery in each dogs back pack - then you set the FM radio to a certain frequency and simply broadcast your music to it

I like the latter cause if I have to cut the dogs loose they will not be tethered to each other which would cause problems So each dog is a self contained music unit with the message coming form my IPod

I really like that

now i will have to look at weight as DOgs are about 50 # and I would not wnat to put more than 10# on them although they could still outrun me by miles. I am thinking I can get an even smaller 12 volt rechargeable battery than the one I bought for starting a small lawmower (4 wheeler) as that would be the greatest weight

One more question If I buy a radio how can you tell b4 listening how loud the speakers are ie do they give a decible rating somehow ?

THanks again for your help -

[jagabo]

If u r working for the bears b careful - i carry a 45 to even the score with them - they carry their immense size and strenght - its usually an even trade off

You wouldn't leave the house if you really thought the odds were even.

[ralphey]

odds at the occurence of the event - hmm dont know lot of variabels where is the bear how much time do you have do the dogs slow him or her up etc etc

its more the odds of the event occurring and fortunately those are really really low - prob got a better chance of getting hit by lighting

[ralphey]

Jagabo one more question

will any older car stereo work or do i need a need a newer one to broadcast to ?

[jagabo]

will any older car stereo work or do i need a need a newer one to broadcast to ?

Why are you stuck on using car stereo? You're going to end up with an unreliable Frankenstein monster of battery, receiver, speakers, and wires. Just use portable FM radios.

If you must use a car stereo you don't need the FM transmitter. You can just get one with a line level aux input or a USB port. If you still want to use the FM transmitter you can use any car stereo with an FM tuner.

Forgot about this part:

One more question If I buy a radio how can you tell b4 listening how loud the speakers are ie do they give a decible rating somehow ?

I don't know of any that indicate their output levels. You can get a rough idea from the power output. Ie, a radio with a 10 watt speaker will likely output louder than one with a 5 watt speaker. But keep in mind that dB is a logarithmic scale. A 10 dB increase (perceived as twice as loud) requires 10 times more power. A 20 dB increase requires 100 times as much power.

[Steve(MS)]

45? You shoot a bear with that you'll just piss him off, he'll likely take it away from you and stick it up your ass.
Bears may not like your music either, besides scaring them off, they may become annoyed and maul you as you pass by.

[ralphey]

Hmm tell that to the Griz I killed with a 45 - he was pissed off ... right before he died

Sorry steve dont have time for you you havent added one constructive thing here

[ralphey]

Jagabo

bear with me I guess I keep thinking car stereo because

1.) Its the only thing I am familiar with and I know it will put out the sound I want

2.) I guess I am thinking I want a 12 volt system using a lead acid battery - I can recharge these over and over using my car battery charger ( I found one that weighs only about 3 #)

3.) Will one of these small 12 volt fm radios put out the same volume as car speakers ?

SO i am open to getting 2 - 12 volt FM radios sticking them each in the dogs pack each with a 3# 12 volt battery for power then running my Ipod with an fm tramsmitter from my pack

i LOOKED ON AMAZON AND FIND what I call MINBOO0M BOxES I Guess two of those should work s long as they have the volume that car speakers would have

Kool I think I am beginning to understand and narrow in on a choice thanks so much this has been great - appreciate your time and help !!

[ralphey]

Jagabo

I have been looking on Ebay and amazon. i really am not finding any 12 volt radios other than milwaukee worksite ones which run $70 and are rather larger

also I was looking at motorcycle radios they look like they would have decent power and are relatively cheap

[jagabo]

I just got back from dog biking with our two huskies.

3.) Will one of these small 12 volt fm radios put out the same volume as car speakers ?

Generally, no. But it depends on the particular radio and car stereo and speakers. But really, how loud does it need to be to warn off bears in the wild? Are you running during winter storms?

I have been looking on Ebay and amazon. i really am not finding any 12 volt radios

I was talking about portable radios that take a number AA, C, or D cells. The advantage to that is everything is in one unit. You can use rechargeable batteries. Some even come with a wall wart so you can recharge the batteries without taking them out. Car stereos along with small car (motorcycle?) batteries are a lot heavier and more inconvenient. Remember you'll have to build some kind of enclosure for the speakers. And the speakers come with heavy magnets. Getting a "mechless" (no DVD/CD/tape player) head unit will cut down on the weight a bit.

[ralphey]

Dog biking ? are the dogs attached ! Yikes when they see a rabbit !!

In the past I bought speakers that had rechargeable batterise that you could charge off your computer usb port - they were about 2 - 3" - i connected them up to my mp3 player but they were dismal could barely hear when them when a wind rustled



OK I see that why i wasnt finding anything under 12 volts - whew - so simple - just buy 2 portable radios with rechargeable batteries and use an fm sender connected to your Iphone



wow it took me a long time to understand that - thanks I will see what I find online now

maybe eventually I can make it to a store that has one and see how loud they are

[jagabo]

Dog biking ? are the dogs attached !

One leash with a short Y adapter at the end. Been doing it for nearly 20 years with different pairs of dogs.

Yikes when they see a rabbit !!

They're huskies so they love to run. They learn pretty quickly what they can and can't do. And when they get in the zone they aren't distracted too easily.

Once, with a young pair, we approached a post in the path and they decided to take opposite sides. With a 12 inch lead between the two of them they came to an abrupt stop and smacked heads on the other side of the post. Fortunately, I saw it coming and had slowed them down to barely more than a walk before we got there. They never did that again.

[ralphey]

I have huskies too but the one is incorrigible - he will go through the wireless fence set at the strongest setting with shaved neck to get at a rabbit - he doesn't care i have seen him take the shocks and just keep on going I call him bear cause he's just a real bear - unstoppable when he gets something in his head !

[fritzi93]

Don't you think maybe bells on your sled or the dogs' harness would be more sensible? Critters will hear them just fine.

Hmm tell that to the Griz I killed with a 45 - he was pissed off ... right before he died.

Was that a .45 ACP or .45 Long Colt? I'm impressed, seriously. Takes a lot of nerve to shoot straight with a bear coming for you. I'd rather carry a .44 magnum though if I thought I'd have to contend with grizzly bears (only black bears around here). Or a riot gun loaded with Foster-type solid slugs.

When I read the thread title I thought SpectateSwamp had returned.

[El Heggunte]

I think this thread should be moved to the Off-Topic forum, seriously.

Just my 2 shillings.

[ralphey]

yea guess could do bells but we all like the music
LAR Grizzly Winmag in .45 Winchester Magnum

[fritzi93]

LAR Grizzly Winmag in .45 Winchester Magnum

Well that's a whole different proposition. More power than a .44, way more than a .45 ACP or LC. A riot gun is easier to control and more accurate though. Hard to shoot straight under pressure with a pistol.

Anyway, surely you'll want some bells for when your batteries give out. I once ran spang into an elk when hiking a rough trail and came round a boulder. Who was more surprised I wonder? I had intended to carry a whistle and give it a toot once in a while but didn't.

Good luck.

[ranchhand]

Sorry, I know I am coming in late with this.... I was just thinking that dogs have far more sensitive hearing than humans, you might want to take care with extreme highs and loudness that you play when you finally get something rigged up. Off topic..... I envy you and Jagabo, I was raised on a cattle ranch in N. Central Idaho, and I really like Huskys. Sounds you you are in Alaska.

[jagabo]

I was just thinking that dogs have far more sensitive hearing than humans, you might want to take care with extreme highs and loudness

Not to mention the speakers will be much closer to the dogs so the sound will be much louder for them than for you.

I envy you and Jagabo, I was raised on a cattle ranch in N. Central Idaho, and I really like Huskys. Sounds you you are in Alaska.

LOL. I'm in southern California!

[El Heggunte]

......
LOL. I'm in southern California!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pyC7WnvLT4

This one is for you (certainly) AND for the rabbits ( perhaps )