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Good work Phil!

Obviously as You want to finish this project before I do, I've changed my mind and layed my vero-project on ice until You finished Yours. Anyway I work on other projects too and as I waited so long, well, it doesn't matter if I wait a little longer.

The original HiFli enclosure is quite large. You want to keep the pcbs as small as possible.

However many may not have the tools for SMD soldering nor a reflow oven (I don't have one, too). But that doesn't mean, that they will not be able to build it with Your boards in the end: the diode ladder is the most easiest part to build. 2 sections with 12 ladders with 10 diodes each are needed. On my vero layout this section comes to 13 rows x 36 holes per section only. So for example a vero-board as a workaround for BOTH sections would be approximately 9 x 10 cm (3.6 x 3.9 inches) in minimum size.

So workaround boards that will fit to Your board exactly are possible.
Keeping the phaser diodes on a seperate pcb is a good compromise therefore.

Hi Phil,

that is good news! I will have a look into my HiFli files again and gather all the questions I have. I will send You a PM as soon I have everything.

Regards!

We got this bro, we've generated cleaned up versions of the schematics in the service manual based on Brent's photo's.  And we are in the process of putting them into Eagle so we can make some pcb's.  Once we have everything checked over maybe we can answer your questions.  You are mad trying to do this on vero though

Hi Phil,

only want to ask for an update - how is the progress regarding Your Hifli schematic?

Are You ready to answer my questions?

Regards!

Bytheway - on his website www.phutney.com Derek Revell suggests to use LM394CH and 2N2916 as possible substitutes for 2C746 for is EMS Synthi clone Phutney!

Yepp, you are right! My mistake - these are matched pairs of BJT of course. It should be easy to get matched pairs with a tester like Peak DCA. I ment TIS70 and not C746...

About the low hfe: I read somewhere some comments on some russian Germanium transistors, that have leak resistors built-in to ged rid of leakage. Someone hinted at the fact, that adding such resistors would lower the hfe of the transistor - thus all of these Russian babies concerned have fairly low hfe. Maybe we might be able to lower the hfe of these BJT to the level needed by adding such resistors?

And maybe TIS70 can be replaced by DIY matched pairs, too?

Vero layout of this thing? You are nuts

...blubbdidubb...

We got this bro, we've generated cleaned up versions of the schematics in the service manual based on Brent's photo's.  And we are in the process of putting them into Eagle so we can make some pcb's.  Once we have everything checked over maybe we can answer your questions.  You are mad trying to do this on vero though

Thanks Phil! Maybe YOU can help me find the answers I need!
As soon Your design of the PCB is finished, then I am interested in two of these boards of course (a "DoubleFli" would be gosh, wouldn't it!?). 

But a vero has its advantages, too - it would be much easier to mod it. Here are some mods I think about:

-possible remote-ports for most the tapers and switches (ED Tap-Tempo; remote pedals)
-send-return-jacks
-listen-in-switch into the stages of the phaser section - maybe more phase stages on a seperate daughter-board can be added!?
-signal injection/ejection/connection points to add tap-tempo, sequencers; maybe signal-filters/splitters, maybe VCFCLFO, VCADSR (ED-Druid), SFH. The possibilities are endless. Ghielmetti like patch-matrix with buffers like for the AKS would be cool to split and mix signals.

I think this baby is a gold mine of sounds never heard before and there is much more beyond to be discovered...

I may share some files and some snapshots of the progress of my layouts if You like. I am not that great web user and never posted files nor pictures here before. Is it possible to upload files here or is there a reliable service (that doesn't give away everything to Google Ltd. & Co)? Or may somebody my upload on my behalf? Any help will please...

Vero layout of this thing? You are nuts

Yepp - vero! Maybe I am nuts, but I have no knowledge in designing proper pcb boards and in tools like eagle and such. So vero is the only way to go for me - unless there is a pcb available. My etching pcb experience is " too basic".

At the moment the layout of my phaser board is 52 rows x 94 holes. There are different versions of the fuzz board - the smallest is 52 rows x 76 holes.
The pedal board is 9 rows x 21 holes and so it should fit into every Crybaby-like wah shell.
The numbers of rows of both the larger boards is equal, because I intend to mount them like a sandwich. I don't plan to make a seperate wiring board for the pots and switches - parts of these are on the fuzz and phaser boards and some parts will be soldered to the pins of the mounted switches and pots.

Some parts are obsolete and will be hard to get: the N558V/NTE778A should be a standard 1458 dual opamps. EMS themselves used LM1458 in later versions of the Hifli. I think about using NE5532 instead.

But other parts are more tricky:
C746 (A6, A16 fuzz board) are almost inpossible to get - I think about LM194H/LM394H metal can devices here. I thought about matching my own FETs with a PEAK DCA70 and make some clamps from metal sheet myself...
For TIS70 (A17 fuzz board) maybe a BFS21A is worth a try?
What whould You use for 7474 (A9 fuzzboard)? Is it a HD74LS74A?
The  2N5163 FETs will be hard to get, but there a lot of possible candidates to try -  5458, 2N3819, 5958, BF245A(GSD), MPF-102(DSG), 2N3822, KP303I, BFW11,
BF245A (GSD), 5458 (GSD). So pinout may be changed on the boards.

There are some points in the service manual where I am not certain due to the poor quality of the manual. I refer to the pdf-file from http://jbemond.free.fr/SDIY/EMS/EMS_Hifli.pdf:

1) The center pole of the SW3 modulation switch (SP3T) connects to #20 of the wiring board schematic. From there it should go to the unreadable # on the phase card schematic (lower right corner of the schematic in the pdf). From there it goes to R23 2,7K. But where from there? +12V or -12V?  The handwriting there is unreadable...

2) In the fuzz card schematic there is a R108 to LED1 #8 (near lower left corner of the schematic in the pdf). The resistance of R108 - 3,3K?

3) In the fuzz card schematic there is a R105 below D15 near R108, R106 & R107 (near lower left corner of the schematic in the pdf - connects to transient vibrato too). The resistance of R105 - 27K?

4) There are pictures of the phase board where a wire goes from #20 of the phase card some where around A2 (Dual Opamp) on the phase board. Is it really A2 and where exactly leads the wire to and is there another resistor (resistance?) added?

5) There are pictures of the fuzz board where a wire jumps from #13 to A10 (3080) on the part side of the board. Where does the trace near the 3080 lead to?

6) In the schematic of the fuzz card (the upper right side) it is quite hard to read the traces around #22, 21, 19, 18, 20 and just below the 5-6-7 opamp triangle of A5 and Q1 (BC169C) around Q10 (10uF tantal) and the 470K to +12V. It is hard to decipher, what is a connection and where traces cross each other only. Maybe someone has a readable schematic or high quality pictures of the solder and part sides of the boards?

Maybe some of these questions may show my stupidity in Your eye, but as I told You before - I am a total newbie when it comes to electronics.

Any hints or comments, folks?

This one is on my bucket list. Having cheated death once already, I say that in the most sincere way. This needs to be traced proper. Somebody please trace this before I die. Again.

Hi folks,

not that I am an electronics engineer nor that kind of blogger and forum writer, but as long-time forum reader I cook effects since end of 2011. Cloning the HiFli is a long-time project of mine. I used the crappy service manual on the web and cooked up first stripboard/vero layouts (gee, these gonna be very big with a shit-load of diodes) but got stuck at some points thanks to the poor quality of the pdf file. I collected as much pictures of gutshots as I could get the past yyears, but never have seen good quality pictures of the trace-side of the boards.

The HiFli seems to be quite interresting, but I have a more modified and more advanced second version in mind too, that would take that beauty to much higher places in the ranking (better signal filtering and a more modular design, maybe something like a patch matrix board aka Synthi VCS3 or AKA or so). But that might be a later story.


I used Libreoffice calc-sheets for developing layouts - because it is quite easy to copy and paste and modify things in these sheets and the layout was intended for my needs. I plan to cut and solder a first stripboard as soon my questions are answered and the layout fixed according to these answers (I got the most need parts allready - except the power transformer and huge power-filter caps).

Juergen Haible made a clone of the Hifli, but unfortunately he died a few months before I started my project and thus I wasn't able to contact him nomore. His clone has been sold before and I wasn't able to get in touch with the present owner.

I asked Ralf Hoffmann aka Randomsource, who obtained the electronic heritage Juergen left, to have a look into his paperwork and files on the Hifli. But got no useful info unfortunately. Maybe he holds them back in order not to get in conflict with Digitana.

Digitana Electronics is remaking the Hifli at the moment (but the lists of preorders is terrible long and the costs a blow) - obviously under license by Robin Wood. I asked Mr. Wood for help with some questions on my project - but he refused to help, which I can understand, too. Ludwig Rehberg, who worked with EMS before, did not provide any info, because when he left EMS he agreed with Mr. Wood not to do so. So Mr. Wood holds all info and files from the EMS side. I wasn't able to get in contact with Mr. David Cockerell - as far as I know he developed the Hifli.

I guess, there are no existing legal rights on the Hifli regarding patents and such nomore, as these must have been expired long ago. The only rights there might be out there are copyrights on schematics, pcb layouts, brand names and manuals. So I think a selfmade vero layout of that beauty would be legal, as long the brand is avoided in the project and no commercial profit made. So I propose to create a new name for the project first.




Dino - I appreciate Your work for the DIY community (I've built almost everything of Your work) and I am happy to read that Your health has recovered so far. I am willing to share my work with You and the folks here as a token of respect and a gift - if You like and if it is of use...

Maybe we get a vero layout faster than a pcb that way (I do't say that a pcb is useless though).

What do You say, guys - interested in?

Regards!

JustALittleSolderBoy