26. Sea Urchin

[Liustucru]

After the Cave Dweller I built, I wanted to give the Sea Urchin a try.

I hope I'm not cursed with delay but I had to deal with some issues.
First I used a 78L05 reg instead of a 7805 so it took me some time to figure out that the 78L05 had a 180° rotated pinout.
Then, sometimes I have no delay repeats when I power the Sea Urchin. When I checked the voltage readings on the reg pins, I saw that sometimes I have less than 9V at the input and of course less than 5V at the ouput. Sometimes it works great. I have to unplug and replug the power jack several times for it to work. I may have a problem in the power section.
If anybody has an idea, I'll take it !!!

So here are the pics:









Oh I almost forgot to say that it is a really great delay !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pvt. Parts]

OMG A build without a comment...!!!
Well I'm making my delay and just lost C13, I forgot to order the 100nP and cant find  poli film for the C20 or C16 Ill put in ceramic for those two...  so ya I think I'm also cursed.

BTW use a multimeter and run a continuity test on ALL the solder joints and if you have time double check em

[Om_Audio]

Ya not only a build report but one with troubleshooting as well! That is odd it somehow slipped through the cracks. Great looking build, hope you get it sorted.
C

[jkokura]

Seeing that the power jack is all scrunched up against the board, potentially there's an issue of disconnect, but that would show up as a loss of power, not a drain in power...

Also, even if you had less than 9V, you should always have a steady 5V out on the reg, so there's potentially something wrong with the regulator itself.

Jacob

[Liustucru]

OMG A build without a comment...!!!
Well I'm making my delay and just lost C13, I forgot to order the 100nP and cant find  poli film for the C20 or C16 Ill put in ceramic for those two...  so ya I think I'm also cursed.

BTW use a multimeter and run a continuity test on ALL the solder joints and if you have time double check em

Ya not only a build report but one with troubleshooting as well! That is odd it somehow slipped through the cracks. Great looking build, hope you get it sorted.
C

Seeing that the power jack is all scrunched up against the board, potentially there's an issue of disconnect, but that would show up as a loss of power, not a drain in power...

Also, even if you had less than 9V, you should always have a steady 5V out on the reg, so there's potentially something wrong with the regulator itself.

Jacob

Thank you guys !!!
I have to take some time to unbox it and check everything.

[gtr2]

If you have a signal with no repeats when the effect is on the pt2399 may be locking up.

Try this:

Before inserting the power plug.  Use a piece of wire and jumper pins 3 and 4 together.  Power up the pedal and if you have repeats that is the culprit.  You're getting a lower reading because of the load placed on the power source due to the lock up.

If it works just solder a jumper right on the IC between pins 3 and 4.

Josh

[Om_Audio]

If you have a signal with no repeats when the effect is on the pt2399 may be locking up.

Try this:

Before inserting the power plug.  Use a piece of wire and jumper pins 3 and 4 together.  Power up the pedal and if you have repeats that is the culprit.  You're getting a lower reading because of the load placed on the power source due to the lock up.

If it works just solder a jumper right on the IC between pins 3 and 4.

Josh

Those pins are listed as AGND and DGND, what does bridging them do?
C

[gtr2]

It connects the DGND to ground.    Internally on the pt2399 the AGND and DGND are "technically" connected but there is a small resistance between the two.  On some pt2399's the resistance is higher and the DGND is not grounding like it should internally.  This stops the A/D conversion process in the chip.  By directly grounding the DGND pin you make the pt2399 happy.

There is no reason they should not be connected in the first place.  Some individuals will say by connecting the DGND directly to the pcb ground you are adding noise.  I have never found this to be the case.  All the A/D conversion happens inside the pt2399.  The DGND is made to hook up to an analog ground point.

Josh

[Liustucru]

If you have a signal with no repeats when the effect is on the pt2399 may be locking up.

I have dry signal with no repeats. I thought about PT2399 lock up too but without knowing how fix it !!!

Try this:

Before inserting the power plug.  Use a piece of wire and jumper pins 3 and 4 together.  Power up the pedal and if you have repeats that is the culprit.  You're getting a lower reading because of the load placed on the power source due to the lock up.

If it works just solder a jumper right on the IC between pins 3 and 4.

Josh

Since I've tried your fix, no issue occurs !!!
I got repeats every time I power up the Sea Urchin.
I have to go on testing it but you may have found the bug !!!!
Thank you so much !!!

[gtr2]

Good.  I figured that was the issue.  Thats why my multiplex directly grounds both the DGND and AGND pins

[Hangingmonkey]

On a completely unrelated note, thats a real nice color enclosure.  Is it powder coated?
Also, how did you write the text on there?

[Liustucru]

On a completely unrelated note, thats a real nice color enclosure.  Is it powder coated?
Also, how did you write the text on there?

Hello.
The sparkle blue simply comes from a spray can.
The lettering is done with stamps and Stazon ink.

[Pvt. Parts]

Nice, see what happens when a post is ignored the probelm never gets solved, and man nice bug killing 

[pickdropper]

That really looks good.  The color is perfect for the Sea Urchin, IMHO.  I like the lettering, too.