You reckon one of these 386 amps would drive 3W into 4 Ohms? Just i pulled two of these "ST 77FS-AN" drivers from an old set of PC speakers, seems a shame to waste them. Would they sound any better or worse than a 1W 8 Ohm Mylar driver (what i was planning on using). They're about 7.5cm in diameter.

Also, anybody have any idea where i can find enclosures in the UK? I'm having a bit of trouble... thanks

Hmm, thanks. Just because you said that was better suited to bass i thought there might be a better option. But looks good, you think a Celestion Super 8 would be a good match? I could use my woodwork skills to make a cabinet. Would this transformer work, assuming it's a good idea to go for the 2050 over the 2030?

http://www.djsoundkit.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=P037A

Thanks

Not entirely on topic, but would it be possible to use a kettle socket:



instead of directly wiring it? Then you could just use a kettle lead like you find on a computer...

You can make a valve version of the Noisy Cricket:

http://www.beavisaudio.com/projects/TubeCricket/

Well after i've built a battery amp odds are i'll be looking for a 'budget' practice amp. I'd say between 10 and 30W, but quality is more important than volume. Essentially can you spec me everything please? Speaker, Power Amp, Preamp... whatever. I've had a look around but without much success...

It's worth noting though that i'm in the UK, cheers in advance

Hmm, come to think of it the only material i've read on the subject was just concerning a man wrapping wire around a spool and taping it to a paper plate... or something similar to that. Can you point me in the direction of some please?

Quote from: J M Fahey on February 23, 2010, 11:25:46 AM
I make my own 10" guitar speakers just for that use.

*raises eyebrows*

I knew you could make drivers but i didn't think the art was refined enough for you to make something specialised... or even with an ounce of good sound quality?

Okay, thanks. I might have a go at both seeing as the Smokey can fit into a pack of playing cards sized enclosure.

When building a full setup do you have to match the maximum output of the amp circuit to the maximum output of the speakers? Also, how would a 'full range' setup cope? Say with a woofer, a loudspeaker or two and a tweeter. Or does it have to be just a woofer? On the subject of drivers why aren't horn speakers used? They should be quite efficient...

Can you get pictures? It should be simply enough to repair, shouldn't you just be able to bridge over the crack with some solder?

Quote from: tonyharker on January 30, 2010, 02:12:36 PM
Why not try a noisy cricket?  There should be enough info here < http://www.beavisaudio.com/projects/NoisyCricket/#Intro >  to tell you what to do.

Would that be a better option than the Ruby? Would it be possible to do with an inbuilt speaker? And how are those ultra simple smokey tone amps they have at the bottom?

Is there a guide to all the terms i should know somewhere? I reckon i could read the circuit diagrams - it's not too long since i did it in school.

Oh, and if it's not too much to ask could somebody have a look on Maplins to see if they have everything required? Only i can get a discount there... what sort of tools do i need? Obviously a soldering iron which i've been meaning to buy for ages but other than that i'm not entirely sure.

Thanks for all your help, i appreciate it

On the subject of heatsinks, coming from a computer hardware enthusiast could you use heatsinks designed for use on CPUs? For example, the Coolermaster TX3 is only £12 new and although it uses a fan (17dB if you mod it to run on 5/7v as opposed to 12, not sure on how you would power it though... should still be able to deal with these little chips while running passive though) can deal with 130W of heat. If you had the enclosure space for it then you could even modify the circuit to allow for mounting holes.

**edit from admin**
Moved

Cheers

Thing is, it would probably be easier the way these are designed if the chip fit in a socket instead of standing up...

Would a lithium ion battery from a laptop work?

How well does this work as a headphone amp? How would you go about adding a switch and volume control?

Woa, that's wierd. First time i've used this username...

Anyway, thanks for the info - would i be right in assuming that the Ruby would work without a preamp? I still seem to be encountering the same problem (probably down to my rubbish googling skills) that i can't seem to find anything that actually tells you what to do, is there or is it an experience/knowledge based thing?

Hey, i'm new to the guitar in general but in hopeful research for my first guitar buy i've come across you guys when looking at how to make an amp. Clearly enough people have done it, but there doesn't seem to be any 'definitive guide to everything' that a lot of other hobbies have on the internet. So what do i need to know? I've managed to deduce that it consists of three main parts; the preamp, the power amp and the speaker (which seem to be conveniently on Maplins) but other than that i'm pretty much clueless as to what i need to do. So can you point me in the right direction? Cheers