I'm trying to take my circuitry skills to the next level by combining a number of VCOs, filters, and special-effects generators into a "sound card" whose functions I can individually address digitally. (The intended application is robotics.)
In order to tie together the various elements, I'll need to route the output signals to a mixer and amplifier. My problem is that while I do a good job of wiring up VCOs and filters, I've never made an amplifier based on the LM386 that actually worked correctly.
What are some of the gotchas that might be messing with me? I've put together a number of the Forrests Mims 386 circuits, as well as others I've found online and in magazines. Either I suck at using this chip, or all my 386s are somehow damaged.
There are no special handling requirements for this chip, are there? I know the instructions to various circuits often advise us to "keep capacitor leads short" and "bypass the power connections with capacitors". Being on a budget, I'm loath to trim leads on capacitors unless I have spares on hand. Are long leads really that problematic? Also, when Mims says "bypass the power connections", is he telling me to wire a capacitor in parallel with the power lead, or replace the power connection completely with a capacitor? (That would block the power, since it's DC, right?)
Finally, is it possible that in misinterpreting (or ignoring) these instructions on previous projects, I've damaged the 386 or the 741s I've tried to use as preamps? Are there any nifty troubleshooting tactics I can take to verify that the chips at least are undamaged?
Thanks in advance!
In order to tie together the various elements, I'll need to route the output signals to a mixer and amplifier. My problem is that while I do a good job of wiring up VCOs and filters, I've never made an amplifier based on the LM386 that actually worked correctly.
What are some of the gotchas that might be messing with me? I've put together a number of the Forrests Mims 386 circuits, as well as others I've found online and in magazines. Either I suck at using this chip, or all my 386s are somehow damaged.
There are no special handling requirements for this chip, are there? I know the instructions to various circuits often advise us to "keep capacitor leads short" and "bypass the power connections with capacitors". Being on a budget, I'm loath to trim leads on capacitors unless I have spares on hand. Are long leads really that problematic? Also, when Mims says "bypass the power connections", is he telling me to wire a capacitor in parallel with the power lead, or replace the power connection completely with a capacitor? (That would block the power, since it's DC, right?)
Finally, is it possible that in misinterpreting (or ignoring) these instructions on previous projects, I've damaged the 386 or the 741s I've tried to use as preamps? Are there any nifty troubleshooting tactics I can take to verify that the chips at least are undamaged?
Thanks in advance!