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G6Tanuki · 12th Oct 2019, 5:58 pm

The LM380 is one of my go-to chips when I need an 'indestructible' audio amp with a couple of Watts output - but it's just a straightforward 14DIL package with no facilities for a heatsink so it tends to run rather warm.

In some designs I've seen extended areas of copper PCB material left around the centre 3 pins on each side (these all being earth) in the hope it will conduct the heat away but I doubt it's really that efficient, specially since it's on the underside of the PCB where air circulation is minimal.

I've got some 1.5mm-thick copper sheet here and was planning to make up some 'wings' to solder to the central sets-of-pins in the hope of improving cooling; I was wondering if anyone else has done this sort of thing in the past and how successful it was?

12th Oct 2019, 5:58 pm	#1
G6Tanuki Dekatron Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 14,007	LM380 cooling. The LM380 is one of my go-to chips when I need an 'indestructible' audio amp with a couple of Watts output - but it's just a straightforward 14DIL package with no facilities for a heatsink so it tends to run rather warm. In some designs I've seen extended areas of copper PCB material left around the centre 3 pins on each side (these all being earth) in the hope it will conduct the heat away but I doubt it's really that efficient, specially since it's on the underside of the PCB where air circulation is minimal. I've got some 1.5mm-thick copper sheet here and was planning to make up some 'wings' to solder to the central sets-of-pins in the hope of improving cooling; I was wondering if anyone else has done this sort of thing in the past and how successful it was?