Just starting out, advice on new multimeter and first pedal would be great.

[Stevenscustomguitars]

Hi there.

I'm back into playing electric guitar after a hiatus of about 6 years. I've just bought a fair few new pedals and got to thinking that building some could be fun.

Despite the fact that I build electric guitars, my electronics knowledge is pretty ropey. I just know what I need to get them wired up. I know, I know  but I've never had any problems with any of the guitars not working (eventually!). Anyway, it's definitely an area I need and want to improve and I've ordered a number of electronics books to help and am browsing t'interweb exhaustively! I've just picked up a Hakko fx888d soldering station to make life easier.

So onto the questions.

I need a new auto range multimeter. Ideally something that will be able to measure the majority of components that I'll be using, resistance, capacitance etc. Any advice on models or what range of measurement is crucial to have in a particular mode? I'd considered a Fluke 115. It's a bit more than I'd like to spend but I want something good that I can use for other things. I'm in the UK so probably need to source things over here.

Next is what to build first - (I'm just about to replace the pot in my 1993 crybaby wah and try out some of the common mods) - then i want to try my first pedal. I was thinking that some kind of drive/fuzz would be fun but I definitely want something usable. My current pedals include a Big Muff deluxe, Tone City Bad Horse and Wild Fire and a Mooer Hustle Drive (an awesome little drive pedal) so something different to those would be great. In the future I'd like to try a tremolo.

I enjoy sourcing parts myself so don't necessarily need to go for a kit so would a ready made pcb be the way to go?

I've just been reading this build guide on PremierGuitar. I liked how it was set out and I really like the idea of a testing breadboard thing.

http://www.premierguitar.com/ext/resources/files/DIY-PDFs/Oct14_PGDistortion_BuildGuide_Final_R2.pdf

Anyhow, I'm rambling, I guess I'm just excited about the potential fun, learning and burnt fingers ahead of me!

Thanks

Dave

[amptramp]

I am not sure whether it would be better to get a multimeter with volts / ohms / milliamps and a separate bridge or dedicated meter for components.  Fluke equipment tends to be expensive but I should mention that my perspective is a bit skewed - I am a member of the London Vintage radio Club (in London, Ontario, Canada, not the UK) and test equipment tends to trade back and forth at low prices.  There is this thread:

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=108076.0

and several others you can search for by entering "capacitance meter" in the search function that would allow the combination of a generic multimeter and an external bridge to cost less than a Fluke meter.  Note: some meters do not measure above 1.999 megohms - get one that goes to 19.99 megohms or certain low frequency oscillator and tube amp designs will not be measurable.

A ready-made PCB is like a paint-by-numbers set.  It allows you to assemble something with considerable complexity but it doesn't help you understand it, so you have to decide - do I want an education or just the completed hardware?

I have used breadboards before and as long as the connections stay connected, it can be a useful development tool.  I find it just as easy to use pre-patterned boards and solder components in with the advantage that once you are satisfied, you are done - you don't have to transfer the design to another board.  Also, parts tend to jump out of breadboards or get snagged by probes or sleeves or whatever.  Something like this:

http://www.sayal.com/STORE/View_SPEC.asp?SKU=47471

suits me more:



You have ready-made connections and busbars you can use for power distribution.  But by all means, have fun!

[njkmonty]

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SN9F-VC97-3-3-4-Auto-Range-Digital-Multimeter-Voltmeter-Ammeter-Temp-Ohm-Tester-/400881120365?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item5d5660746d


http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/VC99-Vichy-3-6-7-Auto-range-digital-multimeter-with-bag-17B-D0162-/121293957671?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item1c3daeea27

[Stevenscustomguitars]

Thanks Amptramp.

I'm confused already! 

I definitely need to get a new multimeter anyway. My one is a cheap manual range one.


I like the look of that unit that measures all the passive components in the thread you linked to. I'd need a ready built one available in the UK. I've looked at these

http://www.tester.co.uk/electrical-electronic/electrical-test-equipment/component-analysers

but they all seem to do different jobs and I'm not sure what resistance/capacitance range etc I need to have. As you say I probably need a DMM and a component tester so any recommendations on specific unit in the UK would be much appreciated.

I think you're right about using a pcb and maybe I should try a simple circuit on a perfboard type thing.

Thanks

Dave

[italianguy63]

Love love love my VC99 (Vishay) multimeter.  Not expensive...  MC

[bluebunny]

Love love love my VC99 (Vishay) multimeter.  Not expensive...  MC

Me me me too.   

@Dave: there's nothing wrong with a "cheap manual range" meter, btw.  And you don't need any of that stuff on the link you posted.  If you need to measure anything, it's likely to be voltages and continuity.  That's it.  As you get a bit more involved, resistance might be useful, but not often.  And you might one day want to measure h_FE of a transistor or V_GSoff of a JFET.  But not today.  Save your pennies for the many, many pedals you'll be building.   

[PRR]

> I need a new auto range multimeter.

Why auto-range? Why have a machine smarter than you are? I see a fair number of errors when builders (beginner or advanced) mis-read the auto-range range indications. (Perhaps worst is the mV up in a corner too small to notice.)

When I had the 13-way switch on the old Heath VTVM, I always (usually) knew the about-size of what I was measuring. No confusing 100r for 100K, the knob (and my wrist) was 90 degrees different.

However, unless you rebuild a carcass off eBay, all you find now are auto-rangers.

> I'd considered a Fluke 115.

Not a wrong choice but a LOT of money.

Do you only have one saw, one chisel, one plane?

I have a $5 snaggle-tooth saw for rough-work, a sorta-expensive dozuki for fine trims, table-saw for rips, etc.

IMHO, an electronics tech maybe should have more than one meter. And for 99% of small electronics (and also for car and house outlet checks) the three-buck Chinese DMMs *do* work fine (for months/years until the leads wear out).

After a 3-buck meter, maybe a 40-buck job. (Though you may find that 10X the money buys barely 10% more meter function.)

I did finally get a Fluke and I am pleased with it. But it isn't the end of my life: since then I got an electrician-grade multiple-meter, and a vintage clamp Amp-Probe. (My current projects include house-size loading questions.)

Flukes are reputed to be tougher. Mine is old and has varnish spilled in it(??), but does work. However I have put more fuses in this one DMM than in all my other meters together. Fluke fuses with shipping cost as much as I would pay for a fresh-new "medium" meter after I smoked one. It may be like my radial-arm saw. It does good work for decades, but you have to keep-up with bearing wear/failure and the back-hook blades are getting hard to find.

And it *may* be worth owning a $10 manual-range needle-meter (they still exist). Some things are just easier to see on a needle than through a sampled-data ADC-CPU-LED chain. They read Volts without a battery. They are not good for poking inside electronics because the needle needs more current than many stages pass.

FWIW, I have never owned a Capacitance Meter. I bet Leo Fender and the other Great Men Of The Past didn't either. I buy caps big enough to read the numbers, and I (mostly) trust what the factory says. If I am in a place where I need to know 1.05uFd 1.00uFd or 0.95uFd, I go by results (does it sing the right frequency?) rather than close-measuring caps. Of course now that 90%-decent cap meters are under 20 clams, maybe it is a toy I should have.

[tubegeek]

Keep an eye out for a Radio Shack that's selling off their stock - I scored a decent meter cheaply recently.

This one, for $35:

46-Range Digital Multimeter

[Joe]

I use that meter (perhaps an older model though, it's been a few years now). It replaced a "Microtona" meter I used for 20 years prior, which still worked but was lost in a flash flood. The newer one does auto-ranging but requires disconnecting the terminals and moving the bar to reveal the transistor test socket. Hard to beat for the money though, and measures a lot of different things accurately.

[Stevenscustomguitars]

Thanks for all the wise words everyone. I'll take it on board. I guess I'll hold off on getting the fluke. I still would like a new DMM. One thing that annoys me about mine (Sinometer MS8230B) is that the continuity setting is silent. Just a small thing but annoying nonetheless. I might pick up one of the Mk 168 component testers just for fun!

I think i'd like to try and assemble a simple pedal with pots, jack, power, and circuit on a breadboard first. Ideally something where I could vary a particular component that would produce different sounds.

What would you suggest?

Do you guys tend to buy multi packs of varied components or buy them separately for each pedal build?

Cheers Dave

[bluebunny]

Do you guys tend to buy multi packs of varied components or buy them separately for each pedal build?

Stock up on lots of the more common stuff^* beforehand, because:

• It's cheaper.
• Don't think you'll get away with only building one or two pedals.   

---
* there are lots of threads about what this might include...

[ASchmalex]

I'm just starting out aswell. I have built a matsumin valvecaster and a lpb with a fair amount of ease. The lpb is very similar to the mole(bass boost) and screaming tree(treble boost) so ordering parts for all three would be simple. All three of those circut have one pot and are honestly fairly boring but they are cheap and you don't really need a layout other than the schematic.

[Stevenscustomguitars]

Do you guys tend to buy multi packs of varied components or buy them separately for each pedal build?

Stock up on lots of the more common stuff^* beforehand, because:

• It's cheaper.
• Don't think you'll get away with only building one or two pedals.   

---
* there are lots of threads about what this might include...

I was just about to ask and then I saw the '*' 

Thanks

[Buildtestrepeat]

I stumbled on the Valvecaster when researching valve amps which became my first build.  You have an option to wire point to point, it has a low parts count and you get a tube based effect.  And yes, once the first one is built and working the dam has burst.  I have built 2 Overdrives, 2 delays, 1 distortion, 1 reverb and a fuzz and I only just started. 
There are lots of great boost, fuzz, and overdrive options for first time builds.  Enjoy the ride.