help with electronics project (soldering, etc.)

[peto]

i'm making my first electronics project ever. click here to see a description of what i need. following colt45's advice, i looked for a mic preamp project using a LM386 IC. i found this which seems to suit my needs. problem is i'm totally new to the whole electronics thing. i am pretty adept with computers and other technical stuff so learning shouldn't be too hard. if anyone can help me by telling me: 1) where to buy all these parts (LM386, pcb, capacitators, etc.) and 2) tell me how the hell to make those copper tracks here i will love you forever.

 

[dighn]

www.digikey.com


making tracks is not easy. just buy a vero board or a breadboard (the soldered kind, not the plug in kind)

 

[Shockwave]

You can etch your own PCB if you need to. Do a yahoo search for the amp chip you wanna use. I think This might be a good place to order from.

 

[dighn]

^^ i dont think national sells small amounts.

 

[shekondar]

Originally posted by: dighn
www.digikey.com

I prefer www.mouser.com (no minimum order - digikey adds $5 for orders under $25)

making tracks is not easy. just buy a vero board or a breadboard (the soldered kind, not the plug in kind)

Agree. For something this simple I would get perfboard & just use point-to-point wiring.

If you really want to do a printed board, you have a couple of options. You can do a photo transfer (I've never tried this method). You can get stick-on lines & pads (again, I've never tried this). Or, you can get special paper that lets you print a layout with a laser printer & transfer it to a board. The stick-on lines would probably work fine for this project. In any case, you need a copper-clad board & etching solution (ferric chloride). I suggest looking for a book on making PCBs.

 

[Shockwave]

I've heard you can get by without special laser paper to do the traces, although they may not come out 100% and you'll need to touch them up with the special pens with the metal ink stuff (My brain is dead right now, cant think fo the name)

 

[Templeton]

have to agree with the others, not necessary to make your own pcb for this, especially as a first project. digikey.com is awesome if you're ordering >$25 worth, or looking for kinda hard to find stuff. For smaller projects, I usually stick with mouser, jameco, or if I just need resistors and other small components, radioshack. If you plan on experimenting with electronics projects, look into picking up a solderless breadboard, much easier and more cost effective then soldering components on every project.

 

[damonpip]

Don't even try to make a pcb for this, it takes many tries before you can consistently make good boards. The circuit is fairly simples, and should be easy to wire point to point on veroboard. For the parts, radioshack should have everything you need.