Help me troubleshoot my first build

[Rickjames30]

Hi all,

First post here and first time building a guitar pedal and I've already hit a speed bump haha. Im trying to build a fairly basic rangemaster clone. Basically I've built it and got to the test stage, but when I hooked it up to the alligator clips and powered it on it takes a few seconds to warm up and emits a heartbeat like pulse through the amp, only letting signal through when the beat pulses. I tried different power supplies, I checked all the connections and the board and I'm 99.9% sure all the components are in the correct spot. the only way I can get rid of the heartbeat pulse is by removing the IC, or putting it in a different way. when I touch the board/wires the pulse sometimes gets more frequent or louder, but there is no change otherwise. If you had any advice I would really appreciate it. I apologise if it sounds a bit rookie. Thanks

Alex

[GibsonGM]

Hi Rick. Go to this link, copy the questions it asks back here and try to give as much info as you can!   We'll try to help out after.

https://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=29816.0

Welcome to the forum!

[Phend]

Hi Rick, and Yes welcome, you came to the right place for help.
But what will help (those with better trouble shooting than me) is Pictures of what you have.
Top and bottom.
Plus the circuit diagram or link to it.

[Rickjames30]

Hi guys, thanks so much for your quick reply. I have tried to follow the document as best as I can and posted my answers below. I've also included a few pictures that I could.

1. Tonemaster Germanium Booster by DIY Guitar Pedals in Australia
2. https://www.diyguitarpedals.com.au/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=49
Build doc and bill of materials can be found in the link above but I have attached printed pictures I had too.
3. I followed it as close as I could. I struggled a bit identifying the right capacitors, diode polarity, transistor placement and IC placement. One of the capacitors was a bit weird (the one placed in C2 as all that was written on it was 4N7J63. I basically thought it was in that spot via a process of elimination. The correct placement of the transistor could be the next issue as I tried to follow the diagram (EBC) although I thought I did this correctly?
4. No parts substitutions or modifications - I did decide to follow the classic rangemaster mod as listed in the Bill of materials - thus I haven't connected the green and yellow wires to the tone pot just yet.
5. I believe it's a PNP transistor but I'm not sure of much else beyond that.

4.Any parts substitutions or modifications you made to the original. If you didn't have any 10uF caps and used 22uF, say that. If you had to use a 2.7K resistor instead of a 2.2K, say that. If you used a BC109 instead of a 2N3904, say that. By the way, if you substituted any transistors, it's a sure bet that the first question you get asked will be "Did you check the pinout of that transistor?" Delight the questioner by saying (truthfullyâ€) "Yes, I did a google search on that part number and check the pinout against how I soldered it in." If you can't say that, chances are good that you've already found your problem, all by yourself.
5.Whether or not it's a positive ground circuit like a PNP fuzz or a Rangemaster that has been hacked to work with negative ground. 6. As described above, when I connect the wires to the alligator clips and complete the circuit as per the wiring diagram, it doesn't emit any noise for a few seconds. Then, it starts emitting a heartbeat like pulse of noise. on each beat it lets a bit of the signal of the effect through, but it's very temporary. I have attached a video of this too.

I haven't done the voltages as I may need a bit of time to do this and I wanted to let you guys know the latest so far. Thabks again for your help.

[Rickjames30]

[Rickjames30]

Link to YouTube video of problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUhiVLKombo

[stallik]

First thing I notice from the pictures is the way the wires are attached to the board. It looks like the raw wire has been poked through the holes then solder applied. This is not good technique. The wire should be properly dressed before attaching it. To do this, strip back the insulation, twist the wires then heat them with your soldering iron while applying a little solder. This is called 'tinning' and makes the job of inserting the wires into the board easier while preventing the loose individual strands touching something they shouldn't.

[Rickjames30]

Quick update: Its fixed!

I contacted the maker of the kit (Paul) with some photos and details too, and it turns out I had the test wiring wrong. Being mono jacks, I hadn't connected a second wire from the battery negative to the other jack which Paul kindly pointed out. Once I did that, it seems to work as normal!

Thanks for all your help guys, I appreciate the advice re: twisting the wires too. I feel like a dummy but I've learnt a bucketload. If you are in Australia, Paul from https://www.diyguitarpedals.com.au/shop/index.php has been extremely helpful in his support of the product. Cheers