ICL8038 Low-Frequency Signal Generator DIY kit Sine/Triangle/Square/Compatible withward/Reverse Output 5Hz~400KHz Adjustable Frequency with Acrylic Case

Edit: I have upgraded my rating from two stars to four based on the seller's active support.I did not yet request a return, but the seller seems to monitor their reviews and offered me a full refund based on my review. I will accept the refund and get another of the units to try. This was a pro-active and good faith effort for support by the seller, and I respect that. Accordingly, I have raised my rating to four out of five stars.First some credentials: I have some decades with electronics design and technician work in a professional capacity.I assembled the kit, then began testing it for full function. The kit stopped working about two minutes after first powered up. Some electronics detective work showed that one of the ICs in the kit died. The particular chip is the ICL7660S voltage converter. Without this chip, no signal comes out.Two stars for "the kit can work if properly assembled" and no higher for component failure so quickly.I'm pondering whether to return it.

There isn't an amplitude adjustment for the square. It switches between the supply voltage and ground to make a square wave. It should have a capacitor before the output to make it AC instead of fluctuating DC. It requires 12 to 15 volt supply (as per instructions} lower voltage causes distorted wave form. I bought a 3.5mm to RCA cable from amazon so I could just use my cell phone as a generator at about a third the cost. Hz signal generator from the play store is what I used. It's an okay kit with good instructions but wasn't what I needed. The other similar kits with this chip and others chips have the same thing with the square wave.

A DIY kit with no assembly instructions or how to use it. Had to find the parts list on the internet. There were errors on the list and an unmarked R17 resistor PCB location with an extra unlabeled part. It turned out to be the 20K dropping resistor for the LED. Earlier models had no LED or resistor. Then, after assembling the clear plastic case, I found there were no etched labels for the 10 different settings. The knobs and jumper functions are not labeled. Seems like there were a lot of defective kits that were sold off with inaccurate illustrations and no support. I do not recommend this kit.Update: They kindly refunded my money and sent another kit but it too had no engraved labels. Must have eliminated the labels to increase profit.

All parts were just tossed into one bag so everything was skewed and bent. No parts list was included, so the different value capacitors and resistors you have to figure out locations for with no indication as to where things should go. I spent a little more on another synth kit on Amazon and the parts weren't just haphazardly tossed into a bag, plus it included a parts list so you knew what resistor value R12 is.