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294:'s instrument 200 years later. In 1878, Edison developed a device similar to the speaking trumpet in hopes of benefiting the deaf and hard of hearing. His variation included three separate funnels lined up in a row. The two outer funnels, which were six feet and eight inches long, were made of paper and connected to a tube inserted in each ear. The middle funnel was similar to Morland's speaking trumpet, but had a larger slot to insert a user's mouth.
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have been credited with inventing megaphones around the same time in the 17th century. Morland, in a work published in 1655, wrote about his experimentation with different horns. His largest megaphone consisted of over 20 feet of copper tube and could reportedly project a person's voice a mile and a
585:
were first becoming popularized, women used these amplifying technologies during the roll call of participants. Later, portable electric megaphones extended this equalizing influence to outdoor events. Some protest leaders use electric megaphones to speak to an outdoor crowd or to other protesters.
297:
With Edison's megaphone, a low whisper could be heard a thousand feet away, while a normal tone of voice could be heard roughly two miles away. On the listening end, the receiver could hear a low whisper at a thousand feet away. However the apparatus was much too large to be portable, limiting its
257:
Twenty years earlier, Kircher described a device that could be used as both a megaphone and for "overhearing" people speaking outside a house. His coiled horn would be mounted into the side of a building, with a narrow end inside that could be either spoken into or listened to, and the wide mouth
507:
on the side, with a trigger switch to turn it on. In use, the device is held up to the mouth, and the trigger is pressed to turn it on while speaking. Other larger versions hang from the shoulder on a strap, and have a separate handheld microphone on a cord to speak into, so users can address a
461:
to convert the audio signal to sound waves again. Although slightly heavier than acoustic megaphones, electric megaphones can amplify the voice to a higher level, to over 90 dB. They have replaced acoustic megaphones in most applications, and are generally used to address congregations of
613:
For decades, film directors have used megaphones to communicate with their cast and crew on sets where it was hard to hear. The acoustic megaphone became an iconic clichéd symbol of a movie director, although modern directors use electric megaphones. A major contributor to this cliche was
573:
Portable megaphones are widely used for crowd management and mass communication. When needing to communicate information or directions to a large crowd of people in one place, an electric megaphone is valuable when other public address systems are not present.
508:
crowd without the instrument obscuring their faces. A vast array of modern electric megaphones are available to purchase, and characteristics like power, weight, price, and the presence of alarms and shoulder straps all contribute to a consumer's choice.
135:
and direct it in a given direction. The sound is introduced into the narrow end of the megaphone, by holding it up to the face and speaking into it, and the sound waves radiate out the wide end. A megaphone increases the volume of sound by increasing the
725:
Governments can pass laws restricting the use of electronically amplified megaphones. In the US the ability to use a megaphone in public can be restricted to certain decibel levels, time of day or banned in residential neighborhoods. However, under the
649:
and popular music to give retro and often humorous effects. A recorded voice or music can be processed to give it a "megaphone" sound effect without using an actual megaphone, by audio recording decks and software. In recording software like
208:(5th Century B.C.) wearing masks with cones protruding from the mouth in order to amplify their voices in theatres. Hellenic architects may have also consciously utilized acoustic physics in their design of theatre amphitheaters.
275:
are stones around the central place with holes shaped in a megaphone's profile. Their purpose is today unknown, but as local guards can show, it is possible to amplify a human voice loud enough to hear it across a large area.
148:
the impedance of the vocal cords to the air, so that more sound power is radiated. It also serves to direct the sound waves in the direction the horn is pointing. It somewhat distorts the sound of the voice because the
601:
are credited with first using acoustic megaphones in routines in 1898. Since then, cheerleaders have relied heavily on acoustic megaphones during performances at sporting events. Generally, female cheerleaders would use
637:
The distinctive distorted sound of a human voice amplified by a megaphone is widely recognized, from its use in train and bus stations and sports arenas. Applied to music, it gives the sound of an antique acoustic
581:, including megaphones, also had a social impact. Public address systems helped promote women's participation in society. In events like the National Republican and Democratic Conventions of 1920, when electronic
336:
610:
is an important aspect for cheerleading, so experts recommend the use of acoustic megaphones not only to increase the volume of sound, but also to protect performers’ voices in the process.
261:
Morland favored a straight, tube-shaped speaking device. Kircher's horn, on the other hand, utilized a "cochleate" design, where the horn was twisted and coiled to make it more compact.
993:
An article about restrictions that may legally be imposed on public protests (including use of bullhorns), by Daniel L. Schofield, S.J.D., published in the
November 1994 issue of the
727:
682:
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The shape of the megaphone directly affects the range of projection; narrower horns compensate for lower power by concentrating sound more sharply than wide horns.
825:
Prescott, George B. Bell's
Electric Speaking Telephone: Its Invention, Construction, Application, Modification, and History. New York: D. Appleton &, 1884.
488:
were developed in the early 1920s, vacuum tube versions were too heavy to be portable. Practical portable electric megaphones had to await the development of
229:
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chief named
Iscouakité using a megaphone made of birch bark. The text of the illustration says that he is addressing his soldiers through a birch bark tube.
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The initial inventor of the speaking trumpet is a subject of historical controversy. There have been references to speakers in
892:
390:
308:, although the cheap, light, rugged acoustic megaphone is still used in a few venues, like cheering at sporting events and
625:
441:, an electronic device that amplifies the human voice like an acoustic megaphone, using electric power. It consists of a
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630:. Many of his films were biblical epics set on vast outdoor sets that required communication with hundreds of
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Handheld versions are shaped generally like the old acoustic megaphone, with a microphone at one end and a
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A small sports megaphone for cheering at sporting events, next to a 3 inch cigarette lighter for scale
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in 1947. In 1954, TOA Corporation developed the EM-202, the world's first transistorized megaphone.
471:
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use. George
Prescott wrote: "The principal drawback at present is the large size of the apparatus."
31:
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57:
42:
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Mills, Mara. "When Mobile
Communication Technologies Were New." Endeavour 33.4 (200111111: 141-47.
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people wherever stationary public address systems are not available; at outdoor sporting events,
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at pools and beaches where the moisture could damage the electronics of electric megaphones.
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while male cheerleaders, with loud booming voices, would project cheers through megaphones.
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Prior to the invention of the electric microphone, early pop singers sang with a megaphone.
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200:, circa 1675 to 1682, showing a native North-American chief using a megaphone made of bark
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188:
974:
You Can't Say That!: The
Growing Threat to Civil Liberties from Antidiscrimination Laws
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Since the 1960s, acoustic megaphones have generally been replaced by electric versions
246:
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Montgomery, Henry C. (1959). "Amplification and High
Fidelity in the Greek Theater".
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Woman using a small handheld electric megaphone at a demonstration in
Portugal.
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This article is about the amplification device. For the chemical compound, see
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169:
427:. The sound waves travel in a zigzag path through concentric widening ducts
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730:, the specific kinds of speech used with a megaphone cannot be restricted.
63:
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An electric megaphone is used at a protest (Black Lives Matter, July 2021)
75:
An electric megaphone is used at a protest (Black Lives Matter, June 2020)
17:
525:
The EM-202 made by TOA Corp., the first transistorized handheld megaphone
272:
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603:
91:
An electric megaphone is used at a protest (Fight Trump, February 2018)
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is one of the few fields that still uses acoustic megaphones.
681:
deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a
41:"Bullhorn" redirects here. For the G.I. Joe character, see
991:"Controlling Public Protest: First Amendment Implications"
27:
Portable or hand-held device to amplify voices and sounds
330:
German soldier using a megaphone to command troops, 1930
690:
346:
to wake recruits at an
American training camp in 1947
342:
A sailor using a megaphone to amplify the sound of a
889:Go! Fight! Win!: Cheerleading in American Culture
457:to increase the power of the audio signal, and a
172:, an electrically-powered amplifier and a folded
537:Waist-slung megaphones with separate microphones
123:is usually a portable or hand-held, cone-shaped
872:Technology and Women's Voices: Keeping in Touch
290:The term 'megaphone' was first associated with
268:trumpet of special design was the Sengerphone.
52:"Loudhailer" redirects here. For the song, see
679:The examples and perspective in this section
283:A late 19th-century speaking trumpet used by
8:
976:(2003 ed.). Cato Institute. p. 31.
549:Man using megaphone with separate microphone
241:using megaphone to communicate over distance
153:of the megaphone is greater at higher sound
697:, or create a new section, as appropriate.
836:"TOA | From 2010 | TOA History"
713:Learn how and when to remove this message
445:to convert soundwaves into an electrical
164:described above has been replaced by the
762:
577:Besides their practical implications,
358:German lifeguard with megaphone, 1969
258:projecting through the outside wall.
7:
492:which followed the invention of the
437:An electric megaphone is a handheld
942:"The Megaphone Effect in Radio Ads"
904:Carrier, Justin, and Donna McKay.
415:Electric megaphones use a type of
160:Since the 1960s the voice-powered
25:
373:jazz singer using megaphone, 2007
809:"SENGERPHONE-Y by Len Mullenger"
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54:Loudhailer (Maaya Uchida single)
618:, director of epic movies like
893:Bowling Green State University
813:www.musicweb-international.com
222:, circa 1675 to 1682, shows a
1:
45:. For the type of tree, see
854:"Megaphone & Bullhorns"
693:, discuss the issue on the
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876:Routledge & Kegan Paul
740:Long range acoustic device
271:Additionally, in ruins of
131:a person's voice or other
51:
40:
36:Megaphone (disambiguation)
29:
1000:Law Enforcement Bulletin
645:. It has been used in
599:University of Minnesota
569:using megaphone in 1922
583:public address systems
579:public address systems
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479:public address systems
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100:
92:
84:
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34:. For other uses, see
906:Complete Cheerleading
891:. Bowling Green, OH:
860:on September 1, 2012.
773:The Classical Journal
565:Silent film director
564:
472:street demonstrations
439:public address system
282:
232:
191:
98:
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56:. For the album, see
972:Bernstein, David E.
887:Hanson, Mary Ellen.
691:improve this section
647:radio advertisements
621:The Ten Commandments
503:at the other, and a
477:Although electronic
32:Megaphone (molecule)
481:have existed since
58:Loud Hailer (album)
43:Bullhorn (G.I. Joe)
923:"Cecil B. DeMille"
870:Kramarae, Cheris.
662:Legal restrictions
571:
381:Electric megaphone
288:
251:Athanasius Kircher
243:
237:, 1684, shows man
235:Athanasius Kircher
218:on page 14 of the
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166:electric megaphone
162:acoustic megaphone
151:frequency response
138:acoustic impedance
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947:Houston Chronicle
908:. Champaign, IL:
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627:The King of Kings
589:As of the 2010s,
557:Impact on society
468:political rallies
16:(Redirected from
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417:horn loudspeaker
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505:pistol grip
483:vacuum tube
459:loudspeaker
233:Drawing by
180:the voice.
155:frequencies
142:vocal cords
67:A megaphone
757:References
640:gramophone
494:transistor
486:amplifiers
464:movie sets
443:microphone
314:lifeguards
170:microphone
121:loudhailer
18:Loudhailer
695:talk page
656:Pro Tools
652:Logic Pro
451:amplifier
419:called a
312:, and by
264:A later,
105:megaphone
1011:Category
734:See also
689:You may
604:pom poms
371:Austrian
273:Tiwanaku
146:matching
127:used to
117:blowhorn
113:bullhorn
912:, 2006.
878:, 1988.
786:3294133
597:at the
455:battery
413:(right)
306:(below)
216:(right)
184:History
178:amplify
129:amplify
784:
742:(LRAD)
632:extras
470:, and
421:reflex
409:(left)
254:half.
239:(left)
133:sounds
782:JSTOR
449:, an
344:bugle
245:Both
196:, by
119:, or
959:2013
927:IMDb
654:and
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249:and
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423:or
176:to
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