help building a fuzz

[Narcosynthesis]

right, a year or so ago i attempted to build a fuzz in school, when i built it i didnt take enough time planning itso managed to build it wrongly and it never worked, so lately i thought i would rip off all the components and rebuild it

this is the fuzz i made is an eti 1transister fuzz -> http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/diagrams/etifuzzsc.gif

when i plugged it in i got sound coming out, but no fuzz
i have been looking at building a bazz fuss and i noticed that it used a diode over the transistor the top two legs, which there wasnt in the one i tried, so i stuck a diode (not sure of the exact name, but its one commonly used for fuzzes and the like) across the top two legs of the transister, and now i get no noise at all...

i was just wandering if you knew what i have done wrong, i was thinking i might have put in the transister upside down, with the cuircuit going from left to right (as in the diagram) i put the flat side of the transister pointing right and the legs in a row above each other. is this the correct way round for putting a transister?

[R@bbiT]

Man no,! Transistors (bipolars) have emitter(in shematic it is arrow), colector(above the arrow) and base that is in the middle of emitter and collector. It is very important that u place emiter colector and base correctly. If not the device wont work. Different transistors have different pinouts. To know which is which u must get a datasheet (just type in google the number of transistor and u will get the pdf file with correct pinouts)

[Narcosynthesis]

damn, i dont actually know what type of transister it is... as it was just a 'high gain npn' i got from the parts at school

i was hoping transisters had a pretty standard pinout (realting to the flat edge) ie, collector on top, base in midde, emitter on bottom (or somehting like that)

i have some other transisters upstairs as part of a half finished project, i will go nick one of them and try again tonight when i get home, i think its mpsa13's i have, or something similar, i will check later

David

[R@bbiT]

Don't worry if u have DMM u can find which is which! Just turn DMM to diode/beeper. In your case u should put the red end to one of the pins and the second to others first one then secont. If the red end is on the base pin then placing black one on others it should show some numbers( if the red is not on the babse then it wont show numbers to both sides) Then look to those numbers the bigger number will be from base to emitter. But be careful because difference between those numbers can be wery litle 10 or something like that.

[remmelt]

that is the best advice i ever heard. thanks r@bbit!

[David]

Hey, Narc!
I think you self-diagnosed part of your problem.  The MPSA13 is a Darlington transistor -- 2 piggybacked transistors for MASSIVE HFE.  The Bazz Fuss fully exploits this capability.  The bulk of transistor designs, however, don't seem to use Darlingtons.  Go to Radio Shack or a basic electronics store, buy some 2N3904 transistors and some basic silicon diodes.  Then, go to AMZ and build the Muffer.  Simple, clean and devastingly effective!   :twisted:  :twisted:
If you use a transistor socket, you can exchange the 2N3904 for a 2N5089 when you're done for total sonic meltdown.

[Narcosynthesis]

unfortunately i dont have a dmm yet, so i wont be able to tell what is what on the transistor i got

i looked at the other circuit i have, theres one mpsa13, and two other transisters, i cant remember the exact name, but they are a pretty common one for different effects (in the case of the circuit i had them in, a millenium bypass and a mosfet booster) it was something ilke a 2N3904 or a 2N5089

would anyone be able to give me a pinout for those transisters? and which leg is actually which on the diagram (i know the base is the middle, but i cant remember which way round collecter and emmiter are...)

much thanks

David

[Narcosynthesis]

after checking the net, the 2N3904 seems to have the same pinout as i had for the transister i used already (from top to bottom, flat side facing right, collecter, base emitter) so tomorrow i will try and switch the transisters and see if ti works better

David