So I'm not experienced with electronics, I just started a project that seemed simple but ended up getting more and mire complicated.
Basically, I need an amplifier to increase volume.

https://backyardbrains.com/experiments/transistorDesign#prettyPhoto/23/

This is the circuit I was copying, and the only thing I changed was rather than use a cockroach leg (no joke), I used my phone. All I could hear even with the volume on max was the kind of static you hear connecting batteries directly to speakers. At first, I thought I was just missing something, but my boyfriend (who knows a lot more about this stuff) pointed out that the speaker they used has its own internal amp, whereas I was just using a speaker head. So I connected my portable speaker, which has its own internal system, and I did get music out of it, but it was way quieter than when I connect the speaker directly to my phone.
Does anyone have any guesses on what's going on?
Let me know if you need a picture of what I built, although I'm 98% sure it's the exact same as the tutorial's except for the phone and the speaker.

 

So I'm not experienced with electronics, I just started a project that seemed simple but ended up getting more and mire complicated.
Basically, I need an amplifier to increase volume.

https://backyardbrains.com/experiments/transistorDesign#prettyPhoto/23/

This is the circuit I was copying, and the only thing I changed was rather than use a cockroach leg (no joke), I used my phone. All I could hear even with the volume on max was the kind of static you hear connecting batteries directly to speakers. At first, I thought I was just missing something, but my boyfriend (who knows a lot more about this stuff) pointed out that the speaker they used has its own internal amp, whereas I was just using a speaker head. So I connected my portable speaker, which has its own internal system, and I did get music out of it, but it was way quieter than when I connect the speaker directly to my phone.
Does anyone have any guesses on what's going on?
Let me know if you need a picture of what I built, although I'm 98% sure it's the exact same as the tutorial's except for the phone and the speaker.

ALSO: I did stop at the first half of the circuit because I didn't have a second npn resistor. Could that be the problem? I feel like it should still at least be AS LOUD as the speaker by itself.

 

use an Lm386 amp, much easier than transistors..

http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/lm386.pdf