DIYstompboxes.com

DIY Stompboxes => Building your own stompbox => Topic started by: griff10672 on May 02, 2017, 10:22:19 PM

Title: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: griff10672 on May 02, 2017, 10:22:19 PM
Hi all !

Decided to breadboard the schematic of the true bypass version I found here on the site .

With all the different mods available I figured it would be a cool and easier way of deciding on a finished product before slapping into a new enclosure .

Problem is ... everything seems to work fine ... except the signal doesnt distort ... i get a slightly weaker version of my clean signal ....

Gone over the schematic and breadboard 5 times ...

Dont know where to find info on the specific problem ... ive read through 100 posts on here ... still nothing

Could someone point me in the right direction ??

Thanks !!!
Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: thermionix on May 02, 2017, 10:47:18 PM
If you can post pictures of what you've breadboarded, member Duck_Arse will spot your problem.
Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: griff10672 on May 03, 2017, 06:27:00 AM
Thanks for the reply .....

I might be a little embarrassed showing it ..... it's my first attempt ..... but .... have to start somewhere I guess ....

I'll take a few pics ...
Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: antonis on May 03, 2017, 07:54:19 AM
Quote from: griff10672 on May 03, 2017, 06:27:00 AM
I might be a little embarrassed showing it ..... it's my first attempt .....
We're pretty sure that your first attempt will appear prettier than ours..  :icon_wink:
Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: griff10672 on May 03, 2017, 09:03:49 AM
Here's a pic ..... I took the input wire out when I moved the board to take the pic ... I'm pretty sure that's all I moved before the pic
(http://[url=http://s24.photobucket.com/user/griff10672/media/20170503_062954.jpg.html%5D%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c41/griff10672/20170503_062954.jpg)[/URL][/img]
Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: griff10672 on May 03, 2017, 09:04:53 AM
(http://[url=http://s24.photobucket.com/user/griff10672/media/20170503_062954.jpg.html%5D%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c41/griff10672/20170503_062954.jpg)[/URL][/img]
Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: griff10672 on May 03, 2017, 09:13:37 AM
3rd time is a charm I hope .....
(http://<a%20href="http://s24.photobucket.com/user/griff10672/media/20170503_062954.jpg.html"%20target="_blank"><img%20src="http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c41/griff10672/20170503_062954.jpg"%20border="0"%20alt="DS_1%20Board%20photo%2020170503_062954.jpg"/></a>)
Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: griff10672 on May 03, 2017, 09:17:09 AM
you can almost hear carnival music going on in the background ..... I can't even post a pic ... let alone get the pedal to work .... LMFAO

[img]http://s24.photobucket.com/user/griff10672/media/20170503_062954.jpg.html[IMG]
Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: griff10672 on May 03, 2017, 09:24:46 AM
(http://s24.photobucket.com/user/griff10672/media/20170503_062954.jpg.html"%20target="_blank"><img%20src="http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c41/griff10672/20170503_062954.jpg"%20border="0"%20alt="DS_1%20Board%20photo%2020170503_062954.jpg)
Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: griff10672 on May 03, 2017, 09:27:49 AM
(http://s24.photobucket.com/user/griff10672/media/20170503_062954.jpg.html%5D%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c41/griff10672/20170503_062954.jpg)
Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: griff10672 on May 03, 2017, 09:34:17 AM
(http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c41/griff10672/20170503_062954.jpg) (http://s24.photobucket.com/user/griff10672/media/20170503_062954.jpg.html)


Holy crap .... been a while since I've been on a forum ... sorry for the 8 attempts at posting a pic ... WTF ... lol
Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: Passaloutre on May 03, 2017, 10:12:32 AM
You want it to look like this:

[img]hereistheimageurl.jpg[/img]

Also, don't use photobucket, it's garbage. Use imgur instead.
Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: ElectricDruid on May 03, 2017, 10:17:47 AM
That's a pretty *tidy* breadboard, I'd say. Mine look a lot more like some kind of offering to the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

I haven't spotted anything yet, but I think you'll find the problem on a well-spaced layout like that.

Tom
Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: duck_arse on May 03, 2017, 10:34:29 AM
geeze member thermionix, put the pressure on why don't you ....

griff, as no-one else has said it yet, welcome to the forum.

I don't know what it is I am looking at, it's too far away, and too spread out. if it were me and my breadbord, I'd put the whole circuit onto a single BB strip section, trying to fit it into a section between the power-buss strip breaks. that way, I wouldn't have to track a single connection lines across 4 BB sections to see where it wasn't.

I hope this helps.
Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: bluebunny on May 03, 2017, 10:40:41 AM
Quote from: griff10672 on May 03, 2017, 09:34:17 AM
Holy crap .... been a while since I've been on a forum ... sorry for the 8 attempts at posting a pic ... WTF ... lol

Welcome griff.

Small tip #1: try "Preview" before you "Post" (although this doesn't trap "you're-logged-in-to-your-private-account but we're not" problems)

Small tip #2: click "Modify" when #1 hasn't worked   :icon_biggrin:
Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: griff10672 on May 03, 2017, 10:50:00 AM
thanks guys ...... I haven't used / been on any forums since like 05 .. when I had a job sitting at a computer all day ...

I redid the circuit 3 times ... spreading it out more and more trying to find / isolate a problem ...

when engaged .... I only get a slightly less volume version of my clean tone ... and I purposely used LED as Diodes so I could also have a visual " sign " that it was working ... they aren't coming on at all ... leading me to think obviously the problem is before the clipping stage ..

and thanks for the " Welcome "  much appreciated ....
Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: duck_arse on May 03, 2017, 11:15:17 AM
people will larff at me for not knowing the DS1 circuit off the top of my head, but, can you show us the circuit diagram you are building to? also, leds as clippers are clippers, not performance indicators. they might work perfectly without any indication indicated.

also, please post your circuit voltages, around the IC, supply and Vbias.
Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: griff10672 on May 03, 2017, 11:46:06 AM
(http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c41/griff10672/ds1%20true%20bypass%20schematic_1.jpg) (http://s24.photobucket.com/user/griff10672/media/ds1%20true%20bypass%20schematic_1.jpg.html)

Used this schematic .... but didn't go with the Keely mods shown in the Diode section ... I reverted back to the stock schematic for that section ...   thing I noticed was ... in the TB schematic the diodes polarity are opposit of the stock schematic ... so I tried to reverse them on the board ... still nothing ..

as far as voltage ... I had 9 volts coming off the supply ... and had the 4.5 volts running off the what I believe is the Vbias .... I will take measurements on the IC pin out when I get home from work ...
Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: griff10672 on May 03, 2017, 07:23:57 PM
The voltage readings off the chip are :

1     4.43
2     4.43
3     4.37
4     0.01
5     4.44
6     4.44
7     4.47
8     8.95

I don't know enough to know if it's good or bad
Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: robthequiet on May 03, 2017, 08:09:23 PM
Does the gain knob change anything when turned?

You may not see the LEDs come on if they're not getting enough signal.

Also, not to impose, but do you have voltage readings for the transistor Q2?

Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: ElectricDruid on May 03, 2017, 08:41:49 PM
Quote from: griff10672 on May 03, 2017, 07:23:57 PM
The voltage readings off the chip are :

1     4.43
2     4.43
3     4.37
4     0.01
5     4.44
6     4.44
7     4.47
8     8.95

I don't know enough to know if it's good or bad

Those seem all pretty reasonable.

Pins 1 & 2 should be the same, and they are. Pin 5 is connected to that pin 1 output, so that should be the same, and it is (to within a few millivolts). Pin 6 should be the same as pin 5, and it is. Pins 4 and 8 should show a 9V supply, and they do.

Nothing much wrong there, I'd say, unless someone else can spot something I've missed?

I'd start audio-probing this circuit. There should be plenty of gain after that second op-amp stage to drive those diodes hard and get plenty of clipping and a good signal level for the tone controls. My first move would be to break the circuit after C9 and listen at that point. If I haven't got variable gain at that point, there's something wrong in the preceding circuit. If what I've got is a variable gain stage, then that part is ok, and the problem must be in the second part.

HTH,
Tom
Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: griff10672 on May 03, 2017, 09:12:15 PM
Holy crap ............... It works !!!     

I had been looking at a wrong data sheet image for the transistor all weekend .... WTF .... LMAO ...or a little too much of the old Critical OG whilst breadboarding .....

Thanks so much to robthequiet to have me check the voltage there ..... I googled another data sheet and sure enough ... I had stuff all messed up ... soon as I fixed it POW .... It sounds great into my Boogie already for a DS1 ... and I didnt even tweak anything yet really ...

there's one hell of a high pitched squeal coming off of it .... but I have it sitting on my desk under a monitor computer ... fan that's on .... ?? grounding issue ?? 

Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: thermionix on May 03, 2017, 10:33:53 PM
Congratulations!

Duck_Arse knew the whole time, he just wanted you to have the satisfaction of figuring it out yourself.  And he knew you would, or else he would have just told you the answer.

The high pitched squeal is maybe the computer monitor.  There's no shielding when it's just on the breadboard, and high gain circuits are more likely to pick up junk from the air.  Definitely try it away from other electronics before worrying about it.
Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: griff10672 on May 03, 2017, 10:45:41 PM
I took it off the voodoo labs power supply that ironically is plugged into a Furman Powerconditioner ... which also has a few things hooked up to it including the Boogie ... and just a put a 9 volt in ...... DEAD friggin quiet ............
Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: duck_arse on May 04, 2017, 10:14:13 AM
try putting a resistor - 1k? 470R? 220R? 100R? - value not terribly critical - in the supply line between the D1 and the C25, down the bottom left corner. that will then help filter the DC being fed into the circuit, might kill your supply noize.
Title: Re: DS-1 breadboard project troubleshooting help
Post by: griff10672 on May 04, 2017, 06:21:25 PM
I will try that .... thanks for taking a peep at my breadboard ... much appreciated !!!!