Where Do All The Connections On The Millenium 2 Go?

[Guitar Dude]

Hey,
I've made a few pedals in the past but always shyed away from adding an LED for fear of screwing up something that already works. What I want to know is where all the connections go.

I figure you connect the +9V of the battery to the +9V of the Millenium 2 board...where does it go from there? Presumably you should solder the battery straight to the Millenium board and have another wire connected directly after the +9V going to the +9V of the effect?

Here in New Zealand we have very little choice in the way of switches, the only suitable DPDT's I can find are 'Arrow Style'. Basically the top two lugs or connected together, the middle two are input/output jack connections and the bottom two are effect input/output connections. Which lug should the 'To DPDT Stomp Switch' be connected to?

Where is the ground (0V) connected to? I assume it gets connected to the board grounds?

Through delving into effects websites on a daily basis (It's like porn for guitar nerds) I've seen references to a number of things like 'Pulldown Resistors' and putting resistors after the output capacitor when using a Millenium Bypass...how do I know if I need one or not, and more to the point, why do I need one?

And finally, I'm looking at this: http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/Millenium/mill2bd.gif. What part values should I use? Like I said, the selection of parts is limited in NZ, will a 2N7000 N-Channel TMOS FET be ok? What kind of 'Low Leakage Diode' should I use? This is all I've got to choose from:

UF4002
UF4003
UF4004
1N5819
1N5882
1N914
1N4004
1N4007
1N5404
1N5408
R250H

...We also rub sticks together to make fire and this computer is a whole room full of punch-cards...

Cheers
Tim

[R.G.]

I figure you connect the +9V of the battery to the +9V of the Millenium 2 board...where does it go from there? Presumably you should solder the battery straight to the Millenium board and have another wire connected directly after the +9V going to the +9V of the effect?

Both the Millenium 2 board and the effect +9 connect to the battery +, in any order, or even with two different wires. This presumes you're using the stereo jack trick to turn power to the effect off by disconnecting the battery negative/black wire, of course.

Where is the ground (0V) connected to? I assume it gets connected to the board grounds?

...ooops...  bad assumption...

Use a stereo 1/4" jack for the input jack. Connect the battery negative/black wire to the second signal lug, the one that gets shorted to ground if you insert a mono plug into the jack. That connects the battery negative to ground only when you have a plug inserted, so you don't need a separate power switch to avoid draining your batteries while you're not playing.

I've seen references to a number of things like 'Pulldown Resistors' and putting resistors after the output capacitor when using a Millenium Bypass...how do I know if I need one or not, and more to the point, why do I need one?

(a) Yes, you need one.
(b)Read a couple of the articles on GEO about why you need pulldown resistors.  First and foremost, you need pulldown resistors to prevent popping when switching the bypass switch. With the Millenium bypasses, they also serve the function of pulling the output of the effect to DC ground. The Millenium Bypass circuit detects its control line being pulled to ground, and turns off the LED when that happens.

What part values should I use? Like I said, the selection of parts is limited in NZ, will a 2N7000 N-Channel TMOS FET be ok? What kind of 'Low Leakage Diode' should I use?

A 2N7000 will work fine.

A "low leakage diode" is best made from the collector/base junction of an ordinary NPN transistor. Get whatever small signal NPN silicon transistor you can get - 2N3904 is common here in the USA, but the BC5xx series and the 2SCxxxx series also work. You want the TO-92 plastic package parts, as they're cheapest. Take the transistor and cut the emitter lead off. Now you have a low leakage diode where the base is the anode/+/arrow side and the collctor is the cathode/-/bar end of the diode. Be particularly careful of which pin is which, as transistors are made in all possible variations. Know the part number you get, and look up the datasheet on the net. Do NOT use the base-emitter junction, only the base-collector.

When you get the parts together, form rosin core solder into tiny ringlets by winding the solder onto a small nail and cutting down the length of the spiral. Place all the parts in the PCB with their leads protruding through the board to the copper side, and slide one solder ringlet onto each lead. Place the board upside down on foam or something to hold the parts in while you solder. Rub two sticks together to make fire. Use the fire to light a propane torch and pass the torch flame  ...*gently*... over the PCB copper side. The heated gasses melt the solder, release the rosin, and make perfect solder joints - in about 15% of the cases 8-)

No, I'm kidding. But TI *did* build its Advanced Scientific Computer that way. They did 16 pin logic DIPs on both sides of the board with solder ringlets on each lead, then dipped the assembled board into boiling peanut oil to reflow the solder. It did work. But the yield was only 5% good boards out of the process.

[R.G.]

I figure you connect the +9V of the battery to the +9V of the Millenium 2 board...where does it go from there? Presumably you should solder the battery straight to the Millenium board and have another wire connected directly after the +9V going to the +9V of the effect?

Both the Millenium 2 board and the effect +9 connect to the battery +, in any order, or even with two different wires. This presumes you're using the stereo jack trick to turn power to the effect off by disconnecting the battery negative/black wire, of course.

Where is the ground (0V) connected to? I assume it gets connected to the board grounds?

...ooops...  bad assumption...

Use a stereo 1/4" jack for the input jack. Connect the battery negative/black wire to the second signal lug, the one that gets shorted to ground if you insert a mono plug into the jack. That connects the battery negative to ground only when you have a plug inserted, so you don't need a separate power switch to avoid draining your batteries while you're not playing.

I've seen references to a number of things like 'Pulldown Resistors' and putting resistors after the output capacitor when using a Millenium Bypass...how do I know if I need one or not, and more to the point, why do I need one?

(a) Yes, you need one.
(b)Read a couple of the articles on GEO about why you need pulldown resistors.  First and foremost, you need pulldown resistors to prevent popping when switching the bypass switch. With the Millenium bypasses, they also serve the function of pulling the output of the effect to DC ground. The Millenium Bypass circuit detects its control line being pulled to ground, and turns off the LED when that happens.

What part values should I use? Like I said, the selection of parts is limited in NZ, will a 2N7000 N-Channel TMOS FET be ok? What kind of 'Low Leakage Diode' should I use?

A 2N7000 will work fine.

A "low leakage diode" is best made from the collector/base junction of an ordinary NPN transistor. Get whatever small signal NPN silicon transistor you can get - 2N3904 is common here in the USA, but the BC5xx series and the 2SCxxxx series also work. You want the TO-92 plastic package parts, as they're cheapest. Take the transistor and cut the emitter lead off. Now you have a low leakage diode where the base is the anode/+/arrow side and the collctor is the cathode/-/bar end of the diode. Be particularly careful of which pin is which, as transistors are made in all possible variations. Know the part number you get, and look up the datasheet on the net. Do NOT use the base-emitter junction, only the base-collector.

When you get the parts together, form rosin core solder into tiny ringlets by winding the solder onto a small nail and cutting down the length of the spiral. Place all the parts in the PCB with their leads protruding through the board to the copper side, and slide one solder ringlet onto each lead. Place the board upside down on foam or something to hold the parts in while you solder. Rub two sticks together to make fire. Use the fire to light a propane torch and pass the torch flame  ...*gently*... over the PCB copper side. The heated gasses melt the solder, release the rosin, and make perfect solder joints - in about 15% of the cases 8-)

No, I'm kidding. But TI *did* build its Advanced Scientific Computer that way. They did 16 pin logic DIPs on both sides of the board with solder ringlets on each lead, then dipped the assembled board into boiling peanut oil to reflow the solder. It did work. But the yield was only 5% good boards out of the process.

[R.G.]

I figure you connect the +9V of the battery to the +9V of the Millenium 2 board...where does it go from there? Presumably you should solder the battery straight to the Millenium board and have another wire connected directly after the +9V going to the +9V of the effect?

Both the Millenium 2 board and the effect +9 connect to the battery +, in any order, or even with two different wires. This presumes you're using the stereo jack trick to turn power to the effect off by disconnecting the battery negative/black wire, of course.

Where is the ground (0V) connected to? I assume it gets connected to the board grounds?

...ooops...  bad assumption...

Use a stereo 1/4" jack for the input jack. Connect the battery negative/black wire to the second signal lug, the one that gets shorted to ground if you insert a mono plug into the jack. That connects the battery negative to ground only when you have a plug inserted, so you don't need a separate power switch to avoid draining your batteries while you're not playing.

I've seen references to a number of things like 'Pulldown Resistors' and putting resistors after the output capacitor when using a Millenium Bypass...how do I know if I need one or not, and more to the point, why do I need one?

(a) Yes, you need one.
(b)Read a couple of the articles on GEO about why you need pulldown resistors.  First and foremost, you need pulldown resistors to prevent popping when switching the bypass switch. With the Millenium bypasses, they also serve the function of pulling the output of the effect to DC ground. The Millenium Bypass circuit detects its control line being pulled to ground, and turns off the LED when that happens.

What part values should I use? Like I said, the selection of parts is limited in NZ, will a 2N7000 N-Channel TMOS FET be ok? What kind of 'Low Leakage Diode' should I use?

A 2N7000 will work fine.

A "low leakage diode" is best made from the collector/base junction of an ordinary NPN transistor. Get whatever small signal NPN silicon transistor you can get - 2N3904 is common here in the USA, but the BC5xx series and the 2SCxxxx series also work. You want the TO-92 plastic package parts, as they're cheapest. Take the transistor and cut the emitter lead off. Now you have a low leakage diode where the base is the anode/+/arrow side and the collctor is the cathode/-/bar end of the diode. Be particularly careful of which pin is which, as transistors are made in all possible variations. Know the part number you get, and look up the datasheet on the net. Do NOT use the base-emitter junction, only the base-collector.

When you get the parts together, form rosin core solder into tiny ringlets by winding the solder onto a small nail and cutting down the length of the spiral. Place all the parts in the PCB with their leads protruding through the board to the copper side, and slide one solder ringlet onto each lead. Place the board upside down on foam or something to hold the parts in while you solder. Rub two sticks together to make fire. Use the fire to light a propane torch and pass the torch flame  ...*gently*... over the PCB copper side. The heated gasses melt the solder, release the rosin, and make perfect solder joints - in about 15% of the cases 8-)

No, I'm kidding. But TI *did* build its Advanced Scientific Computer that way. They did 16 pin logic DIPs on both sides of the board with solder ringlets on each lead, then dipped the assembled board into boiling peanut oil to reflow the solder. It did work. But the yield was only 5% good boards out of the process.