amatuer needing guidance

[myklgear]

I've just, so i thought, finished wiring my new Rangemaster boost pedal. I thought I should test it out before doing all the enclosure drilling and mounting, so I did. It doesn't boost. Actually it cuts everything. Way back to where you can't hardly hear anything. Any ideas what I could have done wrong?
Thanks!

[dwstanford]

If you could, post some pics.  That will help us get your pedal going.  Make sure both jacks are grounded if you are testing it out of the enclosure.  Also, are you running it off a battery or power supply?  I would also check the orientation of the transistor.  If it is germanium, there is usually either a red dot to mark the collector or a tab to mark the emitter.  I can post some pics of one of mine if you'd like.  Is it a madbean board? 

[sgmezei]

+1 for some pics. Also, check out the build reports and look at a few of the rangemasters. Double check every connection, with a multimeter if possible. I find it really helpful to print out the layout and check off the connections as I go.

The other tricky thing is the positive ground setup. How are you powering it?

[jtn191]

I've not made this one, but I'll try to help you out.

1. you say "can't hardly hear anything". so you can hear guitar signal but it's very quiet?
2. check all your wiring, parts, soldering job. Are jacks grounded? Are the wires going to the correct 1,2,3 lugs on the potentiometer?
Caps C5 and C3 are polar, which means their + and - orientation is important.
3. In the Bill of Materials, it lists some pretty specific stuff--like you need a special power supply for positive ground effects, C1 should be 5n (which is hard to find), the transistor should be placed correctly--if something was subbed for the OC44, you might have to move the pins around too
4. The potentiometer should be a 10k with an audio/log. (logarithmic) taper


Once you've done all that thoroughly, I'd suggest using a multi-meter to check continuity. Make sure all that should be "touching" on the layout/schematic is and all that shouldn't be isn't. This is called checking continuity.

If you post pictures, we can better assess what you've got on your hands

[chip46]

The volume issue makes me think the transistor is backwards or the pins are mixed up. Check the pinout of the transistor you chose (you can do a google search for the transistor datasheet) against the schematic.

[myklgear]

Ok. Here we go. I'm using the madbean 2010 rangemaster pcb with a battery for the power supply.  I got the rangemaster oc44 transistor from smallbear and there is a red dot on the side of it that you can see in one of the pictures. Is that the red dot and where should it be? And yes I can hear guitar signal that gets even quieter when I turn the pot counterclockwise, so the pot seems to be working. For C1 the build notes said 5n could be replaced with 4n7 which is what I did. Could that just not be enough? Sorry about the crappy pics. And thanks everyone for the help.

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[dwstanford]

It appesrs that you dont have the ground on the input jack connected to the switch.  If so, you will need to connect it to the ground on the switch.  (the lug that the positive side of the battery is connected to.) I havent used those enclosed jacks before, so im not sure if they make a ground connection with the enclosure or not, but if they dont, you will have to connect it yourself even when it's boxed up.  I cant tell by the pics, but as long as the red dot on the transistor faces the side where the boost pot is connected, you are good.  If it faces the t/m switch, you'll have to flip it around.  Everything else seems ok.

[myklgear]

That is actually all it took. Thanks so much! I just checked the printout of the wiring diagram and that part is not on it. I guess I follow directions too well. Can't wait to get this thing mounted and plugged in. Thanks again!

[dwstanford]

good to see it's working.  that's an awesome circuit.  try not to blow up any amplifiers with it.