My First Build - Noob Advice Required about components.

[steveyraff]

Still, I might take John's advice and try stranded this time. I never used it on my first build, but I did have problems with a few wire ends breaking free of their solder joint when moving them around. Maybe I'll try stranded for my latest build and see its easier.

Told ya so!     Yeah, use stranded for off-board wiring and keep the single core for jumpers on your board.  Keep at it, Steve - you'll crack it!   

Slowly but surely man - soon I'll stop pestering everyone with my amateurish questions!!! 

[bluebunny]

Nah, keep 'em coming.  Makes me feel good that I can actually offer a reply on these rare occasions!   

[mth5044]

Thats a brilliant idea actually!

Still, I might take John's advice and try stranded this time. I never used it on my first build, but I did have problems with a few wire ends breaking free of their solder joint when moving them around. Maybe I'll try stranded for my latest build and see its easier.

Thanks again all.

Is the wire breaking, or the solder joint? The way you describe it sounds like the solder is removing from the joing, in which case, you are getting cold solder joints and you'd need to go over them. If the actual wire is breaking and the solder is staying in place, then yeah, @#$% solid core. @#$% it anyway.

[steveyraff]

Thats a brilliant idea actually!

Still, I might take John's advice and try stranded this time. I never used it on my first build, but I did have problems with a few wire ends breaking free of their solder joint when moving them around. Maybe I'll try stranded for my latest build and see its easier.

Thanks again all.

Is the wire breaking, or the solder joint? The way you describe it sounds like the solder is removing from the joing, in which case, you are getting cold solder joints and you'd need to go over them. If the actual wire is breaking and the solder is staying in place, then yeah, @#$% solid core. @#$% it anyway.

The solder joints are fine - I'm explaining myself badly. I aint speakin good english proper. F Solid core then. F it to f. Thanks man!

[Jdansti]

I forgot to mention that when using stranded, you need to tin if first. Just in case you have never done this, after you strip the insulation from the end, twist the strands into a neat unit with no stray strands stickng out. Then apply solder to the bare strands. This will help insure a good solder joint when you solder the wire to something.

[steveyraff]

Hey guys,

I know you've told me before about the ability to give or take some value, but I just want to ask again.

This has been a difficult build, so for fun I am making a Super Hard On (...the pedal, I swear). I have everything I need except a 5K1 resistor. I DO however, have a 5K6. Would this make a Major difference ?

Steve

EDIT: Ugh! I just realised I don't have one of those anymore either. Dammit. Nevermind. I know what you are saying, try two in series. I've already cut the vero board for this one. Boo!

[Rixen]

Unlikely to make much difference, but the two component solutions to get within 1% are:

Series:
390.0 + 4700.0 = 5090.0
1200.0 + 3900.0 = 5100.0
1800.0 + 3300.0 = 5100.0

Parallel:
56000.0 || 5600.0 = 5090.9

wish you success !

[bluebunny]

Steve: if you're really stuck, and patient, just PM me an address and I'll pop a couple in the post to you.

[Mustachio]

Steve you said you already cut the vero board, and I sorta am taking from this you think  you cant run the 2 resistors in series to make the correct value because of space.

One resistor in each hole , so their sticking straight up and the long leads are in the air, twist those together and solder, their in series now. I've had to do this on a few occasions. Just in case you didn't think you could fit em in, you can

And Rixen gave you some nice common value resistors to try in series to get the 5k1 (5.1K , 5100)

If you have an android device there's an app called Electrodroid that has a lot of nice features like resistor value series/parallel , voltage dividers heck tons of things even pin outs for cables etc. It's pretty handy.

[steveyraff]

Steve: if you're really stuck, and patient, just PM me an address and I'll pop a couple in the post to you.

How very kind! It's ok, I've already ordered them - I don't mind. I am doing A LOT of ordering these days, but its because I am buying like 20 at a time to stock up. Then it'll slow down when I can just restock parts.

John thanks for the soldering tips - I was pretty much doing that already. I've looked at a lot of soldering technique video tutorials back when I started this project.

Also, I got that resistor value calculator app thingie. Cheers.


Heres a question...

This is one I often wonder about while I am ordering. Sometimes, if I am looking for a cap - I find the correct value, but I am offered the same value with similar stats in different forms - ie the same value as a box cap, a ceramic, Green Cap, WIMA or Film. So far, I generally avoid ceramic for no other reason than the others appear visually more substantial and robust. I most commonly order Green Caps for the scientific reason that they resemble tasty Chiclet candy.

Any idiot proof way of working out the best kind to go for, for general pedal builds?

Cheers.

[bluebunny]

Any idiot proof way of working out the best kind to go for, for general pedal builds?

Purdy is good!      Seriously, box caps will be good for pretty much anything: they're small and uniform (and cheap).  Greenies look great but take up more space.  Use disc ceramics for power supply decoupling (right up close to ICs).  And all of these will be good for pedal-sized voltages.  For electrolytics, just make sure you get ones with a high-enough voltage rating.  10V might be marginal.  Aim for 16V and up.  And Rapid do a nice selection of sub-miniature ones that take up very little space.

[steveyraff]

Any idiot proof way of working out the best kind to go for, for general pedal builds?

Purdy is good!      Seriously, box caps will be good for pretty much anything: they're small and uniform (and cheap).  Greenies look great but take up more space.  Use disc ceramics for power supply decoupling (right up close to ICs).  And all of these will be good for pedal-sized voltages.  For electrolytics, just make sure you get ones with a high-enough voltage rating.  10V might be marginal.  Aim for 16V and up.  And Rapid do a nice selection of sub-miniature ones that take up very little space.

Thats exactly the info I needed. That was quick! Another order going in then. Woohoo. Cheers man.

[steveyraff]

Actually, another quick question:

For my first build I was socketing all my transistors and diodes. I did this so I could swap them out easily to hear any audible differences. Now - if I am making the same pedal again, and I already know which diodes and transistors I am going to use, do I still have to socket them? A friend told me to always socket transistors to avoid over heating or something - not sure if there is any truth in this?

Also, if any components are being left in their sockets can you trim the stems down and do you have to solder them into the socket when finished? They seem stuck in securely enough to me - but I don't like how high they sit up.

On a side note - I find sockets the trickiest things to solder in. When you flip the board over, they just fall out. Holding them in place is no good because you need two hands to solder with. What I usually do now is take needle-nose pliers to bend the socket stems out away from each other, making them grab onto the board themselves before soldering.

Cheers all.

[PRR]

You can't overheat Silicon with a soldering iron.

Sockets are troublesome. Perhaps justifiable for experimentation, not for gigging.

[steveyraff]

You can't overheat Silicon with a soldering iron.

Sockets are troublesome. Perhaps justifiable for experimentation, not for gigging.

Thanks - just as long as I know I don't have to socket anything for reasons other than experimentation.

Cheers.

[bluebunny]

When you flip the board over, they just fall out.

Elastic bands.   

And if the board is small enough, a paper clip can do the job too: this has the benefit of the two loops on the paper clip being a different size, so when it clamps the top, the bottom is left free for soldering.

[Jdansti]

>This is one I often wonder about while I am ordering. Sometimes, if I am looking for a cap - I find the correct value, but I am offered the same value with similar stats in different forms - ie the same value as a box cap, a ceramic, Green Cap, WIMA or Film. So far, I generally avoid ceramic for no other reason than the others appear visually more substantial and robust. I most commonly order Green Caps for the scientific reason that they resemble tasty Chiclet candy.


Something to watch is the lead spacing.  5mm hole centers for caps are pretty common on PCBs, and perfboard and stripboard generally have 2.5mm hole centers.  Most values of box caps come with 5mm lead spacings which works well with all three types of mountings.

[duck_arse]

For my first build I was socketing all my transistors and diodes. I did this so I could swap them out easily to hear any audible differences. Now - if I am making the same pedal again, and I already know which diodes and transistors I am going to use, do I still have to socket them? A friend told me to always socket transistors to avoid over heating or something - not sure if there is any truth in this?

Also, if any components are being left in their sockets can you trim the stems down and do you have to solder them into the socket when finished? They seem stuck in securely enough to me - but I don't like how high they sit up.

seeing as you know the parts you'll use, next time you only need to chuck those parts into the breadboard to make sure they all tikkety-boo 100%, then you don't need sockets. once you got's enough practice soldering, you don't need sockets. there are some hereabouts that use sockets on their builds everytime, and when they got the keeper parts found and fitted. they bust off the plastic and solder the part to the socket pins.

if yer paying money for sockets, and then fitting 2c transistors in same, practise your soldering, save money, improve reliabillity. sell those sockets to your mate.

as for caps, the very small values come cheap (ceramic) or expensive (silver mica or styroseal). and although the greencaps are cheap, colourfull and plentiful, they will usually be a pin spacing half-way between the holes in yer board. (and oddly fat and bulging, sometimes.) this always drives me crazy, so I use box caps.

[steveyraff]

Ok guys,

Noob quiestions of the day.

While I am waiting to box this pedal, I started working on a easier project for fun. A Super Hard-On booster.

This is my first build to vero board. The Madbean project is good in that theres a step to step guide. On this project I bascially just have to follow the picture.


I am getting a little confused with my pot orientation. I am not sure what perspective these layouts are taken from, which side of the pot I am looking at etc. On top of that, there may be the added confusion that this is a REVERSE pot. So whatever perspective the lugs are labelled 1, 2, 3 from, this one may be the opposite anyway?

I have no idea if I am making any sense.

HERE is the tagboard layout I am following: http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/zvex-super-hard-on-updated-version.html


HERE are a few pics of my vero - which way around am I supposed to be reading this?:
Perspective A (Which I always Presumed was correct, and 1 - 2 -3 from left to right while looking this way).


Perspective B (Which I presumed is NOT the way these layouts look at the pots)



Is it as the first pic shows, but the lugs are orientated the opposite way around because its a reverse pot?  

Sorry again for my usual avalanche of queries.

P.S - I can never find a proper guide to soldering these Alpha Pots online. Does it go through the hole and wrap back around onto itself over the lug then soldered at both points or something? Very unsure about the correct method.

[duck_arse]

pot mounting first. the pots you have are for pcb mounting. the intention is for the pins to go through the board itself, no wires needed. for "flying leads", manufacturers offer solder lug terminations. these are the tags w/ the hole in the middle.

however. we all usually just make do, or booger, bodgie, kludge with what we have at hand. so, without using the rivet hole (it may allow the rivet to loosen, or a shorted wire to the case) wrap the wire you have, in this case solid core makes it easier, around the end of the pin. squeeze it w/ pliers or otherwise hold it so it doesn't move, and solder. that's all there is to it.

you can, of course, cut a tiny bit of vero board ~5x3 ?, and push it onto the pins, and solder. then solder a stranded wire into another of the holes along the pin tracks. that way you keep the blokes at alpha happy by correct use of their product, and you keep me happy by correct use of stranded wire, and you keep yourself happy because the end result is reliable and component-stress free.

to orientation. turn the pot down, as if a volume control. that direction is anti- or counterclockwise. the wiper is now at the ccw pin. this end is cold, and will most often be nearest the ground, as in this case. the other, cw terminal, is hot, and the full signal comes in there. the middle, common, centre or wiper is the output, the variable. think in terms of ccw and cw, instead of 1,2,3, and the confusion will generally disappear.

as for "reverse", it describes the curve of the change of resistance relative to the rotation of the shaft. the resistance at the wiper still increases as you turn cw, but it increases at a different rate. the pot itself is not reversed.

is that a socket I see?