Easyvibe Weirdness

[jimmy54]

Hi Fellas,

Just built an easyvibe using the Hollis PCB and it fired up fist time, sounding great with no tick whatsoever.  I'd built it to put inside my Cornish-style multi-effects box (pic below).

However, there is now a pronounced tick that wasn't present before.  It's even more pronounced when the orange squeezer (which is before the easyvibe) is on.  Any ideas for getting rid of it?  I had a similar ticking problem when I put the tremulous lune in the box but managed to remove it by putting a 100uf cap across the +ve/-ve rails of the tremulous lune.

[snoof]

worst case, I have used 1000u cap from + to ground on one project that would not stop ticking...

[jimmy54]

mmm, I had tried a 220uf to no avail.  I think I've got a 1000uf in my parts bin.  I'll try it later.

[jimmy54]

No joy with the 1000uf cap I'm afraid, still ticking.  Why would the easyvibe not tick when stand-alone but start ticking when in the multi-box?

[snoof]

I should clarify that I meant +9v to ground at the board, but I'm sure you already knew that

[jimmy54]

Don't assume anything Snoof, I'm a gobshite at heart .  Technically I did put it at the board.  I didn't place the cap directly on the board but across the +9v/ground at the power supply DC jack.  Don't think this would make a difference though.

[jimmy54]

Bump.

Any advice with this fellas?  Don't want to take it out of the multi enclosure but it looks like I'll have to if I can't solve the problem.

[David]

Insert a 100R resistor between your +9V  and the board + 9V input.  At the junction of the resistor and the board connector, insert the + connector of a 1000uF capacitor.  Run the - of the capacitor to ground.  You have just filtered your power rail.  This has always worked well for me.

[jimmy54]

Thanks David.  Do you mean like this?

Board 9v------100R-------power 9V
               |
               |
            +veCap-ve---------Ground

[GibsonGM]

Weird problem, esp. if it doesn't do it out of the enclosure...mine ticked, but it was bleed-through on a TL064.  I mounted the oscillator separately and away from the filter sections and it's as quiet as can be now 

I did notice that the rate pot leads are carrying the pulse when I was building/debugging mine...could having some wiring in too close proximity to your opamps be inducing that click into your filter sections?  Just a thought.

I'd like to hear how that PS filtering above works out, sounds like a good one to know 

[jimmy54]

I'll try the filtering out tomorrow and let you know.  One possible reason why it didn't tick out of the enclosure is that I only used a battery when external and a power supply when in the box.  The rate wires are away from the opamps but this could still be the problem.

[David]

Thanks David.  Do you mean like this?

Board 9v------100R-------power 9V
               |
               |
            +veCap-ve---------Ground

Nope.  You gotta do it like this:

Board 9v------100R-------to +9V input on circuit
                               |
                               |
                               +veCap-ve---------Ground

See the difference?

[RedHouse]

Using individual regulators for each effect usually clears up this kind of thing.

[GibsonGM]

Quite a pedal board!! 

I see what you mean using a PS...mine draws 3 to 5ma as it oscillates and WILL eat batteries but I don't "trust"  wall warts yet.  That cap filter should do something good for yours.  I think it has to do with keeping the 'little battery' the cap provides as close to the ckt as possible as david is suggesting.
Good luck, great project! 

[David]

Thanks David.  Do you mean like this?

Board 9v------100R-------power 9V
               |
               |
            +veCap-ve---------Ground

Nope.  You gotta do it like this:

Board 9v------100R-------to +9V input on circuit
                               |
                               |
                               +veCap-ve---------Ground

See the difference?

I take that back.  This is how I see it:

Code Select Expand


+9V in --------------->-- 100R resistor  ----- circuit board +9V input
                                                          |   +
                                                      1000uF electrolytic cap
                                                          |   -
-9V in (ground)  ---->------------------------- circuit board -9V input


I hope that makes it clearer.

[jimmy54]

Thanks David, 'you the man' as they say.  Just knocked together the filter on a small piece of vero, connected it to the easyvibe per your diagram and voila, no ticking.  I'm a very pleased man at the moment (until the missus comes in the kitchen and sees all my electrical crap all over the table, floor etc.) .  If anyone else has this ticking problem when using a PS then try it.

[David]

You're welcome, Jimmy, but I'm just passing on stuff that I learned from R.G., Mark Hammer and the other superstars around here.  I am glad it paid off for you though!
If you'd care to reveal how you're powering that beast, I'm sure that we'd be REAL interested in some updated "gut shots"!

[Barcode80]

yeah jimmy, i had mentioned wanting to know the particulars of your power setup in your thread about that big pedal boat but never saw anything

[John Lyons]

Glad you got that worked out Jim!
By the way, The 100R in line from the power supply is a good thing to do for all noise reasons.
Not all cicrcuits will  need it but it's a good one to add along with the 1000uf just to make sure.
Craig anderton's book uses this as a wall wart noise eliminator...

John

[jimmy54]

Thanks John (and also thanks for the PCB).  I wired the 100R + Cap in line with the easyvibe but I'll either move it direct to the input power or do a second one for that (if that won't cause any problems).
I'm actually powering the board with a 9v, 1.5A laptop power supply kindly supplied by a fellow member here.  I cut off the original plug and soldered a 2.1mm jack instead, so there's no transformer inside the box itself.
Re gutshots.  You wouldn't believe what a mess it is inside there.  Rat's nest is an understatement.  It started off quite neat, but as I added more stuff I just wanted to get the circuits in and test them out, not really taking the layout of the wiring into consideration.  One day I'll really sort it out inside but all's working fine and it is quiet (apart from the thunderchief).  I'll take some gutshot photos tomorrow and really embarrass myself by posting them.  Still needs a bit more work (aluminium covers for each effect 'hole' which will cover LED's that will light each one up).

As of today the enclosure contains the following (it may be different this time next week ):

Foxx Tone Machine
Fuzz Face
Autowah
Ross Comp/Orange squeezer (switchable between the two)
Red Llama
Thunderchief (which may be replaced by a Thor if I build one)
Boss AC2
Tremulous Lune
Sparkle boost/Cream Pie (switchable between the two)
BYOC Phaser/Easyvibe (switchable between the two)
The Crank
Rebote 2.5 Delay
Craig Anderton Super Tone Control (with charge pump for +9v/-9v)  - Thanks to Basic Audio for PCB/build info for this one
AMZ super buffer

Right, I'm off to get a drink.  I've just had a chicken Madras and my mouth feels like Ghandi's flip-flop.