LM386 Super Mini Audio Amplifier DIY Kit Board 35x37mm 3-12V - Unsoldered

Be advised that the hole on the PCB for Pin 7 of the LM386 is not connected to a solder pad. Pin 7 usually requires a .1 uF capacitor to ground to help stabilize the LM386, so I soldered a .1uF cap from pin 7 to the directly opposite pin which is pin 2 of the LM386. Pin 2 is grounded anyway so this works to take care of the issue. It seems that the rest of the kit is ok. Good price for the kit.

NorcalOldGuy;Thanks for the tip! Much appreciated.------Review:I did get documentation, though it was barely readable in bright light. What was on the page was a diagram that was not very useful as an overview, and an incomplete parts list.This makes me wonder if there are other problems (beyond the missing capacitor NorcalOldGuy mentioned). If I weren't going to mod this, I'd be a bit miffed. I can see it would be very easy for a novice to make mistakes, or to follow the PCB and diagram and end up with something that doesn't work well or at all.That said, the PCB is decent, and the parts don't look bad. I may update this review later if I find that's not the case.* Good: If you have some skills building your own, don't care to mod it, but want to skip getting all the parts and making your own board.* Meh: If you are a fairly new beginner, or if you are skilled, this at best skips getting the basic parts.In either case, you might want to scrounge up a diagram of another LM386 amp to use for reference and maybe tweak it ... or avoid making mistakes based on a flaw in what is in the docs or PCB of this kit. There are many DIY guitar amp pages out there.------In my case, I'm going to heavily mod this, so getting the base parts saves making a list and ordering any missing individual parts. I'll be modding an old hand held radio, and adding salvaged switches for distortion and a gain booster. The power and mono ports are going to go in the parts bin.

Quite satisfactory introduction to audio amplifiers for me. Definitely recommend.The tip (left ear) of the audio jack or nearby header pins input is divided by the pot then output amplified on the header pins across the pot (here I substituted a 2.54mm screw terminal). Powered fine from a variable voltage wall adapter connected to the barrel jack or the adjacent header pins (substitute another screw terminal)I pulled the 10uF to reduce the gain for my use case, might be nice to have a jumper or trimmer to adjust gain but the board is snug as is.

I needed a small guitar amplifier for some students. This kit was perfect for our needs. It is cost-effective and provides enough amplification for classroom practice. We had fun putting them together and building small cabinets for them. Some people have mentioned that there are no instructions. That is true, but the printed circuit board is marked with component names and values. We found it pretty easy to assemble. Just solder in the smallest (lowest profile) components first.

The product came with a schematic printed in ink so faded it was illegible. Does not come with instructions to advise on correct way to power. Overall disappointed as it doesn’t seem to work after soldering together - based on other reviews that’s likely my fault, however instructions could’ve helped.