The project is a little critical. I sujest you to read carefully all the posts so to understand it and to give carefull at some points. Best version (most easy) is the 8Mhz xtal
Good luck
the power supply is 18 V (2 X 9V battery) the IC is 7812 that, yes, requires more than 15V. Usually for low battery voltage I fixed 16V then an operating range from 18V (full charge) to 16V.
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