Slambox Wiring Help

[PostPaintBoy]

Hey guys. Completely new to this and have run into what I'm sure is a very rookie question: how do I know the wiring routes from the PCB to the footswitch? I clicked on the link that's supposed to redirect me to wiring help but it simply says "coming soon." Any help will be appreciated folks. Thanks.

[PostPaintBoy]

Haha nevermind. Just noticed the new wiring diagram thread.

[PostPaintBoy]

Actually guys, turns out I do need help. I've got the pcb done but I am super confused as to how I go about wiring the footswtich, LED, and pot. Any help wpuld be highly appreciated folks. Thanks.

[jkokura]

Sure, the wiring diagrams are pretty easy to follow though - what are you struggling with? Can you be more specific?

Jacob

[PostPaintBoy]

Well my initial call for help centered around wiring to the pot from the pcb. now I've run into the problem of not being able to get the solder to stay connected to where the wire meets the jacks. So I now have yeat another issue haha.

[jkokura]

Hey, it's alright! We're all beginners at some point!

I think what you need to do is slow down a bit - don't try and rush things. Take some time and step away from it if you need to.

Anyway, To address your current two concerns, Pot's have three lugs that you need to attach wires to. They're numbered 1, 2 and 3. In order to make it most simple, put the pot so it's on it's back. The shaft, the part you attach the knob to, the part you turn, that should be pointing straight up in the air. Now have the lugs towards you. If you go left to right, they are numbered 1, 2 and 3. So 1 is on the left, 2 is in the middle, and 3 is on the right.

Now back to the PCB, you should see that there are two little numbers for the pot - 1 and 3. 2 obviously goes in the middle, and it should be obvious now where to attach each lug of the pot. One hint I'll give you - don't use really long wires. They'll just get in the way. In this case, you can probably use 1-1.5 inch wires.

What I do is I take and cut 3 lengths of wire, then I strip about a 1/4" off of both ends. In this case, I would then take a little alligator clip stand I have, and I would clip the alligator clip to the middle of the wire. Then I would take my iron and I would put a little bit of solder on it, then I would press that against each end of the wire, adding a little bit more solder to the wire once it's hot. Each end should take no more than 2 or 3 seconds. This is called 'tinning' the wire. You should see the solder flow onto the wire and make the strands go rigid. The only time I don't do this is when I use solid core wire, which doesn't need this treatment.

Then next thing I do is take a pair of pliers and bend one of the ends so it makes a little U. Just the part that's bare and tinned, not the whole wire. With the pot now shaft down and being held by that alligator clip stand, I would then hook that around one of the lugs, and again using my pliers, I squeeze the U so it's wrapped tightly around the lug. It should stick up in the air. I think use my iron and solder that wire onto the lug. I repeat this process with the other two wires and lugs.

Now, to attach the pot to the board, I simply double check and make sure my three wires are all about the same length, and have the same amount of bare, tinned wire. I insert the bare ends of the wire through the RIGHT holes! Double and then triple check they're in the right holes. Then I solder the wires in, and clip off the extra bites of wire that stick up too high. There - done.

With the Jacks, I do the same thing with the tinning and the U and the pliers. The only difference is I usually strip more like 1/3 of an inch, rather than 1/4.

This the process of making a mechanical connection. The solder is strong yes, but the mechanical connection of wrapping the wire around the part makes for a much more durable and strong connection between the parts.

I also do something very similar when wiring my switches, LED, and DC Jack. In fact, pretty much all my wires get tinned, made into a U, and the squeezed into a mechanical connection with pliers around whatever they connect to. Only the PCB connections don't get this treatment.

Jacob

[PostPaintBoy]

I just can't get my solder to hold th ewire onto the jacks and footswitch haha. It's driving me crazy.

[felix]

Clean your iron. Clean the surfaces you are soldering to. Then roughen them up with a bit of sandpaper.

[jtn191]

Also make sure you're heating up the wire, jacks, and footswitch adequately as well as just the solder. I've noticed that solder likes to cool very quickly and likes to stick to very hot surfaces. Anything at room temperature is quite cold compared to molten solder and your iron

[madbean]

Make sure you tin the iron tip with some solder before soldering a joint. I generally put a little bulb and let it cook on the iron for a few seconds. Hold the tip and a little bit of the flat side of it against the contact point of the wire/lead and pad/jack then apply solder for about two seconds. The solder should flow evenly around the entire joint this way.