VFE Mega Pedal

[alanp]

Most of the parts are populated and ordered extra resistors from Mouser. That 14.3k and 1.43k are the real pain, though it says I can use 1.5k or 15k. I will stick with the real values. I am also waiting for my Blueprint to come. Haven't heard anything back from OSHPark, hopefully in next day or two, I'll hear about Bumblebee, Mini Mu, and Rocket EQ.

Buy a bag or two of carbon film resistors, and meter them, then pick the closest to the value you want (CF have a bigger range than MF.)

[fair.child]

Thanks, alanp. However, I just did order through Mouser. My intention was trying to use all my leftover parts. It seems it's going that direction. I ran out of 100nF, 10nF, 22nF, 4n7, and others. Finally, the build that costs me running out of caps, resistors, and diodes. My 1N5817 is going to be out soon and 1N4148 is already out. I am quite happy with the process.

[m-Kresol]

Okay, folks, Nigel at Honey Bayes did a huge favor for me in terms recreating this $4k pedal (I didn't know it costs much).

He took one picture and bravely opened his VFE Mega Pedal.

Attached is the snippet of his VFE Mega Pedal. Now, what do you guys think? Plus, there is a TAP tempo.

Hmm.. To me it looks very different from the usual VFE boards and it seems unlikely to me that Peter would redesign all the pcbs. Plus, he always used the hatched GND planed, which I can't spot here. What bugs me most is the dual pot and the small pcb in the front that seems to just dangle around. I wonder where those are intended to go. Just my two cents. Good luck with your build!

[Aentons]

Yep... there is zero chance that is a pic of the inside of a VFE mega pedal. It's from the VFE Facebook page... #notaVFEpedal

[fair.child]

Well, either it's true or not, at least Nigel tried to give an useful pointer about the switching. I think the most challenging part is the switching. I am still working on the latch system using the PIC and swapping around with Arduino as well. I can envision this is going to be an amazing build.

Bumblebee, Rocket EQ, and Mini Mu have just done from the fab. Going to plan for the next step for the rest of the pedals. Focus and Yodeler might be the great candidates.

[fair.child]

Update. I got the Yodeler sent to the fab OSHPark. As usual, set of 3 and I got one extra, so let me know if anyone is interested.

ONLY One Left...... which it's a Focus board. Please MBP, next development be the Focus. Please, Brian if you happen to read this.

[fair.child]

Yep... there is zero chance that is a pic of the inside of a VFE mega pedal. It's from the VFE Facebook page... #notaVFEpedal

Wow, thanks Aentons for confirming the post. I thought Nigel was legit. That was mind opening post.

[somnif]

You know, now I'm wondering what Peter was making with that mashup of EHX boards in a big box 

Perhaps he was trying his hand at actually making that bagpipe pedal from April Fools.... hmmmm....

[Aentons]

No prob... I might be interested in that extra Yodeler. I'll send you a PM.

I thought I remembered seeing a picture or video of the inside of a VFE mega pedal somewhere in the vast expanse of the internet. I could be wrong but I think I recall the bottom foot switch section being basically empty except for the switch and wires coming down from the top part. I'll try to recall where it was.

[somnif]

I also just realized the Megaboard's Switching set up is a board in the Patreon pile.

Good lord its terrifying



(how on earth did I miss this thing)

Oh and apparently it didn't actually work: "This is the switching board used for the massive, 18-effect MEGAPEDAL giveaway. We were never able to get the master switching controller working, and it is no longer compatible with the current program in the 12F509 MCU."  ...now I want to know what madness they DID end up going with.

[fair.child]

I also just realized the Megaboard's Switching set up is a board in the Patreon pile.

Good lord its terrifying



(how on earth did I miss this thing)

Oh and apparently it didn't actually work: "This is the switching board used for the massive, 18-effect MEGAPEDAL giveaway. We were never able to get the master switching controller working, and it is no longer compatible with the current program in the 12F509 MCU."  ...now I want to know what madness they DID end up going with.

That board costs around $144 on OSHPark. Freaking expensive and it's a gamble to make it work. I just followed the design pattern of the switch. Start it over is way much easier than print this board. However, I learned one thing from this Mega Pedal. Apparently, the TSB switch can be reusable. The idea is to divide the 18 boards by two. So, technically it's 9x2.

I really want to do YouTube video and document my progress/process of thought. It might be beneficial in the long run if anyone wants to recreate this gigantic pedal.

Mega Pedal that I found just only two. One is the demo (cars decal/printed) and another one is the Kroak. If anyone can find the others, that would make this journey become interesting.

[fair.child]

No prob... I might be interested in that extra Yodeler. I'll send you a PM.

I thought I remembered seeing a picture or video of the inside of a VFE mega pedal somewhere in the vast expanse of the internet. I could be wrong but I think I recall the bottom foot switch section being basically empty except for the switch and wires coming down from the top part. I'll try to recall where it was.

To be honest, I really like Yodeler more than Springboard. I know this build will contain Blueprint and Mobius Strip which they are cool. However, I just don't feel that Springboard will be a good fit for my needs. I want something that can run delay+verb at the same time. Thanks to Peter, VFE does have Yodeler.

So far Somnif and you are in the pool for Yodeler. I also got a recommendation from somnif to remove layer 2 and layer 15 from the EAGLE board.

[somnif]

I also got a recommendation from somnif to remove layer 2 and layer 15 from the EAGLE board.

For those wondering why: Some VFE .brd files process as 4-layer on OSHPark. Layers 2 and 15 are blank, empty data, but OSHPark considers them as valid layers for some incomprehensible reason and doubles the price of the fab. Removing those two layers changes nothing (as far as I could tell, and I dug deep) and fixes OSHParks automated brain process.

[fair.child]

I tried to find more information about Mega Pedal. Based on the webarchive of vfepedals.com, here is what I can find.

The MEGAPEDAL was first conceived as a promotional giveaway, which we gave away to one lucky customer in July 2012. It contains 18 VFE effects, input/output buffers, tap tempo delay, a full patchbay on the back, and one seriously sweet graphic. We plan to upgrade it with programmable switching very soon (this is included with any future orders). After several requests, we decided to make the MEGAPEDAL available for purchase. We have the parts to only build a few of these. You can choose to have the stock version (see features tab for detailed info), or customize the color/knobs/graphic/effects to your specifications.

The MEGAPEDAL takes a very, very long time to build. It involves many steps, some of which must be custom done by our enclosure supplier. Because of this, it will likely take 3-5 months to build. We will keep you updated with every step of the process. Pricing ranges from $3500-$5000, depending on the options chosen. Please E-mail us at sales@vfepedals.com to get more information or an exact quote.

MegaPEDAL takes a very, very long time to build which it is a true statement. Careful planning, scratching head, and try to make everything work. Though it takes a long time to build, I do really enjoy the build. Just don't know why it keeps making me excited.

The only problem is....wife is not happy I am spending too much time on soldering... she has been asking me to sleep early, not late.     

[fair.child]

The journey continues      . I have calculated my cost. So far, I have spent $982.54 for the build. Enclosures are coming and extra parts (Mouser, Smallbear, BLMS, and Tayda). Just got Mini Mu, Rocket EQ, and Bumblebee boards from OSHPark today.



Place them in the plastic bags so I can easily manage the builds.



Extra board from OSHPark



I plan to populate Mini Mu, Rocket EQ, and Bumblebee this weekend.