1590A Audio probe with speaker

[kraal]

Dear fellow DIYers,

I don't have much space so I don't have a place nor an amp dedicated to debugging the circuits I'm working on.
Connecting a probe directly to my amp and debugging on my knees in the middle of the living room with the children running around is not ergonomic at all.
Therefore I decided to build a small all-in-one LM386 based amplified audio probe that includes a tiny speaker.
I do not have to probe everyday, so I wanted something as small as possible and easy to store move around.
I also wanted something that looks good (nice is fun.)

Here is the result.



And here are some pictures of what was initially planed.



The KICAD / Gerber / drill files are available online on GitLab [1].
I also have some PCBs left (send me a private message if you're interested).

Best regards,

[1] https://gitlab.com/pawlakm/mp-aa01

[jfrabat]

Very nice looking piece of test gear!  And practical to boot!  I wonder if you go to a 1590B you can include a tone generator as well...  That would be a nice 2 in 1 combo!

[Phoenix]

I built myself something similar in a 125B a while ago. Suitable for use with tube amps (or pedals).
I can also share gerbers if anyone is interested? (In a new topic so as not to hijack Michel's thread)

[kraal]

Updated the original post to add a link to the project that contains KiCad and Gerber files.
https://gitlab.com/pawlakm/mp-aa01

[patrick398]

Very nice! Out of interest what are you using to do that 3D modelling? And is it free? Learning another piece of software is literally the last thing i need right now but i'm intrigued

[kraal]

Very nice! Out of interest what are you using to do that 3D modelling? And is it free? Learning another piece of software is literally the last thing i need right now but i'm intrigued

Thank you.

For the 3D views, I use KiCad. I search for the STEP models corresponding to the footprints I plan to use, then link the models to the footprints. I also use dummy footprints that only have a drawing and a 3D model (for the enclosure for instance) and which have no impact on the plot files. I only use them to make sure that the components fit in the enclosure. I mark these dummy footprints as "virtual" which allows me to show/hide them (show / hide the enclosure).

To show the 3Dview in KiCad's PCBnew, simply press Alt+3.