What's wrong with my build(s)???

[pervyinthepark123]

Hello. I've been trying to make pedals for a really long time now and have only made a fuzz factory and Vintage Fuzz Master via PCBs. I can't get anything else to run, PCB or otherwise, except rare breadboard experiments. I've had no luck on a Rat, Big Muff, Klon and now Doom Bloom. The first three are on PCB and the doom bloom is via stripboard.

Heres some pics of my doom bloom build... [layout here]

I tested nearly every component. They're all new, the few I forgot to test should be good. I tested every wire and they all meet their goal. All grounds are grounded. No connecting between copper strips on the board, nor between the holes. Bypass signal, no effected signal at all.



I simply don't understand what I seem to be doing wrong everywhere. I can get things working on breadboard when I wrap my head around it and transfer things over to the breadboard layout. But somehow I'm lacking the abilities between that and boxing an effect despite my solder points seeming to connect? They always do when I can/do test them. PLEASE, someone help, I'm ripping my hair out because I'm doing everything the way everyone else does and just don't seem to be able to get the results, even compared to people that seem to put no effort in. What am I doing wrong?

edit: also, my thread for the Rat

[a2music]

I had the same problem when I first got into the pedal obsession. It's maddening to make dud circuit after dud circuit.  Make sure you don't have any solder bridges from trace to trace. From the pics it looks like there might be a few. Get some flush cutters and trim the excess leads too. I see lots of potential short circuits. When working with strip board it's important to have clean connections, tight wiring and most of all, no solder bridges. Take a look at some pics of other people's projects. I learned a lot from closely studying other people's work.

Good luck!

[pervyinthepark123]

I've gone between the traces with my multimeter as well as exacto knife and I swear there's none. It looks like it because the leads are shadowing somewhat over neighbors but only because its so small... there's no contact between any so there should be no shorts? I tested it with a multimeter...

[intripped]

I bet you're using a (very) cheap soldering iron.
I strongly suggest to make a little investment for a soldering station with temperature adjustment; even the cheapest is much better than the normal soldering iron.
I think you can buy a decent one with 30-40$.

[pervyinthepark123]

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I think that might be one of my big problems! Any suggestion of a good iron? Mine is definitely cheap and one-temp and the tips don't seem to last on it.

[Ben Lyman]

I got this weller, don't know how I ever got along without it.
Only $45 but it came with a giant flat head tip so I got the pencil tip on ebay for $5 with free shipping
http://www.frys.com/product/1942888?source=google&gclid=CKqagNSY_dACFZRgfgod8W4EQw

[pervyinthepark123]

I'm hoping for a nice soldering rig for Christmas... xD

Do you guys think tips matter? ST vs M900? I accidentally bought a buncha M900s a while back because they were so cheap when mine was a ST... no more ST tips since theyre so expensive, so what do you guys think of the M900s?

[stringsthings]

I wouldn't skimp on your soldering iron or tip.   I have an ancient Weller WTCP/TC202 that I bought around 1980 and it's still going strong.
I've heard good things about Hakko.  Make sure your work area is well lit.  And don't forget good solder and something for desoldering.
( solder wick, solder sucker, etc. )  You'll never regret purchasing a good soldering iron.

[davepedals]

At least on your first picture, not sure which project that is... I am definitely seeing one or two Solder bridges that are actually connecting to each other from one track to another , not sure if that was intentional or not but I would check that out.

[duck_arse]

I have an ancient Weller WTCP/TC202 that I bought around 1980 and it's still going strong.

me too, mine too, EXCEPT it currently needs a new element.

as for tips, I prefer a single flat/chisel/screwdriver over a conical every time. I find the flatted tips will usually have a sweet spot, I can never find one one the pointy ones.

and to your boards. first thing is, cut them with a saw, not drill-and-snap, or at least clean the cut edges so we don't know what method you used. there is NOTHING in the world that can't be made to look professional and expensive by sanding the edges with 400 grit wet or dry. nothing.

and your track cuts, as seen in your linked build, needs plenty of attention. all the little crescents of copper around the cut - whatever cut method you use - must be cleaned away for a reliable build. and all those component legs need to be trimmed down to the level of the solder, so they will be less inclined to poke and short when they are not supposed to. and you'll rip the skin off your fingers much less often.

practise your soldering to tags, larger lugs. this may come down to your iron, it might improve with a quality tool. some of your lug joints look grainy, some have stray strands of wire waving to cause problems. and don't solder to the lug rivets on the pots, solder to the pins, or solder the pins to some vero, and the wires to the vero.

perhaps a lighter gauge of hookup wire will make the whole process go a little smoother. just my observations.

[pervyinthepark123]

It looks kind of like  there's bridges but there are none as I said earlier. I tested it with multimeter repeatedly. There can't be any bridges if the multimeter doesn't read them right?
Anyway, I trimmed down and nothing change.

May I ask, what's wrong with soldering to lug rivets? Its easy with these cheap surfacemounts that don't really work on surface mount too well due to the straight angle...

[LightSoundGeometry]

it looks like you are using a bad iron and cheap tip. Looks like my old radio shack builds or the community college guns they had in lab lol..only two of us got the radio kit working haha..I had my own gun I brought in, and I cheated I grabbed a second kit after the first one was ruined lol!

get a new solder station!

[GibsonGM]

Hi Perv,

The wire is supposed to make a "sound mechanical connection" before soldering...which means going thru the hole provided and being wrapped, then soldered.  I admit, once in a while I just pass it thru the hole and solder...but later, when something fails, that's usually the spot, ha ha.    Poking the wire into the rivet and soldering isn't good because of that, and some pots may use a different metal on the rivet which solder likes less.

For the type of pot with 'pins' on the end instead of a hole (some call them PCB mount...), I roll them over with my tiny pliers and then crimp the wire in the hole just made, then solder.   

Those (and jacks) take solder easier if you hit them with some 400 sandpaper (Duck...) before soldering, the scuff makes solder bite better....and tin them first.

Edit:  You COULD get a new solder station, or just practice a lot to get the hang of the right temp and technique.   Tools don't replace technique that hasn't been learned - it takes time.   If you aren't using good solder, you'll get bad results, too.  I like 60/40 rosin core, .050" for this small stuff.

[thermionix]

Yeah soldering is not a skill you are born with.  It takes practice to get good at it, like most things.  Couple things I noticed in the pics in addition to what others have pointed out, I see a pot in one pic where two lugs are visible and don't seem to have anything attaced to them.  Maybe that was an unused option, I don't know, but a pot can't do anything with only one lug used.  Also, the rivet that connects the pot lug to the wafer may have a hole, but it should not be used as a connection point to solder wires to.  Excess heat there can make the connection between the lug and the resistive element go intermittant or open.  If you're running wires to a PC-mount pot, you can wrap the wire around the pin and solder that.

[pervyinthepark123]

Thank you all for the advise.

The pot I think you are referring to must either be the bias knob, the other two of which are connected together and to the nearby grounded connection on one of the jacks. There is an extra wire I tried to ground to the case but that didnt work and I just left it for the time being since it wasnt shorting anything and made a note to snip it.

That or the gain knob that has a 200K resistor on one end ins place of a wire since I seek 2.2M max resistence, not just 2M. Although either would be fine I'm sure, but I don't think I want 0 gain

[deadastronaut]

ive had the same trusty iron for 40 years,

its had 13 new elements, 14 new handles, 119 new tips

and 16 power supplies...


(i'll get my coat) 

[antonis]

Electrical tape is a no-no..!!

If you can't use a singe piece of wire (I can't find an obious reason, but..) use heatshrink tube instead of tape..

An alcohol solution cleaning of all joints before soldering shouldn't be a bad idea..

[PRR]

> ive had the same trusty iron for 40 years

Mine is a bit older. Sold as parts. I have a handle from 1974 and a handle from ~~1964 (cork!). Two elements, big and bigger. 4-pack of tips now half gone. Just an iron, no controller or money-motion. Stand is either an ashtray or a soup-can on a board.

[thermionix]

The pot I think you are referring to must either be the bias knob, the other two of which are connected together and to the nearby grounded connection on one of the jacks. There is an extra wire I tried to ground to the case but that didnt work and I just left it for the time being since it wasnt shorting anything and made a note to snip it.

On second look, I think the pot I was looking at does have more wires connected to it, just at the rivet holes rather than the lugs, and obscured in the photo by another wire.  I am very serious about not soldering at the rivet holes, though.  Dollars to donuts you have some bad pots in that build for that reason.

[idy]

Another suggestion: get it working before you box it! Much easier to troubleshoot. I make a cardboard template of the top, leave input and output, 9v and ground wires to attach to a breadboard "breakout" box with jacks and a battery. The template also allows to monkey with the layout before I drill the enclosure. So much easier to solder when you aren't poking around in the box.