This, my first Instructable, will show you how to add an external speaker jack to the infamous Pignose 7-100 battery powered amplifier. With this mod, you can use your Pignose to drive any size speaker, even a Marshall stack! If you love the sound of your little Piggy now, just wait until you hear it with large speakers.
I assume a basic understanding and ability to solder and drill sheet metal, but beyond that, this is pretty simple.
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Signing UpStep 1: Parts identification
You will need to purchase a mono switched phone jack, refer to the attached photo. This jack has three terminals, one for ground, one for the signal input, and one for the signal output. With nothing plugged in, the signal in and out terminals are connected together and the audio is sent to the Piggy's internal speaker. With a plug connected, the signal is routed to the external speaker instead of the internal Pignose speaker. This part is available from Mouser Electronics, p/n 161-MJ160M-EX
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i was given a gutted 7-100, so i decided i'd just strip whatever there was of use out of it. one of the components i got out of it is the one of the jacks. could you help me out by explaining what all of the lugs are for? or maybe just how it's supposed to be wired?
i really don't know what happened to it, but it was torn apart on the inside and had leaking batteries and, i assume, dried soda pooled in one corner. because of all that, i don't know if the wires attached to the jack are even all that's supposed to be there.
any help would be appreciated.
The "dried soda" you see inside could actually be from the leaked batteries.
When you say it was gutted, does that mean all of the electronics were stripped out?
I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks.
i've dealt with regular guitar jacks, but these things have 6 extra lugs. from what i can see inside, i figured that maybe they work like a jack and a switch... but, i dunno.
as for the "soda"... yeah, i tasted it and you were absolutely right. (hah! just kidding.)
on the gutted topic, the transformers were still there and about half of everything else that was supposed to be on the board with them was also there. the speaker was there. the volume pot was there (it's a bit wonky, but it still works)... ummm, that's pretty much all i was able to salvage out of it. maybe if i can clean out the cabinet itself, i'll reuse it.
thanks, and take your time.
http://youtu.be/QPnE2rMfqEE
Actually battery life will be the same, as long as the external speaker you use is rated at 8 ohms impedance (the same as the internal Piggy speaker). As long s the impedance is the same, the amplifier has no idea what it is "seeing", so the power consumption is the same. For example, if you have a speaker cab with four 8 ohm speakers inside, they are connected in a series-parallel configuration. Two 8ohm speakers in series totals 16 ohms, then the other two series connected 8 ohm speakers (16 ohms total again) are connected in parallel so the total impedance is back to 8 ohms.
The little Piggy will seem louder, and will certainly have much more bass response with the bigger speakers.