Dilshan R Jayakody’s Web Log

Pink noise is an essential tool in audio testing, widely used for analyzing speaker systems, room acoustics, and crossover networks. Unlike white noise, which has equal energy across all frequencies, pink noise features equal energy per octave, making it ideal for audio response testing. This characteristic ensures that pink noise offers a flat frequency response when analyzed on a logarithmic scale, providing a more accurate representation of audio systems. Assembled pink noise generator kit. We developed a this pink noise generator to meet various audio testing requirements. This device combines simplicity and performance, featuring a minimal component count for ease of assembly without compromising accuracy and usability. This pink noise generator design uses a reverse-biased emitter-base junction of a 2SC945 transistor as the noise source. In this configuration, the transistor behaves like a noisy zener diode, producing a broad spectrum of white noise. In this design the NJM...

This project is about a single-channel microphone echo generator circuit. This circuit builds around the Holtek HT8970 echo effect generator IC. It offers complete control of the echo effect by providing delay, mix, and output level adjustments.  HT8970 is an echo/surround sound effect generator IC with 20Kb SRAM. It also contains the built-in VCO stage, AD, and DA converters. The chip costs less than 0.5 US$ and is commonly available in the market. Prototype build of the echo effect generator circuit. The given schematic offers a maximum of 320ms time delay and works with a single-rail 9V DC power supply.  In addition to the HT8970 integrated circuit, this circuit uses an NJM4558 op-amp to amplify the input and output audio signals. HT7150 voltage regulator uses in this design to power up the HT8970 IC. The HT7150 is a low-power 5V regulator IC from Holtek, the same maker of the HT8970 IC. Top view of the prototype build. The circuit designs to work with 500Ω dynamic mic...

At the beginning of 2018, we developed the first version of the 6-channel speaker selector using PIC16F88 MCU and ULN2803 Darlington transistor array. In this new design, we redesign it with low-cost MCU and Darlington transistor arrays. This design also provides the same functionality as the 6-channel speaker selector switch we designed earlier. This new speaker selector uses STC15W201 MCU. This MCU is a low-cost 8051 MCU designed by STC micro . At the time of this writing, the STC15W201 can obtain for less than US$ 0.8. To drive the seven segments and to control the relays, this design uses the popular 74HC595 8-bit shift register ICs. PCB of the 6-channel speaker selector. To select each speaker channel, we use pair of 12V DPDT relays. These relays interface to 74HC595 through a ULN2001D 3-channel Darlington transistor array IC. This 3-channel Darlington driver IC is functionally equivalent to the famous 8-channel ULN2003 IC. This ULN2001D version is an 8-pin IC and is av...

In this project, we developed a 5.1-channel analog audio processor using PT2322 IC. PT2322 is an inexpensive analog audio processor introduced by Princeton Technology Corporation . It contains 6-channel individual channel attenuators, a 3-way tone control system for front-end speakers, and a 3D audio simulation system.  Assembled 5.1-channel audio processing board. In this design, we combine PT2322 with Arduino Nano and interface it with PC/embedded computing boards through a USB port. Native GTK UI application provides to control all functions of the PT2322 IC. The Arduino Nano can directly plugin to the PT2322 module. There are three push buttons on the panel itself to control the volume and mute the audio. To reduce the cost and minimize the PCB size, we use both SMD and through-hole-type components in this PCB. The dimension of the PCB is 59mm × 60mm. The PCB of this module can directly order from the PCBWay project page . Using the PCBWay service, you can order high-...

A few months ago, I received this Onkyo PE-C50 stereo graphic equalizer from a friend because it was not working. He gave me this equalizer for free because he was planning to discard it due to some problems with its controls. Front panel of the Onkyo PE-C50. The Onkyo PE-C50 is a vintage, 7-channel, stereo digital graphic equalizer. This unit is manufactured in Japan and operates on 110V AC power only. Front panel controls allow me to adjust each channel separately or simultaneously. This unit also got 5-channel preset memory to save graphic equalizer settings. Besides a graphic equalizer, it comes with an attractive 2×7 channel spectrum analyzer. At initial testing, I found that the unit's controls and spectrum analyzer would randomly stop working. After controls at the front panel freeze, I have to restart it to get it back in working condition. PCB of the Onkyo PE-C50 graphic equalizer. To troubleshoot, first, I try to find the service manual for this equalizer, but I couldn...

Recently we looked for a replacement class-D power amplifier to replace my old TDA2030 power amplifier build . While searching for a suitable power amplifier IC, we found TPA3001D1 from the local market. This IC is a slightly older 20W Class-D power amplifier manufactured by Texas Instruments . At the time of this writing, it is priced at LKR 180 (0.89 USD) in the local market and is still available at all major electronics stores (including online stores ). Prototype version of TPA3001D1 power amplifier. To minimize assembling difficulties, we used through-hole-type components in this PCB. The only SMD component in this PCB is the TPA3001D1 IC. We installed the power amplifier IC on the bottom of the PCB because then it would receive good airflow. The table below lists all the components required for this project. Designator Quantity Value C1 , C8 , C13 , C14 , C15 , C16  6  1µF/25V C17  1  10µF/25V ...

This project introduces a digitally controlled 5.1 channel audio preamplifier system. This amplifier is specifically designed to increase the gain of the multi-channel PC sound cards. The main reason for building this amplifier is the limited gain received from the ASUS Xonar AE sound card with the Creative Inspire T6300 , 5.1 surround speaker system. Before switching to this soundcard, we had a Creative Sound Blaster Z card which provided good audio output with the above-mention speaker system. The key motivation of building this amplifier is to solve these gaining problems. The assembled 5.1 preamplifier PCB. This preamplifier consists of six TL074 / TL072 preamplifier stages and PT2258 electronic volume control. The input stage of this preamplifier consists of six TL074 / TL072 buffer stages. The PIC16F886 microcontroller manages the PT2258 electronic volume control IC. All the volume levels and menu options are displayed on HD44780 , 16x2 character LCD screen . All the ...

This active subwoofer filter system provides the frequencies required to run the subwoofer within its limits. The purpose of this unit is to prevent the subwoofer speaker or circuit from overloading at unsupported frequencies. This approach can ensure the safety of the subwoofer speaker or driver circuit. This system consists of TL074 based active lowpass filter, highpass filter, and preamplifier stage. The lowpass filter is in 880Hz cutoff frequency. Highpass filter cutoff frequency can select from the rotary switch. In this given design, the highpass cutting frequencies are at 80Hz, 115Hz, 150Hz, and 180Hz.  Use the calculator application shown here to use this system for frequencies other than those mentioned above.  Finished prototype of an active subwoofer filter circuit. In this circuit, both lowpass filter and high pass filter uses a 3-pole Butterworth filter configuration. Here all the filter component values are calculated using the calculator application mentione...

TDA7052A is an audio power amplifier designed for use in low voltage battery-powered equipment. Compare with the popular LM386, TDA7052A is not so popular among DIY electronic enthusiasts.  Final view of the finished amplifier with speaker.   Using the Bridge Tied Load principal, this IC delivers an output power of 1.2W into an 8Ω load with, 6V power supply.   The most striking feature of this amplifier is the minimum external component count. This IC only needs two external capacitors to build a functional audio amplifier.   The gain of the amplifier is fixed internally at 40dB. The amplifier got, short-circuit protection, requires no external heatsinks, and not producing any switch on/off click sound(s).    Although this is an old amplifier IC, it is still available to purchase in many local and online stores. Compare with the other low-power AF power amplifier ICs, TDA7052 is a little expensive in the local market. Although it is costly, I use this IC ...

This is an RDA5807M based FM stereo radio module. This module is designed to replace old, low-voltage, analog FM stereo radio receiver modules. Like many digital receivers, this module also got auto scanning, station memory, and digital volume control. This module can driver using 5V to 9V DC power source. FM stereo receiver module with seven-segment display unit. The frequency range of the receiver is 88MHz to 108MHz. The auto scanner of this module can tune the receiver with 25kHz increments in up and down directions. The memory manager available with the current firmware can hold up to 10 stations in MCU EEPROM. Bottom side of the receiver module The dimensions of this module are 72.85mm × 32.0mm. With the seven-segment display, the depth of the assembled module is 37.5mm. AF output power of this module is not sufficient to handle the pair of speakers. To drive speakers, this module needs to pair with a stereo AF power amplifier kit/module .  This is an open-source hardware pro...

This project is about 24-bit stereo DAC, which we build for Raspberry Pi boards. This R-2R ladder DAC is developing around Intel / Altera EPM240T100C5N CPLD. We developed this module after review the PT8211 DAC, which we tested a few months ago. Compare with PT8211 DAC, this module is capable to provide high-quality audio output with Raspbian OS . A finished prototype of the R-2R DAC. At the testing stages, we drive this DAC with the I 2 S bus of the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B board . The provided device tree overlay is developed and tested on the new Raspbian Buster OS. The audio quality of this DAC is impressive. In most of the circumstances, we test this unit using mpg123 player and got excellent results. The MCP602 opamp of this module is capable to drive a headphone, and for the testing, we use Audio Technica ATH-PRO500MK2BK headphones directly with this module. Also, we pair this module with several AF power amplifiers and obtained superior results. The most n...

In this project, we build a simple I 2 S stereo decoder with an amplifier. To decode I 2 S data we use Princeton Technologies PT8211 16bit DAC. KA2206 audio power amplifier is used as the driver stage of this system. The prototype version of I2S stereo decoder Structure of this I 2 S amplifier is self-explanatory from the schematic. We select PT8211 and KA2206 combination due to lower cost and availability. Unfortunately, PT8211 DIP package is not available in the local market and we use SO package in our prototype. We design PCB for the DIP packages, and therefore we solder PT8211 SO package to PCB using " SO8 to DIP8 " converter. We design this system to work with 9V DC power source but at the prototyping stages, we noticed that it works well with lower DC voltage such as 5V. For the output use any 8Ω or 4Ω (5W or higher rated) full range speaker pair. We test this with 8Ω 8W oval speakers which are commonly found on televisions.

This is a quick post to showcase 100W 4 channel AF dummy load which we build to test the output stages of audio power amplifiers. This dummy load use 4, 8Ω 100W wire wound resistors which are available on eBay . In this unit, all 4 resistors are mounted on 170mm × 40mm × 60mm high gauge aluminum heat sink. A prototype version of the 100W AF dummy load. It costs LKR1200 to build this unit and the most expensive component in this unit are wire wound resistors. At the time of writing these 100W resistor packs are available on eBay for USD $6.00.

CoCA "Emerge + Tech" - Musical plants is an electronics, software and plants base exhibit we developed for Cinnamon Colomboscope 2016 exhibition. This installation will feature a touch-sensitive sensor that will generate a soothing sound from each plant. By interacting with individual plants, the audience can create musical compositions. The sensor unit of this project consists of 14 high sensitive, configurable level detectors and USB interface. In this sensor unit, we use Samsung's KA2284 as an amplifier, level detector, and PIC18F4550 8-bit MCU as data multiplexer and USB I/O controller. PC817 optoisolators are used to interface between analog front-end and digital data processor. In this design, both analog and digital circuits are physically and electronically isolated to minimize the noises and interferences. In this design, we use KA2284 because it is commonly available in the local market (in Sri Lanka) and costs less than 0.1 USD. To reduce the interfer...

AN6877 is linear AF level meter IC produced by Panasonic and it is commonly found on much audio equipment. This chip is no longer manufactured by Panasonic and finding replacement chip for AN6877 is also quite difficult. The circuit described in this article is designed to replace AN6877 base LED drivers and it is based on commonly available components. This replacement LED driver is designed using 10, MMBT3904/2N3904 transistors and it can easily modify to get the necessary number of outputs. During the prototyping stages, we test this driver with a minimum of 7 LEDs (AN6877 configuration) and up to 12 LEDs. This LED driver is designed to work with 9V to 12V DC power source. With 7 LEDs and 9V power source, this module can directly replace AN6877 base LED driver modules. Schematic and PCB design related to this LED driver is available at google drive .

This is a single chip dynamic microphone preamplifier which is design to drive using commonly available 12V single rail power supplies. Preamplifier in this article is built around popular NE5532 dual low noise operational amplifier IC and this preamplifier is specifically constructed to drive professional 600Ω dynamic microphones. Internal view of a dynamic microphone preamplifier prototype. This preamplifier consists of two amplifier stages and the initial amplifier is designed to get 36dB gain and final preamplifier is used to get 16dB of gain. Preamplifier gain controller is placed in between those two amplifiers and this separation allows reducing clipping in the output waveform. In prototyping stages, we test this preamplifier with few 600Ω dynamic microphones with a TDA2050 power amplifier . According to our observations, this unit produces excellent output with all of these microphones. To get professional results to use this preamplifier with 12V battery or with regu...

The phantom power supply is widely used in the audio industry to power the active microphones over single audio cable. Most of the phantom power supplies deliver 48V DC over the balanced audio link and power supply unit described in this article is also based on the same technique. The phantom power supply in this article is based on TL783 high voltage regulator IC and 230V - 50V step down transformer. Like most of the phantom power supplies, this power supply is also design to connect in between an active microphone and audio mixer devices. PCB of 48V Phantom power supply. Schematic of this power supply unit is self-explanatory and PCB design is also based on commonly available through-hole components. For the step-down transformer, we use commonly available 230V - 25V-0-25V 1.5A transformer. During the construction, we recommended using shorter wires between PCB and XLR sockets to reduce the noise. PCB and schematic of this power supply unit are available to download at...

Audio output transformers are heavily used in a vacuum tube and some (older) transistor base audio power amplifiers, but these days output transformer are quite hard to find and expensive item. For homebrew projects, the best option is to construct those transformers by ourselves and this script helps to calculate winding parameters for those transformers. This " AF output transformer calculator " script is written using Python and it works with most of the commonly available Python interpreters . The script is available to download at google drive under the terms of GNU General Public License version 3.0 . Homebrewed 25k: 4 output transformer Once supplied the input parameters this script provides a winding ratio, the number of turns required for primary and secondary winding and required copper wire gauges for both primary and secondary windings, etc. We construct several AF output transformers based on results of this script, which including transformers for M...

This is contactless DTMF ( Dual Tone - Multi Frequency ) switch to control 16 channel relay boards. This module can turn ON/OFF relays based on DTMF singles which captured from its microphones. This project is building using 4 commonly available ICs which including TL084, TL081, CM8870, and 74LS154. TL084 is used as microphone preamplifier and LPF. TL081 act as combiner and CM8870 is used to decode the DTMF inputs. 74LS154, the demultiplexer is used as line selector. In this circuit TL084 and TL081 and replace with any compatible operational amplifier IC. During our prototyping, we replace TL084 with LM324, TL074, and TL081 with TL071 and got identical results. For the microphones, it is highly recommended to use omnidirectional condenser microphones. In our tests, we get good results when both the microphones are in the 90⁰ plane. This circuit is design to work with single rail 5V DC power source and its output terminal ( SV1 ) is compatible with most of the 16 channel relay bo...

This is 4-way stereo unbalanced distribution amplifier (DA), which can be used to distribute (or split) input audio signal to 4 isolated audio devices. Distribution amplifier in this article is based on commonly available TL072 and TL074 low noise operational amplifier ICs and 7812/7912 voltage regulator ICs. To drive this system, 12V-0-12V or 15V-0-15V 1000mA center tapped step-down transformer is required. Also note that the operational amplifiers used this circuit can be replaced with identical high-quality versions like OPA4134, OPA2134, etc. In our prototype, we use the TL07x series because of its availability and lower price. PCB design of stereo DA project To avoid any interference it is highly advisable to construct this circuit on PCB and also use double core screened wires for all external audio connections. Schematic, PCB and "EAGLE project files" of this project are available to download at google drive .