LM386 Audio Amplifier

Made By:

 Ayush Jain (201601404)

 Rutvik Kothari (201601417)
 Dhruvesh Asnani (201601423)

This report contains the following:

1) Introduction

2) About LM386

3) Components Used in The Circuit

4) Working of Audio Amplifier

5) Applications
 Introduction
An audio amplifier is an electronic device that increases

the strength (amplitude) of audio signals that pass through

it. An audio amplifier amplifies low-power audio signals to

a level which is suitable for driving loudspeakers. The input

signal of an audio amplifier may only measure a few

hundred microwatts, but its output may be tens or even

thousands of watts. Design parameters for audio amplifiers

include gain, frequency response, distortion and noise.

 About LM386 IC
The LM386 integrated chip is a low power audio frequency amplifier, which uses low
level power supply like batteries in electronic circuits. It is designed as 8 pin mini DIP
(Dual-in-Line) package. This provides voltage amplification of 20. By using external
parts voltage gain can be raised up to 200. When it operates from a 6 volt power
supply, quiescent power will be 24 milliwatts, which makes LM386 for ideal battery
operation.

LM386 pin diagram consists of 8 pins where each pin has some function. These are:

 Pin 2 and 3 are the sound input pins and by using these pins one can place
the sound and amplify it.
 Pin4 is the GND terminal.
 Pin5 is the output of the amplifier.
 Pin6 is the terminal which receives the positive DC voltage, so that the op-amp
amplifies the signals.
 Pin7 is the bypass terminal, it can bypass 15kohm resistors. This pin is usually
wired to ground or left open.
 Between Pin1 and Pin8, a capacitor is to be connected. The gain of the
amplifier depends on the capacitance of this capacitor.

LM386 Pin Diagram

 Components Used in The Circuit

 LM386 IC

 Condensor Mic

 Speaker (8Ω)

 Potentiometer (100KΩ)

 Resistors (10KΩ - 2)

 Capacitors (220µF – 1, 10µf – 2, 0.1µF – 1, 0.05µF – 1)

 Battery (9V)
 Working Of Audio Amplifier

PIN 1 and 8: These are the gain control PINs, internally the gain is set to 20 but it
can be increased up to 200 by using a capacitor between PIN 1 and 8. We have
used 10uF capacitor C1 to get the highest gain i.e. 200. Gain can be adjusted to
any value between 20 to 200 by using proper capacitor.

Pin 2 and 3: These are the input PINs for sound signals. Pin 2 is the negative input
terminal, connected to the ground. Pin 3 is the positive input terminal, in which sound
signal is fed to be amplified. In our circuit it is connected to the positive terminal of
the condenser mic with a 100k potentiometer RV1. Potentiometer acts as volume
control knob.
A capacitor C5 of 0.1uF has also been used along with potentiometer, to remove
the DC component of input signal and only allow audio (AC component) to be fed
into LM386.

Pin 4 and 6: These are the power supply Pins of IC, Pin 6 for is +VCC and Pin 4 is
Ground. The circuit can be powered with voltage between 5-12V.

Pin 5: This is the output PIN, from which we get the amplified sound signal.

The output signal has both AC and DC component, and DC component is

undesirable and can’t be fed to Speaker. So to remove this DC component,
a capacitor C2 of 220uF has been used. This has the same function as Capacitor
C5 (0.1uF) at input side.

Resistor R2 (10k) has been used as a Pull up resistor to connect Condenser mic to
the positive supply voltage, to provide the power to the mic. A suitable resistor
should be used for proper working of mic.

Along with this capacitor, a filter circuit of Capacitor C3 (0.05uF) and resistor
R1 (10k) has been used at the output PIN 5. This filter also called the “Zobel
network”, this electronic filter is used to remove the sudden High frequency
oscillations or noise.

Pin 7: This is the bypass terminal. It can be left open or can be grounded using a
capacitor for stability.
 Applications
 In radio amplifiers, especially in AM and FM
 Portable audio players
 In TV sound systems
 Line drivers
 Ultrasonic drivers
 Servo drivers
 Power converter

Applications for audio amplifiers also include home audio systems,

concert and theatrical sound reinforcement and public address systems.
The sound card in a personal computer, every stereo system and every
home theatre system contains one or several audio amplifiers. Other
applications include instrument amplifiers such as guitar amplifiers,
professional and amateur mobile radio and portable consumer products
such as games and children’s toys.