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Here's another question:

I've got a few cap values I ordered in that are electrolytic, but the PCB seems to plan on those values being box caps. Does it matter which way I orient those pieces?

About 1/3rd of the way through assembly. No disasters so far!

I can't tell you all how much I appreciate your help.

Thanks, sir.

Alright, I got my haberdasher etched PCB and all the parts from Tayda in today. I'm ready to start building!

Here comes a stupid question:

Which side of the etched board should I mount the parts on?

Well I just placed an order through Taydo for all the pieces I will need to put this build together! I already ordered the PCB and I am waiting to hear back from Pedalpartsplus regarding the enclosure.

I have a BYOC Bluesbreaker on my board now, so I'd like to build the Honey Bee in a 125B with top mounted jacks so they can sit right next to each other.

Once all the parts arrive, I'll start a build thread. Thank you so much for all the help everyone!

-David

I sent PPP an email to see if they'd be able to help me out.

I know that they do custom drilling, it's just a pretty common layout and just a bit different than their normal  template, I'd rather not have to put together a custom template for them.

We'll see what they say.

PPP will do anything you want, nut you will need more detail.

Something like the last page here: http://home.comcast.net/~gprause/BuildDocs/Xtc_V1.2_Build_Doc%20V2.pdf

Argh. I wish I wasn't feeling so lazy. I'm tempted to just go with one from mammoth... even though PPP has the color option that I really want.

I don't normally order enclosures from PPP, but IIRC, they can drill enclosures?

They offer pre-drilled enclosures but all the jacks are on the sides.

PPP will drill for you if you send them a detailed drawing.

So a drilling template like this?

Mammoth Electronics.  Pick the powder coat color, select the drill pattern you want, make sure you check the box that says:  "Top Mount Jacks (In/Out jacks will be drilled on the north face of the enclosure)".  If you pick one of the BYOC drill options, the jacks are all drilled in the top automatically.  The 9v jack is always on top.

I'll check Mammoth now. Thanks.

a pre-drilled 125B that is powder-coated and has the IN, OUT, 9v jacks on the back of the enclosure instead of on the sides?

Basically like this but powder-coated.

Or like this but with the jacks on the back instead of the side?

I've checked all the usual suspects and I am just not finding any. The PPP box is just what I'm looking for as far as color options, convenience, etc. I just want a box that will line up right alongside a BYOC kit I have on my board now that is 125B with the jacks on the back.

I suppose I could invest in some drill bits and just do it myself... I'm just still new at all this so I'm trying to take it a few steps at a time.

That's the one I was thinking of.  I've used them before.

I keep the parts in the little baggies and I just write on the baggies under the original labeling.  Then I store my stuff in Plano style tackle box trays to keep it organized.  There's at least one thread out there on how to store your parts if you're interested.  It won't be long before you have a mountain of them.

So with diodes, you only need to pay attention to the voltage, not the numbers at the beginning? That's just a part number or something?

I'm planning my run to the store to look at tackle boxes, etc even now

...
Hope that helps.  Good luck with your build.

Bruce.

Thanks for all the useful info, Bruce. Hope to see a successful build thread for your Yellow Shark soon!

2 more things.

Check tayda again for that 5.1v Zener diode, I'm sure they have them.

Also, for what it's worth, when I get a giant baggie of components I make sure to label the capacitors uniformly for simplicity's sake.  If they aren't already labeled this way, I write the value in pf on the ceramic disk caps, nf on the film caps and uf on the electrolytics.  That's how I organize them on my inventory spreadsheet too.  It's just easier for me to keep them straight.

Would this be the zener diode I'm looking for? I was paying attention to the numbers at the beginning, not the voltage rating of the diode, I realized.

Do you just use a fine point sharpie to label your caps?

tayda is really good....link at top

Wow, tayda is great. I've been going through their stock and they have pretty much everything I need for this build.

For simplicity's sake I would like to order as much as possible from only 1 or 2 places. Tayda doesn't seem to have a "5v1 Zener Diode" (which is D7 in the build I'm working on).

Would it be okay to substitute that diode for a 1N4728 zener or something like that?
*edit* realized the 1N4728 couldn't handle the wattage, I think? So perhaps a 1N4746A zener?

Thanks for all of the info guys, keep it coming if you like. I'm taking notes as well as digging through build threads here trying to learn more.

So where do you Bean masters buy your parts from? I'm familiar with Small Bear and mouser. Are there other great shops I should know about?

Welcome.

47n is 47 nanofarads, or 47nF in most places you will be buying from.  Likewise, 100p is 100 picofarads (100pF), and 2u2 is 2.2 microfarads (2.2uF).  One microfarad = 1000 nanofarads = 1 000 000 picofarads.  Sometimes you will see a variant in the listing, as in 47 nF listed as 0.047 uF; it's the same thing, just described a different way.

While we're at it, resistors are like this

100R - 100 ohms
100k - 100 kilo-ohms
1M - 1 Megaohm

1 M = 1000 k = 1000000 R.

Any other questions, ask away, and enjoy your build.

After another couple hours of digging around I finally started to figure out the conversions you described. For whatever ever reason Small Bear seems to list all of their caps as either pF or uF. I finally found what I was looking for. Thank you so much for the quick response and the really great attitude.

47n cap means 47 nano farad, sometimes abbreviated nf.  It's a standard measure, usually for film capacitors.  You'll see them when you go "shopping" at the electronics suppliers.  There is a lot of info for beginners on here and other forums so look around and don't be afraid to ask.  Guitarpcb.com has a crash course in pedal building that has some good starter info.  It's great fun learning and building so, enjoy!

Thanks a lot for your help. I appreciate it very much.

-David

PS: Never have I had such a fantastic very first experience with an online forum. You guys are great.