First Pedal FLOOP!

[K3yPr0gg3r]

Hi,

This is going to be a multi-part post due to number of attachments. I just got my first pedal together yesterday, plugged it in, and....NOTHING! Bypass was fine, but engaged rendered a "cycled" static sound, and NO LED. Ben, (from RullyWow), suggested the following. (...it sounds like you have a dead short somewhere. No LED and if the power cycles...it's probably your power supply detecting a short circuit between GND and +9V and cycling on/off. See if you have a short between the power and GND with a DMM.). I had already torn apart the pedal for the photos I'm uploading by the time I read this, so I couldn't test. Anyway, if anyone sees a screw-up in any of the pics please let me know. I'd like to start building boxes that work over fancy paper weights..

Complete1 pic shows the entire pedal. 3PDTsolder1 pic shows the job I did soldering the stomp to the breakout. I was a tight fit to begin with so maybe this was part of the problem? Inoutjacks1 pic, and injackmoment1 pic showed my screw-up with the momentary. It blocked the In jack from successfully making a connection! Lastly for this part...DC1 pic just shows the heat-sinks on the DC jack. Part II coming next...Thanks

[K3yPr0gg3r]

Part II... In all build docs I always see socket ICs and Transistors... (transist1 pic) shows one of my transistors which is kinda mangled. Am I cutting too short? Is there some lubricant that builders use to make it easier to get them in the sockets? Wiring IN/OUT/DCs...jack1 pic is of my completed IN jack with heat-sink. However, the solder really doesn't stick to the jack itself, and one gets a messy bloob...(wire1 pic). Do most builder feed the wire through the hole, and then twist it around itself...(wire2 pic)... or do something else? Lastly LEDs. I mark my + lead with a red marker, (LED1 pic). I'll show the rest of the pics in the next post...

[K3yPr0gg3r]

Part III... LED part II. From all my readings the + lead of the LED goes into the square pad of the breakout...(LED2 pic)... correct? Moment1 pic just shows my solder joints, and placement of the wires of the momentary switch to the PCB. Solderjoints1 pic show the momentary joints (green), and the connection joints (red) from the breakout to the PCB. Potjoint1 shows joints of the volume pot. Finally, I saw a video from Paul P. (diyguitarpedals.com) about using Blue Tack to hold various components in place. Very helpful for resistors, caps, diodes, sockets, etc. I am very careful to clean joints and boards with 99.9% IPA after each component is connected. Any other ideas that can allow me to be successful are invited!

Thanks for all your help

[rullywowr]

It looks pretty good actually.  The wires to the PCBs could be pushed down a bit, so the insulation is covering all the wire.  This is easy to remedy by heating up each joint and pushing the wire until it is flush with the PCB.

I would take the guts out of the enclosure and fix the wires.  Then clip off any extra on the bottom of the PCB.  Be sure to look for any joints on the bottom which may be touching each other.

Also, when you have the guts out, can you confirm that you have the 9V jack wired correctly?  The big lug on the 9V jack is the GND and the little lug farthest towards the outside is the 9V connection in this case.

[K3yPr0gg3r]

Thank you, Ben. I'll be making some changes to the rebuild...NOT putting the momentary in the way. Can you or anyone answer my questions about cutting length of the transistors and socketing them more easily, and how to BETTER wire the IN/OUT/DC jacks?

Thanks again...

[selfdestroyer]

Thank you, Ben. I'll be making some changes to the rebuild...NOT putting the momentary in the way. Can you or anyone answer my questions about cutting length of the transistors and socketing them more easily, and how to BETTER wire the IN/OUT/DC jacks?

Thanks again...

As far as wiring goes.. Look and study other builds in the "Build Reports" and take note of the way others wire up their pedals. One of my favorite things to do is really look at other builders and take things I like from each of them and apply them to my builds. Everyone has their own way with aesthetics and keeping things clean, you just need to find what works for you. This place is a wealth of knowledge, don't for get to search around and uncover these gems in the forum.

Cody

[BrianS]

The transistor doesn't look to be cut to short. Mine, when I do cut them, are probable about that size. Take a socket strip and sort of separate the legs until you get all 3 close to where they will go into the holes where you want to cut them. Once you get everything working put a little solder on one of the legs to keep it from possibly coming out. 

[flanagan0718]

I wonder if you're in constant chaos mode. Try switching the red wire from the momentary switch to the round pad. it might help.

[midwayfair]

There is a systematic method of troubleshooting a build. Don't just check random things or you will spend hours or days chasing ghosts.

Read the tech help rules thread. It has some basic instructions for formatting your post and performing the most basic form of troubleshooting, which is taking voltages. You'll also find an important instruction about removing the circuitboard from the enclosure.

[matmosphere]

Jon is definitely correct here. If you follow the directions most of the time you'll end up finding the problem on your own. At the very least you'll build some good habits and skills.

I wonder if you're in constant chaos mode. Try switching the red wire from the momentary switch to the round pad. it might help.

This might be a good place to start though.

[Stomptown]

The switch does look wired for constant chaos.  Also, since we are keyed in in the momentary, can you verify you used the correct type of switch (i.e. Is it a normally open or normally closed momentary?). A normally open momentary switch would also cause you issues...