DIY Standards for First Timers

[bluewaterpig]

Hey guys,

First time poster, please take it easy on me...

I'm coming from a place that seems to be somewhat common; I just read Craig Anderton's Electronic Projects for Musicians and because its last revision was in 1980, I'm a little lost and in need of updates. If you aren't familiar with the book, it's a great resource that just needs an update (chapter 2 talks about how to look up parts dealers in the yellow pages and which mail order dealers are best...yea). I've googled some stuff but it seems hard to find a site dedicated to DIY stuff strictly in the guitar pedal realm.

I thought it might be a worthwhile post to list the standard DIY Stompbox resources. What's everybody using for:

1) Parts resource? (Capacitors, resistors, ICs, etc)

2) Custom PCB resource?

3) Schematics?


I'm most interested in figuring out how I'm going to be able to get the PCBs needed for the projects in this book.

[stringsthings]

Welcome aboard 

I am also a big fan of EPFM.   It's fairly outdated, but it still has great information and handy circuits.  I've built the Tube Sound Fuzz, Compressor, Phase Shifter, Preamp, and a few others.  The PAIA website http://www.paia.com/index.asp sells a few of the kits.  The kits have the PCB and parts ( no enclosure ).  If you're only interested in the boards, General Guitar Gadgets has several PCB patterns for etching your own. http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/effects-projects/extras/epfm-book/  They've even updated many projects that used the RC4739. 

Oh, I forgot  , you've got the book!  Each project has a layout for etching.  This is what I used when the book was first published.  I used the photo-resist method back then. ( before laser printers came along )

1) As far as part resources go,  Smallbear and Mouser have about anything you'd ever need.  Mouser has a gazillion parts, so navigating the website takes some time.  Smallbear is geared towards the DIY pedal market so it's easier to find what you want. 

I also use Tayda.  Their prices are incredibly low. 

All three places have good shipping times to the U.S. There are several other places that people use, including the store here.

2) I personally don't use one; if there's a pattern, I can etch a board at home

3) the internet is your friend 

[blackieNYC]

See Geofex, AMZ, and if it ever returns, there's Beavis Audio. Resources, schematics and most importantly - tutorials, theory, wisdom

[amptramp]

Tonepad is another resource.  There are also schematics on this site - just follow the index.

[GGBB]

Welcome!

There are two broad groupings as far as circuit board sourcing is concerned: buy one or do your own.

Buying a PCB limits you to building circuits that are popular. There's nothing wrong with that, and usually you get a high quality board. This is a great way to start out.

Doing your own can take several forms: strip/vero board, perf board, self etched, or self designed and commercially made. When you do your own board, you could literally build anything you want, but the main advantage is that you can build a variation of an existing circuit. Google is your friend - there are all kinds of PCB layouts floating around in all of these forms. If you are at some point interested in doing your own circuits/variations, I'd recommend learning how to use professional PCB design software like Eagle or DipTrace (free versions are available) so that you can create Gerber files to have your PCBs made professionally which will give you a top quality board (Osh Park is a popular resource for having PCBs made).

To buy a PCB for an existing circuit, there are a lot of options. Places like General Guitar Gadgets and BYOC will sell you a kit with both the PCB and all the parts to make the pedal. General Guitar Gadgets will also sell you just a PCB. You can also buy PCBs from places like Mad Bean Pedals, Tonepad, 1776 Effects, Guitar PCB and others. Run Off Groove is another great resource for original circuits and they provide layouts to etch your own boards as well as links to where you can buy boards for some of their circuits. Many of the people who run these places participate on this forum.

If you are going to buy your own parts, note that some places cater to the DIY pedal crowd and some don't. The big electronic parts dealers like Mouser and Digikey don't, but they have great prices and selection - you just need to be more careful that the parts you buy from them will fit on your board (an issue mainly with capacitors). These guys also typically don't have great selection or prices on stompbox specific things like footswitches and pots or specialty items like vactrols. Places like Small Bear and the DIYStompboxes.com store (and Tayda) as well as specialty places like BLMS and some of the PCB sellers typically only carry pedal parts so you have less worry about compatibility.

[smallbearelec]

Hi--

At the time Craig wrote that book, there was nothing like it for a beginner. The introduction is still a great resource for methods and techniques, but some of the components in the project chapters have gone obsolete over time. The project ideas are still very good, but you'd need more experience to be able to make use of them.

For PCB-based, beginner-friendly builds, Tonepad and GeneralGuitarGadgets have been mentioned. I do not recommend making your own board for a first build; the process is interesting, but it has a learning curve of its own. When you do get to wanting boards made for you, I, also, recommend OSH Park.

Do consider first learning to breadboard and use perfboard. You can find schematics to try in the Beginner Project section on this forum as well as at the DIY sites.

[Blitz Krieg]

RC4739 and RC4136 are not easy to find.  You will also need to supply +/-9V to most of the projects.

[davent]

RC4739 and RC4136 are not easy to find.  You will also need to supply +/-9V to most of the projects.

GGG has layouts for many of those Anderton projects subbing common op amps for those two obsoletes.

http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/effects-projects/extras/epfm-book/
dave

[bluewaterpig]

Thanks for all the great replies everybody. It's nice to see that some Internet forums are actually civil and logical.

So my main concern right now is getting PCBs for my projects. I'm confident in finding parts, I can solder well, and my drill press will take care of drilling any holes for leads, but the etching process seems a little intimidating. If it was as simple as applying masking tape and using an exacto to draw the copper lanes, I'd be ok but I think most will say that masking tape doesn't work too well.

What would you guys suggest for my first PCB...learning how to design through software or etching manually with one of the methods described in EPFM?

Edit: one more question...what's the default replacement for the RC4739?

[smallbearelec]

What would you guys suggest for my first PCB

If you want to make your own boards for the Anderton layouts, here are links to my tutorials for both Press N' Peel direct etch and the photo process:

http://diy.smallbearelec.com/HowTos/DirectPCBoards/DirectPCBoards.htm
http://diy.smallbearelec.com/HowTos/PhotoPCBoards/PhotoPCBoards.htm

I repeat: I don't recommend making a board for a first build. However if you feel confident that you can jump the learning curve, I offer kits that contain everything needed:

http://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/pc-board-making-kits-1/

One way to get around the need for an RC4739 is to use R. G. Keen's "Dead Bug" method:

http://www.geofex.com/FX_images/anderton.gif

The 8-pin chip would be any common op-amp like an RC4558 or JRC4558.

Regards
SD

[PRR]

> If it was as simple as applying masking tape and using an exacto to draw the copper lanes, I'd be ok but I think most will say that masking tape doesn't work too well.

Masking tape leaks under the edge. (Etchant is thinner than paint.)

I have done OK work with best-brand clear desk tape ("Scotch"), burnished to death, and a sharp blade.

I did a lot of work with a Sharpie. Start on grid paper, transfer with carbon paper, go over several times with the Sharpie, etch.

Don't underestimate drilling. Tiny bits break.

My lo-tech workaround was to surface-mount "through-hole" parts. DIPs can be soldered right to pads, they have so many legs that a butt-joint works. Transistors, put a bend on the end of each leg. Resistors want a bend-bend on each leg to get a lap-joint on a pad.

Pre-made PCBs are a *wonderful* thing. In fact if I had a novel idea, I might look-around for anything "like" my plan to boot-strap from a modern factory PCB. There may be an infinite number of possible circuits, but most useful circuits are a few topologies with different values. Jumpers and opens and air-wiring extend the variations.

[Blitz Krieg]

RC4739 and RC4136 are not easy to find.  You will also need to supply +/-9V to most of the projects.

GGG has layouts for many of those Anderton projects subbing common op amps for those two obsoletes.

http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/effects-projects/extras/epfm-book/
dave

almost

"The quad op-amp ICs are still RC4136s"

[smallbearelec]

The RC4136 is available, though more expensive than currently produced parts:

http://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/ic-rc4136n/

I used to carry DATAK drafting tape and circles for laying down patterns on copper, but I don't think it's even made anymore. Paul's suggestion of a Sharpie works for filling voids left over from a toner transfer. My kits include an industrial-grade marking pen that puts down a heavier line.

[amptramp]

For op amp and logic designs, don't underestimate the value of pre-patterned boards like these:



This has contact positions for leads on a DIP package and some like this one will have connector pinouts so you can make a detachable board where you don't have to rip out switches and pots and jacks to get the board in or out.  There is a whole galaxy of shapes and sizes with features like connector pinouts or edge connectors that make life easy.  You also have power rails for easy connection.

[slashandburn]

I'm still cutting my teeth with etching. I've done more enclosures than boards but technique is essentially the same. Don't be intimidated by it, getting the etch resist on (whatever method you choose, it seems) is the trickiest part.  Once the resist is on properly, etching is pretty straightforward, I've found.

*edit* - I don't mean to discourage you from using the proto-boards for experimenting. Etching and drilling seems a lot of work for something you might not like the sound of.   I learned what I know (well, think I know) now  playing around with breadboards, then using plain old stripboard to box up "rough drafts" of the stuff I liked.

Ignore that last bit. I really learned what I know now by spending the best part of a year lurking around this very forum.