» MAKE: NOISE — Discuss this article

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  Posted by herlaw on February 15, 2007 at 13:48:59 Pacific Time

• Cost
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  I just picked up everything to build this at radioshack, and (not including the speaker) it cost me 37 dollars. That is a little more than the 5 specified in the title.

  Posted by tylerhesthedude on February 15, 2007 at 19:39:11 Pacific Time

• Issue with the gain
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  I bought all the parts at Radio Shack, except for the speaker and put it all together without too much trouble. The only problem is that the gain needs to be cranked up 90% of the way to get any sound out of it. What did I do wrong? Is there a way to fix this?
  
  Thanks.

  Posted by dlutker on February 18, 2007 at 11:27:59 Pacific Time

• the videos
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  Ed, Loved the videos, especially Out of Milk and Butter Blues. Made me think: "What would the old blues guys have done if they had piezos and LM386N's"? Speaking of, piezos for the guitar can be had in all sorts of things today. Just robbed a huge one that's the ringer speaker from an AT&T Princess phone ($9.99 new at KMart). I plan to build the amp. Hard to beat The Ritz Cracker cabinet. It has such a nice oxymoronic ring to it, like awful nice, etc. Maybe I'll go with a liter bottle of diet Dr. Pepper. Or Squirt?

  Posted by birdboy on February 18, 2007 at 14:19:29 Pacific Time

• stereo speaker?
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  newbie question alert.
  
  If I want to use this for a speaker stereo, are there any particular changes I would need to make to the schematic and/or procedures as published in issue 9?

  Posted by loximuthal on February 20, 2007 at 11:53:26 Pacific Time

• A hundred-thousand thanks!
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  On the very first day I picked-up my mother's old guitar and plucked those first haphazard notes (many years ago!) I dreamed of building my own guitar amp. At the time, I only had enough skill to hack an old boombox and the results were...lacking. I had nearly forgotten about that until I read your article in the digital edition yesterday.
  
  I immediately drove to Radioshack and bought enough parts to build three (plus make modifications). I had it breadboarded in half an hour and spent the rest of the night playing guitar and tweaking the amp; I couldn't put it down long enough to go and solder it! My wife was quite impressed and wants me to teach her to build one too. Thank you for helping me realize a dream I had nearly forgotten.
  
  I'm currently ordering some good speakers and the higher powered LM386N-4 to make some more amps. I'm also hunting for some creative, more durable, enclosures.
  
  Can anyone recommend a place that can fabricate a small number of PCBs with the patterns for this amp available at Runoffgrove.com?

  Posted by cairn on February 22, 2007 at 10:11:27 Pacific Time

• Brand new 1st project ever.
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  This magazine drew me in with the issue on cigar box guitar. Now i am hooked( and a subscriber) with the DIY amp project.

  
  
  that said - i have never built anything before. Can someone post step by step instructions? I am with them up to the point that it says to make the rest of the connections like the diagram... i cant read the diagram.
  

  
  any suggestions Please email me

  
  emcindy@gmail.com
  

  
  thanks for your help guys.
  
  

  Posted by emcindy@gmail.com on February 23, 2007 at 07:55:40 Pacific Time

• Made:
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  I built it, but I decided I wanted a better cabinet than a cardboard cracker box: pics here

  Posted by chickenDelicious on February 23, 2007 at 16:01:24 Pacific Time

• Crackerbox Amp
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  OK, making this amp is making me crackerboxed! We followed instructions until 1G, but don't know how to proceed. It's like the instructions jumped off a cliff. We can't read the schematic, (but the instructions refer us instead to the photos) and the photos and drawn illustrations seemed flipped, ie where the - and + are is opposite. Is there anyway to get a drawing of where everything connects to the circuit board? For example, where do the 220 and 100 capacitor go? And the wires to the vol. and gain knobs?
  If you need to be able to read schematics to follow these plans, that should be clearly specified.Also we agree, it's not a $5 amp, for us it cost $23, and if we can't follow the instructions, it's just wasted : (
  We want to do this we really do, but we don't know how to proceed Thanks CorinaFastwolf PS we live each day like it's our rockin last.

  Posted by CorinaFastwolf on February 24, 2007 at 14:24:58 Pacific Time

• my circuit layout
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  Since a few people seem unfamiliar with circuit schematics, I drew up the layout that I used on the suggested Radioshack project board. I put it on my Flickr page. Take a look at it if you're having trouble figuring out where the components go.
  
  If I made any mistakes in my drawing, please let me know. I built the amp using this layout and it works great!
  

  Posted by cairn on February 25, 2007 at 01:06:24 Pacific Time

• Amp Speaker & Cabinet
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  I found an old pair of computer speakers in a box in the garage that I couldn't remember whether or not I had kept them or threw them out. I took the screws out of the back and saw that the speaker was 8 ohms - perfect for the Little Gem Cracker Box amp. In addition, it looked as though there was the perfect amount of space for the board, switches and connections, so took the 2nd speaker from the pair and used it for my amp enclosure. I used the battery hatch on the back to hold the 9-V battery. It fits nicely in the box. I may upgrade the chip to the version that can hold 19-V as I’ve got room for another 9-V in the space. Old, surplus computer speaker systems (flat screen monitors typically come with their own speakers now) can be a great source for the a speaker and the cabinet! The whole thing turned out great. The sound is pretty damn good from this Little Gem. Here is the link to photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7106966@N05/

  Posted by chuckwinn on February 26, 2007 at 20:41:08 Pacific Time

• Troubleshooting
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  Does anyone have a suggestion about an amp that is distorted even with the gain down low. I built the project on a solderless board first. Worked perfectly. Had a clean sound or a crunchy distortion depending on the gain and main volume relationship. Now after moving over to the soldered board. I get either distorted or extreme distortion, depending on the gain. No clean possible. I'm happy it works, but, you know...I'd like it to be the best cracker box amp it could be.
  
  Thanks.

  Posted by megacreon on March 06, 2007 at 12:57:49 Pacific Time

• $5 amp
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  1st off ... this amp ROCKS, my roommate is laughing his a$$ off cuz im playing thru a cracker box rather than the $1,200 marshall stack we have!
  
  2ndly .. i wasnt sure why a rheastat was needed, but i went out and got one ($3.99 at the shack) .. everythign else i had on hand...so it was actually a $4 amp !!!

  Posted by Mubo on March 09, 2007 at 14:16:00 Pacific Time

• Something Isn't Right...
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  Ok, we built the amp following the directions. Our amp is super quiet however. Also we can't get it to work with the half inch jack for the guitar. If we splice in a source like a mp3 player it plays. However if we plug the guitar into the jack or even splice the guitar in there is no sound. This is our second try at building this thing. Our first attempt ended up with the circuit built horizontally mirrored to the IC. I really want this thing to work. It's very frustrating :(

  Posted by Doitle on March 10, 2007 at 23:36:48 Pacific Time

• Question about speakers...
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  Posted by jlel12 on March 12, 2007 at 16:02:45 Pacific Time

• Is the 25K Potentiometer Overkill?
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  My son and I built this project over the weekend. Had a blast and it works great. We used a 16 ohm speaker that was laying around and it still sounds pretty good (will be traded in for a 8 ohm later).
  
  Anyway, when I turn up the gain knob (25K potentiometer), I get about a quarter turn (or less) and it's maxed.
  
  I was thinking of trying a 10K instead. Anyone else experience this with their circuit?

  Posted by nudeanaglyphs on March 12, 2007 at 18:27:10 Pacific Time

• Inverting vs. Noninverting
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  I've been having some trouble with the amp. I bought some parts from a surplus store - so I can't be sure that they work properly. Anyway, I set up the circuit on a protoboard as in the schematic and when I plug my guitar in I get a constant noise that I can modulate with the pot. If I listen carefully, I can hear some change in the pitch when I strum. After taking apart and putting together the circuit many times I have the same problem. I noticed that I could take out the 10 Ohm resistor and 0.047 capacitor and undground pin 4 on the op amp without changing the sound coming out of the speaker. I then decided to move the input and 0.01 capacitor from pin 2 to pin 3 and voila - it works. Any idea why this is?

  Posted by eddawg13 on March 13, 2007 at 20:12:21 Pacific Time

• Where to Find A Rheostat
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  Hi all. I am trying to make this amp, but am having trouble with the rheostat. I found one on DigiKey, but it was $25! Any ideas on where I can find one on the cheap, or where I could scavenge one?

  Posted by LoopUniverse on March 14, 2007 at 09:47:32 Pacific Time

• couple of questions
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  i'm making the speakers at the moment and i'm actually going to use it as speakers for my computer or for anything else. and i was wondering if i could have two but wasn't too sure how i would go connecting the two speakers and on top of that i was looking for a schematic of how to make a subwoofer. if anyone could lead me in the right direction that would be great. thanks

  Posted by shem19 on March 25, 2007 at 15:09:49 Pacific Time

• 2x12 Madness
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  Wow this little thing is amazing. I just spent the night playing it through my 2x12 cabinet and its pretty damn loud!
  
  I stuck mine in a $2.00 project enclosure from RadioShack and printed some silly decals on my laser printer -
  
  http://www.blackoctpus.org/crackerboxamp/ld.jpg
  
  Soundclip:
  http://www.blackoctopus.org/crackerboxamp/make-09-crackerbox.mp3

  Posted by TentacleJoe on April 02, 2007 at 20:24:51 Pacific Time

• Tweaking the box
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  This is my first project following a schematic and it has been a pleasant brain squeeze. I have a few questions: 1) Does it affect the circuit if the 100 uf capicator is located at the end of the circuit (on the far end of the 386 audio amplifier)? 2) My amp appears to be working, but the volume is low. I have only been able to test it by splicing the wires from an old set of walkman headphones and playing a portable CD player. The sound was clear, but soft. What can I do to pump up the volume?

  Posted by Stillwater on April 03, 2007 at 22:47:07 Pacific Time

• How can I use this 1-ohm speaker?
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  I found a very cool Muzak wall speaker at a yard sale -- it's enclosed in a nice wooden box already, with lots of room for the amp circuitry. Only problem is, I measured it & it seems to be only 1 ohm. Would this work, or do I need to add/substitute a resistor or something?

  Posted by guero on April 05, 2007 at 19:51:10 Pacific Time

• Green Tea
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  I built another one and put it inside a green tea box. This time I included a headphone jack. The speaker is located on the top of the box.
  
  http://www.blackoctopus.org/crackerboxamp/green-tea/

  Posted by TentacleJoe on April 10, 2007 at 21:59:34 Pacific Time

• Too Quiet
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  I finally finished my mini-amp last night, and I tested it today with a friends electric-acoustic guitar, and it was very quiet. The guitar alone was much louder than the amp, but it still did work. I'm thinking that an electric-acoustic guitar would not work as well with this amp, and I have not tested with an electric guitar yet. I tryed splicing in an MP3 player and it works very well. Has anyone else had this problem with an electric-acoustic guitar?

  Posted by bugsingelyn on April 11, 2007 at 15:30:19 Pacific Time

• USB external power source
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  If you want to add an alternative (non-battery) power supply to this low power project, use the USB port of your computer or laptop. The ready availability of computers, and the portability of the laptop, provides an opportunity to use your device without a separate battery supply. The USB port power output is rated at 5V and 500 ma (about 2 watts), that is more than sufficient for low power projects, such as this one.
  
  I have to inject a strong warning here: do not attempt this USB power source unless you are familiar with the general principles of power supplies and the set up of a USB port, whose specifications you can find on the web. While you won’t hurt yourself with this low voltage project, you could potentially damage your computer or your amplifier project. The usual disclaimer: I will not be responsible for damage incurred.
  
  I modified a USB cable by cutting off one end (the end that would normally connect with a USB device). I soldered the red wire (+5V) and black wire ( -) to a power plug. I cut short the other two wires, that are normally used for the USB signal, and carefully stripped back the braided wire shield and foil shield to avoid a short circuit. The arrangement of the red and black wires to the plug depends on the orientation of power jack that connects to the amplifier circuit. In this case, I used a panel-mount coaxial “power jack with switch” from radio shack (about $3.00). The utility of this jack is that both the battery and the USB external power supply can be wired to this device. The “switch” built into the jack automatically detects (moves) its contacts so that either the battery or the external USB plug supplies the power to the project thereby avoiding connecting the two power supplies together. As mentioned above with respect to the wiring of the USB plug, this particular jack required that I solder the red wire of the USB to the “sleeve” and black wire to the “tip” connectors (the reverse of most power jacks/plugs) so that the polarity was correct for input.
  
  Going further: compared to the voltage requirement of the L386 audio amplifier (4 to 12V DC), the L386N-4 suggested in the article requires 9 to 18V DC input. Therefore, the voltage output of a USB port would not be sufficient. However, this output can to boosted to a higher level by a DC to DC converter. This voltage booster device could be harvested from off-the-shelf items such as cellular phone chargers that can be used with USB ports. Another alternative is to buy a small DC to DC converter suitable for mounting on the circuit board. Such solid-state devices are available. For example, I obtained the Texas Instruments device (model number: PT5541N). It accepts an input as low as about 4.5V and boosts the output to 12V DC. It costs about $10, but TI might be willing to provide a sample if you sign up on their website. The output of the USB power cable would then be boosted to 12V on the circuit board and would be suitable for driving this L386N-4 audio amplifier. Bear in mind that, even though the voltage is increased, it is important to limit the total power output of the USB port to 2 watts.
  

  Posted by MarthaMan on April 14, 2007 at 19:36:53 Pacific Time

• I just built mine...
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  First off, this is the first electronics thing I've ever made and so it was pretty awesome to have it work first try.
  
  It sounds WAY better than I expected it to, I'd even go so far as to say that this would be a great starter amp for anybody. Just because I'm so pleased it works I'm probably going to spend more time playing this than my $2500 all tube peavey stack for quite a while.
  
  The volume levels are more than adequate for an apartment building.
  
  Mine also manages to pick up a blues radio station, only fitting I would say.
  
  Now I'm going to lookup some reverb circuts.

  Posted by clevijoki on April 15, 2007 at 23:28:52 Pacific Time

• breadboard
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  Does anyone have a picture of this circuit working properly on a breadboard? I need some direction I believe.

  Posted by johnransom on April 18, 2007 at 01:27:29 Pacific Time

• Schematicus Confusiousus
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  I'm on my fourth try with this project with the only result being an overheated IC chip and minor mental irritation. I've compared the Make magazine schematic to the the little-gem-layout pictured at www.flickr and seem to find some discrepancies.
  
  Make's schematic shows the center terminal of the 5K pot connected to the #8 pin on the chip while the little-gem-layout shows the connection going to the #5 pin. Make shows the #5 pin connected to the 220? resistor and 0.047 capacitor and running out to the 25? rheostat while the little-gem sketch shows this connection coming out of the #8 pin.
  
  Furthermore, Make shows the #6 pin connecting to +9V while the little-gem shows no connection. Lastly Make depicts no connection to the #7 pin, yet the little-gem indicates a connection to +9V.
  
  I'm confused. Am I hallucinating? Can someone who's successfully put this together offer some guidance?

  Posted by teslaphile on April 20, 2007 at 00:08:38 Pacific Time

• Redemption Song
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  Alas, a glorious resolution to my schematic confusion. After visting National Semiconductors site to take a look at the tech specs for the 386 chip, I noted, to my complete chagrine, I had incorrectly assumed the ordering of the pin numbers on the chip. The right side of the chip is numbered 8,7,6,5 from top to bottom and not 5,6,7,8 as I had intuited. I've repented my evil ways, and tonight set my guitar singing through the project! If anyone else needs a hand, I'd be happy to help. Keep on rockin' in the free world...

  Posted by teslaphile on April 20, 2007 at 23:58:53 Pacific Time

• Five dollars!
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  I went to radio shack to get the parts for this, all what was used in the article. Total 43.09!!!!! Hurumph. Five dollars my rear.

  Posted by Nickzeke on April 21, 2007 at 18:43:00 Pacific Time

• Capacitor Voltages
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  what voltages do the capacitors need to be?

  Posted by technoman2894 on April 30, 2007 at 11:56:22 Pacific Time

• LED
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  Can anyone tell me how to get an led to work in this circuit? I can't seem to make it work. I think I bought an LED that needs more volts than the 9 volt can give.
  
  Thanks in advance!

  Posted by johnransom on April 30, 2007 at 14:23:05 Pacific Time

• bone crushing power
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  http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c171/stefanieandtom/PC310002.jpg
  
  Finished the build (my first time putting anything like this...the only things I have soldered before were guitar jacks). The only difference from the original design is it has 2 .047uf capacitors instead of the .01. The speaker is a 10"er taken out of some older marantz that I parted out.
  
  Stoked on how it all turned out and am going to order the parts to make some different little amps (one with a larger cap for bass and then one with two bridged chips).
  
  

  Posted by NegativeTom on May 08, 2007 at 01:21:10 Pacific Time

• Lots of help needed
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  Ok, I have never attempted anything like this before. The closest experience I have with anything like this is fixing a pair of Sony headphones (basically soldering loose wires back) and replacing the battery of a game boy cartridge. I think that for a beginner like me, a little more detail is required instructions wise. I consider myself pretty handy with just about anything, but having never done anything on a component level such as this, I need a little more help than others. I'm, talking step by literal step as far as where does everything need to go on the board and pretty much which way is up? I'm lost after a few steps. Please help. Anything someone could tell me would be most assuredly helpful.

  Posted by dragen on May 09, 2007 at 20:03:11 Pacific Time

• Finished!
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  Actually, I made the Ruby amp which is slightly more complex than the Little Gem ("enhanced" according to runoffgroove.com). I used an old wall-mount Muzak speaker for the box. Looks and sounds great! Also made my own PCB. I was unable to locate the 1k gain pot called for on the Ruby page, so I just used the 5k. Construction photos here.

  Posted by guero on June 04, 2007 at 12:47:27 Pacific Time

• modifications (hi-z input, extra gain, FX loop, headphone out , LED)
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  Hi everyone... I have some comments and questions.
  

  
  
  
  
  1. 
     The Ruby amp has a buffered input. Supposedly this increases the input Z (the LM386 chip has a very low input Z otherwise). I assume this will make the amp sound better/louder.
     
     
     Can someone post a simple wiring diagram or explain what parts of the Ruby circuit you could transplant into the Crackerbox (and where to wire them in) to add an input buffer?
     
  
  
  2. 
     This amp sounds especially bitchen if you plug your guitar into an MXR distortion+ pedal and then into the amp, and turn up the gain.
     So I might try making a 2nd circuit as a preamp and see how having 2 stages of gain sounds.
     Will simply plugging the speaker out of amp #1 into the input of amp #2 blow it up?
     
  
  
  3. 
     Any idea how to add a simple effects loop (where to wire the out to effects/in from effects jacks, and any additional modifications necessary) ?
     
  
  
  4. 
     How do you add a headphone jack and have it bypass the speaker when headphones are plugged in?
     
  
  
  5. 
     Is there a good wiring diagram for how to wire in a power LED?
     
  
  
  6. 
     What is the total load on this circuit? I am trying to find out how much current this amp uses so if I build 2 and want to power them off one wall wart, I know how many mA the power supply needs to supply.
     
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Thanks!
  

  
  

  Posted by Ap'l on June 13, 2007 at 09:22:10 Pacific Time

• Photos of working amp!
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  Posted by JeffBetts on July 15, 2007 at 16:06:01 Pacific Time

• Picking up radio signals
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  I just finished building my amp, and as soon as I turned it on(without anything connected to it)it started picking up radio stations When I turned the gain up or down, it switched between a spanish station and a country station, albeit with alot of static. Does anyone know whats up? I tried plugging in a piezo element, it didn't pick up any vibrations unless I tapped ti really hard. Someone please help 'cause my $5 amp cost more like $25.

  Posted by zcx_f on July 20, 2007 at 19:16:46 Pacific Time

• Cassette Tape Player hacked into an Amp
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  I have discovered that removing the play head from a cassette tape player and splicing in a microphone or piezo pickup makes for a pretty sweeet little practice amp.
  
  video link:
  http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.showvids&friendID=213486278&n=213486278&MyToken=af4ec180-e011-41e2-8613-a0f9b8004d50
  
  or
  
  myspace.com/cbgmpls and click on video
  
  Hasta amigos,
  Ed Vogel

  Posted by EdV on July 21, 2007 at 06:33:22 Pacific Time

• distortion !
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  I just build this little amp and the sound seem to pass through but I also get a huge amount of distortion and noise coming from it.. anybody else got that ? I triple checked my connections and everything .. playing with the pots don't help much...
  anyone can help me ?
  thanks

  Posted by phil.savard on August 11, 2007 at 13:33:12 Pacific Time

• Done and Amped!
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  Just finished mine as a gift for someone. This project rocked. Relatively simple with a great payoff at the end. Shout outs to 'cairn' below for posting the breadboard pic. It totally helped me in validating the schematic. Pictures of my completed PopSecret Amp on flickr.

  Posted by nitdoggx on August 14, 2007 at 19:37:49 Pacific Time

• Little Gem
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  I just finished my amp, and I'm pretty impressed with the circuit. It's relatively simple (even though it took me a few tries to get it right) and has a great distortion sound.
  
  However, I'm not getting a really clean sound even with the gain down. I'm using a 5k pot for gain and a 25k rheostat for volume. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.
  
  Anyway, here's a my amp on Flickr.

  Posted by kritarchist on September 01, 2007 at 21:09:30 Pacific Time

• Crank it up
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  I just finished building this amplifier using the body of an old 1953 Crosley radio as an enclosure and a hand-cranked flashlight as an alternative power source. It sounds great! Check it out.

  Posted by kuiphoff1006 on January 13, 2008 at 17:33:03 Pacific Time

• Has anyone thought about.....
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  Could this project be modified into a talkbox or as a preamp??
  
  Dan

  Posted by M42 on February 22, 2008 at 13:52:02 Pacific Time

• Speaker Question
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  Hello, this is my first attempt at something like this. The speaker I have is 32 ohm, 1watt. Could someone explain what, if any, changes I would need to make to have this speaker work?
  
  Thank You.

  Posted by Jm7o on May 07, 2008 at 18:26:41 Pacific Time

• sound trouble
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  MY CIRCUIT IS CORRECT (I HAVE CHECKED IT WITH OTHER BREADBOARDS) BUT THE SPEAKER I USE IS A 4 OHM 3 WATT......WHEN I PLUG THE GUITAR IN AND PLAY THE NOTES COME OUT AS SHORT CRACKLES IN THE PITCH OF THE NOTE...I TOOK THE ic FROM A RADIO AND I DONT KNOW IF I MAY HAVE OVERHEATED IT WHILE DESOLDERING IT? ALSO WHAT DOES THE IMPEDENCE ON A SPEAKER CHANGE AUDIO WISE?

  Posted by Solder boy on May 28, 2008 at 23:23:33 Pacific Time

• Assembling from a schematic
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  I have a question, please don't answer with RTFM! I've bought more than three "manuals" but I cannot figure out how to assemble this project from the schematic given. All of the books I have say that both the positive and negative leads from the battery clip should be shown with a symbol that looks like this: |( and that ground connections are triangles. But that doesn't seem to fit with this schematic. Also, an in jack and a speaker both have two connections, not one--eg two "leads", so why does this schematic show them as only having one? If you look at the connection leading to "out", there is only one connection. Likewise "in". Where's the other connection? My "how to read schematics" books don't cover this. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

  Posted by electricdave on August 10, 2008 at 04:58:31 Pacific Time

• Speaker
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  I couldn't find a right type of speaker does anyone know where I can.

  Posted by mide7 on August 24, 2008 at 16:04:25 Pacific Time

• 4 ohm speaker
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  I have a 4 ohm speaker not a 8 ohm. will this make a difference???

  Posted by multaflor on February 17, 2009 at 10:52:22 Pacific Time

• finally finished mine
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  I pulled a speaker from an old Mitsubishi TV, and it sounds great. Pics on flickr.

  Posted by chrispix on July 12, 2009 at 20:51:39 Pacific Time

• Bass Mod
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  I think I remember seeing somewhere that you could make this into a bass amp by replacing one of the capacitors with a different one. does anyone know how you can do that and maybe where I saw that? thanks! -Lucas

  Posted by LucasT on August 02, 2009 at 12:22:15 Pacific Time

• Schlitz Amp!
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  Completed my second amp, this time in a Schlitz box. Pictures up on http://www.flickr.com/photos/nitdoggx/sets/72157622811955628/.

  Posted by nitdoggx on November 15, 2009 at 19:09:59 Pacific Time

• What's the deal with rheostats?
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  I'm just getting into electronics so sorry if I'm being dumb, but why is it that I couldn't find any components labeled "Rheostats" on the Jameco site, and on Mouser they have rheostats, all of which are >$20... yet the radioshack site has this (and only this) 25-Ohm rheostat?
  
  I've read that there is a clear distinction between Pots and Rheostats, but it seems like perhaps the terminology is interchangeable. What's the deal?

  Posted by jberryman on March 15, 2011 at 15:34:07 Pacific Time

• Another speaker question
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  I just started collecting the components for the Crackbox Amp. I tried to find everything at the local Radio Shack but couldn't so I am farming out to several mail order places to get the rest of the components I Radio Shack doesn't have. I ordered an 8 ohm 0.1 watt speaker from the Maker Shed (actually Jameco it turns out) and got it today. It is small at 1.5" x 1.5". I think it might be too small but I don't know seeing as I'm new to this kind of thing. Can I use this and just make it in a smaller box? Actually I am working on the idea of going round with a Quaker Oats container instead of a square box. Just for kicks.

  Posted by Summerman on April 06, 2011 at 17:22:32 Pacific Time

• It is definately not a $5 amp
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  This is definately not going to be a $5 amp. More like a $20 amp. My Radio Shack doesn't even have all of the parts and the ones that they do have would cost me like $2 for one or two capacitors. I have mail ordered some parts and will get the rest like the rheostat from Radio Shack which is only a few bucks. This will be interesting for me to see how it turns out.

  Posted by Summerman on April 08, 2011 at 20:12:49 Pacific Time

• 
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  I soldered all the components on the Protoboard and got everything put together, plugged in the batter. It doesn't work. :-(

  Posted by Summerman on May 11, 2011 at 17:42:57 Pacific Time

• The triangles
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  Okay so I'm a little new too this stuff but i can't find a triangle schematic like the on on the design anywhere. Can any one tell me what they mean?
  
  Thankyou

  Posted by Robert8907 on January 28, 2013 at 19:24:24 Pacific Time