Back to Basics

I've decided to start over. New ground rules for myself, and heaps of benefits for readers.

(1) I will post updates here regularly, every Thursday. If anything can't wait, it'll get posted, but the Thursday post is the routine.

(2) The amateur construction ebook will have its projects posted as news items here, with links to PDFs as they are completed. The project PDFs are free for anyone to download, anytime, anywhere. All I ask is that you download, and not link to them. 'Bandwidth thieves' will be dealt with.

That's it! Just a little more commitment and organisation this end. Enjoy.


So, starting over means back to square one? Yes, and it's real basic. The first project is a fundamentally useful one, and it has just ten components, including all connectors and the FR4 panel it's built on. I can't claim originality for this one; it's straight out of the data-sheet for the LM386 audio amplifier. Anyone with basic electronic tools can build this, and the parts will cost you around £3-50 total. If I were to present this as a kit, it'll cost you £7-50 including post and packing to UK mainland, battery not included. That's a thought I'm going to mull over.

The LM386 amplifier is available in a variety of sub-types; the only ones worth noting are the N-1 and N-4. The N-1 is the cheapest, and will deliver around 300mW. The maximum voltage is 12V, making it ideal for use with a 9V PP3 battery. For higher voltages and more power, the LM386N-4 can use up to 18V and supply 1000mW (a whole watt) of audio power, great for small speakers. Its Farnell code is 1184987, and they sell it for 57p.
Next post here will include links to this first project, and give an overview of the next. I'll also include links to things I've discovered while researching 'out there', a practice harking back to the original purpose of blogging; a list of links and commentaries on websites.