Circuits and Code: ElectronicaLab: DIY Cassette Player By Fiona Teich

DIY Cassette Player

article by Aleksa Angjeliu & Fiona Teich & Joshua Thompson

project by Fiona Teich

Yup, you’re seeing that right—that’s a cassette player contained completely within an Altoids tin! Fiona’s DIY player is one of her many passion projects, and also part of an effort to make electronics accessible to local students.

Currently, her cassette player is split into two parts: a motor control circuit (created with an NE555 IC), and an audio amplification circuit. The amplification circuit consists of a pre-amp with two BC548 transistors one LM386 operational amplifier and an external speaker combo. This was the trickiest part—given that the cassette tape head outputs a signal in the microvolt range, amplifying it to an auditory level without amplifying a bunch of noise has been difficult.

This is part of a greater project of Teich’s to make electronics more accessible to younger students in the Pioneer Valley area, particularly those in the public school system. “A lot of schools aren’t like mine; mine had a lot of resources”, says Fiona. “STEM is very gate-kept. I want to make things that are fun and engaging...and give [students] the opportunity to discover this if it’s something they’re interested in.”