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Projects => Build Reports => Topic started by: chuckbuick on December 11, 2014, 03:07:19 AM

Title: VC Flanger
Post by: chuckbuick on December 11, 2014, 03:07:19 AM
I'm joining in with the others who started projects for the Fall contest but couldn't meet the deadline.  I didn't start working on designing the PCB until Nov. 10th so that kinda set me back.  Then some calibration issues, Thanksgiving weekend, blah, blah, blah.  I've got a ton of excuses, but no good reasons.  Enough of my whining...

So it's an A/DA Flanger designed from Moosapotamus's schematic and also using his great series of vids to calibrate it.  I mounted the Volume pot externally.  I included pads to add the jack for the external Manual foot control.  I searched for vid examples of people using them but didn't find any.  I decided if the rest of the world isn't using it then I probably wouldn't use it either.  So I omitted it from the build and cannot say for sure that that feature works.  But without the jack wired I had to jumper the Sleeve and Switch pads to make the Manual pot work.  I thought I had FUBAR'd my PCB but I just needed to simulate that unplugged jack.  Only a few minutes a foul language there.

I'm gonna post a few pics of my populating procedure for those of you that are curious about working with SMT. 

First I get her all wet with a flux pen and put down some solder on one pad of each component.  Usually the right side pads as I hold my iron in my right hand and the components in my left.  I prefer .015" diameter solder for SMT parts.
(http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/v4hor/Pedals/20141125_175439_zps2015023d.jpg)

Next I grab my part with tweezers, heat the pad with the solder, and place the part on the pads.  Like through-hole stuff I start with the shortest parts first then work through to the tallest ones.  I wait to add those pesky through-holes parts until after all the SMT stuff is finished.
(http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/v4hor/Pedals/20141126_152031_zpsb0bbc391.jpg)

After all parts are tacked in to place I go back over the board soldering the remaining pads.  Then I added the socket for the MN3007.
(http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/v4hor/Pedals/20141126_174204_zps3cc5c907.jpg)

Toss in some pots, a switch, and LED and she's ready to go on the test rig.  The Speed pot pictured here was later replaced with the correct "C" taper pot.  And IC9 was rotated to it's proper orientation.  Chip Quik FTW!
(http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/v4hor/Pedals/20141126_180858_zps132e8bd2.jpg)

After that it's all the usual buildy stuff.  Drill some holes, tighten some nuts, yada, yada, yada...
(http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/v4hor/Pedals/20141209_171518_zpsa4b21d56.jpg)

(http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/v4hor/Pedals/20141209_171540_zpsd94e7f36.jpg)

6 pots, 1 toggle, the usual jacks and LED and only 9 short wires.  I loves me some board-mounted parts.
(http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/v4hor/Pedals/20141209_171923_zps97af8eeb.jpg)

Thanks for checking it out.  I was bummed it didn't make the contest deadline but I was stoked with all the entries.  I'm always inspired by the stuff you guys build.



Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: Luke51411 on December 11, 2014, 03:14:29 AM
Awesome work! Love it!
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: playpunk on December 11, 2014, 03:17:39 AM
Clean is an understatement


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: alanp on December 11, 2014, 03:58:18 AM
We really do have some profoundly impressive builders on here.
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: wgc on December 11, 2014, 04:19:18 AM
This is awesome!!!!!  !!!!!

!!!!

1. I've been dying to do an smd flanger.  My to-do list hasn't decreased to the point of doing that yet.  This is killer. If it was 1590a I would've passed out and hit my head or something.

2.  I've been wanting to do some kind of tutorial. As above.

3.  I'll be posting my not done in time build soon too. Love what I saw though, really tough choices.

Beautiful as always, Mark.
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: Leevibe on December 11, 2014, 04:30:51 AM
So perfectly planned and executed. You make it look so easy!

Which is hard
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: cooder on December 11, 2014, 04:36:58 AM
Really really amazing! Great work and what a superb implementation!
Did I mention the outside looks?! Fab all around! 8)
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: jkokura on December 11, 2014, 04:46:43 AM
That's rad man. I love how well this one's been executed.

Jacob
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: cooder on December 11, 2014, 04:54:03 AM
What type of magnification do you use if I may ask? Do you use a stereo microscope or jewellers loupe for soldering and checking the joints?
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: selfdestroyer on December 11, 2014, 06:42:32 AM
Such a precise and clean job. Thanks for breaking down your building steps also.

Cody
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: m-Kresol on December 11, 2014, 07:30:21 AM
Wonderful
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: mean_dorris on December 11, 2014, 08:32:44 AM
This is super sweet!
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: Hogharry on December 11, 2014, 09:58:11 AM
Incredibly tidy. The minimal wiring is a win.
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: Tremster on December 11, 2014, 10:39:54 AM
Are you a robot?
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: Hexjibber on December 11, 2014, 10:59:46 AM
Super slick man, makes me want to try SMD but I think my wibbly wobbly hands will make a right hash of it probably! Must be like trying to give a fly a haircut!
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: marmaliser on December 11, 2014, 11:15:27 AM
Amazing...you make SMD seem simple ...stunning
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: raulduke on December 11, 2014, 01:08:17 PM
It's a bloody work of art mate!

Top notch.
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: Govmnt_Lacky on December 11, 2014, 01:12:36 PM
DEMO.... DEMO..... DEMO!!!!

Mind-blowing work my friend!  8) We gotta hear it in action please....
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: hylandren on December 11, 2014, 01:26:57 PM
Quote from: chuckbuick on December 11, 2014, 03:07:19 AM
First I get her all wet......Next I grab my part with tweezers.....Drill some holes, tighten some nuts, yada, yada, yada...
:o
But seriously, that is a great into to SMD for noobs like myself.
Absolutely zero chance I will ever be at the level to try SMD, but I do enjoy reading and learning, so thanks for the detailed post!
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: chuckbuick on December 11, 2014, 02:03:47 PM
Thanks for the kind words, guys.
Quote from: cooder on December 11, 2014, 04:54:03 AM
What type of magnification do you use if I may ask? Do you use a stereo microscope or jewellers loupe for soldering and checking the joints?
I use an Optivisor with a 2.5X lens for most of it.  I have a 10X loupe for checking really fine stuff.

Quote from: wgc on December 11, 2014, 04:19:18 AM1. I've been dying to do an smd flanger.  My to-do list hasn't decreased to the point of doing that yet.  This is killer. If it was 1590a I would've passed out and hit my head or something.

3.  I'll be posting my not done in time build soon too. Love what I saw though, really tough choices.

1.  Hey Billy.  If you decide to go A/DA watch out for the error on the Moosapotamus schematic.  It shows a connection between R31 and the junction of D5 and D6 that shouldn't be there.

3.  Welcome to the club.

Quote from: Govmnt_Lacky on December 11, 2014, 01:12:36 PM
DEMO.... DEMO..... DEMO!!!!

Mind-blowing work my friend!  8) We gotta hear it in action please....
I'll give it a shot.  I gotta try and redeem myself for that awful sounding clip I used for the contest.

Quote from: hylandren on December 11, 2014, 01:26:57 PMAbsolutely zero chance I will ever be at the level to try SMD, but I do enjoy reading and learning, so thanks for the detailed post!
Don't sell yourself short, man.  SMD isn't difficult and shouldn't be compared to any perceived skill level.  It's just different.  If you can hold a soldering iron in one hand and tweezers in the other you're good to go.  Honestly, my eyes aren't great, my hands are a bit shaky, and I only have a HS education.  Nothing magic.  I won't say you're missing out on anything and you need to try it.  It's just caps and resistors and the like.  I'm just saying don't let SMD be the only thing stopping you from trying SMD if you are inclined to.
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: Govmnt_Lacky on December 11, 2014, 02:44:07 PM
@chuck

Any chance these PCBs would be available for purchase? OR, do you happen to have any extras? I would be interested in using this to dip my toe into SMD.
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: Thomas_H on December 11, 2014, 04:43:20 PM
Great stuff.
I solder SMT once in a while but am not very happy with doing so.
You got my respect!
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: pickdropper on December 11, 2014, 05:09:16 PM
And Chuckbuick hath declared that no wire shall touch aluminum at any time.  So it will be.

Nice build, Mark.  :-)

Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: wgc on December 11, 2014, 05:20:19 PM
Thanks for the info Mark!  I've been looking at the ultraflanger circuit, but it seems to get mixed reviews.  I'm also interested in designs that use two pt2399s, but haven't heard any.

Had not considered the ada for some reason, but I would totally buy a pcb of your layout.  I've got about 3-4 other layouts in process at the moment, so starting a flanger layout of my own is probably 5 months out.
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: culturejam on December 11, 2014, 06:03:57 PM
(http://i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/009/993/tumblr_m0wb2xz9Yh1r08e3p.jpg)
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: m-Kresol on December 11, 2014, 09:32:33 PM
Quote from: Govmnt_Lacky on December 11, 2014, 02:44:07 PM
@chuck

Any chance these PCBs would be available for purchase? OR, do you happen to have any extras? I would be interested in using this to dip my toe into SMD.

I would be in for one too, if you have spares :)
Since I did the NoMojo Fuzz almost a year ago, I wanted to do more SMD
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: icecycle66 on December 11, 2014, 10:30:10 PM
You make fantastic SMD boards.
Do you share them on OSHpark?
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: Guitarmageddon on December 12, 2014, 01:10:33 AM
 :o Remakable!
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: morganp on December 12, 2014, 07:51:04 AM
This is really stunning!  I see folks doing stuff like this and think "I could never do that" but you've really got me intrigued.  What would you say are the pros and cons?  My simple understanding is "SMD is harder because it's tiny" and "the parts are much cheaper" and "I don't know where to get boards".  I've been doing a lot of vero builds so far, partly because of the liberty of doing whatever project for which I can find or create a layout.  Are there many resources for SMD boards?  Sorry for all the questions, this build is gorgeous inside and out and finally got me thinking seriously about the possibilities.
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: wgc on December 12, 2014, 02:08:26 PM
I'm biased but it's in most cases not that hard, aside from smaller size.  Mark does make it look beautiful and easy!

Most of the parts are cheaper but not always. Tantalum caps are not cheap, the price break for qty is dramatic but quite an investment.

But there's a lot of benefits. You can fit a lot in a small space. No clipping leads. You can stack parts easily. Forgot to add a resistor in your layout?   Just cut the trace, scrape some mask, and solder the part. It can be really fast if you stencil solder paste and reflow all at once. That takes a bit more setup though.

If you're interested, there's a few pcbs around. I think pick dropper has a few for sale, muddy fox, I may have one or two floating around. Search smd here and some will turn up.

I'd start with something that has less parts, but I'm sure most people here can do smd too.
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: chuckbuick on December 12, 2014, 02:09:27 PM
Thanks again, guys.

Quote from: m-Kresol on December 11, 2014, 09:32:33 PM
Quote from: Govmnt_Lacky on December 11, 2014, 02:44:07 PM
@chuck

Any chance these PCBs would be available for purchase? OR, do you happen to have any extras? I would be interested in using this to dip my toe into SMD.

I would be in for one too, if you have spares :)
Since I did the NoMojo Fuzz almost a year ago, I wanted to do more SMD
Quote from: icecycle66 on December 11, 2014, 10:30:10 PM
You make fantastic SMD boards.
Do you share them on OSHpark?
My spare boards are committed at this point.  But if everything goes good with the other people building them I'll share the OSH Park files.

@Icecycle.  I haven't done too much sharing of the files mainly because I'm not very techy and can't give much support.  My troubleshooting usually consists of fumbling though BOM's and schematics until I find something wrong.  But trying to answer questions to problems without having something right in front of me is not my strong suit.  About the only other thing I have had requests for was my MRP-12 board and at the time I posted the build SMD LM13600's were near impossible to find.  I didn't want to put out a project that people couldn't find parts for.  And the 13700's wouldn't work in that circuit for whatever reason.  But I'll check back into the availability of those soon.

Quote from: morganp on December 12, 2014, 07:51:04 AM
This is really stunning!  I see folks doing stuff like this and think "I could never do that" but you've really got me intrigued.  What would you say are the pros and cons?  My simple understanding is "SMD is harder because it's tiny" and "the parts are much cheaper" and "I don't know where to get boards".  I've been doing a lot of vero builds so far, partly because of the liberty of doing whatever project for which I can find or create a layout.  Are there many resources for SMD boards?  Sorry for all the questions, this build is gorgeous inside and out and finally got me thinking seriously about the possibilities.
Thanks Morgan.  For me the biggest pro's are that I can usually knock the size of a project into the next smaller enclosure.  The other big pro, for me anyway, is not having to bend and clip leads.

The biggest cons are more parts to store and for a lot of people, no mojo.

As far as resources for SMD boards there aren't a lot.  But pickdropper has a few he sells and wgc has a Suhr Riot layout that looks pretty sweet.

Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: icecycle66 on December 12, 2014, 02:53:14 PM
Man, all I need is the board and a BOM.

You got me drooling like a fat kid at a gravy parade.
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: jubal81 on December 12, 2014, 03:58:13 PM
(http://makeameme.org/media/created/i-dont-know-mob6n0.jpg)


Yeah, Id've voted for this twice. Seriously, Chuck, you're freaking us out.
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: raulduke on December 12, 2014, 05:21:08 PM
The awesomeness of this build has finally convinced me to take the SMD plunge.

I'm starting small (SHO PCB layout I did a while ago), but I'm hoping I won't find SMD the pain in the bollocks I always imagined it was.
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: Hogharry on December 12, 2014, 11:24:52 PM
Quote from: raulduke on December 12, 2014, 05:21:08 PM
The awesomeness of this build has finally convinced me to take the SMD plunge.

I'm starting small (SHO PCB layout I did a while ago), but I'm hoping I won't find SMD the pain in the bollocks I always imagined it was.
It will all end in tears!  ;D

I'm just jealous because I have enough trouble seeing the through hole bits, so I'd need a microscope for SMD. :o
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: chuckbuick on December 13, 2014, 03:14:44 PM
Quote from: raulduke on December 12, 2014, 05:21:08 PM
The awesomeness of this build has finally convinced me to take the SMD plunge.

I'm starting small (SHO PCB layout I did a while ago), but I'm hoping I won't find SMD the pain in the bollocks I always imagined it was.
Sweet.  The SHO is probably a good way to go.  It gives you a taste of most parts and has enough to give you the feel for SMD.  But few enough parts that if you start it and hate it you can still grind through or just say "screw it" and toss it without being out much cash.  Good luck with it.
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: chuckbuick on December 13, 2014, 03:30:28 PM
One more thing.  I've totally neglected to thank moosapotamus for making this info available.  If you're out there thanks, man.  Great work on the vids, too.  Much appreciated.
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: sonarchotic on December 13, 2014, 03:56:13 PM
Stunning work sir! Where did you get those knobs?
Title: Re: VC Flanger
Post by: chuckbuick on December 13, 2014, 04:07:15 PM
Quote from: sonarchotic on December 13, 2014, 03:56:13 PM
Stunning work sir! Where did you get those knobs?
Thanks.  Got them at Smallbear.
http://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/aluminum-top-hat/