Preamplifiers, more commonly known as "preamps," have become fairly simple devices allowing you to add rooms to a Surround Sound system, install peripherals such as microphones and turntables or simply allow you to enhance the sound of an existing system. Building your own can result in huge savings over retail models.
Instructions
1. Lay out your preamplifier by drawing a diagram or schematic showing where everything goes. Check out the link to a sample schematic in the Resources section.
2. Lay out your circuit following the schematic, which creates your two circuit boards. Don't solder anything in place yet.
3. Place your resistors, capacitors and input and output RCA plugs and LED lights (to indicate whether your preamp is on or off) on your circuit boards, following the design on your schematic.
4. Solder one pin of your RCA plugs and resistors to the circuit board and the other pins of your resistors to the RCA plugs. These are on the same board.
5. Solder pins for your selector switches to a second circuit board, making sure you also solder a ground wire of about 28mm to the bottom of the board. You can also connect the wires for your LED lights to the pins.
6. Attach the selector switches to the pins, and attach the LEDs on the second board, again following the schematic.
7. Solder wires for your power supply, as outlined in the parts list, which is linked to in the Resources section. These should be isolated with heat shrink tubes to reduce the threat of overheating.
8. Connect pins E, F, G, 0 and +, as specified in the schematic, to the same pins on the main circuit board.
9. Mount the two circuit boards--one containing your output and input jacks and power supply and the other containing your selector switches--next to each other about 20mm apart using special mounting screws.
10. Design your box and insert your completed circuits into it.
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