aion Refractor gain problem

[dde32]

Hello everyone,

I apologize in advance for my english, I'm french and not really good ...
I registered on this forum because I need help. I read a lot of things before writing this post but I apologize if the questions I ask have already been dealt with several times.
Here is my problem.
I just finished my Aion Refractor Kit (ordered on MusikDing) and I have a sound problem.
When I engage the pedal the sound is very low and I have no way to increase the gain.
I specify that I am not at all an electronic specialist. I weld cleanly but without much knowledge. I already realized several pedals (simpler) without worry.
On my kit, the volume and tone knobs work well.
The voltage at the Gain Potentiometer is 4.07 volts.
It's a bit low but from what I read it is still acceptable.
I think I have a problem with IC2 because the voltage on pins 1 and 6 is -6,60v.

Here are the steps I could do:
IC1
------
4.07
4.07
2.4
0
4.07
4.07
4
9

IC2
------
-6.60
4.07
4.07
-8.43
4.07
-6.59
15.05
16.05

IC3
-------
8.92
4.53
0
-4.14
-8.42
4.2
5.44
8.92

I tried to switch the component between IC1 and IC2, it makes no difference.

The welds seem to me clean, I do not understand what's wrong.
If you can help me I thank you in advance.
Have a lovely day everybody. Musically

[patrick398]

Hello, welcome to the forum
You may need to provide some more information and it is always a good idea to post a picture of the schematic you are building from when you post.

Which IC is 1,2, and 3? Is IC3 to 1044 as it is on the schematic? If so it is not putting out +18v...but you have +16v on IC2 so that is confusing.
The voltages on IC2 look a little lower than i would expect but in the right area except pin 7, i'd check for a short to pin 8 somewhere.

Have a quick look here:
https://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=29816.0

[dde32]

Hello and thank you very much for your answer!

I read the post about debugging, it's very informative and I started digging but my skills are quite limited so I learn!
I'm a software developer, debugging I'm used to but not electronics ... 

Here are 3 images that may help you to help me! 

[dde32]

I just redo the solders on the support of IC2 and now the things are different.
The voltage went from 4.07 to 4.44 at the gain potentiometer. Now the gain is working but the sound is horrible.
The tone knob acts as a gain knob especially when it is turned max on.
I think I still have a problem on IC2 pin 7
The new values on IC2 are:

4.44 (ok)
4.44 (ok)
4.44 (ok)
-8.5 (ok)
4.44 (ok)
4.44 (ok)
15.05 (value from aion informations 4.40)
16.23 (ok)

[bluebunny]

Bienvenue!

It looks like some of the solder joints we can see may not be perfect - perhaps your soldering iron wasn't hot enough?  If you have an adjustable iron, try making it hotter and re-flow some of the joints.  A photo of the other side of your board may be helpful too.

[ElectricDruid]

+1 agree with Bluebunny. It looks like your solder isn't flowing correctly. This can be because the PCB is dirty and it doesn't "stick", but mostly it's because it's not getting enough heat. This can be because you iron isn't hot enough, or you're not holding it on each joint long enough.

A photo of the other side of the board would confirm this.

Notice the way that each hole looks "empty" apart from the component leg sticking through it. On a board like that with metal-plated holes, when you make the joint you can see the solder get "sucked" down the hole when it gets to the right temperature. I use this as a guide for how long to heat each joint. Compare your photo with this one:



(There were several things wrong with this board, but the soldering wasn't one of them!)

[dde32]

Ok thank  you for your replies.
I will go back to my soldering iron  as soon as possible and then i will take a pic of the board.
Thank you very much

[dde32]

after a few hours to start again from the beginning I finally have a positive result!
Now I have to properly finish the connection in the box. I have sound and it's already good!
Thank you all.

[ElectricDruid]

Congratulations!!