D*A*M Meathead build - a little help please....

[duck_arse]

this dia, as far as the pot wiring is concerned, yes, corrickt.



there is something to be said for versioning on ALL your drawings, just so we can identify one from the next.

pots - when I say hot and cold, I am still avoiding 1,2,3, cause the numbers refer to nothing real, whereas the hot end is where all the volume would be, and the cold end would have 0 signal. it is better still to use CW, CCW and common or wiper, you'll never get confused that way.

[PorkyPrimeCut]

are you using a BC182L?

Yes, that & a 2N3904.

Thanks again

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Gaaah!! 3rd time wiring this up & still there nothing but loud hum that is slightly affected by turning the knob. Not in a volume loud-quiet kind of way though. Also, the LED isn't working.

Something just isn't right. I'll run a multimeter over it tomorrow but other than that, I'm well & truly stuck.

[duck_arse]

can you post some photos of the actual thing you've soldered? please?

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Here you go. It's not pretty any more. I've had to pull everything out so you can see underneath the PCB and the terminals of the 9v socket...





As unclear as it may be, all the coloured wiring is correctly soldered. I had to desolder one ground wire to get things spread out.
My latest attempt was as before. No lit LED and just loud hum that quavered a bit as I turned the pot (but didn't rise & fall).
I'm slightly concerned that soldering & desoldering the terminals on the tagboard 3 times might have fried some of the caps.

Thanks for your help.

[Kipper4]

Did you test the circuit before wiring the switch and jacks? Are you sure the circuit works.
Always a good idea.

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Did you test the circuit before wiring the switch and jacks? Are you sure the circuit works.
Always a good idea.

This is actually something I was going to ask about in a different thread. 

No I didn't....but I'd love to know how. Is there a diagram available (in the same format as the ones I posted earlier) that I can refer to. I'd like to build a rig, kind of like a breadboard, that I can slot my tag boards into easily.

It's clear that I'm having to learn from my mistakes with this build.

[Kipper4]

2x 1/4" jacks mono lead



tip >crock clip.    Plug guitar in 1/4 jack,    clip goes to circuit input

sleeve
          Common (soldered to both) crock clip
sleeve

tip> crock clip     1/4 patch cable to test amp input      Clip goes to circuit out



Power the circuit with a 9v battery with crock clips attached to the circuit  power rail wiring.
So thats a battery snap with 2x crock clip (one red goes to +. one black goes to battery - )

rudimental but it works provided you plug everything in the right ins/outs

Wouldnt be the first time I forgot to plug something in.
This should clear up if the circuit works before switch wiring. which has 9 possible pitfalls
Then theres just the pitfalls of boxing up after.

[Kipper4]

[PorkyPrimeCut]

2x 1/4" jacks mono lead



tip >crock clip.    Plug guitar in 1/4 jack,    clip goes to circuit input

sleeve
          Common (soldered to both) crock clip
sleeve

tip> crock clip     1/4 patch cable to test amp input      Clip goes to circuit out



Power the circuit with a 9v battery with crock clips attached to the circuit  power rail wiring.
So thats a battery snap with 2x crock clip (one red goes to +. one black goes to battery - )

rudimental but it works provided you plug everything in the right ins/outs

Wouldnt be the first time I forgot to plug something in.
This should clear up if the circuit works before switch wiring. which has 9 possible pitfalls
Then theres just the pitfalls of boxing up after.

This is a great help.

So, basically 4 croc-clips, 2 soldered to an input jack (1 on the tip, one on the sleeve) & the same for the output jack?

Sorry, I'm just unfamiliar with the term "common".

[Kipper4]

nope both sleeves can go to the same clips.
since the Gnd is common (the same)

[PorkyPrimeCut]

nope both sleeves can go to the same clips.
since the Gnd is common (the same)

So, like a jumper wire from the sleeve to the tip (which has the croc clip wire soldered on to it?)

[Kipper4]

one wire from the input jack sleeve and a different wire from the output jack sleeve both go to a single croc clip. 
sort of like a Y cable for Gnd. It just saves a croc clip.

or this
if you want to use 4 croc clips

"So, basically 4 croc-clips, 2 soldered to an input jack (1 on the tip, one on the sleeve) & the same for the output jack?"

[PorkyPrimeCut]

I'm almost with you....



...Where does the Y-clip from the sleeves attach?

Sorry, I'm an illustrator & tend to work in pictures. Words often fail me!

[287m]

to ground

im not good with picture, but i can hit print screen from fuzzdog build doc
like this

[Kipper4]

^ yep that

to the Gnd

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Gotcha.

Last question, with no knob or switch attached, what tells you the circuit's working? Is it just (fuzz in this case) automatically at full volume?

[Kipper4]

You can leave the vol knob attached and put the output jack tip croc clip on lug two. (Middle one)
or as you say put it directly on the 22nf cap and expect to get deaf.

Just dont forget to say put the vol pot about half way up for example and dont forget to strum the strat/gibo whatever instrument.
Oh and attach battery via croc clips.

Then if it dont make loud fuzzy noises you know you got a circuit problem rather than a switching or jack boxing assembly fault.

If you have a circuit problem your gonna need to go to the debugging thread and report back.
Sticky section top of the page.

[PorkyPrimeCut]

OK, I think I'm with it now. Thanks, guys.

Typically, just when I'm right in the mood to lock myself away with all this stuff for a good few days, I'm going away for 2 weeks.

I'll order some crocodile-clip leads & pick up where I left off when i get back to the UK.

[duck_arse]

this:

are you using a BC182L?

Yes, that & a 2N3904.

Thanks again

you can't go anywhere until you compare your transistor pinout to the correct manufacturers datasheet, and the layout diagram, and your wiring. your photo suggests you have a BC184, not a BC184L