ECE 2C Laboratory Manual

1a
Audio Amplifier Circuit

Overview
In the first part of lab#1 you will construct a low-power audio amplifier/speaker driver based
on the LM386 IC from National Semiconductor. The audio amplifier will be a self-
contained, battery-operated component. In the second part of the lab you will construct a
microphone circuit using a compact electret condenser microphone cartridge. These circuit
modules are important building blocks of many audio communications systems, and will be
used in our ultrasonic transceiver system.
By studying this document and experimenting with the components and circuits in the lab,
pay attention to the following:
■ Electrical characteristics of audio speakers
■ Characteristics of condenser microphones
■ Design of single-supply battery-operated op-amp circuits
■ Use of diode limiters/clamps for input protection
■ Use of active filters for tone control
■ Choice of AC coupling capacitors
We will discuss the analytical aspects of active filter design in lecture we will see them in
action again in our IR receiver system.
Remember, the objective here is not simply to create a working circuit, it is to learn about
circuits! So, as you progress through the lab, try to understand the role of each component,
and how the choice of component value may influence the operation of the circuit. Please
tinker with component values, that is an especially valuable way to learn. Ask yourself
questions such as: Why is this resistor here? Why does it have this resistance value? Why is
this blocking capacitor 1μF instead of 0.1μF or 10μF or 100μF? Why was this particular op-
amp chosen? It is only when you can answer such questions that you will truly understand
the labs and progress towards designing your own circuits. In the process you may even find
a better solution; in fact, many of the laboratory experiments in this course now include
several slight modifications from the original that were inspired by student feedback.

1 © Bob York
2 Audio Amplifier Circuit

Table of Contents
Pre-lab Preparation 2
Before Coming to the Lab 2
Schedule for Lab #1 2
Parts List 3
Full Schematics for Lab #1 4
Background information 6
Audio Speakers 6
In-Lab Procedure 8
1.1 Some comments on our choice of ICs 8
Why the LM386? 8
Why the LM358? 8
1.2 Speaker Equivalent Circuit 9
1.3 Assemble Amplifier on Breadboard 9
1.4 Summing network 11
1.5 Optional -- Tone-Control Circuit 12
1.6 Hardwire the Amplifier 13
1.7 Possible Improvements 14

Pre-lab Preparation
Before Coming to the Lab
□ Read through the lab experiment to familiarize yourself with the components and
assembly sequence. Before coming to the lab, each group should obtain a parts kit from
the ECE Shop.
□ With reference to the full schematic in Figure 1-1 calculate the lower cutoff frequency
imposed by capacitors C1-3 and R1-3 in the summing network:

flow =______________Hz

Schedule for Lab #1

To stay on schedule, you must do the following:
■ Week #1: Audio amplifier
■ Week #2: Microphone circuit
The audio amplifier project is more difficult and time-consuming than the microphone pre-
amp, so part of week #2 may be used to finish the audio amp. All breadboarding and testing
can and should be done in lab. Soldering and hardwiring can and should be done outside lab.

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Pre-lab Preparation 3

Parts List
Qty Description Circuit

1 Audio Speaker, 8-Ohm, 2 Watt, 0.3-9KHz

1 LM386N-3 Low-Voltage Audio Power Amplifer U2
1 LM358 Low-Power Dual Op-Amp U1
2 8-pin low-profile IC socket
1 10 Ohm 1/2W resistor R10
2 2.2k 1/4W resistor R13,R14
8 10k 1/4W resistor R1-5,R9,R12,R15
2 100k 1/4W resistor R6-7
1 10k trimpot R8
1 20k trimpot R11
1 470 uF 16V electrolytic capacitor (PC lead) C9
1 100uF 16V electrolytic capacitor (PC lead) C10
Audio Amplifier

2 10uF 16V electrolytic capacitor (PC lead) C4,C6

4 1uF capacitor C1,C2,C3,C5
1 0.033uF capacitor (CK05 low-voltage ceramic ) C7
2 0.022uF capacitor (CK05 low-voltage ceramic ) C11,C12
1 0.1uF capacitor (CK05 low-voltage ceramic ) C8
2 1N4148 small-signal Silicon diode
1 4.5" x 5.67" vectorboard
4 Rubber feet
1 Stereo Audio jack
1 3.5mm male-to-male stereo patch cord
1 9V battery leads
1 9V battery holder (adhesive backed)
1 9V battery
1 Doubled-sided adhesive tape for mounting speaker
2 flea clips
6" #22 stranded wire (black)
6" #22 stranded wire (red)

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4 Audio Amplifier Circuit

Full Schematics for Lab #1

Figure 1-1 – Schematic for the basic audio amplifier.

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Pre-lab Preparation 5

Figure 1-2 – Schematic for the audio amplifier with optional tone-control circuit.

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6 Audio Amplifier Circuit

Background information
Audio Speakers
Audio speakers convert electrical signals into mechanical motion. The most common
speakers for high-quality audio are constructed as shown in Figure 1-3. The electric signal is
passed through a coil of wire (the “voice” coil), which is suspended a strong magnetic field
provided by a permanent magnet. A time-varying current in the coil leads to a mechanical
deflection relative to the magnet. The coil is attached to a lightweight conical membrane
(usually made from a heavy-grade paper) that couples the mechanical motion of the coil to
the surrounding air molecules.
Resonance

Band of
operation

(a) (b)
Figure 1-3 – (a) Cross section and (b) Impedance curve for a typical 8 dynamic speaker.

If you look through catalogs of audio-speakers, you will find many different sizes and
price ranges. For example, check out http://www.tb-speaker.com/tbp.htm. High-quality audio
speakers can be quite expensive, and are designed for a flat, omni-directional frequency
response in the specified operating range. Small inexpensive speakers, such as the ones used
in this lab, have poor low-frequency response and limited power-handling capacity.
Speakers are commonly specified by their frequency response, impedance level, and
power-handling capacity. Typical speaker impedances are “8” or “4” or “16”. This is
often a source of confusion because it suggests the speaker is modeled by a constant
resistance of this value. In reality there is a significant reactive component of impedance and
hence a strong variation of impedance with frequency, as shown in the figure above. The
impedance can also depend strongly on the surroundings. For example, a speaker measured in
isolation (the “free-air” response) will have a different impedance than one mounted in a
wooden enclosure.


D. B. Weems, Designing, Building & Testing your Own Speaker System, Tab Books: Blue Ridge
Summit, PA, 1984

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Background information 7

The AC impedance often displays at least one resonance, relating to the size and stiffness
(“compliance”) of the cone. Electrically this mechanical resonance can be modeled by a
parallel RLC circuit. The operating frequency range
for the speaker begins at or above this resonance, and Rc Lc
in this range the speaker impedance is well modeled by
just a resistance in series with an inductance. The
inductance comes from the voice coil itself. The
resistance term is largely the DC resistance of the Lm Cm Rm
voice coil, with a small additional contribution which
represents energy conversion to mechanical motion.
The combination of the two resistances is usually close
to the specified impedance of the speaker (e.g. 8) in Figure 1-4 – Equivalent circuit for an
the middle of the operating range. audio speaker
A pretty good equivalent circuit model for any
speaker is shown in Figure 1-4 and can be created by measuring or finding the following
parameters:

■ DC Resistance of the voice coil, Rc

■ Free-air resonant frequency, fs
■ Input resistance Rt at f=fs (the impedance is purely resistive at resonance)
■ Bandwidth Δf of the resonance (between the points where Z t  Rt / 2 ). The Q-
factor is then Qms= fs /Δf
■ Inductance Lc of the voice coil (measure at a high frequency, f>>fs)

The free-air mechanical resonance is modeled by a parallel RLC circuit. Since the Q-factor
of a parallel resonator is Qms   RC , and the resonant frequency is f s  1/ 2 LC , the
equivalent circuit parameters can be found as
Qms 1
Rm  Rt  Rc Cm  Lm 
2 f s Rm (2 f s ) 2 Cm
One last point about speakers: for a single-speaker application the polarity of the speaker
is irrelevant. However, if multiple speakers are used, it is important to connect them together
with the correct polarity so that the voice coils and cones will move in phase with each other.
For this reason, speaker terminal are often designated with a “+” or “-” symbol.

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8 Audio Amplifier Circuit

In-Lab Procedure

1.1 Some comments on our choice of ICs

Why the LM386?
At first glance this project looks simple; all we need is an amplifier to drive an audio speaker,
right? Why not just use a simple op-amp gain stage? Well, one immediate challenge is that
speakers have a low impedance, typically 8-Ohm. Even for a low-power 0.5W audio
amplifier, P  I 2 R / 2 requires that the amplifier must be able to source a peak AC current of
around 350 mA with an 8-Ohm load. This is a lot more than a typical op-amp is designed to
provide. For example, the LM358 and LF353 (two op-amps used in this lab) can source
around 20-40mA at most. So we need a device that can handle higher currents. We also
want a device that can be operated from a single supply voltage (a battery in this case). It is
possible to make a suitable amplifier using an op-amp and a couple of external power
transistors, but we went with a simpler solution, and chose a chip that was specifically
designed as an audio driver, the LM386, shown in Figure 1-5.

Figure 1-5 – LM386 internal circuit and 8-pin DIP pin assignments.

This is an old chip that has been a popular choice for low-power audio applications for
many years. There are many other audio amp ICs on the market (LM380 and LM383 are
similar but higher-power amps from National), but the LM386 is sufficient for our purposes.
It comes in three-flavors, the LM386-1, LM386-2, and LM386-3, which can provide 0.3W,
0.5W, and 0.7W respectively, more than adequate for this lab. Another nice thing about the
LM386 is that the gain-frequency curve can be shaped with some external feedback
components, so it is a very flexible device. If you do a web search on “LM386”, you will
find many examples of clever circuits that people have come up with over the years. The one
in this lab is a minor modification of a circuit described in the data sheet.

Why the LM358?

For the remainder of the circuit (a simple unit-gain summing network) we have chosen an
LM358 op-amp, which is a low-power device that can be operated from a single voltage
supply, therefore appropriate for battery-operated circuits. Low-power op-amps draw very
little quiescent current and hence help prolong the life of the battery. The LM358 is a
garden-variety op-amp and there are many other possibilities that could be used, but this one
is very cheap! We also chose a dual device in case you choose to do the optional tone-control

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Speaker Equivalent Circuit 9

circuit. It doesn’t matter which of the two internal op-amps you use for the summing network
or the tone-control circuit, they are identical.

1.2 Speaker Equivalent Circuit

We’ll start by measuring the characteristics of the audio speaker in your kit. This is a small,
general-purpose speaker used for intercoms and other inexpensive audio systems.

For these measurements, it is important to keep the speaker face-up.

□ Using the R-L-C meter in the lab, measure the coil resistance and coil inductance (the
meter uses a frequency that is well above the speaker’s mechanical resonance).
□ Now we’ll use the function-generator at your workstation to drive the speaker. Since the
speaker has a small impedance, we must be careful to keep the amplitude of the function
generator low so that it doesn’t have to source a lot of current. Adjust your function
generator to produce a sinusoidal wave with an AC amplitude of Vg= 200 mV and zero
DC offset.
□ Electrically connect your
speaker to the function R
generator as shown in
Figure 1-6, using a small +
resistor R in series with V g V L  VL 
Z  R
the speaker (something -  Vg  VL 
 
around 50 , or two 100 
resistors in parallel, seems |Z|
to work well). This Figure 1-6 – Speaker test circuit
creates a voltage divider,
so that the voltage across the speaker is proportional to the magnitude of its impedance.
Thus by measuring Vg and VL we can map out the variation of impedance with frequency
using the formula in Figure 1-6.
□ Find the resonant frequency (somewhere in the range of 100-200 Hz), and record the
impedance at resonance and the bandwidth. Then compute the equivalent circuit
parameters as discussed in the background information.

1.3 Assemble Amplifier on Breadboard

The schematic for an LM386-based amplifier is shown in Figure 1-7. We will first construct
this amplifier using your plastic solderless breadboard and bench power supply. Once you
debug the circuit and demonstrate that it works properly, you will “hard-wire” it onto a
vectorboard and power it from a 9V battery. The idea of breadboarding the circuit first is not
to create more work! It is good practice in general, since it allows you to debug your design
more easily, allows you to experiment with component values, and most importantly will help
preserve your battery in the event of a wiring error! The battery is in fact one of the most
expensive components in this lab.

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10 Audio Amplifier Circuit

Figure 1-7 – Schematic of LM386 Amplifier.

□ First study the schematic carefully, and locate all the necessary parts in your kit. Find
the LM386 chip and compare it with Figure 1-5 and the schematic in Figure 1-7 to
correlate pin numbers with the circuit connections.
□ Configure your breadboard with connections to the power supply and appropriate wiring
to the power busses, then add the LM386 IC and make the power (pin 6) and ground (pin
4) connections as shown in the schematic. Add the 100μF and 10μF bias/bypass
capacitors.
□ With reference to the schematic, add in the resistor and capacitor elements as shown.
Note the role of each component:
1. 1F capacitor: DC blocking, AC couples the input signal
2. 10k trimpot: voltage-divider for volume control
3. 10F capacitor: Internal AC bypass (see data sheet).
4. 10k resistor and 33nF capacitor between pins 1-5: bass-boost feedback
circuit (see data sheet), helps compensate for the poor low-frequency
response of our speaker
5. 470F capacitor: DC blocking (why is this so large compared with other
blocking/bypass capacitors?)
6. 10 resistor and 0.1F capacitor: a “snubber” circuit for high-frequency
stabilization, prevents potential oscillation due to inductive loading.
□ Add in the back-to-back diodes at the input terminal of the device. These diodes clamp
the input voltage on pin 3 at +/- 0.7 V, to insure that excessive voltage is never applied to
this pin, which could damage the circuit.
□ Add the speaker. You will need to first solder wire jumper leads to the speaker terminals.

You are now ready to test the circuit as shown in Figure 1-8.
□ First connect your bench function generator to the oscilloscope and adjust for a 1kHz
sinewave with a 0.2 V amplitude, and verify on the oscilloscope. Then apply this signal
to your amplifier along with the +9V bias. If all goes well, you should hear a tone.
Adjust the volume control as necessary.

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Summing network 11

□ With the volume adjusted to a reasonable level, sweep the frequency to determine the
lowest and highest audible tones and record your data.
□ Observe the output waveform at pin 5
on the oscilloscope for a 0.5V Function
Power Supply
amplitude input at 1 kHz. Note that the Generator
output is level shifted to approximately
half the power supply voltage. Can Speaker
you see distortion as the volume is
+9 V
increased? Why is this happening?
Amplifier
□ Remove the LM386 temporarily and Circuit
apply a ±1V sinusoid at 1 kHz to the
amplifier input and observe the
waveform at pin 3 under full-volume Figure 1-8 – Testing the amplifier circuit
conditions. You should observe the
clamping or limiting action of the input diodes. Record this waveform.
□ Reconnect the IC and speaker and insert the bench multimeter in series with the power
supply as shown above to measure the DC current flow into the amplifier. Record the
current under the operating conditions.

1.4 Summing network

The next step is to add the summing network, which is used to combine several audio inputs
into a common output signal. For example, if we want to hook our “mono” amplifier to a
“stereo” signal, such as produced by an MP3 player or CD player, then we need to add the
left and right stereo channels together so that the amplifier can amplify both simultaneously
and deliver them to the speaker.

□ Add the summing circuit as shown in Figure 1-9. Just put in the AUX channel for now
(C3-R3), don’t worry about the stereo jack and associated RC elements, those can be
added in the hardwired version

Stereo Input Jack C1

R1
3
1uF-POL 10k R4
2
C2 R2 10k
1

1uF-POL 10k

Aux Input C3 R3
4

2 LM358AN
1uF-POL 10k
U1A 1

3
R5
8
10k
VCC VCC
Sets ref
9V level at 9V
Vcc/2
R6

100k
R7
C4 100k
10uF-POL

Figure 1-9 – Single-ended unity-gain summing network and LM358 pinout

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12 Audio Amplifier Circuit

There are two important points to understand here, both of which are related to the use of a
single (battery) supply. First, in the textbook dual-supply op-amp summing circuit, the
positive (non-inverting) input is usually grounded. The voltage at this pin defines the
“reference” voltage for the input signals, which is the desired average or DC output level in
an audio system. We usually choose this level to maximize the possible AC voltage swing,
hence it should be midway between the two supply voltages. For a dual (bipolar) supply, this
would be ground (0 V), but for our 9V battery supply, it is half the supply voltage, or 4.5
Volts. This is accomplished using the two 100k resistors in a voltage divider (we choose
100k resistors here to minimize the current draw from the battery). The 10F bypass
capacitor helps prevent this voltage level from fluctuating during operation, maintaining a
constant potential and hence a good AC ground.
Secondly, since the input and outputs of this summing network will be capacitively
coupled, the data sheet recommends adding an external resistive DC current path to ground at
the output of the op-amp, to increase the bias current through the transistors in the op-amp’s
output stage during operation. This is what R5 is for. You’ll have to wait until ECE 137AB
to fully appreciate the details. Again, we’re choosing a large value resistor here to minimize
the DC current draw from the battery.

□ Once everything is put together, test your circuit as in the previous section, applying the
signal from the function generator to the input ports.
□ The capacitive coupling at the input introduces a low-frequency pole, giving the
summing network a high-pass response. Sweep the frequency to determine the cutoff and
compare this with your prelab calculation.

1.5 Optional -- Tone-Control Circuit

The LM358 is a dual op-amp so we have an extra op-amp to play with. Why not use it? This
is not a required element of your project, but is a common feature in simple audio systems to
improve/adjust the sound quality.

20
15
Voltage Gain, dB

10
5
0
-5
-10
-15
-20
10 100 1,000 10,000 100,000
Frequency, Hz
(a) (b)
Figure 1-10 –(a) Single-knob tone control circuit. This makes use of the second op-amp in the
LM358. You can use the same Vref as for the summing circuit. (b) Bode plots for the tone-control
circuit at opposite extremes of the potentiometer setting.
There are many possibilities for tone-control circuits. The basic idea is to selectively boost
or “cut” (attenuate) signals depending on their frequency. This is usually done using an op-
amp gain stage with frequency-selective feedback. The circuit in Figure 1-10a is a simple
example that basically starts with a unity-gain inverting amplifier configuration, and adds

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Hardwire the Amplifier 13

series RC networks in parallel with feedback resistors. A potentiometer controls the tapping
point for the feedback. When the wiper is at its midpoint, both sides of the feedback network
are identical, and the system has unity gain for all frequencies (assuming identical component
values). When the wiper is at the top, there is a low-frequency gain of around 3 (10 dB), and
high-frequency attenuation of about 1/3 (-10dB). When the wiper is at the bottom, the action
reverses so that the low-frequencies are cut and the high-frequencies are boosted. Figure
1-10b shows the Bode plots for the midpoint and two extremes of the potentiometer setting.

1.6 Hardwire the Amplifier

Now we are ready to put everything together, and add the stereo jacks and battery supply.
Before we go further, let’s consider the standard 3.5mm audio connectors. They look like the
picture in Figure 1-11, and are probably familiar to everyone.

Gnd

Ch 2

Ch 1

Figure 1-11 – Standard 3.5mm stereo audio plug

The stereo “plug” (sometimes called “male” instead of “plug”) has three separate
cylindrical connectors, each separated by a thin plastic insulator. The largest of these is the
ground connection. The other two carry the left and right channels of the stereo signal. The
3.5mm designation refers to the diameter of the cylindrical conductors. There are other
diameters on the market, but 3.5mm is the standard for audio.

Pin 1

Figure 1-12 – 3.5mm stereo audio jack used in this lab.

In your kit you should have been provided a stereo “jack” (or “female”) similar to that
shown in Figure 1-12. There are a large variety of different jack configurations, depending
mostly on how they will be mounted (i.e. surface mount, PC board, panel mounted, etc.).
Some jacks also have more than three pins which are connected in a way that gives an open

13 © Bob York
14 Audio Amplifier Circuit

or short connection when a plug has been inserted or removed from the jack. The one we will
use is just a simple 3-terminal PCB stereo jack. On the backside you will see each pin
marked by a number, corresponding to the diagram above.

□ Transfer the amplifier design to the vectorboard and “hardwire” everything into place.
Use the IC socket provided in the parts kit so that if anything goes wrong with the
LM386 or LM358, you can replace it without having to resolder the circuit.
□ Add the 9V battery leads supplied in your kits. If you were given a battery holder, install
that as well.
□ Attach the stereo jack to the edge of the vector board. Connect pins 2 and 5 to the
summing network, and connect pin 1 to ground.
□ Attach the remaining “aux” input on the summing network to a flea clip.
□ Lastly, attach the speaker to the vectorboard. If the speakers have a mounting bracket,
you will be given some screws/nuts to attach the speaker to pre-drilled mounting holes,
otherwise you will be given some double-sided tape to secure the speaker.
□ Test your circuit using the bench power supply. When it is working, add the battery and
test again under battery operation. Answer all the remaining questions in the lab record.
□ Using the patch-cord in your kits, you can now test your amplifier by hooking it up to the
headphone jack on a portable CD player, MP3 player, or computer.

Congratulations: you now have a portable audio amplifier!

1.7 Possible Improvements

The circuit you’ve just built is a nice building block for many projects where it is desirable to
have a simple, inexpensive and versatile audio output. The obvious deficiencies with this
system are: 1) it is monophonic (not stereo); 2) it has relatively low output power; 3) it is not
very efficient in terms of battery life; and 4) the small speaker size limits the low-frequency
response. These are all areas that can be easily improved upon if you are interested. For a
true stereo output we would need separate amplifiers for the left and right channels, not to
mention separate left/right speakers. Nowadays you can often pick up a cheap set of speakers
designed for use with computer systems that often have surprisingly good performance, much
better than the little paper-cone speaker we chose for this lab. In terms of power and
efficiency, there are now several single-chip Class-D audio power-amps on the market that
can generate much high powers with very little power consumption. As one of many such
examples, the National Instruments LM4663 chip is a self-contained 2W stereo amplifier chip
that can directly drive two external speakers and a set of headphones, powered off a single 5V
supply, with >83% efficiency, and it costs around $1.50! Clearly if you really needed to
build an audio power amp for a critical engineering application, a single-chip solution like the
LM4663 is probably going to be much more attractive in terms of size and cost than piecing
together a system from several discrete parts, as we did in this lab. On the other hand, you
most certainly learned more about the circuit building it from scratch then you would have by
simply hooking up the LM4663 circuit below!

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Possible Improvements 15

Another possibility for future work is to create a more sophisticated tone control, like a
multi-band graphic equalizer. Most work on similar principles as the single-knob tone
control circuit we used here. A web search will turn up many possibilities, and you can also
come up with your own ideas.
Lastly, you may wish to put your circuit in some kind of enclosure to protect it, with shaft
& knob potentiometers for the volume and tone controls, and perhaps a jack for headphones
(note that there are headphone jacks available that have an extra set of contacts for disabling
the speaker connection when a headphone plug is inserted). Another nice addition would be
a power switch with an LED power indicator. We didn’t put an LED in the project to reduce
the quiescent current draw and thus keep the battery alive longer.

Congratulations!
You have now completed Lab 1a

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16 Audio Amplifier Circuit

Lab 1 Record

Section_________________ Names: ______________________________

____________________________

Equivalent Circuit modeling for the Speaker

Record the input resistance at 1kHz: ____________ Ohm

Record the coil inductance at 1kHz: ____________ H

Record the resonant frequency: ____________ Hz

Record the | Z | / 2 bandwidth: ____________ Hz

Calculate the Q-factor of the resonance Q: ____________

Calculate the equivalent circuit parameters for the parallel resonance:

Rm: ____________ F Cm: ____________ F Lm: ____________ F

Audio Amplifier on Breadboard

What is the low-frequency cutoff of the amplifier: ____________ Hz

Record lowest frequency audible tone: ____________ Hz

Record Highest frequency audible tone: __________ kHz

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Lab 1 Record 17

Are the limits above related to limits on your hearing or are they due to the limited frequency
response of the speaker itself?

Why is the output waveform clipped for large input signals?

Record input waveform at pin 3 with a 1V sinewave at 1kHz and the speaker disconnected:

Average current drawn by audio amplifier under

full-volume conditions with a 0.025 V 1kHz sinewave input: ________________ mA

Average current drawn by audio amplifier under

full-volume conditions with a 0.25 V 1kHz sinewave input: ________________ mA

Average current drawn by audio amplifier when playing

music audio under normal listening conditions : ________________ mA

From your answer above, estimate the battery life for this
circuit assuming a 500 mA-hr battery rating: ________________ hrs

17 © Bob York