BETTER SOUND FOR THE IBM PC

 

BETTER SOUND FOR THE IBM PC

Todd Last

Indianapolis PC Users Group

By now, many of  you  are  familiar  with the

PC's built-in speaker.  IBM chose to put in a

speaker smaller than the ones  found  in most

portable radios.

Fortunately,  for  the  reasonable  price  of

$2.19  and  15 minutes of your time, you  can

have improved sound for your PC. This is done

by  replacing  the original speaker with  one

that is slightly larger.  It is a custom  fit

with no modifications required to any part of

the  PC.  [On  IBM  compatibles  and  clones,

especially portables, it may require a little

ingenuity.]

The  first  step is to buy a Radio  Shack  3"

replacement speaker (catalog number  40-248).

Then remove the  cover  of your computer.  If

you are not sure how to do this, consult your

Guide to  Operations.  With  the  cover  off,

study  how  the  speaker  is  placed  in  the

computer.   Next,  remove  the berg pin  that

plugs into the circuit board from the speaker

wires.   Make  sure  to pull it off  gently.

Now, remove the screw(s)  holding the speaker

to the computer.

Make  a note of which color wire goes to  the

"+"  terminal.   You could just cut  the  old

wires and use solderless terminals, but since

you have so  much  money  invested  in  your,

you want to do the job the  professional way,

right?

Now  all  that remains to be done is to  slip

the old speaker from  the  retaining  bracket

and put the new  one  in,  screw  the bracket

back on, reconnect the berg pin and reinstall

the cover.

Although, the speaker is  only 1" bigger, you

will notice an improvement both in volume and

sound    quality,    especially   in    lower

frequencies.  [In  fact, you may find the new

speaker  is  so  much  louder  that an inline

on/off  or  volume  control   switch  may  be

desirable.]

Š

[Editor's note: Altering hardware  on  the PC

may invalidate warranties.]

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