I am building the Velleman K1803 pre-amplifier kit. This amplifier has a maximum input signal of 40mv. The audio input to the pre-amplifier will be a piezo-electric sensor, and this can certainly exceed the specified maximum.
I believe that the input can be protected with a pair of diodes, but there is a huge range of diodes available.
It is some time since I have done any electronics, and so far my searches have not resulted in a suitable circuit design which could achieve the protection at the low signal voltage specified. For the record, the input is audio in the range 20Hz to 20kHz, and could possibly lie in the range +/- 0.5V.
I would appreciate some guidance on where to look for a suitable diode and circuit. I can of course supply a circuit diagram of the amplifier if needed
Added:
Following @DrMoishePippik comments on back-to-back schottky diodes, the lowest switch-on voltage I have found is 0.33 to 0.45 for the BAT43 small signal Schottky diode.
Best Answer
Just change one of the feedback resistors to have less gain so it can accept larger input voltages without clipping.