Diode switch on modded ds-1, help

[daniel_m101]

hey. I'v just modded my ds-1 so that i can switch between germanium diodes  and red LED's. The prob is that when i switch between the 2 they sound EXACTLY the same, so obviously somethings not right. at the moment i've only got 1 switch set up (SPDT) with 1 germanium and one LED soldered directly on. from the centre pin (which i assumed was the common? but ive never actually used a switch before) i have a wire going to where one end of the old diode used to sit. On the return journey i have the LED and Diode joined (so that one of their ends is soldered to 1 of the switch terminals each, and the other ends are joined together) with a wire soldered to this and to the other diode spot. the diode direction is correct. is there something wrong with my circuit logic or have i just done a shoddy job soldering? the sound i get at the mo is definately distorted but sounds the same for both.

[daniel_m101]

ok i just ripped that whole switch unit out, so that now theres nothing at all there and i still get the same distorted tone. I had been working with the D4 and D5 positions which i thought were the clipping ones, I'm fairly sure they are, geographically centre on the board. also the on/off LED isnt going anymore. Have i just damaged something?? Cause it was my understand that removing the clipping diodes gives pretty much a signal booster, without the distortion im hearing.

[daniel_m101]

i guess I'm just asking if theres anything wrong with this


I can troubleshoot the rest of my probs myself.

[LoKi6922]

well.. an led is a diode... so maybe the change you are hearing *or not hearing* is subtle.

try it without the led in place, just a straight path to the switch and back to the other side..

i'm a n00b... but that seems reasonable to me...

[Bernardduur]

You should hear some differences; in my dirtbox I added a 12 selector switch with all kind of different diodes to clip and there is a huge difference between all settings. So this is not a point.

Maybe you altered the wrong diodes. I found out that by removing the clipping diodes no signal at all can be heard from my unit..

Here, I post a pic of a Keeley modded DS-1. Maybe it can help.
http://www.student.kun.nl/r.kerkhof/BOSS%20DS-1%20Keely%205.jpg

[daniel_m101]

thanks alot, that pic does help, well at least it tells me that i was working with the right diodes. i must have broken something else whilst i was in there, ahwell    not to worry. uni break next week (for 3 weeks, excellent) so ill giv it some time then.

[daniel_m101]

Let's start afresh, maybe ill get some more advice.

symptoms are:
Pedal does switch between on and off channels
indicator LED is not operational
distorted tone is heard in distorted channel despite both clipping diodes being removed.
inputting any sort of clipping diode in doesnt do anything
D4, D5 and D3 (D3 not clipping, but was busted by bad power supply, unit was 100% operational when this was removed).
Probability of me screwing something when soldering around D4 and D5, altho nothing is visually obvious to me.
All wires etc. seem fine.

heres a schem etc. http://www.godiksennet.com/images/sch/DS1PG2.jpg

I really would appreciate any help you can offer. Thanks

[LoKi6922]

is it the stock led? leds can burn out *and smell bad when it happens!*.. and its harder to tell with a red one. if you've put in a blue or white led, you'll need a smaller resistor to allow more current to go to the led.

for that, go here

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Bill_Bowden/led.htm

and here for info on led's.

http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/components/led.htm

i was having a problem with the led in my hm-2 and it was because of a bad ground. pedal will still work without indicator led working. its basically supposed to be a battery indicator, not an 'on off' indicator as most people think.

how old is the unit? my oldest boss pedal had bad solder joints on the dc connector, and that caused the led to stop working as well, when plugged into the wall wart. was still active when with a battery.

does it work with battery and dc?

[Danny G]

Can anyone provide a little drawing of how two switch between 2 pairs of clipping diodes, like in a BMP?