Starting an ambitious project: a 2-channel rackmount multieffect unit.

[488 Studios]

I just ordered the Luna tremolo from Aionfx. I'm excited to start this project. Here's what I have planned: Luna tremolo and Azure chorus from Aionfx, Flangelicious from Electric Druid, Total Recall from Madbean Pedals modified to switch between 2x and 4x mn3005's, and an overdrive/distortion. I'm gonna build (on stripboard) a cgs-60 stompbox adapter modified to work with my Tascam 488 mkii's consumer line level, and build the dual 15v power supply from Elliot Sound Project (probably also on stripboard), and lm3916 led vu meters (pcb, if I can find one for sale). I have plenty of questions and would like to hear suggestions.

-How big a power transformer/fuse do I need?
-the delay uses 24v positive ground, stompbox adapter uses dual 15v, and the other pedals use 9v. Do I get a center tap 30v for the delay, then use another voltage regulator after the +15v rail to to get 9v? How do I get the 24 volt positive ground?
-I would like a 9v battery backup (yeah, I know it probably won't last long), maybe wire 4x 9v batteries in series before the voltage regulator to get dual 18v, which will be reduced to dual 15v. How would I go about doing this?
-what order of effects? I'm thinking od/dist, chorus, flange, tremolo, delay.
-should I have a separate output for each channel, or have a mixer, with left and right outputs?
- how can I switch using momentary switches? I pushed a 3pdt switch onto my wheeled rack, and it rolls the rack backwards.
-what ferrite beads do I need for the CGS-60?
-how can I incorporate footswitching with keyboard sustain pedals?
-how can I incorporate usb or bluetooth/wifi inputs and outputs?
-how do I mount pcb's without screwholes?
-any suggestions for an od/dist project?
-the lm3916 datasheet shows a full wave average detector to vu meter specs, a precision full wave peak detector, and a few other schematics to run the input through. Which would be best to use for this project?

These are all the questions I can think of right now, but I'm sure I'll come up with plenty more on this journey. Thanks everyone for your answers and suggestions.

[antonis]

Hi & Welcome..

Too late here for all those answers..

[ElectricDruid]

It's late-ish here too, but I'll have a go at some of the easier ones!!

-the delay uses 24v positive ground, stompbox adapter uses dual 15v, and the other pedals use 9v. Do I get a center tap 30v for the delay, then use another voltage regulator after the +15v rail to to get 9v? How do I get the 24 volt positive ground?

The Delay uses +15V internally, so forget about the 24V. If you've got +/-15V bipolar supply already, you can use half of it for the delay, no problem. Run it on -15V and Ground, since that's really what it wants.
You can use a regulator to step down from +15V to +9V, but it'll be dropping quite a few volts which are lost as heat, so the regulator should be heatsinked.

-I would like a 9v battery backup (yeah, I know it probably won't last long), maybe wire 4x 9v batteries in series before the voltage regulator to get dual 18v, which will be reduced to dual 15v. How would I go about doing this?

You could do this as you describe. You'll need some large-ish 9V batteries. PP3s aren't going to cut it.

-what order of effects? I'm thinking od/dist, chorus, flange, tremolo, delay.

That's a question which causes endless debate, and there is no right answer, only what *you* like. What you suggest is a perfectly reasonable option for starters.

- how can I switch using momentary switches? I pushed a 3pdt switch onto my wheeled rack, and it rolls the rack backwards.

You should look into some of the relay switching boards that are available. These are typically designed to be used with momentary SPST footswitches instead of the typical 3PDT latching switch, but *any* momentary pushbutton will work.

-how can I incorporate usb or bluetooth/wifi inputs and outputs?

With significant extra complexity. The project goes from being analogue effects pedals, to digital data transfer, to digital *wireless* data transfer. That's covering quite a few areas of electronics. Sure, you can learn them all, but the project complexity and effort required goes up exponentially.

-how do I mount pcb's without screwholes?

Magic?!? Glue?!?
More seriously, you can use strong epoxies to stick mounting points to the back of a panel. You just have to make sure that the particular epoxy you use is appropriate for *both* the materials you're trying to stick.
Some PCBs are designed with the intention that they are fastened to the panel by their pots. Some people will tell you this is extremely bad form. It saves a lot of tiresome and error-prone wiring and fixes another problem at the same time (how to mount the PCB) so it's probably likely to remain poopular even if it isn't the ultimate-most-reliable solution. Sometimes we're not trying to make something that has to be bomb-proof

[antonis]

No allude to transformer / fuse, Tom..??

P.S.
The above could comprise a multipage thread by its own..
(power electronics is a very underestimated section..)

[ElectricDruid]

No allude to transformer / fuse, Tom..??

P.S.
The above could comprise a multipage thread by its own..
(power electronics is a very underestimated section..)

I *did* say I was only dealing with the easy ones!!