Schematic Reference

How often on average do you have to call members of your family each day to tell them that dinner is ready, it’s time to leave, and the like? The person you want is usually in a different room, such as the hobby room or bedroom. A powerful buzzer in the room, combined with a pushbutton at the bottom of the stairs or in the kitchen, could be very handy in such situations. The heart of this circuit is formed by IC1, a TDA2030. This IC has built-in thermal protection, so it’s not likely to quickly give up the ghost. R1 and R2 apply a voltage equal to half the supply voltage to the plus input of the opamp. R3 provides positive feedback. Finally, the combination of C2, R4 and trimmer P12 determines the oscillation frequency of the circuit.

Power Buzzer Circuit Diagram

The frequency of the tone can also be adjusted using P1. There is no volume control, since you always want to get attention when you press pushbutton S1. Fit the entire circuit where you want to have the pushbutton. The loudspeaker can then be placed in a strategic location, such as in the bedroom or wherever is appropriate. Use speaker cable to connect the loudspeaker. Normal bell wire can cause a significant power loss if the loudspeaker is relatively far away. The loudspeaker must be able to handle a continuous power of at least 6 W (with a 20-V supply voltage).

The power quickly drops as the supply voltage decreases (P = Urms 2 / RL). The power supply for this circuit is not particularly critical. However, it must be able to provide sufficient current. A good nominal value is around 400 mA at 20 V. At 4 V, it will be approximately 25 mA. Most likely, you can find a suitable power supply somewhere in your hobby room. Otherwise, you can certainly find a low-cost power supply design in our circuits archive that will fill the bill!

Author: G. Baars
Copyright: Elektor Electronics

While traveling by a train or bus, we generally lock our luggage using a chain-and-lock arrangement. But, still we are under tension, apprehending that somebody may cut the chain and steal our luggage. Here is a simple circuit to alarm you when somebody tries to cut the chain. Transistor T1 enables supply to the sound generator chip when the base current starts flowing through t. When the wire (thin enameled copper wire of 30 to 40 SWG, used or winding transformers) loop around the chain is broken by somebody, the base of transistor T1, which was earlier tied to positive rail, gets opened. As a result, transistor T1 gets forward biased to extend the positive supply to the alarm circuit. In idle mode, the power consumption of the circuit is minimum and thus it can be used for hundreds of travel hours.

To enable generation of different alarm sounds, connections to pin 1 and 6 may be made as per the table.

Note: X = no connection; “-” = do not care

Author:DHURJATI SINHA Copyright: Circuit Ideas

This small circuit, based on popular CMOS NAND chip CD4093, can be effectively used for protecting your expensive car audio system against theft. When 12V DC from the car battery is applied to the gadget (as indicated by LED1) through switch S1, the circuit goes into standby mode. LED inside optocoupler IC1 is lit as its cathode terminal is grounded via the car audio (amplifier) body. As a result, the output at pin 3 of gate N1 goes low and disables the rest of the circuit. Whenever an attempt is made to remove the car audio from its mounting by cutting its connecting wires, the optocoupler immediately turns off, as its LED cathode terminal is hanging. As a result, the oscillator circuit built around gates N2 and N3 is enabled and it controls the ‘on’/‘off’ timings of the relay via transistor T2. (Relay contacts can be used to energise an emergency beeper, indicator, car horns, etc, as desired.)

Circuit Diagrams

Different values of capacitor C2 give different ‘on’/‘off’ timings for relay RL1 to be ‘on’/‘off’. With 100µF we get approximately 5 seconds as ‘on’ and 5 seconds as ‘off’ time. Gate N4, with its associated components, forms a self-testing circuit. Normally, both of its inputs are in ‘high’ state. However, when one switches off the ignition key, the supply to the car audio is also disconnected. Thus the output of gate N4 jumps to a ‘high’ state and it provides a differentiated short pulse to forward bias transistor T1 for a short duration. (The combination of capacitor C1 and resistor R5 acts as the differentiating circuit.)As a result, buzzer in the collector terminal of T1 beeps for a short duration to announce that to announce that the security circuit is intact. This ‘on’ period of buzzer can be varied by changing the values of capacitor C1 and/or resistor R5. After construction, fix the LED and buzzer in dashboard as per your requirement and hide switch S1 in a suitable location. Then connect lead A to the body of car stereo (not to the body of vehicle) and lead B to its positive lead terminal. Take power supply for the circuit from the car battery directly.

Caution.

• This design is meant for car audios with negative ground only.

Author:T.K  Hareendran Copyright: Circuit Ideas

The State Jal Boards supply water for limited duration in a day. Time of water supply is decided by the management and the public does not know the same. In such a situation, this water alarm circuit will save the people from long wait as it will inform them as soon as the water supply starts.

At the heart of this circuit is a small water sensor. For fabricating this water sensor, you need two foils—an aluminium foil and a plastic foil. You can assemble the sensor by rolling aluminium and plastic foils in the shape of a concentric cylinder. Connect one end of the insulated flexible wire on the aluminium foil and the other end to resistor R2. Now mount this sensor inside the water tap such that water can flow through it uninterrupted. To complete the circuit, connect another wire from the junction of pins 2 and 6 of IC1 to the water pipeline or the water tap itself.

The working of the circuit is simple.

Timer 555 is wired as an astable multivibrator. The multivibrator will work only when water flows through the water tap and completes the circuit connection. It oscillates at about 1 kHz. The output of the timer at pin 3 is connected to loudspeaker LS1 via capacitor C3. As soon as water starts flowing through the tap, the speaker starts sounding, which indicates resumption of water supply. It remains ‘on’ until you switch off the circuit with switch S1 or remove the sensor from the tap. The circuit works off a 9V battery supply. Assemble the circuit on any general-purpose PCB and house in a suitable cabinet. The water sensor is inserted into the water tap. Connect the lead coming out from the junction of 555 pins 2 and 6 to the body of the water tap. Use on/off switch S1 to power the circuit with the 9V PP3 battery.

Source:w w w. e f y m a g . c o m

The Over-the-Top type of operational amplifier is ideal for use as a current sense for battery charger applications. The design described here can be used with chargers for rechargeable batteries (Lead/acid or NiCd etc). The 5 V operating supply for the circuit is derived from the battery on charge. The circuit uses a sense resistor R8 to determine the value of current flowing in or out of the battery.

An LED output shows whether the battery is charging or discharging and an analogue output displays the battery charge or discharge current. The circuit can also be altered to shown different ranges of charging current to cater for higher capacity cells. IC1a and IC1b together with T1 and T2 form two current sources, which produce a voltage across R5. The voltage across R5 is proportional to the current through resistors R8 and R1 (for IC1a) or R8-R3 (for IC1b).

The current source formed by IC1a and T1 is active when the batteries are discharging and IC1b and T2 is active when the batteries are being charged. In each case the inactive opamp will have 0V at its output and the corresponding transistor will be switched off. IC1d amplifies the voltage across R5, which is proportional to the sense current. The component values given in the diagram produce an amplification factor or 10. A sense current of 0.1 A will produce an output voltage of +1 V. The supply voltage to the circuit is +5 V so this will be the maximum value that the output can achieve. This corresponds to a maximum charge/discharge current of 0.5 A To display currents from 0 to 5.0 A, resistor R7 can be omitted to give IC1d a voltage gain of 1.

Higher currents can be displayed by using a lower value of sense resistor R8. A DVM or analogue meter can be used at Vout to give a display of the charge/discharge current. The constant current sources can only function correctly when the supply to the voltage regulator circuit (UBatt. e.g. 6V or 12V) is greater than the operating voltage of the opamps (+5 V). The supply voltage to the LT1639 can be in the range of +3 V and +44V and voltages up to 40V over the supply voltage are acceptable at the inputs to the opamp. IC1c controls the charging/discharging LED output. The inputs to this opamp are connected to the outputs of the current source opamps and its output goes high when the battery is being charged and low when it is discharging.

The alarm may be used for a variety of applications, such as frost monitor, room temperature monitor, and so on. In the quiescent state, the circuit draws a current of only a few microamperes, so that, in theory at least, a 9 V dry battery (PP3, 6AM6, MN1604, 6LR61) should last for up to ten years. Such a tiny current is not possible when ICs are used, and the circuit is therefore a discrete design. Every four seconds a measuring bridge, which actuates a Schmitt trigger, is switched on for 150 ms by a clock generator. In that period of 150 ms, the resistance of an NTC thermistor, R11, is compared with that of a fixed resistor. If the former is less than the latter, the alarm is set off.

When the circuit is switched on, capacitor C1 is not charged and transistors T1–T3 are off. After switch-on, C1 is charged gradually via R1, R7, and R8, until the base voltage of T1 exceeds the threshold bias. Transistor T1 then comes on and causes T2 and T3 to conduct also. Thereupon, C1 is charged via current source T1-T2-D1, until the current from the source becomes smaller than that flowing through R3 and T3 (about 3 µA). This results in T1 switching off, so that, owing to the coupling with C1, the entire circuit is disabled. Capacitor C1 is (almost) fully charged, so that the anode potential of D1 drops well below 0 V. Only when C1 is charged again can a new cycle begin.

Circuit Diagram:

General-Purpose Alarm Circuit Diagram

It is obvious that the larger part of the current is used for charging C1. Gate IC1a functions as impedance inverter and feedback stage, and regularly switches on measurement bridge R9–R12-C2-P1 briefly. The bridge is terminated in a differential amplifier, which, in spite of the tiny current (and the consequent small transconductance of the transistors) provides a large amplification and, therefore, a high sensitivity. Resistors R13 and R15 provide through a kind of hysteresis a Schmitt trigger input for the differential amplifier, which results in unambiguous and fast measurement results. Capacitor C2 compensates for the capacitive effect of long cables between sensor and circuit and so prevents false alarms.

If the sensor (R11) is built in the same enclosure as the remainder of the circuit (as, for instance, in a room temperature monitor), C2 and R13 may be omitted. In that case,C3 willabsorb any interference signals and so prevent false alarms. To prevent any residual charge in C3 causing a false alarm when the bridge is in equilibrium, the capacitor is discharged rapidly via D2 when this happens. Gates IC1c and IC1d form an oscillator to drive the buzzer (an a.c. type). Owing to the very high impedance of the clock, an epoxy resin (not pertinax) board must be used for building the alarm. For the same reason, C1 should be a type with very low leakage current. If operation of the alarm is required when the resistance of R11 is higher than that of the fixed resistor, reverse the connections of the elements of the bridge and thus effectively the inverting and non-inverting inputs of the differential amplifier.

An NTC thermistor such as R11 has a resistance at –18 °C that is about ten times as high as that at room temperature. It is, therefore, advisable, if not a must, when precise operation is required, to consult the data sheet of the device or take a number of test readings. For the present circuit, the resistance at –18 °C must be 300–400 kΩ. The value of R12 should be the same. Preset P1 provides fine adjustment of the response threshold. Note that although the prototype uses an NTC thermistor, a different kind of sensor may also be used, provided its electrical specification is known and suits the present circuit.

Author: K. Syttkus
Copyright: Elektor Electronics

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:

Source : www.redcircuits.com

This simple programmer will accept any device that's supported by software (eg, IC-Prog 1.05 by Bonny Gijzen at www.ic-prog.com). The circuit is based in part on the ISP header described in the SILICON CHIP "PIC Testbed" project but also features an external programming voltage supply for laptops and for other situations where the voltage present on the RS232 port is insufficient. This is done using 3-terminal regulators REG1 & REG2. The PIC to be programmed can be mounted on a protoboard. This makes complex socket wiring to support multiple devices unnecessary. 16F84A, 12C509, 16C765 and other devices have all been used successfully with this device.

Circuit diagram:

Simple Universal PIC Programmer Circuit Diagram

Author: Luke Weston - Copyright: Silicon Chip

10W Old-Style ultra-compact Combo, Two inputs - Overdrive - Treble-enhancement

The aim of this design was to reproduce a Combo amplifier of the type very common in the 'sixties and the 'seventies of the past century. It is well suited as a guitar amplifier but it will do a good job with any kind of electronic musical instrument or microphone. 5W power output was a common feature of these widespread devices due to the general adoption of a class A single-tube output stage (see the Vox AC-4 model). Furthermore, nowadays we can do without the old-fashioned Vib-Trem feature frequently included in those designs. The present circuit can deliver 10W of output power when driving an 8 Ohm load, or about 18W @ 4 Ohm. It also features a two-FET preamplifier, two inputs with different sensitivity, a treble-cut control and an optional switch allowing overdrive or powerful treble-enhancement.

Circuit diagram :

Guitar Amplifier Circuit Diagram

Parts:

P1______________4K7 Linear Potentiometer
P2_____________10K Log. Potentiometer
R1,R2__________68K 1/4W Resistors
R3____________220K 1/4W Resistor
R4,R6,R11_______4K7 1/4W Resistors
R5_____________27K 1/4W Resistor
R7______________1K 1/4W Resistor
R8______________3K3 1/2W Resistor
R9______________2K 1/2W Trimmer Cermet
R10___________470R 1/4W Resistor
R12_____________1K5 1/4W Resistor
R13___________470K 1/4W Resistor
R14____________33K 1/4W Resistor
C1____________100pF 63V Ceramic Capacitor
C2____________100nF 63V Polyester Capacitor
C3____________470µF 35V Electrolytic Capacitor
C4____________220nF 63V Polyester Capacitor (Optional, see Notes)
C5_____________47µF 25V Electrolytic Capacitor (Optional, see Notes)
C6______________1µF 63V Polyester Capacitor
C7,C8,C9,C10___47µF 25V Electrolytic Capacitors
C11____________47pF 63V Ceramic Capacitor
C12__________1000µF 35V Electrolytic Capacitor
C13__________2200µF 35V Electrolytic Capacitor
D1_____________5mm. Red LED
D2,D3________1N4004 400V 1A Diodes
Q1,Q2________2N3819 General-purpose N-Channel FETs
Q3____________BC182 50V 200mA NPN Transistor
Q4____________BD135 45V 1.5A NPN Transistor (See Notes)
Q5____________BDX53A 60V 8A NPN Darlington Transistor
Q6____________BDX54A 60V 8A PNP Darlington Transistor
J1,J2________6.3mm. Mono Jack sockets
SW1____________1 pole 3 ways rotary switch (Optional, see Notes)
SW2____________SPST Mains switch
F1_____________1.6A Fuse with socket
T1_____________220V Primary, 48V Center-tapped Secondary 20 to 30VA Mains transformer
PL1____________Male Mains plug
SPKR___________One or more speakers wired in series or in parallel, Total resulting impedance: 8 or 4 Ohm, Minimum power handling: 20W

Notes:

• SW1 and related capacitors C4 & C5 are optional.
• When SW1 slider is connected to C5 the overdrive feature is enabled.
• When SW1 slider is connected to C4 the treble-enhancer is enabled.
• C4 value can be varied from 100nF to 470nF to suit your treble-enhancement preferences.
• In all cases where Darlington transistors are used as the output devices it is essential that the sensing transistor (Q4) should be in as close thermal contact with the output transistors as possible. Therefore a TO126-case transistor type was chosen for easy bolting on the heatsink, very close to the output pair.
• To set quiescent current, remove temporarily the Fuse F1 and insert the probes of an Avo-meter in the two leads of the fuse holder.
• Set the volume control to the minimum and Trimmer R9 to its minimum resistance.
• Power-on the circuit and adjust R9 to read a current drawing of about 25 to 30mA.
• Wait about 15 minutes, watch if the current is varying and readjust if necessary.

Technical data are quite impressive for so simple a design:
Sensitivity:
30mV input for 10W output
Frequency response:
40 to 20KHz -1dB
Total harmonic distortion @ 1KHz and 10KHz, 8 Ohm load:
below 0.05% @ 1W, 0.08% @ 3.5W, 0.15% at the onset of clipping (about 10W).

Source : www.redcircuits.com

High Quality, very simple design, No preamplifier required

This design is based on the 18 Watt Audio Amplifier, and was developed mainly to satisfy the requests of correspondents unable to locate the TLE2141C chip. It uses the widespread NE5532 Dual IC but, obviously, its power output will be comprised in the 9.5 - 11.5W range, as the supply rails cannot exceed ±18V. As amplifiers of this kind are frequently used to drive small loudspeaker cabinets, the bass frequency range is rather sacrificed. Therefore a bass-boost control was inserted in the feedback loop of the amplifier, in order to overcome this problem without quality losses. The bass lift curve can reach a maximum of +16.4dB @ 50Hz. In any case, even when the bass control is rotated fully counterclockwise, the amplifier frequency response shows a gentle raising curve: +0.8dB @ 400Hz, +4.7dB @ 100Hz and +6dB @ 50Hz (referred to 1KHz).

Circuit diagram :

 10W Bass Boost Amplifier Circuit Diagram

Parts:

P1_________________22K Log.Potentiometer (Dual-gang for stereo)
P2_________________100K Log.Potentiometer (Dual-gang for stereo)
R1_________________820R 1/4W Resistor
R2,R4,R8___________4K7 1/4W Resistors
R3_________________500R 1/2W Trimmer Cermet
R5_________________82K 1/4W Resistor
R6,R7______________47K 1/4W Resistors
R9_________________10R 1/2W Resistor
R10________________R22 4W Resistor (wirewound)
C1,C8______________470nF 63V Polyester Capacitor
C2,C5______________100µF 25V Electrolytic Capacitors
C3,C4______________470µF 25V Electrolytic Capacitors
C6_________________47pF 63V Ceramic or Polystyrene Capacitor
C7_________________10nF 63V Polyester Capacitor
C9_________________100nF 63V Polyester Capacitor
D1_________________1N4148 75V 150mA Diode
IC1_________________NE5532 Low noise Dual Op-amp
Q1_________________BC547B 45V 100mA NPN Transistor
Q2_________________BC557B 45V 100mA PNP Transistor
Q3_________________TIP42A 60V 6A PNP Transistor
Q4_________________TIP41A 60V 6A NPN Transistor
J1__________________RCA audio input socket

Power Supply :

 Power Supply Circuit Diagram

Power supply parts:

R11______________1K5 1/4W Resistor
C10,C11__________4700µF 25V Electrolytic Capacitors
D2_______________100V 4A Diode bridge
D3_______________5mm. Red LED
T1_______________220V Primary, 12 + 12V Secondary 24-30VA Mains transformer
PL1______________Male Mains plug
SW1______________SPST Mains switch

Notes:

• Can be directly connected to CD players, tuners and tape recorders.
• Schematic shows left channel only, but C3, C4, IC1 and the power supply are common to both channels.
• Numbers in parentheses show IC1 right channel pin connections.
• A log type for P2 will ensure a more linear regulation of bass-boost.
• Do not exceed 18 + 18V supply.
• Q3 and Q4 must be mounted on heatsink.
• D1 must be in thermal contact with Q1.
• Quiescent current (best measured with an Avo-meter in series with Q3 Emitter) is not critical.
• Set the volume control to the minimum and R3 to its minimum resistance.
• Power-on the circuit and adjust R3 to read a current drawing of about 20 to 25mA.
• Wait about 15 minutes, watch if the current is varying and readjust if necessary.
• A correct grounding is very important to eliminate hum and ground loops. Connect to the same point the ground sides of J1, P1, C2, C3 &C4. Connect C9 to the output ground.
• Then connect separately the input and output grounds to the power supply ground.

Technical data:

Output power:
10 Watt RMS into 8 Ohm (1KHz sinewave)
Sensitivity:
115 to 180mV input for 10W output (depending on P2 control position)
Frequency response:
See Comments above
Total harmonic distortion @ 1KHz:
0.1W 0.009% 1W 0.004% 10W 0.005%
Total harmonic distortion @ 100Hz:
0.1W 0.009% 1W 0.007% 10W 0.012%
Total harmonic distortion @ 10KHz:
0.1W 0.056% 1W 0.01% 10W 0.018%
Total harmonic distortion @ 100Hz and full boost:
1W 0.015% 10W 0.03%
Max. bass-boost referred to 1KHz:
400Hz = +5dB; 200Hz = +7.3dB; 100Hz = +12dB; 50Hz = +16.4dB; 30Hz = +13.3dB
Unconditionally stable on capacitive loads

Source :www.redcircuits.com

Some workbenches can’t help ending up looking like a rats nest of cables and equipment, so its always an advantage if a piece of mains equipment can be removed from somewhere to free up an extra mains socket. Here we are using the ubiquitous PC as a battery charger. An unused serial interface port can supply enough current to charge (or trickle charge) low-capacity Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) batteries. You could for example, use the batteries in a radio and charge them during use.

Circuit diagram : 

PC-Powered Battery Charger Circuit Diagram

The three serial port connections TxD, DTR, and RTS, when not in use, are at –10 V and can supply a current of around 10 to 20mA (they are short-circuit protected). The circuit shown supplies a charging current of approximately 30mA. If it is necessary to alter the polarity of the charging circuit then it is a simple job to reverse the diodes and using software, switch the port signals +10 V. Those interested could also write a software routine to automatically recharge the batteries.

An amplifier to drive low to medium impedance headphones built using discrete components.

Both halves of the circuit are identical. Both inputs have a dc path to ground via the input 47k control which should be a dual log type potentiometer. The balance control is a single 47k linear potentiometer, which at center adjustment prevents even attenuation to both left and right input signals. If the balance control is moved towards the left side, the left input track has less resistance than the right track and the left channel is reduced more than the right side and vice versa. The preceding 10k resitors ensure that neither input can be "shorted" to earth.

Circuit diagram:

Headphone Amplifier Circuit Diagram

Amplification of the audio signal is provided by a single stage common emitter amplifier and then via a direct coupled emitter follower. Overall gain is less than 10 but the final emitter follower stage will directly drive 8 ohm headphones. Higher impedance headphones will work equally well. Note the final 2k2 resistor at each output. This removes the dc potential from the 2200u coupling capacitors and prevents any "thump" being heard when headphones are plugged in. The circuit is self biasing and designed to work with any power supply from 6 to 20 Volts DC.

Source : www.extremecircuits.net

Almost all 24V power systems in trucks, 4WDs, RVs, boats, etc, employ two series-connected 12V lead-acid batteries. The charging system can only maintain the sum of the individual battery voltages. If one battery is failing, this circuit will light a LED. Hence impending battery problems can be forecast. The circuit works by detecting a voltage difference between the two series connected 12V batteries. Idle current is low enough to allow the unit to be permanently left across the batteries.

Circuit diagram:

Battery Equality Monitor Circuit Diagram

Parts:

R1 = 2.K
R2 = 4.7K
R3 = 39K
R4 = 39K
R5 = 1.5K
R6 = 1.5K
Q1 = BC547
Q2 = BC547
Q3 = BC557
D1 = 3mm Red LED
D2 = 3mm GreenLED
B1 = DC 12 Volt
B2 = DC 12 Volt

Source : www.extremecircuits.net

We published a design for a stereo microphone preamplifier with balanced inputs and a phantom power supply. The heart of this circuit was a special Analog Devices IC, the SSM2017. Unfortunately, this IC has been discontinued. In its place, the company recommends using the pin-compatible AMP02 from its current product line. However, and again unfortunately, the specifications of this opamp make it considerably less suitable for use as a microphone amplifier. By contrast, Texas Instruments (in their Burr Brown product line) offer an integrated instrumentation amplifier (type 1NA217) that has better specifications for this purpose. Incidentally, this IC is also recommended as a replacement for the SSM2017. It features internal current feedback, which ensures low distortion (THD + noise is 0.004 % at a gain of 100), low input-stage noise (1.3 nV/√Hz) and wide bandwidth (800 kHz at a gain of 100). The supply voltage range is ±4.5 V to ±18 V. The maximum current consumption of the 1NA217 is ±12 mA.

Circuit diagram :

Balanced Microphone Amplifier circuit Diagram

The gain is determined by only one resistance, which is the resistance between pins 1 and 8 of the IC. The circuit shown here is a standard application circuit for this instrumentation amplifier. R1 and R2 provide a separate phantom supply for the microphone connected to the amplifier (this is primarily used with professional equipment). This supply can be enabled or disabled using S1. C1 and C2 prevent the phantom voltage from appearing at the inputs of the amplifier. If a phantom supply is not used, R1 and R2 can be omitted, and it is then better to use MKT types for C1 and C2. Diodes D1–D4 are included to protect the inputs of the 1NA217 against high input voltages (such as may occur when the phantom supply is switched on). R4 and R5 hold the bias voltage of the input stage at ground potential. The gain is made variable by including potentiometer P1 in series with R6. A special reverse log-taper audio potentiometer is recommended for P1 to allow the volume adjustment to follow a linear dB scale.

The input bias currents (12 µA maximum!) produce an offset voltage across the input resistors (R4 and R5). Depending on the gain, this can lead to a rather large offset voltage at the output (several volts). If you want to avoid using a decoupling capacitor at the output, an active offset compensation circuit provides a solution. In this circuit, a FET-input opamp with a low input offset (an OPA137) is used for this purpose. It acts as an integrator that provides reverse feedback to pin 5, so the DC output level is always held to 0 V. This opamp is not in the audio signal path, so it does not affect signal quality. Naturally, other types of low-offset opamps could also be used for this purpose. The current consumption of the circuit is primarily determined by the quiescent current of IC1, since the OPA137 consumes only 0.22 mA.

Author: T. Giesberts - Copyright: Elektor Electronics

As readers will know, there are already several power amplifier projects, two using IC power amps (aka power opamps). Both have been popular, and this project is not designed to replace either of them. However, it is significantly smaller than the others, so it makes building a multiple amp unit somewhat easier because the space demand is much lower. It's quite simple to include 4 amps (two boards) into a small space, but be aware that good heatsinking is essential if you expect to run these amps at significant power levels.

Photo of Completed P127 Board

The TDA7293 IC uses a MOSFET power stage, where the others featured use bipolar transistors. The main benefit of the MOSFET stage is that it doesn't need such radical protection circuitry as a bipolar stage, so unpleasant protection circuit artefacts are eliminated. There are no apparent downsides to the TDA7293, although it was found that one batch required a much higher voltage on the Standby and Mute pins than specified, or the amps would not work. This is not a limitation, since both are tied to the positive supply rail and are therefore disabled. This particular project has been planned for a long time, but for some reason I never got around to completing the board or the project description. This is now rectified, and it's ready to "rock and roll". The board is very small - only 77 x 31mm, so getting it into tight spaces is easy ... provided adequate heatsinking is available of course.

Description

The TDA7293 has a bewildering number of options, even allowing you to add a second power stage (in another IC) in parallel with the main one. This improves power into low impedance loads, but is a rather expensive way to get a relatively small power increase. It also features muting and standby functions, although I've elected not to use these.
The schematic is shown in Figure 1, and is based on the PCB version. All unnecessary functions have been disabled, so it functions as a perfectly normal power amplifier. While the board is designed to take two TDA7293 ICs, it can naturally be operated with only one, and the PCB is small enough so that this is not an inconvenience. A LED is included to indicate that power is available, and because of the low current this will typically be a high brightness type.

Figure 1 - Schematic of Power Amplifier (One Channel Shown)

The IC has been shown in the same format that's shown in the data sheet, but has been cleaned up for publication here. Since there are two amps on the board, there are two of most of the things shown, other than the power supply bypass caps and LED "Power Good" indicator. These ICs are extremely reliable (as are most power amp ICs), and to reduce the PCB size as much as possible, fuse clips and fuses have not been included. Instead, there are fusible tracks on the board that will fail if there is a catastrophic fault. While this is not an extremely reliable fuse, the purpose is to prevent power transformer failure, not to protect the amplifiers or PCB.  I normally use a gain of 23 (27dB) for all amplifiers, and the TDA7293 is specified for a minimum gain of 26dB, below which it may oscillate. Although this is only a small margin, tests so far indicate that the amp is completely stable. If you wish, you may increase the gain to 28 (29dB) to give a bit more safety margin. To do this, just change the input and feedback resistors (R3A/B and R4A/B) from 22k to 27k.

The circuit is conventional, and is very simple because all additional internal functions are unused. The LED is optional, and if you don't think you'll need it, it may be omitted, along with series resistor R3. All connections can be made with plugs and sockets, or hard wired. In most cases, I expect that hard wiring will be the most common, as the connectors are a pain to wire, and add unnecessary cost as well as reduce reliability.  The TDA7293 specifications might lead you to believe that it can use supply voltages of up to ±50V. With zero input signal (and therefore no output) it might, but I don't recommend anything greater than ±35V if 4 ohm loads are expected, although ±42V will be fine if you can provide good heatsinking. In general, the lower supply voltage is more than acceptable for 99% of all applications, and higher voltages should not be used unless there is no choice. Naturally, if you can afford to lose a few ICs to experiments, then go for the 42V supplies (obtained from a 30+30V transformer).

Construction

Because of the pin spacings, these ICs are extremely awkward to use without a PCB. Consequently, I recommend that you use the ESP board because it makes building the amplifier very simple. The PCBs are double sided with plated-through holes, so are very unforgiving of mistakes unless you have a good solder sucker. The best way to remove parts from a double sided board is to cut the pins off the component, then remove each pin fragment individually. This is obviously not something you'd wish to do if a power amp IC were installed incorrectly, since it will be unusable afterwards.

Figure 2 - TDA7293V Pinouts

The diagram above shows the pinouts for the TDA7293V (the "V" means vertical mounting). Soldering the ICs must be left until last. Mount the ICs on your heatsink temporarily, and slide the PCB over the pins. Make sure that all pins go through their holes, and that there is no strain on the ICs that may try to left the edge off the heatsink. When ICs and PCB are straight and aligned, carefully solder at least 4 pins on each IC to hold them in place. The remaining pins can then be soldered. Remember, if you mess up the alignment at this point in construction, it can be extremely difficult to fix, so take your time to ensure there are no mistakes.  This amplifier must not be connected to a preamp that does not have an output coupling capacitor. Even though there is a cap in the feedback circuit, it can still pass DC because there is no input cap on the PCB. I normally include an input cap, but the goal of this board was to allow it to fit into the smallest space possible, and the available board space is not enough to include another capacitor. A volume control (typically 10k log/ audio taper) may be connected in the input circuit if desired.

Note that the metal tab of the TDA7293 is connected to the -Ve supply, so must be insulated from the heatsink. The more care you take with the mounting arrangement, the better. While you can use a screw through an insulating bush and a piece of mica to insulate the tab, a better alternative is to use a clamping bar of some kind. How you go about this depends a lot on your home workshop tools and abilities, but one arrangement I've found highly satisfactory is a suitable length of 6.25mm square solid steel bar. This is very strong, and allows good pressure on the mica (or Kapton) for maximum heat transfer. Naturally, heatsink compound is absolutely essential.  Do not be tempted to use silicone insulation washers unless you are using the amp at very low supply voltages (no more than ±25V). Its thermal transfer characteristics are not good enough to allow the amp to produce more than about 10 - 20W of music, and even that can be taxing for silicone washers. The amp will shut down if it overheats, but that curtails one's listening enjoyment until it cools down again.

Power Supply

A suitable power supply is shown below, and is completely unremarkable in all respects. The transformer may be a conventional (E-I) laminated type or a toroid. The latter has the advantage of lower leakage flux, so will tend to inject less noise into the chassis and wiring. Conventional transformers are usually perfectly alright though, provided you take care with the mounting location. The bridge rectifier should be a 35A 400V type, as they are cheap, readily available and extremely rugged. Electrolytic capacitors should be rated at 50V. The cap connected across the transformer secondary (C4) should be rated at 275V AC (X Class), although a 630V DC cap will also work. This capacitor reduces "conducted emissions", namely the switching transients created by the diodes that are coupled through the transformer onto the mains supply. The power supply will work without this cap, and will most likely pass CE and C-Tick tests as well, but for the small added cost you have a bit of extra peace of mind as regards mains noise.

Figure 3 - Suggested Power Supply

The supply shown includes a "loop breaker", which is intended to prevent earth/ ground loops to prevent hum when systems are interconnected. Please be aware that it may not be legal to install this circuit in some countries. The diodes must be high current types - preferably rated at no less than 3A (1N5401 or similar). The loop breaker works by allowing you to have the chassis earthed as required in most countries, but lets the internal electronics "float", isolated from the mains earth by the 10 ohm resistor. RF noise is bypassed by the 100nF cap, and if a primary to secondary fault develops in the transformer, the fault current will be bypassed to earth via the diodes. If the fault persists and the internal fuse (or main power circuit breaker) hasn't opened, one or both diodes will fail. Semiconductor devices fail short-circuit, so fault current is connected directly to safety earth.

Be very careful when first applying mains power to the supply. Check all wiring thoroughly, verify that all mains connections are protected from accidental contact. If available, use a Variac, otherwise use a standard 100W incandescent lamp in series with the mains. This will limit the current to a safe value if there is a major fault. When the loop breaker is used, all input and output connectors must be insulated from the chassis, or the loop breaker is bypassed and will do nothing useful. The body of a level pot (if used) can be connected to chassis, because the pot internals are insulated from the body, mounting thread and shaft.

Note that the DC ground for the amplifiers must come from the physical centre tap between the two filter caps. This should be a very solid connection (heavy gauge wire or a copper plate), with the transformer centre tap connected to one side, and the amplifier earth connections from the other. DC must be taken from the capacitors - never from the bridge rectifier. The order of the fuse and power switch is arbitrary - they can be in any order, and in many cases the order is determined by the physical wiring of the IEC connector if a fused type is used. With a fused IEC connector, the fuse is before the switch and it cannot be removed while the mains lead is inserted.

I have shown a 2A slow-blow fuse, but this depends on the size and type of transformer and your mains supply voltage. Some manufacturers give a recommended fuse rating, others don't. The fuse shown is suitable for a 150VA transformer at 230V AC, and is deliberately oversized to ensure that it will not be subject to nuisance blowing due to transformer inrush current. A 2A fuse will fail almost instantly if there is a major fault. Make sure that the mains earth (ground) is securely connected to guarantee a low resistance connection that cannot loosen or come free under any circumstances. The accepted method varies from one country to the next, and the earth connection must be made to the standards that apply in your country.

WARNING: This power supply circuit requires experience with mains wiring. Do not attempt construction unless experienced, capable and suitably qualified if this is a requirement where you live. Death or serious injury may result from incorrect wiring.

Testing

Never attempt to operate the amplifier without the TDA7293 ICs attached to a heatsink!
Connect to a suitable power supply - remember that the supply earth (ground) must be connected! When powering up for the first time, use 100 ohm 5W "safety" resistors in series with each supply to limit the current if you have made a mistake in the wiring. If available, use a variable bench supply - you don't need much current to test operation, and around 500mA is more than enough. If using a current limited bench supply, the safety resistors can be omitted. Do not connect a speaker to the amplifier at this stage!

If using a normal power supply for the amp tests, apply power (±35V via the safety resistors) and verify that the current is no more than 60mA or so - about 6V across each 100 ohm resistor. No load current can vary, so don't panic if you measure a little more or less. Verify that the DC voltage at both outputs is less than 100mV. Using another 100 ohm resistor in series with a small speaker, or an oscilloscope, apply a sinewave signal at about 400Hz to the input and watch (or listen) for signal. The signal level needs to be adjusted to ensure the amp isn't clipping, and the waveform should be clean, with no evidence of parasitic oscillation or audible distortion. If everything tests out as described, wire the amplifier directly to the power supply and finish off any internal wiring in the amp. Once complete, it's ready to use.

Source: www.sound.westhost.com

The AN7147 Dual 5.3-watt Audio Power Amplifier from Panasonic is listed as a ‘replacement type’ so hopefully will be around for some time to come. Together with some extra components, it can represent a simple surround-sound system requiring no opamps or a negative voltage supply. As shown by the circuit diagram the basic stereo amplifier is changed into a surround-sound system by a trick called ‘adding feedback from the opposite channel’. When surround sound is required, the negative feedback signals supplied by C13-R3 and C12-R4 are fed to the inputs of the ‘other’ amplifier. The resulting phase difference causes the surround effect. If surround sound is not required, the effect can be disabled by pressing push-button S1.

Circuit diagram :

5.3W Amplifier With Surround System Circuit Diagram

This causes the bistable built around IC2.A and IC2.B to toggle and drive transistors T1 and T2 such that the above mentioned negative feedback signals are effectively shunted to ground. A high-efficiency LED and a 3.3-kΩ series resistor (R14) should be used to make sure the maximum output current of the CMOS 4001 device is not exceeded. The amplifier should not be loaded with impedance's smaller than 3Ω. The AN7147 will typically supply up to 4.3 watts into 4 Ω. The SIL-12 case needs to be cooled wit a small heatsink of about 6 K/W or better. The quiescent current is modest at just 19 mA.

Source : www.extremecircuits.net

140mW into 32 Ohm loads, Ultra-low Distortion

Those wanting private listening to their music programme should add this Headphone Amplifier to the Modular Preamplifier chain. The circuit was kept as simple as possible compatibly with a High Quality performance. This goal was achieved by using two NE5532 Op-Amps in a circuit where IC1B is the "master" amplifier wired in the common non-inverting configuration already used in the Control Center Line amplifier. IC1A is the "slave" amplifier and is configured as a unity-gain buffer: parallel amplifiers increase output current capability of the circuit. Two Headphone outputs are provided by J3 and J4.

The ac gain of the amplifier was kept deliberately low because this module is intended to be connected after the Control Center module, which provides the gain sufficient to drive the power amplifier. If you intend to use this Headphone Amplifier as a stand-alone device, a higher ac gain could be necessary in order to cope with a CD player or Tuner output. This is accomplished by lowering the value of R1 to 1K5. In this way an ac gain of 9 is obtained, more than sufficient for the purpose. Contrary to the two 15V positive and negative regulator ICs used in other modules of this preamp, two 9V devices were employed instead. This because the NE5532 automatically limits its output voltage into very low loads as 32 Ohm in such a way that the output amplitude of the amplified signal remains the same, either the circuit is powered at ±9V or ±15V. The choice of a ±9V supply allows less power dissipation and better performance of the amplifier close to the clipping point.

The input socket of this amplifier must be connected to the Main Out socket of the Control Center Module. As this output is usually reserved to drive the power amplifier, a second socket (J2) wired in parallel to J1 is provided for this purpose. As with the other modules of this series, each electronic board can be fitted into a standard enclosure: Hammond extruded aluminum cases are well suited to host the boards of this preamp. In particular, the cases sized 16 x 10.3 x 5.3 cm or 22 x 10.3 x 5.3 cm have a very good look when stacked. See below an example of the possible arrangement of the front and rear panels of this module.

Circuit diagram :

Modular Headphone Amplifier Circuit Diagram

Parts:

P1___________47K Log. Potentiometer (twin concentric-spindle dual gang for stereo)
R1___________4K7 1/4W Resistor
R2___________12K 1/4W Resistor
R3,R4________33R 1/4W Resistors
R5,R6________4R7 1/4W Resistors
C1___________1µF 63V Polyester Capacitor
C2,C5________100nF 63V Polyester Capacitors
C3,C6________22µF 25V Electrolytic Capacitors
C4,C7________2200µF 25V Electrolytic Capacitors
IC1__________NE5532 Low noise Dual Op-amp
IC2__________78L09 9V 100mA Positive Regulator IC
IC3__________79L09 9V 100mA Negative Regulator IC
D1,D2_______1N4002 200V 1A Diodes
J1,J2________RCA audio input sockets
J3,J4________6mm. or 3mm. Stereo Jack sockets
J5___________Mini DC Power Socket

Notes:

• The circuit diagram shows the Left channel only and the power supply.
• Some parts are in common to both channels and must not be doubled. These parts are: P1 (if a twin concentric-spindle dual gang potentiometer is used), IC2, IC3, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7, D1, D2, J3, J4 and J5.
• This module requires an external 15 - 18V ac (100mA minimum) Power Supply Adaptor.

Technical data:

Output power (1KHz sinewave):
32 Ohm: 140mW RMS
Sensitivity:
275mV input for 1V RMS output into 32 Ohm load (31mW)
584mV input for 2.12V RMS output into 32 Ohm load (140mW)
Frequency response @ 2V RMS:
Flat from 15Hz to 23KHz
Total harmonic distortion into 32 Ohm load @ 1KHz:
1V RMS and 2V RMS 0.0012%
Total harmonic distortion into 32 Ohm load @ 10KHz:
1V RMS and 2V RMS 0.0008%

Source :  www.redcircuits.com