Chippy - The Chip Amp

<-- Live demo

This is a 1/2ish Watt solid state power amplifier in an old iPhone box.

Only three components, an IC and two capacitors.

Runs on 9V DC .. could be a battery.

Suprisingly loud when driving an 8 Ohm speaker load.

Sounds cool .. looks cool!

Well, maybe it needs some stickers or something because my paint job is horrid.

Loved by rock gods and noobs alike.

Gut shot - What's inside Chippy?

Lotsa green wires because I dropped the roll of red behind my work bench and can't reach it.

Otherwise, mostly jacks and stuff.

- SCHEMATIC

Here's the schematic/wiring diagram

  • I1 - LM 386 Op Amp 8 Pin DIP
  • C1 - 100 uF Electrolytic Capacitor
  • C2 - 220 uF Electrolytic Capacitor
  • R1 - 1K Ohm Potentiometer (Volume)
  • R2 - 1k Ohm Resistor
  • J1 - 1/4" Phone Jack (In)
  • J2 - 1/4" Phone Jack (Out)
  • L1 - Red LED
  • S1 - SPST Switch

* Note this is a minimal example. The volume pot needs to be more like 500K Ohms. The caps could be tweaked and a gain control added between pins 1 and 8 of the IC.