Bazz Fuss...major ground issues

[Noplasticrobots]

I took some time away from the Electra Distortion and decided to build the Bazz Fuss. The circuit is correct on my board, but I get a short at the emitter of the transistor. It seems like no matter what I try and build, I short the circuit somehow. Maybe I'm just not understanding something very simple.
The only ground on the circuit board comes off the emitter and that's where I'm shorting at. I just don't see what I'm missing! I remove the transistor and I still short. What can it be?!

http://www.home-wrecker.com/bazz1.png

Also a little confusion comes into play at the battery terminal in the schematic. The negative side is connected to the stereo jack, but the negative battery connects to the ground strip...so is it the same thing?

If anyone ever wants to contact me on AIM, please feel free to, I understand things easier if I'm walked through them like a little girl. 

[RickL]

The negative of the battery connects to the ring of the input jack. When a mono plug is inserted into the jack the barrel of the plug connects the battery negative to ground. If you pull the plug out, the battery is no longer connected to the ground, i.e. it's disconnected from the circuit. It's a common, clever way of turning power off without needing a seperate switch.

[niftydog]

The circuit is correct on my board, but I get a short at the emitter of the transistor.

a short to where?

So, you remove the transistor, put one multimeter lead where the emitter should be and the other on ground and it's short circuit? That's what I would expect.

Or am I missing something?

[Noplasticrobots]

I don't really understand how shorts happen so when I test a board and I get a short I just start to remove components to see if I still get a short. It makes no sense electronically, but since I have no real clue what I'm doing, I just try things.

Ok, so here's some pictures of my breaboard. I'm building the Bazz Fuss v.1 http://www.home-wrecker.com/bazz.html which is the first schematic on the page.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a278/Noplasticrobots/BazzFuss1.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a278/Noplasticrobots/BazzFuss2.jpg

It's kinda hard to tell, but the 0.1µf capacitor is not connected to the emitter of the transistor. Can anyone tell what's causing the short here?

[B Tremblay]

Are you sure of the transistor pinout?  It looks backwards from all the 2N5088 that I've seen.

Also, I gather that the input and output wires are not present?

[Noplasticrobots]

The transistor pinout is correct according to the package, but just in case I flipped it and tried it and it still shorted.

I breadboarded in my pot and jacks and I get a very low output from the circuit. So I did a continuity test but it's still shorted. So I reread the FAQ on this site and it said that the ring of the input usually goes to the 9v negative lead. So I disconnected the negative lead from the ground strip in my breadboard and I held the two together and got a louder output, but it still wasn't fuzzed at all. Maybe if I solder it, it will make a better connection and work better?

I had previously soldered two short lengths of solid core 20 AWG to a battery terminal so that I could plug it into my breadboard. Do you think my problem is in the battery connection, or should I never connect the negative lead of the battery to the ground strip?

[KORGULL]

I believe B.Tremblay is correct - you need to flip the transistor around so it is opposite from the way it is in your picture.
With the leads pointing down and the flat side facing you, it is, from left to right; E B C. www.muzique.com/lab/trans.gif

It's fine to plug the battery's negative lead into the ground strip on the breadboard - just remove it when you want to cut off the power.
As far as the short circuit...what exactly are you probing? If you have one probe on ground and one where the emitter should be, you should get a short...
niftydog wrote:

Quote
The circuit is correct on my board, but I get a short at the emitter of the transistor.

a short to where?

So, you remove the transistor, put one multimeter lead where the emitter should be and the other on ground and it's short circuit? That's what I would expect.

Or am I missing something?

[niftydog]

"a short" means nothing. "A short from X to Y" means something. Please expand on what you mean by "a short" or we'll only end up confusing each other.

And, the transistor is definitely back to front - and you may also have damaged it in the troubleshooting process which may be causing a short circuit from collector to emitter.

[Noplasticrobots]

Alright, good news and bad news. The good news is that i still get a low output from the breadboard. the bad news is that I soldered together a board and I have new paperweight.

Since I got the breadboarded circuit to work with a low output earlier, I decided to solder the circuit together and see if it worked because I figured the low output was because I was holding two wires together. I soldered it up and it doesn't work.

I went back to the breadboard and soldered together the two wires I was previously holding and I get a very low output. Nothing sounds fuzzed at all. I checked for shorts and I had none. I can not for the life of me tell what's wrong. I have gone over and over the connections, and everything is fine. The componenets are all brand new. I'm not the smartest guy in the world, but I understand what connections need to be made, and as far as I can tell, they're made!

Ugh, I just feel so crappy after investing all this money in parts, tools and a DMM and I can't even get the simplest of circuits to work. Maybe I should stick to blinking LED circuits.

[Noplasticrobots]

Well, well, well. It looks like someone forgot to connect the input capacitor to the rest of the circuit. Sorry for all the confusion. I knew after all this stress it would be a stupid little simple fix. Argh! 

[KORGULL]

It only takes one simple mistake...
-it's all or nothing-
that's what makes electronics so damn fun 

[Noplasticrobots]

By the way, thanks for all the help everyone!