Car Radio Booster
(Summer Circuits 2010 article)
One solution for increasing the power of an amplifier running on a low-voltage supply, like a car radio powered from at best 14 V, is to use a ‘bridge’ configuration, i.e. to connect the loudspeakers between the outputs of two identical amplifiers whose inputs receive the same signals, but in opposite phases. This doubles the apparent voltage applied to the loudspeaker, which in theory quadruples the maximum power available.
Materials
Gerber file
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Component list
R1 = 47kOhm
R2 = 1kOhm
R3,R6 = 100kOhm
R4 = 10kOhm
R5 = 820Ohm
Capacitors
C1 = 100nF
C2,C3,C6 = 4700µF 25V
C4,C8 = 10µF 25V
C5,C7 = 470nF
Semiconductors
IC1 = TDA1562
T1 = BC548
D1 = LED, red
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