Hi there, i'm new to this forum, and rather new to electronics; till january 2009 i have been exploring mainly stompboxes, and i have successfully built some of them: a BSIAB2, a Tillman JFET preamp, a Carvin Legacy JFET emulation and a Dr.Boogey (MesaBoogie Rectifier JFET emulation);

I would now like to explore the power amp part of this fantastic hobby; but i am really afraid about high voltages, and so on...

I have a Roland Microcube (which i like very much), and i've seen the ROG LittleGem and Ruby projects (and also i tried to build a Ruby, but it doesn't sound right to me... maybe something wrong with my wiring);

But, mainly, i have some questions:

1) for battery powered amps, i've understood that only the LM386 will do the job, is that right ?
2) for mains powered amps, do i always need a trasformer and some heatsinks ??
3) what's the max power i can obtain for a battery powered amp (say, using 9V) ?


Sorry for the many and not ordered questions..... Just want to clarify a bit.


Thanks in advance.

Demy