help! keep breaking stuff!

[aqautarkus]

hi im a complete newbie to this game but beginning to learn(the very hard way it seems), i tried to put a 9v dc jack into a battery only storm line booster(brilliant little pedal btw) and now it doesnt work, im starting to replace each component bit by bit but still nothing, is there any way that a 9v power supply can burn out components?, ive also got a dunlop wah that i modded that started to sound great until i put the last rersistor in to give it more gain, decided i didnt like it, replaced the original resistor-result dead as a dodo, replaced every component, result eerie silence. im getting a multimeter later to try and blunder my way round it, but if any of you seasoned experts could shed some light id be really, really grateful. its beggining to get very frustrating.especially the line booster as it gives a brilliant crisp, just beginning to break up sort of sound which is perfect for the music i play(im in a wishbone ash tribute band) help!
cheers in advance chris

[alteredsounds]

Hi Chris!  Welcome to the forums

I really think you do need to be getting a meter asap, especially regarding the 2 pedal mods you mentioned but also it will be a godsend in the future.  If you need any advice on what meter, do a search here or just ask.

With a meter you could check that there is voltage at the places there should on the storm pedal (and that it is the correct voltages!).  It is possible that you may have fried something along the way but you need the meter to know really.  You will also be able to check the wah with the meter and check that the resistor isnt faulty.  Check for any bad solder point and / or places that solder may be touching things that it shouldnt.

Keep asking, it gets clearer very quickly!

Cheers,
Nick,

[rockhorst]

Did you check the polarity on the DC jack you installed (in other word, did you wire  + to + and - to - )

[petemoore]

  I'm guilty of buying some 3.88 DMM's at 'Marc's Discount Store'...they have 'em once in a while, I keep one here...another there and one in my pedal suitcase.
  Without a toolkit, you can't do much fixin' on a car, DMM's are like toolkits.

[aqautarkus]

hi cheers for the replies, im currently sifting thru all the bits with a multimeter,one capacitor seems to have no  readout whereas everything else has a value, will replace and see what happens,i will get to the bottom of this if its the last thing i do! still unsure whether theyre the correct voltages but ive checked all the resistors and theyre all ok( took some bloody time checking the color code bands on the pc!) im not sure what a capacitor should read, also ive changed the opamp to one i know works and that has different values depending on what pin but current is going thru it. like i said im real new to this and electronics so its process of elimination at the mo, thanks again, oh and would it do any damage if i did reverse the polarity of the dc supply? cheers once again to you kind folks
chris

[GibsonGM]

umm, yeah, reversing the polarity of the PS could cause damage.  If you're lucky, there'll be a diode across the power supply rails that's reverse-biased...this diode blows quickly if you hook things up backwards and hopefully saves the sensitive stuff.   On a positive note, I've done the same thing & caused no permanent damage, tho!

[alteredsounds]

Did you buy a meter which checks capacitance? You wont get far with checking the caps otherwise.  'If' there is a reverse polarity protecting diode, it wont blow as such.  See if you can maybe post some pics or more info about the pedal.

Good Luck!

Nick,

[burnt fingers]

You may be digging yourself a deeper hole by trying to replace compnants after you did the mod.  It's possible the mod was done wrong or there is a bad connection somewhere.  You should definately recheck your work you did for the mods.

Also, read the " DEBUGGING-what to do when it doesn't work" thread.  It does have a lot of helpfull info. 

Scott