DIY Klon pedal clone high pitch noise

[pinkjimiphoton]

yeah, that should do it bro, the stuff most people think of i dunno, but 91%?

oh yeah

[thermionix]

I think the problem is cold solder joints, although the charge pump could also be a fake, Ebay <--> China.  Are you using lead-free solder?  That stuff is a bit of a pain to work with, and often good solder joints look cold.

[blink3388]

Hi Guys,

So managed to do a little more on this now. So re-heated all the solder points and added more solder if any needed it and this made no difference. I've cleaned all the flux off and although I don't get this same specific sound anymore I do get a new background sound but it is no longer there when in bypass mode which the previous sound was. Below if a video of what's now happening.

[thermionix]

Sounds like Star Trek.  Have you tried with a battery?

[Willem Smith]

Hello, has your problem ever been solved?
If yes, how was it solved?
Greetings from another Klon clone builder with the same problem.

[Balint]

Hi All,

i have the same issue, there is continuity between 1 and 8 and they are also connected to +9V, however..... i read someone suggesting grounding pin 1
the chassis is connected to -9V so if by grounding you mean connect it to the chassis, i am basically cutting the power from the pedal

..and after trying, yes I does get rid of the noise, but also all other signal too

[rankot]

Hi All,

i have the same issue, there is continuity between 1 and 8 and they are also connected to +9V, however..... i read someone suggesting grounding pin 1
the chassis is connected to -9V so if by grounding you mean connect it to the chassis, i am basically cutting the power from the pedal

..and after trying, yes I does get rid of the noise, but also all other signal too

Could you please be more specific, which IC does your clone use for charge pump? 7660 or something else?

[Balint]

yes it is using a 7660, i read someone suggesting to use MAX1044 so i ordered some, it will take some time to arrive

unfortunately the kit doesn't come with a schematic, but i dont think its too much different to the original circuit (https://www.electrosmash.com/images/tech/klon-centaur/Klon-Centaur-Schematic-Parts.png)

another interesting anomaly is that sometimes it works perfectly - usually after i don't use it for a while - could it be that one of the electrolytics start to oscillate after a while and it takes a few hours disconnected to discharge (unlikely to be honest)
but then randomly it starts whining and no guitar signal gets through the pedal - the whine continues even after i switch off the pedal

im am armed with a multimeter, and an oscilloscope - so just let me know what to measure

[rankot]

Well, the simplest thing you can do is follow the signal from the input to the output with you oscilloscope. You will notice when it will start to whine, so it can give you a clue where the problem could be.

7660 should have pin 1 connected to V+ in order to boost it's working frequency, and you shall use 7660S, not 7660A, because later doesn't use boost pin.

[Balint]

Well, the simplest thing you can do is follow the signal from the input to the output with you oscilloscope.

i have identified that the first TL072 (first section) is introducing a 0.4V 570 Hz signal - although my calculations might be wrong - check the picture
i can see the cycle on the picture on pin 1 of the first TL072, however I dont see it on pin 3 -> therefore I assume that is causing the whine

i have tried swapping out the two TL072s, but no change, same cycle/shape/voltage....

[rankot]

If it is not present all the time, it can be related to cold solder joints. Inspect your solder work carefully.

[Balint]

its a bit embarrassing but I think its just proper to share my "fix"

the problem was lack of power
when i tried the pedal with a power supply (which i had to rewire from + core to a - core, thats why i didnt try it right away) it worked perfectly

after that I measured my battery (which i bought brand new a few days ago - thats why i didnt even suspectit) it was at 2-3 V..... (unplugged) lol...

its interesting that a voltage-starved circuit hisses and motorboats. or is it normal? anyway thanks all for the suggestions

[keyth72]

I stumbled on this forum after having the EXACT same problem, so thank you all for saving me a lot of time! I built the Klon Clone from the PedalPCB board, but used approximate component values for some resistors and caps I didn’t have. I was originally going to go component by component and replace it with the exact value to see if that fixed the whine, but thankfully found this. it was producing the exact same high pitch whine as in the original poster’s Youtube video, and I tried swapping out with my other TL1044s from the same order, but it produced the same noise. Pins 1 and 8 were connected, and I had an adequate power supply. I connected the TL1044 pin 7 to ground and that eliminated the noise, seemingly with no effect to the actual sound of the pedal, which sounds great. I bought the IC in a pack of 5 from Amazon, brand “Microchip” by seller VoyageSupply. Here’s a pic of the “fix”

[pinkjimiphoton]

glad ya got it sorted... yeah, an underpowered supply will do it.

you should see what happens with an undervoltaged 2399 delay