Vero Vox Repeat Percussion - no signal

[lincolnic]

So I built a modified Vox Repeat Percussion from the Tagboard Effects layout below, and I'm glad I tested it before boxing, because I'm not getting any signal out of it. If I touch the 2N2646 or some of the capacitors, I can hear a rhythmic ticking that changes speed when I adjust the Rate knob. I tried to use my audio probe, but I couldn't seem to get anything even at the input wire. This makes me think that something's grounding out somewhere, but the pedal isn't even in an enclosure yet.

I didn't make any mods or substitutions - I moved the 9V wire a couple of spaces to the right from where it is on the diagram, just to be closer to the actual jack (it's at the top of my enclosure), but this shouldn't make a difference.

I checked my parts placement, trace cuts, and jumpers. I don't see any solder bridges. I'm sure all my transistors are properly seated in their sockets. I even tried a different 2N2646, but nothing seems to be helping. I'd love to get another pair of eyes on this, in case I missed something.

Here's the layout:


Here's my board:







A little more detail on the switches:



P.S. Before you give me a hard time about the 9V wire fraying, that's because the bonding wore off after I clipped and unclipped it from my test rig a few times.

[stevie1556]

Silly question, but have you grounded the jacks? I only say this as you say it's not in a box yet, and the jacks need to be grounded (metal ones on the box, plastic ones with wires from the sleeve jacks). It's caught me out before.

Sent from my thumbs using Tapatalk!

[lincolnic]

Yeah, it's not a jack grounding issue - my testing rig is built into a bare 1590B, with open metal jacks. I wanted to make sure the circuit worked before I even wired it to the jacks or switch in its own enclosure. Good thought, though!

[Bret608]

Does the tab on the 2n2646 denote B2? I know that pinout would throw me off, so I thought it'd be good to ask!

[midwayfair]

Does the tab on the 2n2646 denote B2? I know that pinout would throw me off, so I thought it'd be good to ask!

unijunctions are usually

    B1
      B2
C

Tab should be collector; B2 in the middle.

Op: can you post your voltages? And just to confirm that you're not getting dry signal either?

Edit: Also, post the schematic you're working from.

[lincolnic]

According to three different datasheets, the tab denotes B2. If you're looking at the picture from top to bottom, the legs are:

B2
E
B1

No time to post voltages until Friday, probably. When I get to it, which components should I be taking voltages for? In the meantime, I'm not working from a schematic, just the vero layout - that's the very first image in my first post.