Make a Simple Audio Amplifier

It is my first instructable.Lets see how to make an audio amplifier which you can use with any of your musical instruments like guitar,piano and with ipod and other devices.So Lets begin the journey....

Disclaimer: If following this guide anything damages i shall not be held responsible.Do it at your own risk.

Step 1: Components

You need the following components

1- LM 386 semiconductor (IC)
2- 100 micro Farad capacitor
3- 220 micro Farad capacitor
4- 10 ohm resistor
5- 5 kilo ohm variable resistor
6- 100 ohm variable resistor
7- 0.01 capacitor
8- 0.047 capacitor
9- Wires
10- 9V Battery clip
11- 9V Battery
12- 3.5mm stereo jack male
13- 3.5mm stereo jack female
14- Project board (or you can use dotted board and solder)

You can find these electrical components from your nearest electronics store.These all components are easy to find and are common so you won`t have a hard time to find it.

Comments

[Dunne111]

How could you add a led and switch and maby a USB for an iPod?

[Dunne111]

Would it work if you used 12v power supply instead of a 9v supply?

[PoLoMoTo]

Unfortunately this is a mono amp, stereo would require two LM386's

[samaddon]

I HAVE A QUESTION !
Can i use a 1000 uF capacitor instead of a 220 uF capacitor to increase bass ??

[samaddon]

I HAVE A QUESTION !
Can i use a 1000 uF capacitor instead of a 220 uF capacitor to increase bass ??

[rgupta34]

plzzzzzzzzzzz help me ........how to use those variable resistors??? and i have used 4k7 instead of 5 kilo ohm resistor ... is it ok ...
help me its not working ... i connected a jack from my guitar to input ...
its giving hisss sound only .... :(

[rgupta34]

i have used a guitar jack ,,,,, ????

[Dowaine]

if i hooked up a mic to the spot labeled in would that work

[shady24]

hey i am almost on a verge of making this ....all i need to ask is that,can i use 10k ohm potentiometer insted of a 5k ohm potentiometer

[vernkle]

that should work, but it may effect the volume and sound quality.

[nedstark]

does my speakers have to have its own power supply, i mean, i want to use the speakers for pc, which of the two do i use? will i be okay if the detachable one? thanks

[astrogotnext]

hey what electronic device carries the lm 386 chip? what other chip could i use instead and where to get it out of.......

[Insonicbloom]

Iif you want an amp with a bit more power go here I designed a quite powerful guitar amp using the TDA2030 on stripboard - there are soundsamples too it is quite simple and as per most of my designs I try to use parts I've salvaged, in this case most of the parts probably came from the same PCB as the TDA2030 - people were so impressed I had a few local players pay me to make them one.

[mrmitchell1012]

Can I make multiple amps and join them together in series or parallel them?

[nodoubtman]

5 k ohm Potentiometer not resistor
thanks! :)

[sadilrox]

IS this suitable for 100watt speakers

[djbogdy43]

I REALLY NEED YOUR HELP!
In my town I can find only LM386N..It will work?

[aplustv]

Yes you can use it! they are the same....

[tom g.]

What is the wattage of the speaker that would match this set up?

[tom g.]

Is the 10 ohms resistor 1/4w?

[rush2sk8]

can i use a potentiometer insted of a variable resistor

[nodoubtman]

its the same thing! :)

[bacha5067]

Hey can anyone give me the circuit diagram for the.... the image is not so clear..

[hrimiller]

Has anyone tried this with an ipod? i have a nano chromatic and it is really quiet with my headphones.

[JayKnight1990]

Hello everyone, I'm new to this website. I'm going to school for electronics so I will be on this site a lot. I'm also kind of a noob to everything as well so pardon me If I asked stupid questions.
I am trying to build something just like this for my class. My question is, what if I want to use a small 8 ohm 0.5 W speaker that has a red and black cable connected to it. Would I just replace the female 3.5 mm jack with this speaker?

[Ririshi]

Yes, indeed. You should connect the black to the ground and red to the signal +. I have read this chip is made to put out 0.7 Watts, so maybe you shouldn't put the amplifier on full power, or you can damage the speakers.

[bmin2709]

yes you would :)

[stupidkartik]

does anyone know what voltage capacitors to install?

[Ririshi]

I'd choose 10v or higher. Just make sure it's higher than the 9v or it'll explode =D

[Logicdustbin]

as I understand, it just needs to be larger then the supply voltage.

[D_David]

hey do i need the ic? i cant seem to fimd that ic but i found a 'TEA2025b' can that work? plz reply asap thanks

[Mark_L]

Hey do you know how i could build a amplifier for a car audio system? if you have a link to a different website or something that would be great.

[seriusbeswax]

thanks for the demo dude it works fine gonna use the design to build a more powerful one i will let u know how it went. peace

[kafi023]

hi i am kafi i want to make this amplifier i do not know anything plz help me and tag a video footage......................................

[zzmm89zz]

great job! is there any way to increase the quality? perhaps a bandwidth filter?

[rajat kosh]

I recommend you TDA IC or go to http://www.hobby-hour.com/electronics/power-audio-amplifier-ic.php for your quality amplifier

[=haineux=]

The LM386 is not an audiophile part. It also will not output a lot of power.

You need to find a different circuit. Try searching for one using a Tripath Class T chip.

[dan1023]

Hey, if you built this, what voltage capacitors did you use? Really need some help with this. Hope ur reply comes soon : )

[zzmm89zz]

Hi, you need to use the capacitors listed in this instructable, which are: 220 uF 100 uF .01 uF .047 uF Maybe these last two confused you since the author didn't include the units. All of these capacitors should be in microfarads. Also, make sure the voltage rating is at least 9V (since the battery is 9V). My capacitors were rated up to 16V and worked fine.

[ajervis]

do i have to get the 0.047? i cant seem to find it