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Hello,

I've built the Rangemaster pedal from a PCB I bought here at MB.  I wanted to mod it to switch between normal operation and just boost with no input filter caps.  Attached is my proposed diagram, can any of you "veteran" builders comment if this will work as I intend it too?

Thanks,

Doug

Thanks for the pot idea, I was wondering if that could be done!

One other thing, the bias resistors are a little different value than the ones listed on MB.  I bought the transistor at small bear and two resistors came with the transistor.

MB values:
68k
3.9k

SB values:
62k
3k

Would that make a difference?

I did try it with a fresh battery and it seems to have a little more bite but nothing dramatic.

Someone PM'd me and asked if the RM is working.  It is, but again I don't know how much gain it should have.  Here are two quotes from the Analogman website about the beano boost, which is a rangemaster clone also.

At 9:00 the Beano Boost is unity gain and may not sound very special into a clean amp. At 12:00 it starts to boost the volume and get thicker. At 3:00 it should be waking your tubes up like a passing jet plane.

Can boost volume quite a bit. Has about the same output level ON and OFF with the vol knob set at 9:00. At 11:00 there is about a 10dB boost, which sounds twice as loud. At 12:00 there is a 13dB boost, and up all the way is about an 18dB boost which is nearly twice as loud as it was at 11:00.

My pedal has no where near that kind of boost but I don't know if the MB version should have that kind of gain?  Does anybody know how the two pedals compare?

I believe that the battery terminals are connected that way, they are just like the offboard wiring diagram listed here on MB.

Well, I have to admit, I wasn't looking if the meter registered -/+, I was just recording the values.  I am running on a 9v battery so that shouldn't be an issue, should it?

Here is what I found:

• Red lead to voltage in on board - 8.53v
• Red lead to ground in on board - 0v
• Voltage in on board to ground in on board - 8.53v
• Red lead to collector - 6.70v
• Red lead to emitter - .53v
• Red Lead to base - 6.70v

Here are some pics:
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/uNfFN.jpg" alt="" title="Hosted by imgur.com" />
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/VlUVh.jpg" alt="" title="Hosted by imgur.com" />
The diode looks like it might be shorting to ground but it's not
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/zuZDA.jpg" alt="" title="Hosted by imgur.com" />
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/tk6bv.jpg" alt="" title="Hosted by imgur.com" />

Thanks

It does not appear to be, there is a little red circle with a "c" in it that I assume is the collector.  This is the pin that goes to number 3 on the boost pot.  The triangular shape pinout of the transistor lines up with the triangular shape on the PCB too.  I will take some close up pics and post them.  I noticed that there is a thread that details what I should've done before I posted here, something about checking voltages and the like.  I will do that also and report back.

Is this pedal a low gain pedal?  It seems to operate fine just not much boost.

Thanks

Hello,

I just completed my first pedal project ever, the rangemaster.  How much gain should be on tap from this pedal?  The knob I installed on the boost pot is numbered 1-10 and unity gain seems to be around 7, that doesn't leave much room for boost.  Is this typical of this pedal?  I remember reading a post on "The Gear Page" (TGP) from someone selling a Beano boost because there was too much gain on tap for bedroom use, that's what I was expecting from this pedal.

If my pedal should have more boost than it does, where should I start in the troubleshooting process, what could be the likely culprits of low gain?

Thanks,

Doug

Ok, so I may be chastised thoroughly for this but here goes:

1. Get a college textbook on basic electronics , learn the basic: voltage dividers, time constants etc., then move on to circuit analysis.
2. Familiarize yourself with schematics of various guitar effects, and their building blocks.
3. Rearrange the building blocks into the shapes of your choosing.

There are no shortcuts to becoming an electrical engineer. If you really want to be a designer, there will be dues paid, devices smoked, and headaches acquired.

I know that everyone wants an easy answer; EE is an lifetime dedication.
<- The look of one pursuing the mysteries of EE
RzR

Are you sure devices are the only thing that will be smoked?   

I'd be interested as well if the cost was enticing!  What do you think the approximate cost would be?

Is the reason there is no LED or 9 volt adapter plug on the rangemaster because the original didn't have one or for other reasons?  Does the LED and or the adapter add additional noise?  If not using the adapter, would the LED drain the battery too quickly?

Brian,

Thanks for the respose!  I did just wirer in a 3DPT switch with a LED on a pedal I had that was a 2PDT and it's not wired like you do, and guess what, it pops when it's switch!  (very annoying)  I thought I'd heard you can put in a "pull down" resistor to help that?  Which is more effective, the grounding method or the resistor method?  Seems like the resistor might color the tone?

Regards,

Doug

Hello,

I'm currently building the rangemaster, (first build) and want to wire in a LED.  The instruction sheet doesn't show that variation so I looked around on the board and and saw the posting from Brian about the way he wires the 3PDT switch so that the input signal is grounded when in bypass mode.  I was wondering what the advantages of that wiring method are vs. the standard wiring on sites such as GEOFX, FuzzCentral etc?  How does the grounded input wiring effect the operation of the pedal vs the ungrounded input?  (BTW, the rangemaster is a positive ground pedal)

Thanks,

Doug