You most definitely have heard the technologically eerie sound of a theremin at some point in your life. And if you haven’t, it’s time to treat yourself. Here’s a way to make a simple DIY theremin from Meercreate:
This crazy simple homemade theremin features a pair of very inexpensive TCRT5000 IR Led/Photo-transistor combos, 2 npn transistors, and a handful of passives. And it manages to fit in a volume control. Schematic at end of video. The main oscillator is my go-to reverse avalanche type, that’s why this runs on 15v. I went flywire on this one, but you can use a board if you prefer. A note, on the lower 3904, clip the unconnected base to lower capacitance and inductance, to avoid strange behavior. The main goal of this project was to design a good sounding theremin that was accessible to entry-level hobbyists. I think I succeeded in that.
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
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