digital transition...

I recall this supposed to be taking full effect quite a while ago, but instead it seems a lot of parties have broken the transition into smaller steps which always seems to leave me a step behind. With everything that has been happening to me in the past, it's not much of a surprise that I am not completely ready for it, yet it seems I must catch up to some extent before it's too late. I received notice in the mail from Comcast that March third is my cutoff point to acquire free equipment to fully adapt to the new digital transition. I still have yet to unpack my new tv and hook up various other new equipment to make sure that I have everything I already need. I didn't want to needlessly acquire anything I didn't need. Of course my latest setbacks have been my mother getting sick so frequently this month as well as my root canal, but I am trying to make things ready, including assembling an a/v center and wall mount for my new tv. This also means removing the old tv cabinet that has sat in the same place for about 40 years or so as well as the dead tv within. I look forward to seeing things finished. I have a lot to set up and several consoles I have yet to use and enjoy for the first time. I think this is one change in my life that I can be happy about...

back-words... diy hobby...

Tuesday, July 10, 2007
diy hobby...
here's something fun i scoped out. i dig diy projects. enjoy...

source:
http://tangentsoft.net/audio/cmoy-tutorial/
How to Build the CMoy Pocket Amplifier
completed amp, outside

Chu Moy designed a very popular headphone amplifier that's easy to build, and it can be built small enough to fit in a pocket, power supply and all. It's powerful enough to drive very inefficient headphones to thunderous volumes from even weak sources, and it sounds excellent considering that you can build a bare-bones CMoy amp for just US$20, and a pretty nice amp for under $50. Considering that the cheapest of the worthy commercial amps is $100 and most of them are in the $200+ range, this is a very worthwhile cost difference.

For these reasons, I think that the CMoy pocket amplifier is an ideal project to get started in audio DIY. This article is written for the beginner DIYer, though if you just want a guide to building this particular amp, you can skip to the parts or assembly sections.

If you are a raw newbie and don't yet have any tools, see the companion article, Getting Started in Audio DIY.

Last major update: 2007.05.10 (revision history)

o Frequently-Asked Questions
+ Who should build this amp?
+ What if I don't understand the circuit?
+ How can I modify the circuit?
+ Is it a speaker amplifier?
+ Is it a guitar amplifier?
+ Is it a microphone amplifier?
+ Can I make it drive multiple sets of headphones?
+ Can I get someone to build it for me?
+ How long will this take to build?
+ What are the differences between this tutorial and the original article?
o Schematic
o Part Lists and Suggestions
+ Required Parts
+ Optional Parts
+ Precision Resistors
+ Are 1/8W Resistors Sufficient?
+ The Radio Shack Metal Film Resistor Assortment
+ Circuit Board Alternatives
+ Choosing an Op-Amp
+ Choosing an Enclosure
+ Notes on Jacks
o Assembling the Amplifier
o Tweaks
+ Tuning the Gain
+ Quieting Noises (R5)
+ Adding a DC Power Jack
+ Picking a DC Wall Power Supply
+ Using Different Caps
+ Tweaking the LED Resistor
+ Improving the Virtual Ground Circuit
o Article Revision History