Altoids Amp

You may have seen the DIY altoids amp somewhere else, but this one is easier than the other plans I have seen. This project can be completed in one sitting, depending on how long that
sitting is and how precise you make everything. It will cost you about 10-15 dollars depending on what you have lying around the house. Sorry the pictures aren't up, I am having a problem uploading them.

Step 1: Time to void a warranty!

Tools:

-small Phillips head screw driver
-electrical tape or duct tape
-hot glue gun (optional)
-wire strippers (won't be mentioned, but they will come in handy)
-drill or dremmel tool (to cut through altoids can)


Supplies:

-cheapest cassette walkman you can find (get one without AM/FM, that requires more space, and it won't fit in the altoids can. It should cost around 5$, mine is a Durabrand model 820M...real high quality stuff here folks)
-altoids can (empty, eat up)
-toggle switch
-audio in jack (like what you plug your guitar into)
-x2 AA battery holder (side-by-side, not end to end )(x2 means holds two batteries, not two holders)
-extra wire (not neccessary, but will probably come in handy)

NOTE: If you don't use the same exact stuff I do, yours may not fit into the altoids can, if it won't fit, find another case, I recommend the cassette player case.

Take the tape player apart, do it carefully, you may need to know how it goes back together later. Get the chip with electronics out IN ONE PIECE. The motor and switches may be
attached, these will need to be removed in a later step, but first, you need find out how pressing the play button connects power to the amplifier. Follow the power wires from the
battery compartment, one of them should be interrupted, when you press the play button, it will become uninterrupted, this is where you will hook up the toggle switch, in the place of
the play button. Also, in my tape player, there was a switch labeled "bass boost", I had to cut a little of the case plastic to get the switch out in one piece, but I guess if you wanted, you could just remove it.

Comments

[J.Reynolds09]

I think that you could just leave the playback head in tack and add some wire to the existing connection. Then it could still play tapes and if it had a recording feature then you could possible record what you play as well. Just find a spot not in the way to mount your 1/4" input jack and leave it all mounted in the walkman case. Just a thought, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong though.

[skuishingbugs]

so, when you call this an amp, is it an actual amplifying coil? or does this just connect the output from a (guitar, aux input, etc...) to a set of speakers or headphones?

[Charger_06]

you can just connect the motor wires together to by pass it. Thats just like a closed circuit.

[evilmadcow]

I agree.

[collince]

I am not the best with tech stuff... So do you have any pictures? If not that's fine there are plenty of YouTube videos! Really cool project anyway! Thanks!

[tubbychick3n]

Can someone help me out? I am trying to do this with a radio (from the dollar store) and i have no idea where to put the 1/4 jack.

[recordmasta001]

try this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dr_6F22HGY

[carpe_noctem]

bust open the cassette deck (if there is one) if you're doin what i think you are doin and this radio is only a radio, then i'm not completely sure but i think you can bust it open and solder in the jack after removing the leads to the radio tuner. on the radios i've gutted it was a cylindrical coil of copper wire. I think your gonna have to improvise a bit

[knex_mepalm]

This is awesome! and Hi from http://www.ipodtouchfans.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2405333#post2405333

[wooowmeato]

try using the macro setting on your camera next time it will help drastically, thanks for the guide! cheers! :)

[chessdude3]

can I use a portable CD player?

[Sick_Nixon]

it would be better to plug a speaker right to the output, at least if you are going to use it for  guitar. you coud put this in a bigger case and solder a 1/8 male jack to the speaker (and plug it in the output jack)to make it simpler. you should also shield it with foil if you choose to do so. what would be nice is to add distortion of some kind. if anybody knows something...

[guitarfan]

 could i use a old computer speakers?

[mdog93]

How could you adapt this to amplify a guitar?

[11richie21]

i think you use a jack converter?...

[mdog93]

k, i dont rely know what that is- is it just a component? mdog

[11richie21]

well if your jack is like a headphone jack you can buy a converter from the ipod section at the store like wal-mart. looks kind of like that drawing
_
<===(_() <-- bigger jack for mikes and other stuff!

[beehard44]

lol u just made ur first 3D ASCII drawing!!!
a cylinder!
(_()
lol

[mdog93]

oh yh, sorry i know bout that but i think thers sumthin bout the elelctronics which means it wouldn't work with a guitar. ther has been discussions bout using it with a guitar in the past and they have come out as it wudnt work. but i'd like to know how you could make it work. mdog

[zvillesurfer]

i built this for a guitar. it doesnt work very well and i think its because of the fact that when you amplify, say, an ipod, you are amplifying an already strong signal, so you dont have to amplify it very much. On a guitar, you have to crank it up so loud that it gets very distorted and there is a lot of feedback. afterwards i tried it with an ipod and it was very static, although i think i fried something while using it because i dont think it always sounded this bad.

[z-man6233]

ahh but active pickups like EMGs have an internal preamp so the signal is still strong

[mdog93]

yeah, i still think there must be a solution to it, i just don't know enough about it to work out the electronics side of things. mdog

[11richie21]

not really sure

[mdog93]

kk thanjs anyway

[1578bb]

Hey i made one and it works great. Found the amp chip on a broken tape player outside and everything worked as said. THanks =)

[adamgillies]

 Is this a headphone amp? Or does it actually amplify out loud?

[kevinsa5]

 In one of the steps it says there's a headphone jack, but you could send it through one of those mini speakers to make it audible without any headphones. I suppose you could conceivably turn the volume up all the way and route it through speakers inside the tin instead of a headphone jack, but I'm not sure if the voltage would be high enough for that. 

[grubblybubbly]

i want to make one of these and an "altoids electric guitar"!!! that would be cool.

[Jodex]

Yes, hot glue is very much super useful.

[cdousley]

what does this do i thought it was for guitair

[gibsonlp96]

It is for guitar. You can plug in speakers to the headphone jack, or use headphones so you and only you can hear yourself play. It's one of those things you can use when you don't have an actual amplifier.

[avwos]

It would be cool, to mount it in the body of the guitar :D

[kike13]

hey do u thnk u could at least make a video of how to make 1 it'll help

[kike13]

does any body no were i can gt a bass control for a BX-10 epicenter??

[cdousley]

unit042 everything is better in an altoids can a pocket amp is from 40-70 dollars this is a few dollars

[papadekaitlyn]

The trim pot is the actual volume control for the walkman. The little volume wheel engaged that trim pot to adjust the volume on the headphones when the original unit was still intact.

[Jesus10555]

I havent started this project yet, but I just wanted to throw this out there. If after you disconnect the motor and it doesnt work, you said find a way to bypass it, I just wanted to mention so it might help some. That you could probably hook up an Led (which would look cool too) and that should work, as it will complete the circuit that is required. (and an Led is smaller than a motor {I dont know how big a cassette motor is, so ... I might be wrong about the Led being smaller} but either way, you can put the Led on the outside of the can

[magganrchy]

That would work, or you could just cut real close to the motor on each wire, then attach the wires (there should be enough slack for that) I'll probably add an LED just for fun though

[papadekaitlyn]

Do note that if you were to wire in an LED that you have to also add a resistor in series with it to keep the LED from frying out. Also, it would probably be better to add a resistor between the two motor wires if a bypass were required instead of tying them together. Check the resistance of the motor by touching each of the motor leads with the lead of a muti-meter (or an ohmmeter if you're fancy) and choose a resistor to match. That could prevent chip failure from voltage overload later on. Of course I am an amateur, so by all means take my comments lightly... :D (If you want fried LEDs or silicon anyways ;)

[Sunshine33]

Help for an electronics noob? :)

The wires coming from the tape head is a flatwire (I think that's what you call it?) and is soldered tothe back of it and leads to a 'chip' on the board.
This is what it looks like:
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/41/img0059f.jpg
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/1905/img0062rpm.jpg

Can I still make it work? Which wires would I attach where on the jack? (I have a mono, but If I need a stereo one, I can get one)
It says CN30 on the board just above the 'chip' that the flatwire leads to.

Help is greatly appreciated!!

[Corn89]

Isn't this basically the same as buying a tape deck converter for your car, and using it in the Walkman?

[pinkolslarp]

can u use a plain walkman,the one where u put the disk in?

[toogers]

actually, your thinking of a diskman ......

[altmaker]

They're both the same, don't split hairs about it.

[AdamVigneaux]

No, they aren't the same at all. But you're right, don't split hairs.

[esplonky]

what if you put a distortion pedal chip in it?

[dhaberx]

I built one off of a different instructable's schematic and added in distortion based off of a DOD250 schematic. It works pretty well. Some notes and links can be found here.

[Little_Buster]

I dont think you can put a distortion chip in it as im assuming your talking about the chip out of an effect pedal. The most you can do is Boost the bass and it might give some OD/Distortion. Unless your talking about changing the altoids can into a distortion pedal.

[esplonky]

try taking the chip out and put a button and solder the wires to the chip or something

[Little_Buster]

Oh, you'd probably need a bigger container unless it would be a pcb like in a DOD 250. I'll draw up a schematic that'd fit in the Altoids tin. cheers -Buster

[mdog93]

i wondered whether you could add a speaker, can you have a speaker an a headphone jack ?

[mdog93]

I meant can you have a speaker and a headphone jack? there will be a way but i can't think of it cus the music will come through either the headphones or the speaker or both you need to find a way of it finding out which to use.

[mkkrushmt]

yes, i think so, i have some speakers on my desk that i use for my iPod and i plug them into the iPod like normal headphones. now, if you want to play your guitar through, like really big speakers used on big stages, you may need an adapter, which you can prpbpbly get at radio shack

[Little_Buster]

Erm. What kind of toggle? SPST? DPDT? or what?

[build a BOOM]

Its just on or off.

[Little_Buster]

Alright. i didnt know if it was on/off/on or on/off.

[Night910]

Hey I wanted to make one of these, but I was wondering, would it be possible to make it where you could plug an effect pedal into it?

[rokkerkid]

i think so but u are gonna need 2 cables cause u have to plug it in the guitar to the effect then the effect to the Altoids Amp. im gonna try a distortion if mine dosent have distortion

[gbrlcruz22]

Built it ... and it was freaking awesome!!!! Worked the first time with out a hitch... Unfortunately I got a cassette player with a radio too, so no go on the altoids tin... but I have a cool box, now dubbed " The Rock Box" ... I was thinking about putting it back in the cassette player and using that as my case... then I could call it a "Rockman" ... Great Instructable.. Thanks !!!

[Night910]

lol omg its Tom Scholz!

[grimfig]

Hey could you please post good clear pictures using macro, or at least wait till the picture is clear. It would help all of us, who making it. Thanks dude. BTW great instructable.

[kdennis]

hey there.. i followed your instructions.. connected it to a jack to my ipod. problem is.. there is a loud buzzing sound. i was looking for short circuits but i dont have any my amp works fine without the motor..just that the sound is distorted.. I am working on it open without a case yet. hope somebody can help me. thanks :)

[BeanBot]

did u wire the ground lines properly? and try putting some copper tape around the tin it will act as a shilled from any other "noise" producing electronics

[1oooop]

well.... I had a similar problem with a DIY amp from scratch... the problem may be that it is experiencing feedback from the capacitive resistance device that is put on some amps so that they don't kill a chip... it is on most computer sound cards and is quite annoying... the way to fix this is to put a resistor between the source and the amp

[PyroMonger]

ive been having a similar problem. when my amp is turned on but no music or sounds are played throug it, it gives off a fuzzy feedback sound and i can hear voices ( i'm not crazy). I think its picking up a radio frequency. Is their any way to correct this?...Shielding certain wires possibly? Please help us (kdennis & myself). Thanks

[batman96]

my regular guitar amp pickups radio when i am not playing :)

[IdrisB]

Try disabling the radio (if there was 1 already) by just desoldering it, or cutting it off. (dont know if it would mess the amp up)

[batman96]

mine is a stock amp from the store with no changes

[PyroMonger]

theres no radio with mine either..mine came from computer speakers

[Rishnai]

You're using unsheilded wire, and you're picking up AM radio in the wires and then your amp is making it audible. I used to be able to pick up the local sports radio station on my guitar cable when I was at my friend's house, until I got a new, sheilded cable. Connect with sheilded cable, and your voices will go away.

[batman96]

my guitar amp like i said earlier pickups radio when i don't and i can tell it is our local fm radio station because when i tune a regular radio to our local station i can hear the same voices and sounds!

[avwos]

That must be really creepy, if you don't know where it's comng from :L

[Rishnai]

Oooohhhh... I've never picked up FM before. This bears testing. Fun fun!

[kdennis]

there isnt a radio

[RapidMustang]

I'm sorry but EonFromTeton, a CD player uses digital data instead of analog (in this case magnetic) data. A tape player is all ready to receive analog signals. Take a look at this cool instructable: http://www.instructables.com/id/private-amp-from-a-old-personal-cassette-player/?ALLSTEPS

Hope this helps.

[EonFromTeton]

could I use a portable CD player instead of cassette?

[fallopiano]

would the guitar jacks on this web site be the ones that could be used in this project?

[Rishnai]

So basically, we need a cheap portable music player to yank the chip out of? I think I can find one of them...

[grimfig]

Or Value Village.

[pandaboy292]

they probably have them at goodwill cheap.

[geeklord]

thats excactly where i got one for $2

[Rishnai]

And the dollar store.

[thejuggler]

Dude This will go great with an altoids guitar

[grimfig]

I know, that's what I'm going to try and do.

[m_kunakoff]

I took this a little further by adding a small radio speaker, so now i have my own mini amp that i can play for all to hear

[elvenmidget]

since the guitar input jack is mono, wouldnt you only get sound out of one headphone?

[Coffee bean]

if wired correctly then it would get sound from both headphones BUT it it wouldn't be true stereo because in true stereo there are 2 different channels of sound-speaker one and speaker two. so basicly if you had stereo input then both channels would merge and play the same thing in both ears........i think.......

[klingonprins]

no. you can not have 2 channels on 1 wire. try copying a 2chan song onto a 1chan song into audacity and you will see.

[Coffee bean]

what i meant to say is if wired right both channels should merge and become one. Right?

[thomas the lover]

In the UK I'm screwed coz we haven't got "Altoids tins" and half of this web site has Altoids tins in it.

[Coffee bean]

the tin isn't needed it is just cool

[Stinky McFisto]

They are pretty easy to find actually, you just have to look... most supermarkets have them, failing that, you can get them from chemists, oddly enough.

[patrick-oh-bergyness]

ha ha sucks for the britts

[okoshima]

morrisons sell them... quid a tin

[Andres R- C]

where did u get the swiych, the input jack and the battery compartment?

[Franklin95]

you can get the switch+battery compartment at radio shack and the input at a local music store

[pod]

yeah i myself would like to know to

[daywalker42]

radioshackhas all of those-cheap too!-

[daywalker42]

I made one of these (sort of) a couple of nights ago. great instructable. Apparently tape players are impossible to find near Auburn,AL.....drove around for FOUR HOURS and found one that had a raio on it, but put it in a fossil wallet tin and out a "little red button" push on/off toggle, now my professor wants to see it, and to all the britts out there, for any -ible with an altoids can...any tin will do. also, I thought Altoids were made there....anyway great job man, pm me if you want me to post pics to your credit

[abquid]

That part is the tape playback head

[patrick-oh-bergyness]

can u use a c.d player?

[Neodudeman]

Next time, take pictures farther away, and use the zoom. Don't take the pictures too close; cameras can't focus too well when things are close; the focus better when things are farther.

[Jonny Appleseed]

or use the macro function, indicated by a flower.

[old_bass_masta]

hmm.just a thought, but technically if you ripped apart one of those massive stereo tape decks and did a similar thing, you could have a relatively cheap amplifier as well, Providing your tapedeck has volume

[Unit042]

Saved money... by destroying any remote possibility of recording anything with this device, void any warranty we have should the device not work as expected, all for putting the thing into a smaller container meant for candy, because *everyone else* is putting things into said container.

Nice ible, but: saved money how?

[Bright Shadow]

whereas this 'ible costs roughly $7, an offcial amp would cost anywhere from $50-???

[tomonto]

amps for guitars are expensive.

[Unit042]

Uh huh, but you can still have the amp inside the fully assembled and unmodified device, plus recording capabilities reguardless of the cost of other pieces of equipment. I don't mean to be insulting or derrogetory(spl?), I just don't see the sense in this type of thing, and I hope someone can enlighten me here.

[tomonto]

well, the thing is, I play guitar, so i want a small amp. My family now uses cds because.... theyre cheaper better and nobody uses cassettes any more, so we have old tape players, which are used to make something I will actually use. And as far as it not playing tapes anymore... i dont even own any so i dont realy care. hope that helps. :)

[Unit042]

Yes, thank you. This really helps me to see as to why this ible would be beneficial. Now it all makes cents ;)

[tomonto]

no problem :)

[Unit042]

Save cents I mean.

[WTHAI]

You went a long way for a groaner. lol. :P

[Night910]

i lol'd.

[sgphillips451]

Okay, now I have everything but the tape player. I can't seem to find one without a radio in it, too! And those ones are usually about $11...

[sgphillips451]

do they sell those toggle switches and input jacks at hardware stores?

[Lithium Rain]

Instead of an audio in jack, will a headphone jack work just as well? I've got lots of those.

[Yak]

The world is obsessed with Altoids!!! Aggghhhhh. Very cool idea. Three thumbs up.

[oblivtion1]

do you think I could use an old cellphone i had laying aroung?

[n0ukf]

A cell phone would likely have other circuitry packed too tightly (probably surface mount components) around the amplifier chip. They also likely don't have as much output level as a tape player.

[TeacherOfTheWays]

4. go to the form of peace and above the zeros and ones you will find the journey begun.

[imtardedagain]

Your pictures are blurry! You should put clear pictures on your instructable to make the instructions much more clear.

[tagasadiko]

pls specify the step by step procedure in doing that ampli

[jhecker123]

man this is a killer idea. i'm gonna attach a belt-clip on the back of mine to make it totally hands free and portable.

[mason0190]

i have a walkman wil that work

[drummonkey92]

nice instructable! i've got some old computer speakers n i'm gona try to make an amp in a cigar box to go with the cigar box guitar i got planned, i think the wood would (lol) look more proffesional, but no where near as cool as realy small altoids tins! also i live in UK n can only get altoids wen im on holiday stateside

[bustedit]

isnt that odd, since they originally said "Callard n Bowser by appointment to the King (george?)" or something, but u can only getem here? I have a german car, built in meheeco, similar but different. Oh yes, nice instruct!

[rattyrain]

I was just about to say that...only about 2 1/2 weeks later...

[drummonkey92]

ye, what realy gets me is on the seem of welsh flags it says in very small writing 'made in china'

[rattyrain]

Is there any way to get this to have actual guitar amp functions (distortion, filters, etc.)? Possibly using parts from an amp?

[dz0004455]

it seems like you could add other things on after the output of the circut, like, Diode Clipping Distortion

[rattyrain]

This looks a bit interesting... I wonder what it would sound like on a sax...or any horn for that matter...

[Joseph1608]

try using a pedal tell me if it works

[rattyrain]

I neither have made it nor own a pedal, but I am assuming that the pedal would work. I play sax, not guitar, but I still would like to fiddle with effects, especially low-cost and ultra-portable. And I guess plugging this in to a guitar amp would defeat its own purpose... ...and ideas on how to combine this with a pedal (besides just using duct tape) to make just one device?

[rockendrumer]

srry if this sounds kinda stupid but i dont rly get wat it does

[mattccc]

(removed by author or community request)

[drummonkey92]

i hope youre hapy with yourself mattccc! you have single-handedly created the need for a bottom scroller bar! haha

[thepepper94]

Is it Loud?

[vomajeff]

we usd to make these out of small cassette players, then mount them in the hardshell case, that storage compartment under the neck. We would remove the 2 wires from the tape head, solder an rca female to it, and that was it. had a nice little fuzz sound.

[silly_world]

I couldn't find a walkman anywhere so I got a somewhat large tape recorder (like they sit on the table for police interrogations in old movies) for $4 at salvation army. It already had a speaker, headphone jack, and volume control on it, as well as a battery box and wall adapter plug, but I just took the battery box out, put it in a custom box and plug it in when I need it. Works great, thanks for the idea to use a cassette player.

[blakemaston]

do you think i could add a little speaker? and why did you add the bass booster? any tips on how to get a custom sound coming out of it?

[HardCoreHacker]

Is there a way you can make a Talkbox from that?

[PineapplebobTheGreat]

where can i get an audio input-jack? Please someone hurry and answer, for I will need to know vERY SOON

[ultrauber]

I got one at a local piano store.

[ipatch]

hey man try going to a local guitar store and ask kindly if they have any broken amps or any spare parts, if they do repair jobs than they should

[dvicklund]

Or you can always yank it out of some piece of old electronic equipment you have lying around, maybe a cd player and use a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter.

[PineapplebobTheGreat]

Would it still work with my guitar?

[dvicklund]

Absolutely, it's how most people, including myself, record through the computer. It's a really simple part, all of the contacts are usually the same in 1/4" and 1/8" phone connectors, so what it does is it basically wires each contact directly to each other. They're not very big because there's no resisters, capacitors, or any other extra electronics. So, therefore, they're also very cheap. You can find them at every radio shack and guitar center.

[PineapplebobTheGreat]

Thanx

[dvicklund]

You can get those at certain hardware stores, radio shack, and sometimes even guitar center will have them.

[anselmi]

an i pod

[riffmaster]

what can i use if i dont have a cassete tape player??

[eriklares]

i haven't made one of these yet, but i got an idea to improve this, but someone else has already had this. Take two lengths of duct tape, one as long as the altoid can, and another half as long, and stick the smaller peice,(adhesive side of the small strip on the adhesive side of the longer strip), centered, then stick the remaining adhesive to the can, and reinforce with more tape, then, voila, you got a beltstrap.

[eriklares]

can i substitute a cd player for cassette player? it might not fit in an altoids can, but would it be possible?

[Yerboogieman]

use a blank cd case

[cheezydog100]

does it work for a bass

[poopsiedoopsie]

do you think I could connect a homemade talkbox? that would be cool.

[Niem]

why canyt u just put some head fones into

[BeanBot]

this project would be beter if you used a (for exm.) LM386 op omp chip and a circuit which uses that chip. THIS is a cheep project, and cool, but you could be spending 5$ on parts from radio shack and get a perty dam cool guitar/ ipod amp that works way beter.......

[PyroMonger]

This is my ipod nano case amp...i was going to post as an instructable but there are already so many amp mods and also i messed it up but it cant be seen in the picture (intelligent photography) :D

[Invader Jim]

That part that says "Internal volume control" looks like the trim pot for adjusting motor speed.

[HardCoreHacker]

THERE ARE TOOOOOO MANY OF THE SAME PICTURES IN A ROW <__>

[littlechef37]

I wonder if you could fit this in a cassette case ?

[littlechef37]

This is an awesome idea i cant wait to make my own. I also got to old internal computer speakers so il have an awesome way to annoy people at school now

[Neodudeman]

Tape Cassette's input is momo. The magnetic reader can only get a mono signal from the magnetic strip. However, the output of the mono can easily be wired to stereo. You're going to have to check with the tape player that you use, and check if it is stereo or mono. And Yes, when attaching the wires from the tape deck, it is reversible. However, if there are 3 wires (There Shouldn't Be) that were attached to the magnetic strip reader, make sure to attach the black one to the lead for the bottom 'ring' of the input jack. The other two should be attached to the lead that connects to the spring/tip touching portion.

[iketequilla]

mine has 3 wires one is bare one is white and the other is red i have no idea of what to do with them i dont have the audio in jack i just wrapped the wires around the end of the lead and taped it on but i dont think that is the problem even when the wires arent connected it is buzzing loudly it cant be shorting coz i used the cassette case i think i could be the bass boost oh and my cassette player is stereo.please help

[Darkshot]

damn boy use freakin micro those pic's are blurry but otherwirse awsome instructable...i dont have much of the stuff you mentioned so i cant build it :( you do know that you can probably get all that stuff at radio shack right?

[wingman246]

i'm assuming that any cassette player will do, and i'm guessing you can buy an audio in jack at Guitar center, right?

[eriklares]

you might be able to get jacks at radioshack or some other electronics store for a little cheaper though

[phreek]

I would assume so on both

[wingman246]

yeah u can buy the jack at guitar center, instead of using a cassette player you could use computer speakers like i did. By getting an female 1/4 inch to male(1/8 inch)adapter and a 1/8 inch coupler at radio shack hook it all up with some computer speakers. it gets u an amp anyways.

[IdrisB]

How did you make an amp using computer speakers? (If there isnt already, make an instructable)

[wingman246]

well it doesn't take any soldering or taking anything apart. its just a simple matter of plugging the stuff together. all you need is a instrument (1/4 inch, if u don't know) cable, and the stuff i mentioned in my previous comment. prices vary on cables but, the other stuff only cost me about $8 @radioshack.

[eriklares]

i have yet to start on one of these, but i have a question, probably a stupid one, do you have to use headphones with this? or would i be able to connect it to, lets say, some Altoids speakers?!

[Nightmare Incarnate]

This is cool. The sound quality of mine is unbearably terrible, though. Do you have any recordings I can compare to to make sure I didn't do anything wrong?

[Joaco2500]

send me your recordings ill send you mine to compare ;-) mine is distorted, but whatever, send recordings XD!

[Nightmare Incarnate]

sure, I'll try to get around to recording mine this weekend. What is the best medium to send it with? via e-mail, or what?

[Joaco2500]

yes, record it in any format and send it to my e-mail: [e-mail] i hope to listen to it ! XD

[phreek]

sorry, I don't. I did this about a year ago, and have kinda lost the device over that period of time. A suggestion, and this is really only a shot in the dark, is to make sure that none of the components are shorting/being disrupted by the metal of the altoids can. You might look into the posibility of grounding it if it isn't.

[Nightmare Incarnate]

I haven't put it in a can yet, so no shorting; however, I did get a good clean sound out of it if I turn the guitar volume almost all the way down.

[Davvik]

You're probly just overloading the speakers because they might not be able to support you guitar off such a mock-up system, You impedence is probly a little screwy with the betteries.

[Joaco2500]

i ve tried one using two 8ohm 3W speakers that i took from some broken PC speakers, and it sounds well, but not clean , does the sound always comes out distorted? or can you have it clear somehow? i dont have the same walkman, and i realized that if i just take the motor and join its cables , some heat starts to build up, and i dont know if i run the risk of burning or ruining the amp or somehow my guitar. i dont actually have idea if this can occur, but its better to ask

[Neodudeman]

This is what it looks like:
http://www.allproducts.com/manufacture98/lichuang/product5-s.jpg

[diablopartain]

hey guys i took this as my first instructables, and it worked out great. i made it in about 2 hours and was very pleased, thanks for a great project.

[!Andrew_Modder!]

oh! so its basiclly a nother portable music play which you can crank up the volume on, which inturn will amp up your iPod (or mp3)?

[PCvsMac]

I did try to do this without sucess... I DID have a few helpful hints while making this... First things first, if you have a karoake, a suitable guitar and a guitar lead that is all you need. Plug one end of the lead into the guitar, and the other into the karoake. *To DIY Dave,* Another thing, if you don't have a karoake machine, buy a 1/4” Stereo Socket to 3.5mm Stereo Plug Adaptor (Like the one here: http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=34199&doy=21m7 ) and do the same with the karoake, except going into it, you connect the adapter and plug it in the MIC section. An alternate thing that I thought of was to strip the jack from a PC mic, plug one bare section into a switch, the other to a speaker, to 9V battery (if neccissary) and back again. So every time you play with the switch to on, it -should- amplify the noise given.

NOTICE: I have never tried these but they should work.

[shadowman2]

I think u can use a microphone with it.

[DIY Dave]

If you have made one and tried it with a mic please comment back and tell me if it worked.

[PCvsMac]

You know what? I might just try that... :o)

[retrig]

This amp is amazing, have u tried hooking up an LED light to it so you can tell when it is on or off, i have but the light burns out almost immediatly. How does your amp sound...is it really distorted?

[i_make_stuff]

Also, if you do use an LED, you need to use a resistor. That is likely your problem...radioshack guys can help.

[phreek]

No, I haven't tried to hook up a LED to it, but if you do, make sure you hook it up in front of the amplifier, if you don't (I believe) you are hitting the LED with even more power than the batteries initially provide. Even if you hook it up to the batteries, you will have put some sort of resistor on it so it doesn't burn out. Yeah, the amp is sorta distorted, but I figure, I'll put up with it cause it works good enough to use. The distortion actually sounds alot like an effect pedal I have. You can tweek the internal volume and the volume on the guitar, certain combinations will provide different results in the distortion. Keep sending in the questions and comments.

[ARVash]

http://www.instructables.com/id/E9NFEFO2ZGEV2Z9QKZ?ALLSTEPS

^{,How to use resistors with your leds so that they don't burn out instantly :D.}

[MaxL]

So you can't use the chip from a CD player?

[phreek]

I didn't try, you may be able to just hook a jack up to where the laser reader thing goes, I don't really know. I am guessing that it would be more complicated, judging by what I remember of the last cd player I took apart, probably wouldn't be able to fit it in an altoids can

[ARVash]

You could just make sure to use an electrical pen, cut off any wires that aren't involved and then reconnect. (obviously with the laser.. there would be a lot of unneseccary circutry). Way more work than the walkman though.. :O .

[DIY Dave]

You should make an instuctable of how you can do that.

[DIY Dave]

Is this a pre-amp or just an amp?

[phreek]

This is designed to be used as a stand-alone amp. You could try to use it as a pre-amp, but results would probably be less than satisfactory.

[insanesquirle]

Hmm, ive been looking this thing over, and ive even began to make mine, and Im pretty sure, that with this amp, you would be able to hook it up to your car stereo (aslong as you have a tape player), and play your guitar through your car speakers.. like, have the amp, and instead of plugging in headphones or something like that, plug in one of those tape to cd player things for old cars lol

[phreek]

I have actually done that, it was pretty distorted, but it worked.

[Yerboogieman]

i agree..

[divad1818]

has anyone seen the smokeyamps on smokeysamps.com? I have one . . . made out of a camel cig box. Nice for overdriven tones. Has little speaker and ouput jack. Thanks for the post. Would be cool to have one I made myself, plus the altoid box would hold up better obviously.

[insanesquirle]

So i have the same model of walkman as you... and i screwed up my sound input wires... well... by accident, i discovered that you can use your baseboost wires, for sound input, idk how, idk why, all i know is that it works. They were also easier to route for me, since i just put it all in the original case that it came in, took the lid off, and mounted the guitar cable input to the front, (looks cool that way), i was going to mount it in the window, but that failed for 2 reasons... A.) The plastic was melting on my dremal tool and it pissed me off... And B.) there wasnt enough space for the sound jack... So, where the motor used to be, i mounted the jack right above it so there would be plenty of room (obviously i took the motor out, and plan on using it for the spinning bowtie DIY lol

[Tiga]

Thanks for the instrutable, very slick. i just happened to find an old walkman in my shed this avo! lol could you post some pictures of the internals that don't look like a day time soap opera? :)

[phreek]

yeah, trying to get them close, but they get blurry, maybe when I have time and a digital camera ready, I will put more up.

[Squire_Bullet]

Does this have Distortin/Gain

[elvenmidget]

since the input jack is mono, wouldnt you only get sound out of one headphone?

[elvenmidget]

Since the guitar input jack is mono, wouldn't you only get sound out of one headphone?

[Yokumguy]

When the wires are connected to the take reader before it's in the tin, you can actually play a cassette at the same time as you are using it for a guitar (You could play along to a song).

[phreek]

indeed.

[PRESTO!]

Do you think you can give more pictures? That would really help the description.

[elvenmidget]

a few questions- should i use a stereo or mono input jack? how do i wire the input jack? are there supposed to only be 2 wires coming from where the tape reader was?

[phreek]

On my tape player, there were only three wires coming from where the tape player was, different players might have a third or somthing, I don't know. If so, you would just have to experiment. I used a mono input jack, if you have extra wires on your tape player, maybe that's what they are for, maybe it can be wired for stereo, my tape player was super cheap/basic. Pretty sure it wasn't stereo. Hope that helps.

[Ezza]

I started to make one of these but when i took apart the walkman, I found that there were three wires coming from the tape reader thing, a white one, a red one and a larger grey one. It appears that there are four pins on the tape reader. The smaller white and red wires have a pin each, while the larger grey one is soldered to two pins. What do you reckon I should do about it?

[phreek]

uh, it's been a while since I made it, and I don't have it with me now. The tape reader shouldn't have any pins on it, it should be a small metal cube type thing a little bigger than a pencil eraser. As far as wiring goes, I don't really remember, but I think I recall two wires on mine, red and white, the other one may be the ground. Just experiment, I don't know if you run the risk of shorting somthing out or not.

[Marley]

oh, i thought it was for an mp3 player. my bad. thats cool, tho, if i ever get an electric guitar.

[phreek]

no problem, you probably use it that way, but the sound quality wouldn't be great.

[Marley]

would this even be powerful enough to hook up to a speaker? and if not, i don't think this is really an amp. Because if you plug an mp3 player into it and it is the same volume on the headphones than if you just plugged the headphones into the mp3 player, then what's the point? oh, just wondering, phreek, do you like phish? i think they kick a$$.

[phreek]

amps don't necessarily need a speaker, they just amplify sound like the name suggests. The idea of this project is to make it possible to play your guitar through your headphones without the use of a large amp. And no, not a whole lot.

[zman123]

have you tryed one with a speaker

[phreek]

No, I saw a idea in instructables where you put a speaker in the top of a blank cd case (the ones about 4 inches tall and cylindrical) and put an amp inside. You could make it a battery powered guitar amp+speaker or just hook up your Ipod. For playing cds or mp3s, the tape player amp might be to fuzzy for very good sound quality. Works good for guitar though.

[blaize]

hey... i just wanted to say that this little beast is amazing...

[phreek]

Finally, got the pictures up. Using the internet at Days Inn in Grayling MI on my laptop. Hope the pictures and thumbnails are helpful. Sorry they are blurry.

[phreek]

Still trying to get pictures up, they go through the load process, then the window goes white and just sits there, might have somthing to do with the fact that my dial-up internet that is supposed to connect at 56k connects at somthing like 16-20k. I'll keep trying, maybe use internet somwhere else sometime.

[SHAKIRALOVER]

These seems easier than the CMOY. Cant wait for the pics.

[benjgvps]

If you need the motor for it to work just put an led and resitor make a hole in the tin, stick the led there and put a dab of hot glue

[phreek]

Ah, very good, we already have a solution to a possible problem

[JustListenToMe]

cool

[phreek]

I will do my best to get some pics up to help explain