Mini Guitar Bass Amplifier Diagram Circuit

Output power: 6W into 4 Ohm load, FET input stage - Passive Tone Control
Tiny, portable Guitar Amplifiers are useful for practice on the go and in bedroom/living room environment. Usually, they can be battery powered and feature a headphone output. This project is formed by an FET input circuitry, featuring a High/Low sensitivity switch, followed by a passive Tone Control circuit suitable to Guitar or Bass. After the Volume control, a 6W IC power amplifier follows, powered by a 12-14V dc external supply Adaptor or from batteries, and driving a 4 Ohm 10 or 13cm (4"/5") diameter car loudspeaker. Private listening by means of headphones is also possible.

Circuit diagram:

Mini Guitar-Bass Amplifier Circuit Diagram

Parts:

P1______________1M Linear Potentiometer
P2____________100K Log Potentiometer
R1_____________68K 1/4W Resistor
R2____________470K 1/4W Resistor
R3______________2K7 1/4W Resistor
R4______________8K2 1/4W Resistor
R5____________680R 1/4W Resistor
R6____________220K 1/4W Resistor
R7_____________39R 1/4W Resistor
R8______________2R2 1/4W Resistor
R9____________220R 1/4W Resistor
R10_____________1R 1/4W Resistor
R11___________100R 1/2W Resistor
R12_____________1K5 1/4W Resistor
C1____________100pF 63V Polystyrene or Ceramic Capacitor
C2,C5,C9,C14__100nF 63V Polyester Capacitors
C3____________100µF 25V Electrolytic Capacitor
C4_____________47µF 25V Electrolytic Capacitor
C6______________4n7 63V Polyester Capacitor
C7____________470pF 63V Polystyrene or Ceramic Capacitor
C8______________2µ2 25V Electrolytic Capacitor
C10___________470µF 25V Electrolytic Capacitor
C11____________22nF 63V Polyester Capacitor
C12__________2200µF 25V Electrolytic Capacitor
C13__________1000µF 25V Electrolytic Capacitor
D1______________3mm red LED
Q1____________BF245 or 2N3819 General-purpose N-Channel FET
IC1_________TDA2003 10W Car Radio Audio Amplifier IC
SW1,SW2________SPST toggle or slide Switches
J1____________6.3mm Mono Jack socket
J2____________6.3mm Stereo Jack socket (switched)
J3_____________Mini DC Power Socket
SPKR__________4 Ohm Car Loudspeaker 100 or 130mm diameter

Notes:

• Connect the output Plug of a 12 - 14V dc 500mA Power Supply Adaptor to J3
• Please note that if the voltage supply will exceed 18V dc the IC will shut down automatically

Technical data:

Output power (1KHz sinewave):
6W RMS into 4 Ohm at 14.4V supply
Sensitivity:
50mV RMS input for full output
Frequency response:
25Hz to 20kHz -3dB with the cursor of P1 in center position
Total harmonic distortion:
0.05 - 4.5W RMS: 0.15% 6W RMS: 10%

Tone Control Frequency Response:

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Mini High Voltage Generator Circuit

Here’s a project that could be useful this summer on the beach, to stop anyone touching your things left on your beach towel while you’ve gone swimming; you might equally well use it at the office or workshop when you go back to work. In a very small space, and powered by simple primary cells or rechargeable batteries, the proposed circuit generates a low-energy, high voltage of the order of around 200 to 400 V, harmless to humans, of course, but still able to give a quite nasty ‘poke’ to anyone who touches it.

Quite apart from this practical aspect, this project will also prove instructional for younger hobbyists, enabling them to discover a circuit that all the ‘oldies’ who’ve worked in radio, and having enjoyed valve technology in particular, are bound to be familiar with. As the circuit diagram shows, the project is extremely simple, as it contains only a single active element, and then it’s only a fairly ordinary transistor. As shown here, it operates as a low-frequency oscillator, making it possible to convert the battery’s DC voltage into an AC voltage that can be stepped up via the transformer.

Using a centre-tapped transformer as here makes it possible to build a ‘Hartley’ oscillator around transistor T1, which as we have indicated above was used a great deal in radio in that distant era when valves reigned supreme and these was no sign of silicon taking over and turning most electronics into ‘solid state’. The ‘Hartley’ is one of a number of L-C oscillator designs that made it to eternal fame and was named after its invertor, Ralph V.L Hartley (1888-1970). For such an oscillator to work and produce a proper sinewave output, the position of the intermediate tap on the winding used had to be carefully chosen to ensure the proper step-down (voltage reduction) ratio.

Here the step-down is obtained inductively. Here, optimum inductive tapping is not possible since we are using a standard, off-the-shelf transformer. However we’re in luck — as its position in the centre of the winding creates too much feedback, it ensures that the oscillator will always start reliably. However, the excess feedback means that it doesn’t generate sinewaves; indeed, far from it. But that’s not important for this sort of application, and the transformer copes very well with it.

The output voltage may be used directly, via the two current-limiting resistors R2 an R3, which must not under any circum-stances be omitted or modified, as they are what make the circuit safe. You will then get around 200 V peak-to-peak, which is already quite unpleasant to touch. But you can also use a voltage doubler, shown at the bottom right of the figure, which will then produce around 300 V, even more unpleasant to touch. Here too of course, the resistors, now know as R4 and R5, must always be present. The circuit only consumes around a few tens of mA, regardless of whether it is ‘warding off’ someone or not! If you have to use it for long periods, we would however recommend powering it from AAA size Ni-MH batteries in groups of ten in a suitable holder, in order not to ruin you buying dry batteries.

Circuit diagram:

Warning!
If you build the version without the voltage doubler and measure the output voltage with your multimeter, you’ll see a lower value than stated. This is due to the fact that the waveform is a long way from being a sinewave, and multimeters have trouble interpreting its RMS (root-mean-square) value. However, if you have access to an oscilloscope capable of handling a few hundred volts on its input, you’ll be able to see the true values as stated. If you’re still not convinced, all you need do is touch the output terminals...

To use this project to protect the handle of your beach bag or your attachecase, for example, all you need do is fix to this two small metallic areas, quite close together, each connected to one output terminal of the circuit. Arrange them in such a way that unwanted hands are bound to touch both of them together; the result is guaranteed! Just take care to avoid getting caught in your own trap when you take your bag to turn the circuit off!

Copyright : Elektor Electronics 2008

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