Moar problems

[ferrinbonn]

Hi again guys. First time builder. Finished my build and got a bunch of issues. I'm doing the Moar Overdrive. I don't know what I'm doing enough to know where to start the troubleshooting

Schematic: http://www.madbeanpedals.com/projects/1590G/Moar.pdf
Build Guide: http://www.madbeanpedals.com/tutorials/downloads/1590G_BuildGuide.pdf

Here's the pics. Biggest obvious issue is that it doesn't even come close to fitting in the enclosure. I checked the values of the caps before putting them in, but all of them are too tall. I used the pots and switch recommended in the build guide, so I know that's not the problem. Did I get the wrong type of caps?

http://imgur.com/UnObgPh
http://imgur.com/1rwp77k
http://imgur.com/vVkdyec

Despite the non-fitting enclosure, I figured I'd see if it works since I could always get a new enclosure for it later. Plugged it in and it initially seemed to work. LED would toggle on and off, and I got a sound thru it when turned on. But when I started turning up the knobs, that's when the issues began. Turning up the volume or gain (either gave the same issue) gave a horrible squealing sound that changed pitch as I turned up the knob. Didn't happen if I kept them low. The pedal does seem to work though. When I turned the volume and gain up, you can hear an overdriven tone behind the squealing. Here's a video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcIdbZ_kKfI

My wife likes it because it sounds like the call of the orcas, but I'd prefer to fix it. Any ideas or suggestions are welcome.

[ferrinbonn]

OK, I messed around with the wires, and now it works! Sounds incredible. What a great circuit...

Still facing the issue that it doesn't fit in the enclosure, but I successfully made the circuit work and have my first functioning pedal! Thanks all for the help in the other threads!

[jubal81]

Congrats!
I know that's a good feeling.

As for the fitting part, it's a matter of knowing which capacitors to buy. Sourcing parts is one of the tougher things to wrap your head around when starting out.
For values up to 1uF, generally, you want 50v or 63v rated caps with 5mm lead spacing.
For 1uF and bigger electrolytic caps, look for 25v ratings and shorter than 11mm tall with a diameter of 6.3mm or less.

[ferrinbonn]

I ordered from Tayda and I don't believe they had different size choices for the caps. Where do you order from for pedal components?

[jubal81]

Mouser and Smallbear.

I never buy from Tayda. Gotten bad or bogus parts from them and don't trust them. I believe their stock is from factory scrap and that's why it's so cheap.

[m-Kresol]

tayda also has the film caps you are looking for. they usually are ok to use and within tolerance specs. Not high end obviously, but ok for starters: http://www.taydaelectronics.com/capacitors/polyester-film-box-type-capacitors.html

for the electrolytics, there are various sizes and voltage ratings as jubal mentioned. look for those looking like this: http://www.taydaelectronics.com/capacitors/electrolytic-capacitors/100uf-6-3v-105c-radial-electrolytic-capacitor-6x6mm.html
But watch out for the voltage rating. You need 16V min for a build running of 9V. the ones in the link are only 6.3V!
Another way to go is to use the regular sized electros and lay them down on the pcb over the other components. Looks like there is enough space on the moar pcb
I have never tried electrolytics from tayda, so I can't comment on their quality but we have threads every year dealing with "what components to buy or avoid @ tayda". just search for it around here. Also, there is a discount code available atm if you want to get the parts at tayda again.

anyhow, great job on your first build. And very ambitious to go in and take the smallest enclosure ever

[Muadzin]

I would have left it at the Orca sound. The world doesn't really need yet another overdrive. A pedal that does orca sounds on the other hand..... Pink Floyd and Rage Against the Machine were famous for making use of such lucky flukes.

[madbean]

There's an entire component buying guide for the 1590G projects linked on the Projects Page: http://www.madbeanpedals.com/projects/1590G/1590G_PartsGuide.pdf

Honestly, if you are happy with how it sounds now it's probably less effort to just get a 1590B and put in that instead rather than trying to desolder parts and replace them. Save the 1590G for a future project.

[ferrinbonn]

OK, apparently I'm an idiot. I used that parts guide, but didn't scroll down past the blank space after the sockets. Derp...

And yes, I've just ordered a bigger enclosure. It sounds great and I don't want to mess with desoldering again after putting the IC in backwards and already having to deal with that.

BTW, thanks for everything you've compiled for these projects. I went with this projects specifically because of all of the great guides you created to go with it. They were hugely helpful for a beginner.

[madbean]

My pleasure. I'm sorry that the parts thing got messed up for you.