Help me troubleshoot lpb-1 please?

[Toxic Tom]

I'm trying to make an lpb-1 booster but it just won't work. I tried wiring it up with a 3pdt switch and it was bypassed the whole time regardless of the switche's position (guess I did the switch wrong). I then removed the switch from the circuit and I cannot get any signal through at all. Here is my stripboard diagram:

What could I have done wrong?

[knutolai]

Could you share the schematic you have used as your reference? I find schematics with different component counts from your vero
Post the schematic and Ill give it a look!

[RandomGlitch]

I see youre getting the published values by summing caps and resistors. It all looks ok to me. Ive made the circuit many times so know it well,

Check all the values are correct, transistor in right way, cuts ok, no solder bridges.

[Toxic Tom]

Yeah, I couldn't find some of the cap and resistor values I needed so I drew my own vero layout. I wasn't  sure which way round the transistor was supposed to go but I checked the pinout online from lots of different sources and it looks right to me. It goes on the board exactly as I drew it, with the curved side facing left and the flat side facing right (is that correct?). It's a 2n5088 transistor btw.
This was my reference diagram:
http://smallbox.zeonhost.com/projects/lpb1

[LucifersTrip]

v-o-l-t-a-g-e-s

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=29816.0

[Toxic Tom]

Hmm, I don't have a voltmeter on me at the moment, I'll see if I can find one.

[Toxic Tom]

Ok, I now have a voltmeter but it only goes up to 6v. It's not perfect but I guess it will give a vague idea of what's going on?

[Toxic Tom]

I checked with the voltmeter and there is a 9v charge on the +9v row of the circuit board but no charge anywhere else. What does that mean?

[petemoore]

  Test the traces of 9v shown in the schematic, there should be continuity anywhere a trace-wire goes from the battery clip.
  Test that the traces of 9v also never go to ground [a ton of current would go through the shorted out power supply, heating and destroy the battery pretty quickly or 'testing' the power supply's ability to withstand overcurrent conditions.
  The schematic shows only about a dozen parts, but there are literally 100+ 'things' which must all be correct for the amplification circuit to work.
  Each node has an exact # of connections. Some of the connections require polarity to be correct also. ...Starting at node 1...counting the connections [with DMM ? or otherwise] and noting/checking that polarities of components follow the diagram.
  Look the transistor up online, make sure it's the correct type and polarity, note the pinout very carefully, then double check it.
  The diodes in a transistor can be tested, and will follow the polarities shown on it's data sheet, testing the base/emitter diode tells if diode is good and also the polarity of it's orientation...starting with a bipolar transistor, just a diode checker [featured in most DMM's] can determine goodness of internal diode and it's/the transistors polarity, but a 'transistor hfe' checker also indicates correct orientation and pinout [put the three transistor leads into the 4 holes...every which possible way until a 'ballpark' hfe reading for the transistor appears in the window...then you have the pinout shown...marked on the DMM [write them down with a picture of the transistor, legs down, print facing you], and an approximate hfe gain. The pinout markings on the DMM showing a reasonable 'ballpark hfe' for the inserted transistor shows the pinout...write down which legs go into which of the 4 lead socketholes [most show BECB...by putting 3 transistor leads in 3 of the 4 DMM holes...all combinations of orientation/pinout can be tested...when one makes a reasonable hfe appear in the window, your transistor pinout is printed on the DMM case....indexing the transistor 'up one hole' and rotating it 1/2 way around is necessary to match the EBC of the transistor to the DMM's...there are many possible ways to make 3 leads connect...one of them will measure the gain/leakage of the bipolar transistor in question.
   Silicon transistors have such little leakage that the DMM Hfe checker is accurate enough for intended purposes, germanium transistors leak...some leak more current than they use to amplify...so the hfe reading shown isn't usually anywhere near what you will get out of it as gain...the leakage subtracts [often enough to make the transistor 'worthless' as an amplification device] from the gain.
  getting the LPB to amplify requires everything on the schemtic to be reflected Exactly by the circuit wiring, caps have to be nonpolar or correctly polarized, resistors have to be 'in the ballpark', exactly the connections shown and no extra connections...
  A decent DMM, reading/following the instructions of the debugging page, measuring voltages...allows ohms law to be applied...ohm can find out many things about the missing I/R/V number, the current/voltage will reveal resistance, the resistance/voltage equation can tell the current, the voltage can be determined by working the resistance/current equation.
   By posting voltages, we all get info you can use to much more effectively debug any circuit, the debugging page instructs the user of electronics about what is required..to debug electronics.

[Toxic Tom]

Yep the transistor is the right way round. I don't really know what you mean by "test the traces of 9 volt" but I cannot get any power on the end of my 820K or 10K resistors. What can I do about that?

[Toxic Tom]

Just playing around with the voltmeter, I have found that the 2 180R resistors work fine and are connected to ground. Unfortunately the voltage only showed as less than 0.2 volts on my (analog) voltmeter with the 360R resistance so I cannot check the higher resistances (10K, 820K, 100K). Any suggestions?

[lonewolf]

you need a decent meter..harbour freight sells one for 4.99...cant get any cheaper than that..or just breakdown and buy a fluke

[deadastronaut]

heres a vero layout i made for the lpb1 from beavis, no cuts and less parts