Big Stompbox, build report with 1/8/06 updated pics

[KMS]

I am going to update this thread as I get each circuit done. 
Our Bass player works at an electrical junction box manufacture and he built this box for me (free of charge).

I placed a 1ft ruler on the box so folks can see how big it is.

I just got my GEO a/b/y working tonight so I can build several chains inside this box. It looks like I will be spending the entire winter (and maybe summer) trying to fill this box up with my favorite diy circuits.

Does anyone know how many milli amps each leg of the GEO Spyder power supply is capable of?

[RickL]

I can't see the pictures and my question is a bit OT but your friend might be able to provide some information.

Can electrical junction boxes be manufactured without the punchouts? What would the minimum order be to get them produced? What is the likely cost?

I use electrical junction boxes for most of my pedals because they're cheap and strong but they'd be much easier to deal with in regards to layout and drilling if they didn't have the puchouts.

Rick

[KMS]

I can't see the pictures

My upload site was changing files today so you must have been reading the post while that was in process. It looks they lost two of my pics. I'll re-post them in a jiffy. :icon_biggrin:  OK the pics are back now. NO now their gone again.  Just wait about 5 min or so and they will load.

Not sure what the problem is.

and my question is a bit OT

Nope not OT at all. This thread is mine and nothing is OT on a KMS thread, not even if you assault me. I cannot be offended, "I..am..Iron..Man".  Plus the topic is Stompbox, so how can anyone on this board get it wrong.  You would not believe the forums I have been to where lions and tigers claw at me all day and night.  I never complain and I never stoop to their level, but it is nice to part of Aron's site because it is so clean and OnT over here.  Thanks for having a conscience.

Can electrical junction boxes be manufactured without the punch-outs? What would the minimum order be to get them produced? What is the likely cost?

Yes! They can be made like that and I can ask about it for you.  That is what this company does.

I will call my friend tomorrow night and find out and when he gets an answer from his boss (probably next week) I will post the prices and quantities on this thread.

I was told,"Any size box, anyway you want it".

Well maybe I will.  It just came to me that Aron might not approve.  Aron if you read this thread please respond.  Can I post the company name and prices? If not I will understand.  If no response by the time I get the prices I will run it through Aron's e-mail.

[JimRayden]

My upload site was changing files today so you must have been reading the post while that was in process. It looks they lost two of my pics. I'll re-post them in a jiffy. :icon_biggrin:  OK the pics are back now. NO now their gone again.  Just wait about 5 min or so and they will load.

Nope that's not it. They show and "X" on the forum and if I copy the address of the pic, it takes me to a login page. Obviously, you are logged in, so you can see the pics. We are not, so we can't.

Fix it, I'm curious.

--------------
Jimbo

[Mike Burgundy]

Does anyone know how many milli amps each leg of the GEO Spyder power supply is capable of?

Depends on what you use.
Have a look at the datasheet for the specified regulator - it will state maximum output current (I think something like 100mA for a small package 7809). Keep in mind this is with sufficient cooling. If you make sure the transformer will be able to sustain that (plus a little extra), you should be fine.
I built mine with 4 separate dual transformers to give me 8 isolated lines - you then know the spec. If you wind your own, use RG's specs. It will then work with the specced regulators.

[JimRayden]

Have a look at the datasheet for the specified regulator - it will state maximum output current (I think something like 100mA for a small package 7809). Keep in mind this is with sufficient cooling.

I remember the 7809 being 1A. But you can reach that only by screwing it on the chassis for proper cooling.

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Jimbo

[KMS]

Depends on what you use.
Have a look at the datasheet for the specified regulator - it will state maximum output current (I think something like 100mA for a small package 7809). Keep in mind this is with sufficient cooling. If you make sure the transformer will be able to sustain that (plus a little extra), you should be fine.
I built mine with 4 separate dual transformers to give me 8 isolated lines - you then know the spec. If you wind your own, use RG's specs. It will then work with the specced regulators

I guess I need to look at R.G.'s info on this again, about winding my own.  It was not that clear to me what to do (exactly).

Thanks!

[KMS]

I remember the 7809 being 1A. But you can reach that only by screwing it on the chassis for proper cooling.

That should go a long way.   I'll take a look at the data sheet too.

Thanks!

[KMS]

Can electrical junction boxes be manufactured without the punch-outs? What would the minimum order be to get them produced? What is the likely cost?

I talked to my friend and he said they are a custom box manufacture only. They do not have an assembly line for mass production. So they can make what ever you want, but I don't think it will save you any money.  He is going to check on 6x6x1.5 and 3x5x1.5 and 4x4x1.5 and let me know.  His boss will let him one or two at a time on his lunch breaks out of scrap.

I not sure but I think you were looking for mass production prices.

Also.....I was wrong about the steel gage.....it is 14 gage not 16.  Real strong stuff!

[R.G.]

Inside a single enclosure, you probably won't need the ground loop isolation of the Spyder. A single 9V power supply will probably be fine for all the effects in the box.

[KMS]

Thanks for chiming in R.G.

I got the GEO A/B/Y 1999 version working without any issue (on one 4 channel amp)  except when I use direct out, the channel I use for direct out, when the volume setting on that channel is the same as either volume setting for the isolated channels then there is about 30% loss in gain on all channels but only when the setting is exactly the same.  I probably wired something wrong.  But no noise, quiet as a mouse.

Inside a single enclosure, you probably won't need the ground loop isolation of the Spyder. A single 9V power supply will probably be fine for all the effects in the box.

I was wondering about that.  Thanks for the info.  :icon_mrgreen:  That will save me a lot.

I remember my physics about Gauss's Law making note that if an enclosure (steel) is all around a circuit that it has some type of cancellation quality as opposed to an enclosure that is not complete, but could not remember what it canceled.

I just got back from my electronics store (Gateway Electronics, in St. Louis...of course) and they had some 4-5 year old kits in a bin, some with no prices or even title descriptions.  I saw what looked like a DC power supply and they let me have it for $8.  Inside I found the specs for a CIC kit and sure enough it is a multi output/regulated DC power supply 3V, 9V, and 12V at .2 amp.  110 or 220 input.  Also can go up to .5 amp with a different transformer. They mention some special design to keep the "ripper wave" small and special use of two capacitors to then kill the ripper wave. 

What is a ripper wave? Where can I read more about power supplies on the web or on GEO?

I haven't priced any parts yet for a power supply but I thought it looked like a good deal, with instructions, parts, specs, and PCB.


Anyway, I will need more than .5 amp to light up all my stuff and make all the circuits work plus I will need +9V/-9V and no telling what all.  I will probably end up using the 9V supply I bought tonight for modeling. 

I made some approximations and I think I will need a 2amp 9V DC supply (should be enough with some left over) and I will need a 1amp DC +9V/-9V.  Possibly a 12V DC supply of some kind too, as I have seen a couple circuits I liked that require that. 

So if I have one power supply out side the box, but all my FX are inside one box, then ground loop hum is not an issue.

What if I mount more than one power supplies, inside the enclosure with the FXs?  Will ground loop hum also not be an issue in that case?

[KMS]

I'm starting to think this stompbox will never be finished....OK so it won't.....goooooooody.

Here is the front panel as of today.



I don't know if I have time to explain all the stuff yet today but look at the guts first before I try to do that.



And a side view of the guts....



The six stages on the left are all isolated parallel channels (only two are hooked up right now).  The three pots on the left are dual gain pots that operate each channel.  This is all coming from a 6x GEO A/B/Y you can see in the lower right on the "guts" pic just to the left of the far lower right PCB.

Very near the center on the front panel you can see a stomp with two LEDs.  That is a master stomp and can be programed to turn on/off...or just on with no corrsponding off any configuration of the six channels with one stomp motion.  The 12  micro toggles(place in pairs on the front panel) set up the program for the mater stomp through a switching matrix you can see on the "guts" pic in the upper center of the pic.  That PCB controls two 4PDT latching 5V relays that are 24V 1amp rated.  I only need 3 of the poles to do all that I can dream of for my audio but the remaining poles in that matrix will operate a light show in the future.

More about the A/B/C/Y switching......

Each of the 6 very cheap stomps you see on the lower left of the front panel (call them mini stomps) are used to arm each channel (select) when the corresponding micro toggle (top toggle just above each stomp) is in the master stomp mode (toggle lever pointing right).  The other micro toggle just below the top micro toggle selects A or B mode and correspond to the top or bottom LED of the master stomp also corresponding to the lever of the toggle pointing up or down the same as the upper and lower LEDs on the master stomp. When the upper toggle lever is pointing left, the corresponding mini stomp is a stand along function, independent of the master stomp and therefore constitutes the C function of the A/B/C/Y set up.

There are 108 sequences for which half of them are redundant mirror sequences that will never be used so there are really 54 different usable functions with this 6 channel A/B/C/Y switching matrix.  None of the audio signal is routed through the contacts of any switch...all LED/LDR controlled with absolutely no pop, no click nada, none, zilch.  The switches all operate the power for the LED/LDRs  Some of which needed large capacitors to smooth out the surge of turning on an off the power. All of the audio signal (both pos and neg) are routed with shielded wire (seen as the large diameter black wire in the "guts" pic).

All this is put through a 10 channel stereo mixer seen on the "guts" pic in the far lower left.  The two slide pots on the front main panel control the right left gain and are the master volume controls.

Then on the right is my Tremulus Lune and my BOSS OD2. Each on separate channels.   

Next is a compressor........that's what I started out wanting to build a year ago and it lead to all this. Then some misc distortion circuits (3 of them), then some EQ based on RG Keen's instructions at GEO, then an ocatve device (probably the ROCKTAVE), then an auto panner probably from commonsound.com, then a rotary sound simulator, then echo, then some more compression or expansion (not sure),..all subject to change at anytime, now or in the future as that is how I designed the box, for changes anytime I want.

I will add two more stair step levels as I continue to fill this stompbox.

Amazing.......my BOSS OD is quiet as mouse now in this new set up but in the commercial box, BOSS routed the negative side of the guitar signal through the aluminum box with no wire at all.  Grounded by the 1/4" input and output jacks.............

I tested this out at practice last night...................not one problem...........quiet......supper quiet.  Could easily be used for recording.