Probably, every modern person will be able to answer the question, what is a shout and what is it for? In short, we can say that this is a device for enhancing the strength of sound or voice command.
But it turns out that the ancient people also knew what a shout was. They used the horns of animals and other similar objects as a mouthpiece for hunting. Later horns began to be used not only in this capacity, but also as musical instruments.
This interesting and quite useful device has a conical shape and resembles an expanding pipe and can distribute sound in a certain direction over a long distance. It is the conical shape that best promotes the propagation of sound and increase its volume.
The conical horn, or rather, its use, has a rich and long history, which is still far from finished, so it can be argued that the cone is one of the very first and best sound propagation technologies. The conical horn is still widely used for commanding ships, sports competitions, demonstrations, for managing mass holidays and other events, for public concerts, as well as for alerting in emergency situations. This voice alarm device was invented by Samuel Morland in 1670. The very first devices, consisting of a neck and a bell, as shown by archaeological excavations, were made of glass, and then of copper. So, what is a shout and when it appeared, we know. And on what is its action based? This device, as it were, concentrates sound waves and sends them in one direction. The amplification of sound occurs due to resonance, which in turn distorts the timbre of the transmitted sound.
The size of the speaker is directly proportional to the volume and distinctness of the transmitted sound, that is, the larger the speaker, the greater the distance over which speech sounds are transmitted and the more pronounced the words will be. So on the ships were widely represented horns about two meters in length and with an outlet up to 25 centimeters in diameter. Such a conical horn could transmit speech up to two kilometers without distortion. And when using a device up to seven meters long, it was possible to transmit speech at a distance of about six kilometers.
Nowadays, sound is most often amplified using a megaphone, consisting of a microphone, amplifier and speaker. But the main element of the megaphone is the mouthpiece, which is a conical pipe. We can say that a megaphone is a conical shout. Such devices were previously used to improve hearing until modern hearing aids appeared. A megaphone, just like a horn, concentrates and amplifies sound and transmits it in the right direction. It was invented by Edison at the end of the nineteenth century.
And yet, conical horns are not always effective, but only if used at high and medium frequencies. Their size should also not be too large. Hence the natural restrictions on the use of horns as some kind of audio systems. Therefore, the horn should be used only where it is really in place and where its application is logical and is caused by some special needs, for example, when a high efficiency (increased power with low energy consumption) or a controlled directional beam of sound radiation is needed. The shout is used in the organization of mass events and processions for directing and giving commands.
The shoutbox, without a doubt, has a very long history of its use. Now it is also known what a shout is. This very useful device will be used for a very long time.