Voltages on the Little Gem

[Willthebold]

Hey guys, would it be safe to run 2 9V batteries on the Little Gem to get 18V, or would that be a bad idea?  Would changing the voltage alter the sound much?  Also, are there any other amplifiers other than the LM386 that you could use in this circuit?  Thanks for the info.

Will

[hardi_ami]

I don't think it would be a good idea since the supply voltage of the LM386 is 6V.
Take a look at the national semiconductor site (www.national.com) to find other amps. I've seen the LM380 runs on 18V and seems quite low power consuming. Anyway I don't have time to check the datasheet, so I can't tell you if you can just replace the amp like that. I would be not.

Michael

[Peter Snowberg]

You'll let the blue smoke out for sure if you don't use the right version. The LM386 comes in three versions that I know of, and I think the high voltage version LM386-4 is good to 18 volts max. The normal one you see at Rat Shack is the LM386-1 which is 12 volt rated. There is also a LM386-3 which is 12 volts. Old (NOS LOL!) LM386-1s were rated at something lower.

There are LOTS of little amp chips that will love that voltage.

-Peter