Tip: Buzzer volume adjuster

[RipAir]

who has ever been annoyed by the buzzer, hands up

one simple solution is ofc sticking a piece of tape on it, but this can also be quite tricky if its not all too well accessible
and it just creates lots of unnecessary rubbish

then you could also unplug it or add an off switch, on the other hand - ignoring warnings tends to lead to bad things :black_eyed:

you can also add in a 1k potentiometer or a switch that lets you change between "on" and 1 to X resistors
and vary the volume like that - ears happy and partner (or parents) happy

but make it rigid, since you wont want a crashing quad where the buzzer gets disconnected and you have to spend hours chewing grass to find it

another idea would be configuring one of the rotary knobs on the transmitter, to drive one of the servo ports and connect the signal of the according servo port to the base of a PNP or mosfet (might need an additional resistor, depending on the transistor used)
and the remaining two leads in series with the buzzer
which allows using the transmitter instead of a potentiometer, but probably wont allow suppressing those initial beeps just before the transmitter gets a connection

 

[RipAir]

to illustrate every thing a little better, heres the 3 solutions (sofar):



on the left, the potentiometer
+ simple
+ light weight
- might forget to increase volume before flight

in the center, the switch with the resistor (can ofc also be a 3way+ switch with varying resistors or even a resistor network)
+ simple
- can get rather heavy
- might forget to increase volume before flight

on the right, the transistor being driven by the servo signal (dont use +&- from the servo port!)
using a PNP (P channel mosfet is even better) will put the buzzer to full volume by default, unless a signal is applied; where as the signal increases, the volume decreases
so you can adjust the volume range by adjusting the servo and/or input ranges in cleanflight etc
and since were not really handling HiFi signals, any general purpose transistor should do the trick
+ flexible and more comfortable
+ light weight
+ checklist function on the transmitter will remind to set full volume
- slightly more complicated
- occupies a servo port and rotary knob on the transmitter
ps: for a clean solution a diode can be added to the base of the mosfet, which will prevent any leakage currents going into the signal port

you could ofc also combine and pick out the best solution for your buzzer

 

[Craftydan]

I just put my finger over the buzzer when I plug it in. Let it scream to its hearts content, and when it's gotten it out of its system, then set her down get her ready and away she goes.

Muting and dampening the buzzer is a bit of a catch 22 anyways -- on the ground loud is annoying, but in the air a "reasonable" volume is effectively worthless. I want my buzzer loud so it can do this job warning me from across the field inside a foam fuse over a noisy prop. If it can't be heard, I'm better off without it.

 

[PsyBorg]

More resistance = more work = more power drain. Id opt for cotton balls before adding another circuit to troubleshoot down the road. I just glad I'm half deaf already so it doesn't really bug me. Besides I like when my esc's serenade every one. People not used to RC flying get a kick out of it too and it lightens the mood.

 

[RipAir]

ofc this is mainly thought for use on the ground or specially when working with it on the PC
in my case, i cant reach the buzzer very well and poking my finger in there is just annoying

cant disagree on adding complexity, but if the default behavior in failure situations is full volume, there isnt much to go wrong

if you dont like additional resistance, you could also use an NPN:


but you would have to make sure to atleast have a little bit of resistance, either by adding a small resistor (less to equal to the buzzers resistance) or configuring the signal to never fully saturate the transistor, as that would be a short

only problem is, if the transistor leaks (ie because its been damaged) you wont get full volume
unless you make the whole circuit a little more complex