The Poor Man's Speaker

If you have ten minutes to spare, an old musical greeting card, a 9V battery, and a $5 amp module, you can listen to music on the cheap!

J.D. Curry

Following Follow project

Liked Like project

Become a Hackaday.io member

Just one more thing

To make the experience fit your profile, pick a username and tell us what interests you.

OK, I'm done! Skip

Similar projects worth following

116 views

0 comments

0 followers

1 likes

View Gallery

Description

I wanted to create a portable speaker/amplifier that was very affordable, used components I could find around the house, and be assembled and disassembled easily for different configurations and customizations. (with the right modifications and adapters, you could even plug in a guitar or keyboard, I have tried it and it does work. (your mileage may vary)

Requirements:
LM386 Mini Audio Power Amplifier Board
9V Battery & Battery adapter
Speaker Wire
Aux Cable
Musical Greeting Card (or any speaker rated under 10 watts)

Components

1 × LM386 Mini Audio Power Amplifier Board DC3~12V
1 × 9V Battery
1 × 9V Battery terminal connector
1 × Speaker of your choosing
1 × Speaker Wire

View all 6 components

Project Logs

Collapse

Testing the device
J.D. Curry • 05/15/2023 at 21:39 • 0 comments

View project log

Build Instructions

Collapse

1

Gather the items.

Purchase the device: LM386 Mini Audio Power Amplifier Board.
I found a 2 pack off eBay for a little over $10.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/354462742460
I had a 9V battery in the junk drawer and had a 9V battery adapter from another project not being used. You can also purchase those in bulk (very handy to have)
Gather some speaker wire (probably a smaller gauge works better here). I have a spool that I purchased a while back that I was able to use.
2

Insert the respective wires in the correct places on the board. Screw them down.
3

Attach the speaker of your choosing. You may also add electrical tape or solder to make a better connection.