Parts List:

R1,R3,R4 = 10K 1/4W
R2=100K 1/4W
CY1,CY2 = 0.22uF Polyester
C1,C2 = 10uF/25V Electrolytic
IC1 = uA741A Single Op-Amp Ic + 8 Pin Ic Socket
3 Pin Male & Female Connector x 2
2 Pin Male & Female Connector x 1
PCB as in required size 4.5 cm x 3.4 cm

This Audio Amplifier circuit is useful in classrooms to reduce the strain of lecturing ,if the surrounding environment is noisy. It uses the power amplifier IC LM 380 that gives 2 watts output which is sufficient in a confined area. The Amplifier is portable and the whole circuit and the battery can be enclosed in the Speaker box itself.

The circuit uses a preamplifier stage around NPN transistor BC 548 and a power amplifier around LM380.An external Collar MIC can be given to the input using an audio jack .The voice signals are amplified by T1 and fed to IC1 input through the volume control VR. Capacitor C3 reduce the undesirable howling from the speaker.

LM380 is the general purpose audio amplifier and its gain is internally fixed at 34 dB. Its output is short circuit proof with internal thermal limiting. The IC works between 5 to 22 volts DC and is dual in line version.

Classroom Microphone Circuit diagram

Assemble the circuit on a common PCB. A 9 volt PP3 battery can be used to make the unit compact. If the amplifier is used for many hours, a 6 Volt 4.5 Ah rechargeable battery is a nice choice. If it is used, a charger input facility should be provided .Use a small good quality 8 Ohms speaker. If the output is not sufficient, use a high power amplifier IC circuit in the place of LM 380.

LM 380 Pin connection    

In the adjustable touch lamp schematic we can see three selection connection , for selecting one of three modes of the IC. When the B connection is used, the light will always be ON at the last level that we used. With A or C connection the light will be ON at the minimum intensity. With B or C, the purpose of regulation is reversed with each use.

Schematic of the adjustable light with touch sensor

When the sensor is touched for a short period of time (50 – 400 ms), the lamp will be ON or OFF. If the sensor is touched for a longer period of time it will start the regulation process. Warning! This touch light dimmer circuit has some points where lethal 220V is present, please do not try this project if you are not qualified.

In the circuit diagram we find a TL072 op-amp (IC1.A) configured as voltage comparator between the voltage reference provided by the adjustable voltage divider P1/R4 and the light-dependent voltage provided by the voltage divider consisting of photodiode D1 and fixed resistor R3. When the laser beam is interrupted, the voltage on comparator pin 2 drops below that at pin 3, causing the output to swing to (almost) the positive supply voltage and indicating an alarm condition. This signal can drive a siren, a computer or a light that hopefully will deter the intruder.

Circuit diagram:

Alternatively it can be used to ‘silently’ trigger a more sophisticated alarm. Resistor R2 provides some hysteresis to prevent oscillation when the two comparator input voltages are almost equal. Capacitor C1 makes the circuit immune to short, accidental interruptions of the beam, e.g., by flying insects. If you want your circuit to have faster responses you can reduce its value to 1 µF. The operation of the circuit is illustrated by the waveform diagram, which also proves the hysteresis action that sets an upper and a lower threshold on the input voltage. You can also see the delay introduced by capacitor C1.

The circuit is simple and could be assembled on a piece of breadboard. After assembling the circuit and testing it, you should mount it in a black box that has just a small hole. You may decide to put the laser in the same box but only if you are sure there is no way the photodiode can ‘see’ the laser beam directly. The small hole should be filled with a black drinking straw so that only light from the direction of the laser beam can enter. With the appropriate setup of the box and the mirrors, the laser beam is so intense that even direct sunlight cannot affect the operation of the photodiode.