Fuzz Face help needed

[hellwood]

just so i can get in on the fun, what is the polarity of the shaded side of the cap illustration?

[Fenderstrat]

I didnt actually notice the shaded side when i was making the layout
I'm using a non polarised 2.2uF cap for C1, and C2 is a 22uF electrolytic. The shaded side on C2 on the actual circuit faces towards the wire coming from the wiper of the fuzz pot.

[hellwood]

i cant say for sure that that is your problem because i never tried a non-polarized 2.2 cap in that place, but im pretty sure its important for keeping reversing voltages from going where it shouldnt. i would get a polarized 2.2 just so youre not dickin-the-dog and double-check the 22uf's polarity while you are at it.

let me quote the man himself " if there is always a polarizing voltage across a given capacitor as used in a circuit, you can use either a polarized or a non-polarized cap. If the voltage ever reverses, even by a fraction of a volt, you MUST use non-polarized.
And the polarity must be as the circuit makes it." RG

[oskar]

 

[Fenderstrat]

if i cut those wires then none of the outer parts are grounded.    I have the blue wire though.

and as for the lugs n legs thing, that leg snapped off

It all seems to be grounded when i measure it, should i really go around cutting wires if they are working?

[oskar]

...should i really go around cutting wires if they are working?

Good point... For the connectors none of the legs that are disconnected when you insert a cable has to
be connected, they simply don't fill a function and don't interfere with the circuit. The blue cable is connected to
one of these leggs. Just what is the blue wire supposed to do? Nothing as far as I can see...

Ahh! The ultra-pretzel-wire... I can't really see what it connects to but on the middle photo it I thought it looked like it goes to the rightmost lug closest
to the camera... but now I'm unsure... is this the main power coming from the battery via the ring/sleeve? Then of course keep it...

The thing is, you know how the emitter of Q1 goes to ground?

YES!

...well if i ground it through the capacitor...

Now wait a minute... wasn't it grounded allready? 
... and you mean which cap? The 22u that is used for shunting sound from being fedback to Q1?

If i put it straight to the ground wire i have very little volume and a very small amount of fuzz, but hardly noticeable. Which way should i connect it?

... still wasn't it grounded? 


check reply #24 again...

Quote
Q1  C: 5.92v
      B: 0.07v
      E: 0.00

Q2 C: 9.28v
     B:  5.89v
     E: 5.92v
This indicates that the emitter circuit of Q2 is open. There's probably a bad connection from emitter of Q2 to ground through your fuzz pot.






I resently had problems with a potentiometer failing...
...Still, cut the blue wire, it has a different colour than the other ones... THAT MUST BE IT, CUT IT!

[Fenderstrat]

the feedback shunter is the one.

I have the blue wire though.

sorry, forgot the key word "cut".

I have *cut* the blue wire though 

your right, it was serving no purpose.

the thing your pointing at is my ground connection.  Its where all the ground wires go!

that other little red wire with the twisted end bit going to it is the ground from Q1 emitter.

I've remelted that joint there with no avail.
   The only other thing i can think of is the fuzz pot itself, it was heated a fair bit before, it was de soldered from something else and had quite a bit of heating prior to that.

What do you think?

[oskar]

1. Hook it up to a soundsource (something that is constant on) and a speaker.
2. Take a blowdryer, kid you not, and cram it on full heat.      -hardcore! totally!
3. Heat up the transistors/ board  gently from a distance and see if something happens...
sometimes when you have a short you can provoke it to appear by cooling it, or disappear by heating it. Or just
poke the circuit this way to see if something funky will happen.

[oskar]

or... what happens if you short here... do you get a normal signal?

[oskar]

ok, i know you all must be getting pretty sick of me by now. I started from scratch and built the circuit again, i used an audio taper pot for the volume, i ran a ground wire around all the inputs/outputs/ pot chassis etc. I finished and  plugged it into the amp. (i'm sure you know the feeling )
and beauty, it dosent work.

I've taken more voltage readings.

battery: 9.22 volts

Q1
C: 0.16 volts
B: 0.08 volts
E: 0.00 volts

Q2
C: 9.14 volts
B: 0.16 volts
E: 0.22 volts


any photo requests are welcome, but at the moment i don't really know what to take a photo of.

Cheers- Rhys

OK. Wait a minute... there is no voltagedrop across Q2. Check R3 immediately. meassure it, begg it, beat it and redo the solder joints...