Talk:Megaphone

But how do they work? What are the acoustics involved? What's the optimal shape for a megaphone? &mdash; Kieff 00:45, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

I added a few words and a pointer to an article but your questions are good ones and there is much to add. Tre1234 00:12, 7 March 2007 (UTC)


 * The optimal shape depends on the desired shape of the antenna - exponential is a common choice as it produces a relatively tight cone. However, there is a problem with diffraction around the edges which can lead to the classic trumpetlike sound of the megaphone.  A tractrix cone avoids this, but makes a less directional beam.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.212.137.2 (talk) 17:00, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

Music?
Perhaps it's worth mentioning that the bullhorn is used now and then by musical artists for the distortion it causes - for example, but Muse in their version of Feeling Good.

Loud Hailer
I removed the request for citation. A Google search on Loud Hailer returns 124000 pages, the first 10 of which are all megaphones. Maybe this is only a Britishism? An investigation into the term would be interesting to read but I don't think that there's any doubt as to its meaning. Tre1234 00:20, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

Britannica
Britannica is known to be significantly less accurate than Wikipedia for core articles; please find at least one additional source to correlate with Britannica references. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.173.225.25 (talk) 19:48, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

Invention of the Electric Megaphone
In the article it states that the first electric megaphone was produced in 1954, yet later on it says the electric megaphones were used at the National Republican and Democratic Conventions of 1920. Something isn't right here... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.158.115.42 (talk) 19:24, 20 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Good point. Those must have been the first (stationary) public address systems, the technology at that time was nowhere near capable of building portable bullhorns.  Public address systems were sometimes called "megaphones".  I'll try to find some sources on that.  -- Chetvorno TALK 19:08, 4 April 2013 (UTC)

The article states that the TOA EM-202 was the world's first transistorised microphone, but the current history pages on the TOA website (possibly changed since the article was written as the reference link no longer works properly) suggest that, while it was the first electric megaphone produced, the company did not produce a transistorised megaphone until the ER-57 in 1957. Specifically, the timeline describes the EM-202 as "the world's first electric megaphone" in 1954, and the EM-57 as "Japan's first transistorized megaphone" in 1957. This further implies that transistorised megaphones may have been developed in other countries between the release of the EM-202 and the EM-57.

This interpretation is also affirmed by the "History in Depth" page, where the section on the electric megaphone, "First in the World, first in Japan, again describes the development of the electric megaphone and the transistorised megaphone as separate events. Also the section Transistor Megaphone Development Backstory strongly implies that the ER-57 and ER-58 were TOA's first transistorised megaphones.

The EM-202 most likely used miniturised battery valves, which were heavily developed during the 1950s particularly for use in portable radios. However any of the many other electronic amplifier technologies are of course possible, if less likely.

This appears to be another version of the TOA history page with the same text. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 1.152.104.200 (talk) 01:33, 21 August 2018 (UTC)

Megaphone Crowd Control
 Account that created this section: Readme65 (talk • contribs) 12:45, 5 April 2013 (UTC)


 * Just a warning. Wikipedia does not allow the inclusion of promotional material in its pages (see WP:SPAM).  If you include your website on the page it will be removed.  -- Chetvorno TALK 13:10, 5 April 2013 (UTC)

Where did the word 'bullhorn' come from?
The corkscrew shape of a bull's horns don't look anything like a speaking trumpet. Just curious. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.157.172.231 (talk) 23:51, 26 July 2014 (UTC)

External links modified (January 2018)
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Nature of distortion
"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 gramophone record player."

It is not. I've owned several mechanical record players & know enough about the subject of distortion. The 2 produce significantly different effects. 86.10.62.169 (talk) 01:11, 19 April 2018 (UTC)

Sports megaphone photo
Why has a lighter been used as a scale? Does the photograph particularly need a scale? 81.145.156.110 (talk) 15:35, 15 December 2022 (UTC)