TDA2030 Power Amp

Well I had a crazy idea. It is not that I am cheap or anything, but since I'm a total noob when it comes to electronics, I thought it would be a real shame if I blew a $50++ transformer because I didn't know how to solder, or hooked it up wrong... And it would be cool if I could get the same result from a makeshift $2 power supply. So a bit of ebaying I found these two little guys:


12V 1A DC of China's finest :) Hopefully these little guys will be able to power this thing.


Here's the power transformer circuit in the nude. It has four diodes and a regulator, as well as a smoothing cap.


I connected both transformers up in paralalell to the mains, I used an IEC connector for convinience.


I hooked them in series and used the connection point as a center tap. I also tied the aligator clips together with a piece of scrap twisted pair cable to keep them from shorting.


I decided to stick the power circuits back into the plastic shell to keep them from accidentally shorting.


I didn't blow the fuse, I'm still breathing, and nothing blew up, and we have positive voltage.


Yay we have negative voltage! This thing actually worked!!


Cheap ass amplifier board I got off eBay. It features 2x TDA2030 in stereo configuration.


Everything is hooked up and ready for testing.

It worked! The two wall warts did not overheat while playing music from the computer. The two 8" cones gave a great sound as well! I was really happy with them. I got them at an overstock sale. What remains to be seen is if these two little buggers can cope with supplying power at full load over longer periods of time. I will do some "stress tests" later.