OK I think I'm about to take on building one of these for my first caller, I don't see a need in dropping 200 bucks for something I'll use maybe 3 times a month. Who has done one of these? I've read the writeups on other pages on how to make one, seems pretty dang simple, Im just wondering what kind of ideas other guys have had when it comes to putting them into a case of some sort

Mines not in any kind of case, I just hookup the powerhorn speaker and the amp to my IPOD and it gets really loud.And yes its really simple to do. My first time out with it I called in a pair of yotes and Ryan84 shot one.

Ya'll have any pics of your homemade callers, i'm thinking of making my own also.

seems like it should be pretty easy...i mean..even with an ipod you can cover that up with a good speaker in the field...and with the right speaker, i'm sure it can get loud enough......shoot..you can download any sound from any animal you want for free~....i'm trying to justify a foxpro, but at 200...grrr... ipod and cheap speaker...easy` good thinkin guys! +2 for DK's idea!

The problem you're going to have with the IPOD setup is that most of the free sounds are going to have white noise. Also, most of the sounds are people recording themselves on a call, and although I'm sure they are good at it, the recording is not the best. I have an IPOD setup as well as a foxpro, and out of about 40 sounds I put on the IPOD, there are 3 I use. But the turkey and antler rattling sounds do sound really good. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't have messed with the IPOD setup. However, I am going to buy a few noises to put on it when I get a chance, as I think those might be better. Just my .02

I built one based on the instructions from VarmintAl's website. I'm using my ipod instead of a CD player though. I haven't used it much in the field, but I've already called in a few yotes with it.

You will run into the white noise problem. I've filtered through many different websites and sounds (some free and some purchased). At this point I've found plenty without any background noise and some that I'm more confident in than others. I've got sounds without white noise ranging from cottontails, jacks, birds, coons, crows, etc...Just a matter of how much looking for good quality sounds you want to do.

I really like those 3 I found that sound good and have no white noise, but I still think the foxpro out performs them. One of the best callers I've used in a Jimmy Stewart tape caller that has white noise, but it works. I guess its about like anything else, it comes down to how much your time is worth is worth to you.

These are the amp and speaker as per varmitals instructions. REAL simple. You need the amp, speaker, patch cord to go from the IPOD to the amp, and a male earphone jack for the wires on the speaker.


I haven't taken it out as for hunting yet. We did set it on the hood of the truck one evening as we were getting set up to do some fishing. Tried the "20 minute sequence" too see what it sounded like. It starts with a delay so you can set up and then cycles through a few different sounds. By the second sound file we had a yote charging down a fence line at full speed towards us till he seen the truck.

Yes you do get some white noise with the free downloads but search through them as some are better quality than others. This is plenty loud, and you can have every dog in your neighborhood barking at once.

I'm just using a camo backpack for now. Still searching for a soft sided camo lunch bag, as I think it would be perfect for the caller. Put the speaker and amp in the bottom of the lunch bag and secure from the bottom of the bag with a few screws. Run the patch cord into the top pocket for the ipod.

here is my set up as of now:

Thanks jet picked mine up tonight. Goin out in the morning.

good work Jet!... +2