Build Your Own Guitar Amplifier

If you know how to solder and plug some components into a breadboard, you have all the skills you need to build your own homemade guitar amplifier. It doesn’t have to involve any tubes or dangerous voltage. In fact, the design in this project is powered by a simple 9-volt battery and built only with parts that you can pick up today at an electronics store.

The design is based on the “Little Gem” amplifier circuit from runoffgroove.com. There are a lot of other great guitar circuits there for you to explore once you get the hang of it!

9-volt battery

battery connector

Audio amplifier IC chip, LM386N

8 pin IC socket

220µf electrolytic capacitor

100µf electrolytic capacitor

0.047µf ceramic capacitor

0.01µf polyester film capacitor

10O resistor

5kO Audio-taper Potentiometer

25O Rheostat variable resistor

8O mini-speaker

mini toggle switch

¼” mono phone jack

breadboard

printed circuit board

solid core hookup wire

The design we’ll be using is the RunoffGroove “Little Gem” amplifier and you can find the schematic drawing here.

If you have trouble reading this kind of schematic, flickr user cairn_idris has made a much more readable circuit drawing and posted it here.

First, let’s put in the socket for our IC audio amplifier chip. We want a socket so we’re less likely to break off the pins on the chip itself.

Place the socket so that it bridges the gap in the center of the breadboard (pic #1). The horizontal rows in the breadboard make connections, but the center ridge breaks them. So placing the chip over the gap will allow us to make connections to the pins without connecting the pins to each other.

Now you can put the chip in the socket. Make sure you notice the notch in the chip, it should be at the top (pics #2, #3).

I’m going to start roughly on the left side of the schematic and move left to right. The first thing we see is labeled “In." This will be our input. For a guitar amp, we want this to be our ¼ mono jack. We’ll have to solder some wires to it first. On a guitar cable plug, the signal is carried on the tip and the ground is the sleeve (pic #4).

When it is plugged into the jack you can see the tip touches the smaller contact that comes off the side of the jack. Let’s solder a signal wire (green) to that contact, and a ground wire (black) to the larger outer contact (pic #5).

Now, looking at the schematic, we can see that the input signal goes to a .01µf capacitor and then into pin 2 of our chip. If we look at the diagram provided on the back of the package the chip came in, we can see this pin is labeled “input.”

Using the breadboard, connect the capacitor to pin 2 and a new row. Then connect the input signal wire to that same row (pic #6).

Next we should wire up the 5kO potentiometer. This is represented on the schematic by the squiggly line with an arrow pointing to it. The arrow itself represents the connection to the ‘wiper’ or the middle contact on the potentiometer. Solder a wire to the middle contact, and another wire to the contact to its right (pic #7).

Connect those wires to pin 8 (upper right) and pin 1 (upper left) respectively. On our chip diagram these pins are both labeled ‘gain’ so this will be our gain knob controlling the amount of fuzzy distortion.

The icon on the schematic that looks like an arrow pointing down represents a connection to ground. We will make the power and common ground the red and blue columns on the edge of our breadboard. Pins 3 and 4 should be connected to ground so use hookup wires to make those 2 connections on the breadboard (pic #8).

We haven’t connected power to our board yet, but it will be a 9-volt battery. So the +9V on our schematic represents a connection to power, the red column. This should be connected directly to pin 6 (labeled Vs) and also connected to ground passing through a 100µf capacitor. These are directional so it’s important to connect them in the right direction. Looking at the ends of the capacitor, one should be a shiny metal and the other should not. The shiny metal end is the negative side so connect that to ground and the other to power (pic 10).

Note: I’m leaving the leads fairly long at this point as I might need them later when I make the more permanent circuit board.

Now there is only one more pin we need to make connections to, pin 5 labeled Vout. This is our output, which we will be sending to the speaker. This pin will make two connections, one goes through a 220µf capacitor to the rheostat (which connects to our speaker and ground), and the other goes to ground passing through the 10O resistor and the smallest 0.047µf capacitor.

Let’s make the connection to ground first. Make a connection from pin 5’s row to another row using the resistor. Then make a connection from that row to another new row using the capacitor. Finally connect that row to ground with a hookup wire (pic #12).

Now for the other connection, we start with the 220µf capacitor. Again, it’s polarized. The longer lead is positive, and the negative end is labeled with a stripe on the body of the capacitor. Connect the positive end to the row of pin 5, and the negative end to a new row.

We’ll have to solder some wires to the rheostat to make the rest of the connections. A rheostat is a lot like a potentiometer, but can handle much higher currents so it’s perfect for the amplifier output. The wiper (the arrow on the schematic) is labeled output (which is our speaker) so connect the middle contact to the positive lead from the speaker. The other contacts should be black wires for ground (both to the board and to the speaker) and a yellow wire that connects back to the capacitor coming out of pin 5 (pic #13).

The last step is to connect our battery connector to the power and ground columns (red and blue) and see if our amplifier works!

Now you have a working amplifier. The next steps would be to rebuild your circuit soldering onto the printed circuit board so that your wires won’t come loose. You can put the toggle switch in between the positive lead from the battery and the circuit for an on/off switch. Finally, find a nice box for your amp!

Original article and all photos by Aidan Collins."

This page was last modified 17:57, 15 July 2011 by howto_admin.

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Build Homemade Cell Phone Jammer

Not so long ago I was in a deep search for quality instructions about how to make this thing. It took a lot of time and no real results were found. But I did not stopped my searches and at last found what I have looked for, and all this thanks to guys from manufacturing team of Jammer Store Inc.

Their blog post with nice explanations and many pictures and schemes is just awesome! After reading it many things about making signal jammer and how it operates were clean to me as never before. So I used my new knowledge and managed to build my own mobile phone jammer.

Have a look at it and maybe you will build your own too.

Technical Details

Many cell phones use GSM800 mobile standard to operate, thus my VCO (sweeping oscillator) is tuned to the 800MHz frequency range. It may be quite difficult to make this one to work properly without some skills and good testing tools, but in result you will have the efficient VCO.

I used clock oscillator for 45MHz as the noise generator for this jammer. It drives the local oscillator port which is located at the mixer. The signal is going out from the local oscillator and passes through the impedance matching network along its way. This helps equate the impedance of 45MHz clock oscillator with the impedance of the mixer's port.

This port acts like RF input of the signal jammer. The RF output signal passes through the amplifier on the mini-circuit. The output power is increased by additional 15-16dbm in this way. Then the output signal goes to the RF output antenna. RF input has the antenna too.

Jammer Operating

Why I chose 45MHz clock oscillator? Because GSM800 band transmitted and received signals are always separated by the exact number of frequency and it is that 45MHz. Now picture this: cell phone user dial someone and signal goes off. RF input antenna catches it and jammer modifies this signal and lets it go. This signal have a frequency of cell phone's received signal, so cell phone user would hear his or her own voice in a phone! :)

I should also mention that this particular cell phone jammer might be used to block the signal of the cell-based car tracking device which records your GPS data and sends it to some bad guys. And it probably can even jam some IED signals if they are controlled by cell phone GSM800 band.

But I hope that there be no situation in this life when that feature will be needed by me, or you, or anyone else.

Photos And Some Notes

Used mixer was originally made for 600MHz but I modified it a little and it works perfectly for 800MHz.

The amplifier makes fantastic thing with output power. Despite it draws additional power supply, it is worth it.

Jammer case was made from old aluminium box and UHF connectors I took from my old Motorola phone.

Those connectors must be soldered to the mini-circuit to work properly.

To supply this little signal jammer the nine volts battery with voltage regulator is enough. I have separated it from other electronic components with foam plastic.

Don't forget to make a power switch for your new creation. Oh, and attach antennas to the UHF connectors.

So it is ready! Use it wisely ;)

Jammer Scheme

This page was last modified 09:20, 8 July 2011 by beargrills.

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Smart School Selection Strategy - Creating a Personalized School Scorecard to Build Strong Kids

Smart School Choice builds Strong Kids

Developing a selection scorecard to place your student in the best school to meet their needs

Recently I had dinner with my friends Bill and Nancy Palmer and the subject of school choice came up; mostly because at one time they had each of their five children in five different schools. If you think that schedule sounds crazy, then you've never met the five remarkable young adults they raised who have launched successfully out into the world. It was extremely stressful at times to keep things organized but they were committed to building strong kids and were creative enough to always find options to help each child grow in strength and confidence. How did they do it? Simple, they picked the educational experiences that were the best fit for each of their children at each stage of life regardless of convenience.

Many times parents are afraid of school change, or don't realize they have so many choices available to them in guiding their kids toward their strength zone. First let's look at what makes a 'good' school actually 'good.' Since it's not really one thing it's a combination of many factors that when combined together can create a learning environment which can brings out the best in your child. Here are some of the most common elements to consider when you begin the process of selecting a school to bring out the best in your son or daughter.

-Key factors of a 'good' school:

Strong parental involvement, as the old saying goes, a school is only as strong as the level of parental support that it receives. Clear community support, especially from elected officials. Focused school leaders, especially in administrative roles. Well structured academic programs to cover different learning styles. Committed and caring teachers focused on the needs of their students. A safe and secure learning experience. Budgets that allow for extra-curricular activities to positively impact multiple areas of development, such as the arts, music, journalism, ROTC, languages and sports. Guidance departments focused on a personalized plan to help students achieve who 'think outside the box'. Smart classrooms with access to current and cutting edge computer and Internet technology. A learning experience that honors your families faith and values, instead of attacking or shaming your child for holding onto a strong system of faith.

Of course any parent would want the best for their children, but it's been my experience that the word 'best' actually floats on many variables through the different stages of childhood. So, since 'best' isn't actually a single school campus this opens the door to explore many experiences that often accelerate the learning environment for the kids who live at your house.

This can only happen when you begin to see that the main goal is to find out what needs your the child is facing to then select the school choice that can guide them to a position of greater strength. This just going along with whatever may have worked for your child last year. Remember, a child's maturity changes year to year, and for many kids this means their academic choices should change with it.

- Chart to solve the confusion of discovering the best schools

Begin to make smart school choices to help your child be their best by building a chart to literally 'score' the school options available to your child on a legal pad, running across the top of the page. You should include every option you can think of to do a complete analysis of what is available to your child.

Even if you only think that you have one option, really sit down to consider the school choices available to your child in the coming school year. This way you will be able to actually track the metrics to see a visual number at the bottom of the page to see what each school choice brings to the table in best meeting the needs of your son or daughter at any stage of their educational development.

Here's a sample of how to structure across the top of the page, except it's more personal and more powerful if you actually place the name of each of the schools you are considering in that particular column, (for instance list out the choices facing your child, like: Orange County High, Mountain Prep, Holy Family, The Community School, Math Magnet Prep, Military Leadership Academy or an online virtual school)

Smart School Options:

Public- College Prep- Christian- HomeSchool- Charter- Boarding-Private- Magnet-Military- Online or Virtual School and so on

Once you have created a list across the page of every available option you have available to meet the needs of your child, then it's time to add the list of variables, (preferably in order of importance to you in meeting the unique needs of your child), to rank or score each school choice against your own personal standard of what's most valuable to bring out the best in your son or daughter. Create this list on the left margin of your legal pad and include factors like the following.

Smart School Features includes a combination of major factors like:

Safety, Academics, Great Teachers, Strong leaders, Involved parents, PTA-PTF groups, Location, Transportation, Costs or tuition, Friends/peers, Fits child's personality, Fits career goals, Fits academic goals, School size, Well equipped classrooms, Class size to teacher ratio, Campus well maintained, Clean school facilities, Hot lunches and cafeteria, Wide range of sports, After school activities, Tutoring- academic help, Music, choirs, band, Fine arts and drama, Bible, world view or faith building classes, After school activities or child care, Clubs, FCA, DECA, OJT, and so on for social connection, School life- socials and proms, Trips- unique learning experiences, SAT or ACT prep classes, Strong guidance department, Tuition assistance programs, Partnerships with community groups (Boys & Girls Clubs, Scouting, etc), Partnerships with business groups to develop early career success, (like Junior Achievement, career training)

TOTALS of all of your comparisons of core values measured against each school option - A stronger score reveals a stronger school choice to meet the needs of your child.

Once you have developed your as many categories as fit the unique needs of your child, then it's time to go back and score each school at the top of the page against your specific priorities listed along the left column on a numerical scale of 10, (best) down to 5 (average) then on down to 1 (terrible).

Be honest and don't play favorites as you really consider the needs of the students in your family, since this process works from selecting a pre-school all the way to college. Leave any areas blank that are unknown to you, yet since this will greatly reduce the score for that particular school it indicates you need to do more research to create a fair analysis on some of the schools you may have selected for your child.

Another technique you can use is to do a detailed web search about each school, however, I recommend that you take your child with you to preview new schools with you in person. Walk the campus, talk to teachers or other students, or if possible visit the school when it's in session and 'shadow' a host student throughout the day to see what the school culture is really like first hand.

This school choice process can be repeated every year as needed based on the needs of your son or daughter. Add in the maturity level of your child to complete the process of selecting what's best by identifying where you believe your student to be at during this stage of their academic career.

Child (up to age 13) - Dependent and Irresponsible

Teen (13-19) - Developing, Maturing and Growing

Young Adult (20-25) - Independent and Responsible

It is wise to consider the maturity level of your child since some school settings will require a higher level of responsibility or independent decision making. Once you have identified the maturity level then just factor in the scores from your school choice chart to narrow down your search to find the best school. Remember, the higher the score, the more likely that it's a better fit to help your student to reach their best during this or any school year.

Strong students often are able to build strong lives, so the time you take now to guide your children into the best direction, (even if it means making the sacrifice of car-pooling different kids in different directions for several years) will lead to strong and confident young adults for a lifetime, and that's an excellent trade.

By Dwight Bain, Nationally Certified Counselor & Certified Life Coach

About the author - Dwight Bain is dedicated to helping people achieve greater results. He is a Nationally Certified Counselor, Certified Life Coach and Certified Family Law Mediator in practice since 1984 with a primary focus on solving crisis events and managing major change. He is a member of the National Speakers Association and partners with media, major corporations and non-profit organizations to make a positive difference in our culture. Access more counseling and coaching resources designed to save you time by solving stressful situations by visiting his counseling blog with over 150 complimentary articles and special reports at http://www.LifeWorksGroup.org

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How To Build Up A Full Collection Of Chalet School Books

The Chalet School series by Elinor Brent-Dyer seems to be one of the most popular school series. There were 62 books altogether which is why it is so difficult to collect the whole set. There were also additional books and newsletters. Recently new authors have written 'fill-in' books where they feel there should be extra information not provided by the author herself. Some of the books are extremely rare and some paperbacks, even reprints can sell for £30+ making some of the hardback first editions extremely valuable indeed.

If you have started a collection or would like to I have some tips for you. Firstly decide whether you wish to collect paperbacks, hardbacks or either and whether you want to get every title or just the actual series of books and not the newsletters, additional books and books by other authors. Once you have decided you will need to get together a list of these titles. Most of the more modern reprints carry a full list of titles in the front and you can also look these up on various websites. I have included a list at the end of the article (It includes all of the original books plus some additional ones. I know I have missed some of the additional ones out).

Now you need to know where to start looking for these books. EBay is an obvious choice but some of the rarer books are hard to find even on eBay and when they do appear it is easy to be outbid. However it is still worth looking and listing on the 'wants' pages of eBay. There are other websites that sell second hand books but they do tend to be more expensive. Therefore I would tend to look in second hand bookshops, bookfairs and at charity book sales. You can sometimes pick up the titles slightly cheaper and you can also ask the dealers to look out for copies for you and put them by for you. Girls Gone By publish some of the out of print titles in unabridged paperbacks and some new authors who have written 'fill-in' books. These go out of print very quickly but you can usually find copies on eBay for a while. These are ideal if you are looking to fill gaps in your collection and do not mind that the books are a different size to the originals. Other publishers of fill-in titles are Bettany Press and Troubador publishing.

If you want to, for example, read the whole series but also get a nice hardback collection, I would recommend buying any title you see that you do not own. It may take a long time to get every book in hardback and you can always sell the paperback on eBay once you find a hardback version. You can also do this with paperbacks if you want a particular cover style or if you want to replace some of your tattier copies with neater ones.

Full List of Titles

Original series by Elinor Brent-Dyer : The School at the Chalet, Jo of the Chalet School, The Princess of the Chalet School, The Head Girl of the Chalet School, Rivals of the Chalet School, Eustatia Goes to the Chalet School, The Chalet School and Jo, The Chalet School in Camp, The Exploits of the Chalet School, The Chalet School and the Lintons, A Rebel at the Chalet School, The New Houseat the Chalet School, Jo Returns to the Chalet School, The New Chalet School, A United Chalet School, The Chalet School in Exile, The Chalet School at War, The Highland Twins at the Chalet School, Lavender Leigh at the Chalet School, Gay Lambert at the Chalet School, Jo to the Rescue, The Mystery at the Chalet School, Tom Tackles the Chalet School, The Chalet School and Rosalie, Three go to the Chalet School, The Chalet School and the Island, Peggy of the Chalet School, Carola Storms the Chalet School, The Wrong Chalet School, Shocks for the Chalet School, The Chalet School in the Oberland, Bride Leads the Chalet School, Changes for the Chalet School, Jey Goes to the Oberland, The Chalet School and Barbara, The Chalet School Does it Again, A Chalet Girl From Kenya, Mary-Lou of the Chalet School, A Genius at the Chalet School, Chalet School Fete, A Problem for the Chalet School, The New Mistress at the Chalet School, Excitements at the Chalet School, The Coming of Age of the Chalet School, The Chalet School and Richenda, Trials for the Chalet School, Theodora and the Chalet School, Joey and Co in the Tirol, Ruey Richardson at the Chalet School, A Leader in the Chalet School, The Chalet School Wins the Trick, A Future Chalet School Girl, The Feud in the Chalet School, The Chalet School Triplets, The Chalet School Reunion, Jane and the Chalet School, Redheads at the Chalet School, Adrienne and the Chalet School, Summer Term at the Chalet School, Challebge for the Chalet School, Two Samsat theChalet School, Althea Joins the Chalet School, Prefects at the Chalet School

Related Books : The Chalet Book for Girls, The Second Chalet Book for Girls, The Third Chalet Book for Girls, The Chalet Girls Cookbook, Chalet School Newsletters, Friends of the Chalet School Annuals.

'Fill-in' titles : Visitors for the Chalet School by Helen McClelland, Gillian of the Chalet School by Carol Allan, The Chalet School and Robin by Caroline German, A Chalet School Headmistress by Helen Barber, New Beginnings at the Chalet School by Heather Paisley, Peace Comes to the Chalet School by Katherine Bruce, The Chalet School Librarian by Pat Willimott, Hilda Annersley Headmistress by Lesley Green.

To buy new and second-hand Chalet School books please go to [http://www.bowbridgepublishing.com]

Rachel Henderson is from Stroud, Glos, UK and married with twin sons.

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AMAZING Rapture LEGO Build (With Insides!)

Bioshock's Rapture: hands down one of my favorite video game environments to date. "Do you hold hands and kiss a lot?" Dammit -- as in, 'to this point in time', not to wear my letter jacket, moron. This is an impressive build of the underwater city (complete with crashed plane!) by LEGOmaniac Imagine Rigney that was on display at the recent Brickworld convention. The outside is amazing, but if you're a fan of the game, or LEGO (or both!!!1), you've got to see the insides as well. I posted a couple pictures after the jump, but you should really, really, REALLY go check out the artist's Flickr page and see the high-res versions to do it justice. It even contains Sander Cohen and his creepy Quadtych masterpiece! You know, I really liked that guy alot. No -- loved. I never killed him on my first play-through and actually paused the game when I got to him on my second so we could be together forever. I'm serious, that's why I can't play my Xbox anymore.

Hit the jump for a couple more and another link to the artist's Flickr which also contains other amazing builds including Hogwarts, Howl's Moving Castle and Avatar.
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