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For Acoustic or Cigar Box Guitars (CGB)Low cost, minimum number of parts. Powered 'on' when the guitar lead is plugged in. Easily available parts via Amazon, eBay & others Ideal for Cigar Box Guitars! CBG! |
Only basic soldering skills and to be able to make a suitable hole in a guitar.
Headphone Practice amp mode. You may need a mono to stereo headphone adaptor OR use one ear!
Note: This is a mono device and NEEDS a mono only 1/4 inch jack input, or at least a stereo jack with the middle ring shorted to ground (barrel,) or the power switch mechanism will not work!
If you you believe in magic, you can skip over some techie stuff.
We are using this module: It is mass produced and normally lives in MP3 players, Door Intercoms and Baby Monitors. We can take advantage of this bulk production. From $1 to £10, the choice is yours!
Go into eBay and search for LM386 modules and find one of the many offerings looking identical to the pic. below.
This is a diagram of what is IN the module, which is of course MAGIC!
The Magic Module
Please read all of below before even thinking of spending money!
Parts List
The Battery Container / Casing
£1.23 eBay |
Jack Socket
£1 - £6.99 I used this but you could probably use one for £1 and a bit of cussing and filing, but this looked cool and would do the job I did pay extra for fast delivery. Healifty |
LM386 Module
£1.57 (£0.99 is acheivable). eBay |
PP3 Connector
0p - £1 |
Electret PCB Microphone 2Pin Capsule
1 cm diameter standard electret. The subminiature ones have a worse frequency response. eBay |
120R 1/4 watt resistor.
10p |
Velcro Coin (or similar)
Follow the instructions and let the self-adhesive set properly before use. You could use a 'sticky fixer', but that is more permanent and not so convenient if you need to rework anything. |
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MiscellaneousThree small woodscrews to secure the module to the guitar. Some thin electrical hook-up wire. |
I used this unit. It can hold a PP3 Battery and only needs a small hole in the guitar, which I found very easy to do. Your mileage may vary.
Easily the most expensive item in my build.
Main module used.
Are we not recycling men? Rip off the top of a PP3 Battery and use that! 0p! Or get a pp3 connector from anywhere, ideally NOT a 'T one' as it is a bit cramped in the battery compartment ;)
Optional perhaps. Helped with a guitar longer lead.
I used Velcro to attach the module to the rear of the battery compartment, which also gives a measure of 'shockproofing' and reduces handling noise.Assembly Instructions
Preparing the case and fitting the battery clip
The hole in the case is too small for the specified jack socket, so, I enlarged it so that it fitted. Not having a drill bit of that size, I found that my counter-sink was, so I used that!
Fit the the jack socket and secure it with the nut supplied.
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Twist the wir Solder the red wire to the module hole marked VCC + Solder the black wire to the terminal on the jack socket that is connected to the ring (not the body or tip) |
es on the PP3 clip and thread them though the case as shown.Connecting the microphone
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It has to be connected the right way around. The module has MIC + and MIC - holes marked. The microphone will probably have its positive terminal marked with a '+'. If it does not, then the negative terminal will be visibly connected to the metal case. Insert the pins into the appropriate holes in the board and solder them in |
Wiring the Jack Socket
Connect the reamining leads according to the diagram.