First Time Build

[Gyrofist]

Hey everyone,
First time on a forum for me...weird...and a question about another first. I've actually never built myself a pedal before, and I'm looking into building myself a Cupcake Compressor (from madbean pedals). I know it's not the easiest pedal I could choose for a first pedal (not the hardest either though), but I already have a boost pedal, and a fuzz pedal, so I figured that if I'm going to build it, may as well extend my range of effects.

So the question I was talking about was, well, maybe not even a question, maybe more advice...So I've looked at the parts list and I've been able to find most of the components that I would need for it, but I'm having trouble finding the capacitors. (I'm not great with how electrical components are written, which doesn't help). So I'm needing a couple of values: 47n, 2n2, 4u7, and 47uF. Brain also put a note in the plans for the compressor saying to use general or Hi-Temp radial electrolytic caps, 25v, and then Panasonic ECQ-V or WIMA box caps, 25v or above.

I'm sure I wrote way too much there, so pretty much what I'm wondering is if anyone can tell me what caps to get, and where to get them.

[irmcdermott]

Hey there and welcome to the forum!

This is a great place to ask all of your questions. The reason you are probably having trouble finding them is because there are a a few different "multipliers" that people use to show the value: uF, nF, pF. If you are ordering from smallbear, Steve labels everything .mF (which is the same as uF). I know its confusing, but here is a great link with a chart to help you out.

http://www.justradios.com/uFnFpF.html

In Brian's builds, he makes it pretty easy to know which to use because generally they seem to be laid out like this:

uF - electrolytic
nF - film
pF - ceramic

Also, when it is written like "2n2" the "n" is replacing the decimal in the value. So "2n2" could also be written as "2.2n".

If you are ordering from smallbear, here is a guide:

47n = .047mf
2n2 = .0022mf
4u7 = 4.7mF
47uF = 47mF

Smallbear doesn't sell the Wima box caps, but they sell Topmay, which will work just as well, and they sell the Panasonic caps as well. Anyone correct me if I goofed. Don't hesitate to ask any other questions.

Ian

[Gyrofist]

Awesome, thank you very much! Haha, I'm definitely not the most techno-savvy guy ever, but I'm good with my hands, for the most part. I've been reading a lot about the DIY pedals, so I figured I'd give it a try. And wow, terminology's confusing, but you've helped a lot, so thanks again.
Corey

[Gyrofist]

Sorry, forgot to add this to my other post. I also need an IC 4558, and I was wondering whether the IC JRC4558D would work/is what is needed?
http://www.smallbearelec.com/Detail.bok?no=213
The plans for the pedal, if you need to check them:
http://www.madbeanpedals.com/projects/Cupcake/docs/Cupcake_ver.2.pdf

Thanks again.
Corey

[irmcdermott]

Yeah, that is the right IC to get.

[Gyrofist]

Thankyou,
Now I think I have a full list of things to order, aside from one thing. What type of switch should I use for the bypass? Would it be a 3PDT, or a different kind?

[jkokura]

Yes, a 3PDT switch us the right one.

JacoB