Some more questions on the Tubescreamer/RubyAmp circuits.

[GibsonGM]

Iain - use your DMM, brother!    Most troubles can be tracked down to some mistake we make, and freeing the connection results in 'the fix'!  Frequent problems are found in the feedback loop, FYI...   Do you have 9ish volts where power comes in to the board, 4.5ish at your Vref?  How about at the chip, its ground, and Vref points?  If no, is your divider grounded? If yes,    Then audio probe your input, and pin 1....

Try some stuff on perfboard...vero takes too much planning, IMO.   Perf lets you work on the fly.  Just my opinion.    Do one 'functional block' and test it.....the 1st opamp stage from input cap to output cap....and test it.   

You have an audio probe, correct?

I use ANY solid wire on my boards as long as it's not too 'fat'.   Phone wire, 'hookup wire', etc.  Yes, keep them short-ish so they aren't confusing and in the way.     For jacks/offboard, I TRY to use stranded for durability, but can't always come up with enough so I remember to be careful handling  

[PRR]

> "but no! I've just hours/days carefully planning all this! You're crazy!"

I spent all last weekend planning a new sewer line. (One which will not crack leak or freeze-up.) Knew where every bend would go. I spent all this weekend improvising an even better bend.

And I dunno about designing new TVs, but when working on a 29 year old sewer line, you DO want to "Muntz" mercilessly. Cut that pipe! Cut more pipe! In this case after you cut you have to put new pipe in, but you KNOW it has been done RIGHT.

[GibsonGM]

Didn't enjoy this past Feb., eh Paul?   Wasn't too fun; really tests the old houses.   I plowed 35 times up here (out near Rangeley).  Just starting to become "nice" now, in the 50's but still burning wood at night and snow under the trees....

[PRR]

> snow under the trees....

Huge plow-banks yet, I assume.

I found frozen soil where I'm trying to re-plant the clothes-line that blew down for Halloween. Out where I'm running the sewer it was thawed a month ago (full sun instead of the dark side of a tree).

This house is not old (not like the 1830 mansion we moved out of). 1986? The deal is it was owner-built in odd moments with whatever material he could get. At first I thought there was no glue on the sewer joints. Most came apart with a yank, except the ones which were already detached (and leaking into the soil). Some joints show a trace of glue but not the purple-primer cement. Whatever-- for additional reasons I went a different path (lots of digging) and I know all the joints are good. (Except one under the porch which I will dig another day.)

[GibsonGM]

Mine's 1989, and same thing - done in 'stages' by an owner maybe     Just improved the drainage last summer (on ledge, side of a hill...), and today with all this rain it's flowing just like it should, out around front, instead of into my crawlspace....had a few sheetrock screws going into a plumbing vent from the builder - that was a fun fix....etc.  Changed all the plumbing out for PEX rather than that gray Quest they'd installed that fails....you know how it goes.

On a note like what you're doing with the sewer - I once checked a woman's flooded basement for her, fairly new house.    Where the sewer line passed thru the foundation was sealed with....a toilet flange wax ring.  That is all.     Ruined her floors down there - all it needed was hydraulic cement.   So yes - we need to check the 'builder's house' kind of carefully, ha ha!   Good luck w/your project, they can be picky. I'm dreading if I ever need to do a leach field even tho I used to survey....lots of work! 

[PRR]

> Changed all the plumbing out for PEX rather than that gray Quest

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