Electronics Related Question - Child's toy

[hech54]

My son has this toy. A small Sesame Street (Sesame Strasse - German) guitar that runs on two AA batteries. I took it apart to add some cotton in front of the speaker to quiet it down some so I know that there is not much inside of it.
Anyway....I noticed the other day that the batteries MUST be getting low because it sounded different.
My question is.....how in this day and age can an electronic toy's "noise" that it makes SLOW DOWN when the batteries start to weaken? I mean....they dont use audio tape anymore. You'd think that the volume would just decrease or something like that but the songs it plays actually play SLOWER with weak batteries.
How can that be?

[smearbrick1]

That used to happen all the time with those talking toys that ran on batteries. Maybe the entire thing is analog. Just like the old toys.

[Capmaster]

They probably use a simple astable multivibrator to generate the tone, and the different tones are achieved by reducing or increasing the resistance in the charge/discharge ladder. Many are sensitive to voltage fluctuations. Especially when it's just something quick and dirty like that.

Or they might have an electromechanical vibrator in the thing that would definitely be voltage-sensitive.

[lordsmurf]

My son has this toy....SLOWER with weak batteries.

multivibrator...Or they might have an electromechanical vibrator

Is it just me ... or does something sound dirty here?
Were you shopping in the kid's toy store.. or ..err... the other one?

[yoda313]

Hello,

Were you shopping in the kid's toy store.. or ..err... the other one?

And how would YOU know????? Hmm??????

Kevin

[hech54]

Damn Capmaster....always putting thoughts into peoples heads....and hardly ever nice thoughts...

[Capmaster]

Damn Capmaster....always putting thoughts into peoples heads....and hardly ever nice thoughts...

I don't try ...it just happens

It helps when there's a morally depraved audience like Videohelp OT

[hech54]

I resemble that remark...

[Doramius]

Isn't there a some sort of cycling clock in those things. There's usually 2 or chips: 1 is a clock, 1 may be a logic circuit, and one is the chip that holds the audio information. If the voltage is dropping, the clock would definitely slow down along with the speeds at which the logic chip (if there's one in it) would function. THat would definitely slow the sound down.

What many newer electronics have is a large and higher voltage battery which drop the voltage down for a light load. This might allow an item to run longer on a battery life. I've personally gone into some of my sons toys that are large and running on only 2-AA batteries. I'll go to radio shack and get a D-cell holder and solder the leads into his toy and epoxy the battery case firmly in the unit. Now his Fisher Price toy radio lasts 10 times longer. The batteries used to die after 4 days. Now they last almost 2 months. The thing is monsterous, so I never knew why it only took 2-AA batteries. (My theory is Fihser Price is connected to Rayovac somehow, because they always have those cheap a** batteries from them to install in the toys)

[hech54]

It basically sounds like someone is sticking their thumb on the turntable....no decrease in volume...just S L O W S D O W N.
I guess it is just not what I expected from a 4 month old toy...weird.