NEED HELP Breadboarding a Silicon Fuzz Face Pedal

[smallbearelec]

Hi--

I am the author of the breadboarding tutorial that you used. I purposely stayed out of this thread because I knew that your problems had to be something really basic that the good people here would help you find. Congratulations! You have gotten the first and most important lesson that breadboarding is meant to teach: Every Connection has to be correct, and it is easy to get one wrong when there are even a dozen to make.

Suggestions:

DON'T try to do your own layout for your first soldered build. Find one that has been vetted (other residents here can help) and follow it like holy writ. I'm not offering one of mine because it needs to be re-worked. I do offer suitable perfboard, enclosures and other bits and pieces in my shop:

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

Also, use a larger enclosure than you really need to. For a first build, extra room to work in is very helpful.

Happy Construction! and drop a line to the smallbearelec address if you need help with shopping.

[pgorey]

I've been watching this thread and think it's really cool for the small bear owner to chime in.  I bought this exact kit for my first pedal at the beginning of Dec.  I was absolutely pulling my hair out trying to figure out the issue and after telling myself that everything was done perfectly, I went through each component again ( I think it was the 5th time I had done this) and found a jumper that was offset by one pin - that was all it took to not have a working circuit.  It really is an all or nothing hobby.

I went ahead and perfed on the fly without using a vetted layout - I know this is not recommended, but I wanted to see if I could make it up as I followed the schematic and it worked the first try!  i won't say that the layout looks pretty or is even practical as I have a bunch of jumper wires joining on a ground buss that I created but it worked and I was proud.   There's nothing better than powering up a pedal and hearing the fruits of your effort.  Even more so if there was signifiant troubleshooting.  This is a great sounding fuzz by the way.  I would add a tone stack to boost 3-6k but I like the sound of it stock. 

[bluebunny]

all or nothing

That's physics for you.   

[bonzoboi]

@smallbearelec Wow!! Great to hear from you and I appreciate you expressing your support!!

I've begun my wiring process, using the wiring layout at http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/pdf/ggg_ff5_lo_npn.pdf as a guide. I've soldered all of the components together as it instructs, but I'm still running everything through a breadboard as if it were soldered onto perfboard. My issue is that I pass no signal when the switch is not activated, but I am able to pass a signal when the switch is activated, but the signal has no fuzz, and it appears that neither of the pots are influencing the signal. Also, my battery was getting pretty hot. I know on the General Guitar Gadgets site they have a wiring diagram for a circuit that doesn't use a 10k trim pot (I am not using the 10k trim pot), but it is for germanium transistors, and it appears to be using negative power and a positive ground as opposed to the opposite, so I'm worried about following it.

My questions are:
Should I use a 10k trim pot?
Do these issues bring up any red flags that you can think of?
Is there another website/diagram that I should use?
Should I start another thread on this forum now that I am past the breadboarding stage?

Thanks as always for everyone's great support and advice!! I am definitely hooked now!

[smallbearelec]

Also, my battery was getting pretty hot.

Something is shorted. Do not re-connect the battery until you figure out where the short is and get rid of it. The battery is probably dead now, so you will likely need another one.

This layout at GGG

http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/pdf/ggg_ff5_lo_npn.pdf

could be made to work for a perfboard layout, but it is really a PCB...not the same kind of environment. Your need for a perf layout plays into a project that I need to do for teaching purposes, so I am going to make an offer: I am going to re-work this article:

http://diy.smallbearelec.com/Projects/FurFace/FurFace.htm

over the next week or two. I will be simplifying the build so that the breadboarding tutorial segues into it properly. The build will be geared to first-time builders, with much attention paid to good construction practices. As in the existing piece, I'll talk some about the process of getting from breadboard to box and how some of the design choices are made.

You had the patience to struggle to a working breadboard build, so I hope you'll wait on me a bit.

[pgorey]

smallbearelec, that's awesome and I think will help a lot of people.  So cool that you're here to support your projects and I am super thankful like most here probably are for your site and all of the resources on it. The breadboard fuzz face was my first project that got me hooked and I'm sure Bonzoboi will feel the same especially when it is in a working enclosure.

[bonzoboi]

@smallbearelec I would appreciate that very much!

My capacity for patience is at an all time high right now, so I will absolutely wait on your article!

As a first time builder, being able to make the transition from the breadboard to the box would be very very helpful. Thank you taking an interest in this!!

[smallbearelec]

Noted. I have started work on the layout and will start a new thread when I post the article.

[bonzoboi]

@smallbearelec Hi! I was wondering what the status of the article you are working on is? Not trying to rush you along, I'm just curious and excited to house this pedal!

[smallbearelec]

I was wondering what the status of the article you are working on is?

Just posted. Please re-start the conversation here:

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=117166.0

SD

[bonzoboi]

Thank you so much!