In this guide I will show you how to build your own Function Generator. Including component selection, designing the circuit, breadboarding, PCB layout, homemade PCB manufacture through to the finished product. 

First on the to-do list is component selection. I decided I wanted to get a function generator IC so I could get it running as quickly as possible.

The main features I wanted were:

• Sine wave output
• Triangle wave output
• Square wave output
• Good frequency range, at least 10Hz to 100kHz

From a bit of research I found two chips that seemed to suit my needs. The Maxim MAX038 and the Exar XR2206. The MAX038 would do up to 20MHz but cost over $25AU. The XR2206 however cost under $7AU and would do up to 1MHz. So I settled on the XR2206 chip and moved onto circuit design!