help! with powering up my effect

[LightSoundGeometry]

Hello - I am new here, and new to pedal building and electronics. I have a base knowledge of how things operate but will admit I am a noob. I hope the power of the crowd will help. looks like there are some great teachers here with time and willingness to help. I thank you in advance for that, its priceless. I started the hobby because not only do i love music, and needed a hobby to occupy my free time, I love to learn new things. I am addicted now. I still have GAS and like to buy stuff, but nothing is more intriguing than making all of my own effects! the sense of accomplishment must be great!

Type: Octave up dan armstrong green ringer
From: General Guitar Gadgets PCB only, I purchased the BOM myself from mammoth electronics
Problems: wont work with power supply like the one on my pedal board which rhymes with  hoodoo hab but works just fine with a 9v battery
tweaks: I had a 560K 1/2w resistor in place of a 560K 1/4w in the R2 spot
Links: http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/effects-projects/octave/dan-armstrong-green-ringer/


wondering why I am getting a negative reading on DMM when I measure voltage?

[slacker]

Hi

I didn't watch all the video so you might have covered it but from your photos it looks like your battery lead is the opposite polarity to your power supply lead. If you measure the voltage on the plugs by sticking the black meter lead in the hole in the plug and the red lead to the outside of the plug you should measure +9 Volts on the power lead, this is the usual polarity for pedals, the centre (hole) is ground and the outside it 9 Volts. Do the same thing on the battery plug and you'll probably find it measures -9 Volts ie: it's the opposite polarity.
If that's the case you have your power jack wired backwards, swap the black and yellow leads over and it should work.

Welcome aboard

[LightSoundGeometry]

hey ! sounds good slacker. soon as I eat, finish my homework and watch the hockey game, I have all night to dedicate to powering this up! thats the first thing I will do.

so, to sum things up, polarity on the 2.1 mm barrels match up different depending upon if its a battery or a psa. my question then is how do they run both like you see in numerous pedals? I ask this because I think the larger prong/lug on those are negative and the two smaller ones are positive ?


well slacker , you are the man!  - its just a matter of switching the polarity, then a quick re-test followed by final mechanical and solder connections!!

my next project I will try and add an LED to the circuit. And this one will be from the ground up on Vero using some higher grade parts I accumulated over the past year   but then again JD over at GGG is a good guy and I might buy another pcb for a compressor and make one of them. I always wanted to a comp out see what it does to my rig/tone

[GibsonGM]

Use the "search" function, look up "protection diode" and "reversed polarity"...if you have any troubles, it's likely due to the reversal accident.  Hope it works out ok! 

[LightSoundGeometry]

paint job aint so good, but not bad for my 1st build..it sounds freaking gnarly ..like SRV and Band of gypsies in a box






Only been a member here for a few hours and already been helped. It is a relief to finally have a build done and sound fantastic. I am proud of myself! thank you DIY community !

Use the "search" function, look up "protection diode" and "reversed polarity"...if you have any troubles, it's likely due to the reversal accident.  Hope it works out ok! 

I will do ! I couldnt find the search bar earlier but I see it now!

[duck_arse]

plenty here would rank your first build much better than their own first.

[LightSoundGeometry]

well, I have done a lot of pickups and wiring harnesses in guitars, so it was easier to transition over.  appreciate the kind words!

[antonis]

plenty here would rank your first build much better than their own first.

Absolutely true and correct...


@LightSoundGeometry: You could add an LED indicator on your 3PDT switch...

[LightSoundGeometry]

hey! adding a LED is my next goal. I have a few of them on the way from a guy in NY - I not sure if I can plug him but he is cheap and an honest guy. I had a package lost int he mail and he sent me a new one 2 day shipping.

I was looking at the unused column and noticed it was the ground and led rows? I think I had seen a resistor from dc input to led and then back to ground on the switch. I need to get a good understanding on syncing up the led with the on position lol.

my second build is not going as smooth - this is my 3rd enclosure and it might not work either - 1590a opamp buffer - doing it because its a good starter one with hardly any pieces and I was able to write this one out myself in schematic form! I tried putting to vero and was unsuccessful , so it is just straight up point to point. Other things I dont like about it is, I need to run my jump underneath. I noticed on vero format they run the IC jumpers on bottom to hide them; and thats a whole other thing, how the cuts in the vero work under the IC chip , not sure how , or if, the pins were running together. I ran the dmm down the strips and thought it had all the right continuity - the reason I think this one might not work , same mistakes lol, I drilled the jacks too far apart but we will see if I can cram it all in there!

[duck_arse]

hmmm, problems with vero. that sounds like a challenge. show us what you did, and we'll point you in some directions.

a good way to not wreck yr enclosures is to start with a cardboard mock-up. it recycles breakfast cereal boxes (ask me how I know), you can do as many as you need, throw the duds.

I don't know how many of my prototype bends I've got laying about, they have all the internal volume to fit a load of parts, but it seems the first hole I drill is in the wrong place by 5mm, nothing else then fits. it's chasing, swearing and massaging from there on.

[antonis]

I was looking at the unused column and noticed it was the ground and led rows? I think I had seen a resistor from dc input to led and then back to ground on the switch. I need to get a good understanding on syncing up the led with the on position lol.

Nothing complicated here...
(you need a current limiting resistor - unless you want a momentarily SUPER bright LED..)



P.S.
You have to admit that you didn't treate your IC affectionately enough...

[LightSoundGeometry]

  it works though !



my attempt at vero - would be cool to wire it up - I need to get rid of the large orange drop although it does fit - I had a Input, output, 9v and ground out to a star on J1 , output to j2 and then tried 9v in and ground to star on j1 . made buzzing and popping noises or nothing at all.

[GibsonGM]

Glad you got the first one going, man!  Yes, much better than my first build, LOL...I made a sick and poorly biased fuzz face, ugly paint in an old DOD distortion enclosure I'd ripped the switch pad off, ha ha...And you just get better as you go!

On the vero one here - if it's still not working - (I don't like vero much, he he) - is the blue wire supposed to be connected to 2 traces?  Looks like it is shorting at the top where it enters the board.    Try "spinning" your stranded wire in your fingers to make the ends neat, and actually put the wires thru a hole instead of trying to lay them on the back (yeah, I've done that too      

If you want, later on when it all works, you can put a drop of hot glue on the wires that might break, at the board, like the battery snap, to attach them to the PCB more firmly...

How 'bout the IC socket?  is everything soldered in there well?  The socket itself?  I see some pins that might not be attached.

Disregard if it's been fixed

[antonis]

I think that securing IC in place with the naked jumper is a brilliant idea...


(just kidding my friend...    but you have to avoid some "elementary" mistakes.. )

[GibsonGM]

I think that securing IC in place with the naked jumper is a brilliant idea...

I though that was to mount the board to the enclosure?     Also just kidding, we've all been there!! 

[LightSoundGeometry]

hello - no , I was just laying the wire out to show where it was placed. for example, the two cap leads and the input both went into slot 3 of the IC pin, red9v was connected to the top with r2 and 7 of the pin and the out put with pin 6, the ground off r1 and pin 4 . I had desoldered everything to start over on it.

so even unused IC legs get soldered in? vero is a lot tougher than pcb etches imho! can any of you guys tell what that old school vero is called, the one that is used for amp building now and more p2p style . I cant find a pic of it right now but will soon. the old pedals have it, and there is also some really dark brown vero with no holes pre drilled. what are the types and styles of vero? I kve the parallel strips connected universally as you can see and does it matter if its copper or silver?

[GibsonGM]

Just busting you a little, John, no worries  

I always solder every pin of an IC, just because...and I always use an IC socket!  Prevents them from getting heated up when soldering, and also lets you change out the IC if it dies, or to measure the voltages at the socket itself.   If you build something 'right', you're sure, and it doesn't work...good chance you overheated the IC this way.   And desoldering is WORSE, heat-wise.

What i use to build is "perf board".  I don't do vero.   WAY back when, the early PCB's were that dark phenolic stuff...good stuff, but I don't see any available anywhere.    Maybe tube amp turret board material?? (tubesandmore.com)     But for me, the perf is THE STUFF.  I can build anything on it, no bull.  Just rows of holes, use what you want, ignore the rest...just like vero without the connecting tracks.

Copper is just....copper....it's "normal" stuff.  Silver makes me think pre-tinned?  Nothing fancy, anyway.  I use copper.

If soldering is bugging you, you can try to get a finer tip, sometimes that helps.  I see, below the blue wire in the pic, looks like you may have bridged 2 tracks by accident?  Or maybe it happened when taking parts out.    Takes some practice; we've all done that.  Melted wires, burned up parts, bridges, ruined ICs, LOL....

[LightSoundGeometry]

ready for wire and test but this is what I got

[Tony Forestiere]

Nice! Practiced a bit? 

[LightSoundGeometry]

yeop! I wasted like 100 dollars worth of parts over the last 2 weeks to get to this point



probablycloser to 200 dollars lol