Messages

Giddy with anticipation!

Post some clear, in-focus pics of both sides of the PCB and your wiring to the stomp & jacks.

It sure sounds like something is wired incorrectly.

Now that you've brought it back from the dead I bet it's REALLY a favorite pedal! I confess to having a weakness for flangers and that one looks like a beauty.

Clip the excess wire from the top side of the pcb's gain pads--your photos look like they may be shorting? Also, you're melting the insulation from your hookup wire, especially around the switch connection on the 'bottom' of the pcb. I'd suggest quicker solder work on the wires or get some of the lovely teflon coated 22ga wire avail on ebay (it's the shit!)

Lastly, clip your component leads (resistor, capacitor, etc) a little tighter.

You may have the dip switch upside-down but it won't matter at all. The dip is an on/off connection. Use your digital multi-meter to confirm this. When you get a *beep* between both sides of a single channel of the dip switch (i.e. north & south of the '1' channel) then it is 'on' in the sense a signal will pass thru the dip switch.

Follow the traces in the build doc to see which set of diodes are controlled by which side of the dip. You have 4 options: off (no diode clipping), 1 of 2 diode sets clipping, the other set of diodes clipping and both sets of diodes clipping.

Make sense?

Very exciting. I like all the stomp switch connections in one area.

Is the board mounted pots something you're leaning towards for future builds or was this just a one off? They do cut down on the wiring.

perfect LED placement!

I've always associated higher hfe = more gain but I have no imperial evidence to support that!

wikipedia sez:

Etymology of hFE
The 'h' refers to its being an h-parameter, a set of parameters named for their origin in a hybrid equivalent circuit model. 'F' is from forward current amplification also called the current gain. 'E' refers to the transistor operating in a common emitter (CE) configuration. Capital letters used in the subscript indicate that hFE refers to a direct current circuit.

Also, I further remember reading that Q1 & 4 are all about boosting whilst Q2 & 3 add 'flavor' to the clipping section. Most BMP schems have Q1 boosting the signal, Q2 & 3 driving the diode clipping sections and Q4 boosting the signal after the passive tone section (to make up for the passive tone = signal loss)...

I seem to remember reading you want the highest hfe transistor in Q1 and then second highest in Q2 and so on for a BMP build.

FWIW, I've never bothered with special diode CLRs for pedals that run above 9v. I usually pop a 10K for clear LEDs (20K for clear blue or green LEDs) and call it good.

If you *DO* use the ~17v tap off the fabb'd FatPants board to power a second pedal just be sure to use caps rated for the higher current. As mentioned before, you power the second pedal with a wire from the ~17v tap off the FatPants to the second board's 9v pad instead of running a wire from the DC jack (which it sounds like you've done before).

I just got around to looking at the Trinity Amps page.  Uh oh, bad idea.  I'm just finishing up a tele "relic" build and I'm loosing the will power to resist the TC15...  I left the page before I spent money I don't have.  I think DIY gassing is just as bad as the gear page level. 

just say no..repeat..just say no..repeat..

over at BYOC until it's GONE. TC15 kit for $300 + shipping. I hate uncle sam right now...
http://www.buildyourownclone.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=30425

That, my friend, is shit-hot pedal building!

yep

Are you slacking? Resting on a beach with some fruity, umbrella'd drink with all your spare time?

Kidding.

Be safe--watched the national news tonight and your area is catching hell. Global warming has only given my area snow in late april. Funny aside: had to bite my tongue when an employee of a client--aged ~late 40's--asked why/how "global warming" was causing snow this late in the season......................

Just a reminder the old docs are still up.

At first glance it doesn't look like any additional components made it on to the fabb'd board vs. the old etched Slap Chop...

Here's a 5 (or so) part video from the early '80s where Belew geeks hardcore on his effects. Very cool. Does his use of the violin/volume swell effect predate eric johnson?

part 1