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Fun Electronic Projects

That Are Easy To Build

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Table Of Contents

Project 1 Electronic Bell

Project 2 Bargraph Light Meter

Project 3 Infrared Voice Communicator

Project 4 Microphone Preamplifier

Project 5 Audio Mixer

Project 6 LED Tone Transmitter

Project 7 Audio Light Detector

Circuit Building Tips

When building a circuit for the first time I will often use a solder less breadboard the type with all
the little holes all in rows where you can push in the part leads. After I have it working the way I
want it to I might re-build it on a small piece of pref board with point to point wiring.

If it's a working project that I really plan to use, then I might decide to lay out and etch a copper
circuit board.
2

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 Electronic Bell

Parts List

-3- 10K ohm ¼ watt resistors.

-3- 1megohm pots type doesn't matter but try to keep them the same. IE linear or audio taper. Linear
is best.
-2- .001uf capacitors poly plastic types are fine
-1- .005uf capacitor poly plastic types are fine
-1- .01uf capacitor with a 10 volt or more rating
-1- opamp IC type 741 almost any audio opamp should work fine.
-1- momentary push button switch

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Building is very simple just make sure you have identified the pins on the IC correctly.

Operation:

Start by adjusting R1 to just before the oscillation point. Then play around with R2
and R3 to get all kinds of different bell sounds.

You can get high pitched bells like tinkle bells to a kind of drum bell.

You have to play around with it for awhile so have fun and almost any op amp will work but the old
741 is easy to find and cheap!

By the way, this makes great sound effects.

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 Bargraph Light Meter

Parts List
-1- 150 ohm ¼ watt resistor
-1- 220 ohm ¼ watt resistor
-1- 330 ohm ¼ watt resistor
-1- 390 ohm 1/4 watt resistor
-1- 470 ohm ¼ watt resistor
-1- 100k ¼ watt resistor
-1- 1k ¼ watt resistor
-1- 1 megohm ¼ watt resistor
-5- 5 LED's any color
-1- small solar cell
-1- general purpose audio opamp IC

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Building this is very simple but remember this circuit requires two 9 volt batteries. This is because
we want the IC opamps output pin to be able to sit at zero volts when the sensor is in the dark and
then swing positive all the way to 9 volts as the light increases.

Also be very sure that you have identified the pins on the IC correctly and double check all wiring
before you turn it on. This could useful to determine if someone has enough light on their
workspace to prevent eyestrain. This is a very sensitive light meter and you may have to partially
cover the solar cell to reduce the sensitivity.

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 Infrared Voice Communicator
The Transmitter

This is the transmitter half of the project. It uses a LM386 OpAmp which is a really easy to use
device. I have put the pin numbers next to it to help.

Parts List:
-1- 22k resistor
-1- 150 ohm resistor
-1- 220 uf capacitor
-1- .047 uf capacitor
-1- IR LED
-1- LM386 audio power amp IC
-1- small electret microphone.

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Building this infrared transmitter is real simple but there are a few things to watch out for. First
make sure you have the 220uf capacitor installed with the right polarity, the lead with the mark goes
to ground.

Also check to be sure that you have the LED installed with the cathode at ground.

Since it's infrared you won't be able to see it operate but here's a tip, use your digital camera to look
at the LED.

The camera sees into the near infrared range and will show your LED flashing as you talk if it's
working.

Next we will build the receiver half of this project.

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 Infrared Voice Communicator Pt.2
The Receiver

Parts List:
-1- 10 ohm ¼ watt resistor
-1- 5k ohm linear taper pot
-2- 220uf capacitors
-2- 0.47uf capacitors
-1- small 8 to 16 ohm speaker
-1- LM386 audio power OpAmp
-1- IR photo transistor Radio Shack 276-145

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Like the other projects there's only a few things to look for here. First again be sure you have
checked the polarity of the 220uf capacitors.

Operation:

First and set the 5k pot at half range. Now turn the receiver on and aim the photo transistor at a
florescent light or your computer screen. You should a loud buzz in the speaker, if not slowly adjust
the pot until you hear it.

Now turn on the transmitter and aim the units at each other. Speak into the microphone and you
will hear yourself in the receiver. Be careful not to get the units too close together because you will
get feedback from the receiver.

You might be surprised how far this will transmit without any optics but the range is affected by the
ambient light in the room.

Build the LED Tone Transmitter project and use it to get a really good idea of the maximum range
of the receiver.

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 Microphone Preamplifier

Parts List:
-3- 10k ¼ watt resistors
-1- 1k ¼ watt resistor
-1- 100k linear taper pot
-3- 1uf capacitors 10 volt or more rating
-1- TL084 low noise OpAmp or equivalent

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This could be a very useful project if you are interested in audio recording or have a band or a
music group.

The microphone input is set up for a standard PA vocal microphone or if you adjust the 100k gain
pot it works as a guitar input. With the guitar as an input adjust the pot to prevent the preamp from
being overloaded and distorting.

However the distortion from overloading might give you a sound you may have been looking for.

Another nice thing about this circuit is that it only uses one 9 volt battery and the IC has four
sections, so you could build 4 preamps with just the one IC.

Use this preamp with the next project, the 4 input mixer, set 2 preamps for Mic level input and 2 for
guitar input and you have a complete mini recording studio.

Here's the pin-out for the IC. In our circuit Vcc+ goes to +9volts and Vcc- goes to ground.

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 4 Input Audio Mixer

Parts List:
-6- 10k ¼ watt resistors
-1- 100k ¼ watt resistor
-4- 10k linear taper pots
-4- 1uf 10 volt or more capacitors
-1- 220uf 10 volt or more capacitor (Output Capacitor)
-1- general purpose audio opamp

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This is an easy to build straight forward circuit that can be expanded to as many input channels as
you want just by extending the mix buss (where all the 10k resistors connect) and adding more
input pots and capacitors.

The input is a line input level so if you want to use a microphone you need a preamp like the one in
the project before this.

The output is a fairly low impedance and sits at about 4.5 volts above ground so a good value for an
output capacitor to block that DC is around 220uf at 10 volts.

Run this into a line input on any amplifier or your computer sound card and you have a handy 4
input mixer.

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 LED Tone Transmitter

Parts List:
-1- 10k ¼ watt resistor
-1- 1k ¼ watt resistor
-1- 150 ohm ¼ watt resistor
-1- .05uf capacitor
-1- IR LED
-1- ne555 timer IC

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Again a very quick and easy circuit to build. Use the receiver circuit in the voice communicator to
check operation.

Be sure to check the polarity of the LED and check the pin out of the IC to make sure it's connected
up correctly and remember you can use your digital camera or perhaps even your cellphone camera
to check if the Infrared LED is working.

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 Audio Light Detector

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Parts List:
-1- 10k ¼ watt resistor
-1- 47k ¼ watt resistor
-1- 1k ¼ watt resistor
-1- 4.7uf 10 volt or more capacitor
-1- .05uf capacitor
-1- 8 to 16 ohm small speaker
-1- CDS photo resistor Radio Shack #276-1657

Building:

Very simple just be sure to check the 4.7uf capacitors polarity and the IC's pin out to be sure you are
connecting to the right pins. To change the pitch of the tone make the 47k resistor a higher value to
lower the pitch or a lower value to raise the pitch.

For some fun put one of these in your refrigerator and when someone opens the door, the tone will
sound! But don't say I told you to do that!

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