Can anyone help identify this pcb?

[slashandburn]

Found this lurking in a drawer pretty much finished and have no idea what it is. I'm guessing some kind of fuzz? Looks like a layout from guitareffectsLayouts. I can almost make out some faint letters on the solder side but it's really faint. I don't think cleaning up the big ugly solder blobs would help decypher it but Looks like it could contain EMO or FMO.

The trannies are bc547b, the big green film cap is 220n, the yellow pairs or series caps are all 1uf (105) so the circuit must call for 3x470nf unless I've bollocksed that and they were meant to be 47n. (wouldn't be the first time).  The parallel resistor in the lower right are 100k+27k (so 21k, I'd guess the circuit called for 22k) and the other one (four to left of the diode are both 39k (basically 20k).

I'm stumped. Any ideas?  Cheers either way.
Iain

[11-90-an]

I can *almost* confidently say that it's the colorsound tremolo... (and it's in guitarfxlayouts...)

http://effectslayouts.blogspot.com/2017/08/colorsound-tremolo.html

[slashandburn]

Nice one! That's it. Haha. I can almost remember building it now. Strange though, I've never been much into Tremolo myself. Quite likely must've been something I offered to build to someone.

Cheers, much appreciated knew I could count on this place!

Next question then, can anyone remember who I was meant to building a tremolo for? 

[iainpunk]

Iain, how can you not like tremolo?
to be honest, tremolo and vibrato are the only modulation effects i like, i despise flanger and phaser/chorus are only usefull after taking out the dry signal, turning them in to vibrato.

maybe put it in an amplifier you can build in the future! sure makes it a vintage vibe!

cheers, another Iain

[slashandburn]

Iain, how can you not like tremolo?
to be honest, tremolo and vibrato are the only modulation effects i like, i despise flanger and phaser/chorus are only usefull after taking out the dry signal, turning them in to vibrato.

maybe put it in an amplifier you can build in the future! sure makes it a vintage vibe!

cheers, another Iain

I dont have a logical answer to that if im honest! It just never worked for me. I guess my first few amps with their "built in effects" conditioned me to see it as an overly  exaggerated stutter type effect.

Weirdly enough I really like a Vibe but always viewed it as a very black and white volume vs frequency modulation fight. I picked my dog years ago and never reavaluated my stance.

Maybe I etched this board in a rare moment of clarity?

[iainpunk]

maybe just try it out, this tremolo can be set to really subtle shake, nice for clean and dirty alike

cheers, Iain

[slashandburn]

I will man! It's 95% finished so no harm done. I wonder where my head was at when threw it together. I've even gone to the effort of etching and drilling which isn't like me, especially for a relatively small circuit that could've been thrown together on Veroboard.

I'll give it a go.

[Mark Hammer]

Just as a tip (certainly not a reprimand), when I have a populated board with wires hanging off it, awaiting arrival or attachment of pots, switches, jacks, etc., I use the resealable bags that parts often come in, and write the name of the circuit on the bag with a Sharpie - the "presidential pen" - even if the circuit name is on the board itself.  I have enough such bags that I want to be able to read the contents from a distance as I sift through the bin, rather than having to take it out and look for the name on the board.

[iainpunk]

Mark, thats a great idea, would other markers work too? we don't have Sharpies as widespread outside of the America's. the first one i ever saw IRL was in Mexico.

cheers

[ThermionicScott]

Just as a tip (certainly not a reprimand), when I have a populated board with wires hanging off it, awaiting arrival or attachment of pots, switches, jacks, etc., I use the resealable bags that parts often come in, and write the name of the circuit on the bag with a Sharpie - the "presidential pen" - even if the circuit name is on the board itself.  I have enough such bags that I want to be able to read the contents from a distance as I sift through the bin, rather than having to take it out and look for the name on the board.

I do that with all kinds of things, especially nuts and screws from anything I might have apart for a while.  Future Scott always appreciates it.   

[duck_arse]

I'm inclined to cut some white card, about the size of the bag containg the board, and write the circuit name on in big letters with any felt-tipped marker that comes to hand [we used to call them Textas, now we'd say Artline]. the rest of the card is space for the list of missing parts, pot values and switch types.

and when/if I finally do complete a build, I get to ceremonially throw the card into the bin. with a flourish.

[iainpunk]

[OT]
funny how people call things by brand-names instead of product names, in Dutch-Dutch, it kinda odd to say 'Coke', when we mean cola or 'sharpie' when we mean marker, the Belgians seem to do that more, i got asked for a BIC once by a Belgian, and it took him like a minute to come to the point that he needed a pen, i think its an annoying habit since most brands have more than one product.
[/OT]

its a good idea to mark and label boards and component packets in general, if im done building something, i generally throw away the paper bag i put it in.
my local electronics shop always puts small bits and components in nice, small, brown paper bags. i ahve a whole stash of them in a corner of my desk. i even put my weed in those when i run out of small plastic bags.

cheers, Iain

[willienillie]

i think its an annoying habit since most brands have more than one product.

Yes, a Bic is a lighter.  "Flick your Bic!"

Kleenex is a common one around here, to mean any kind of facial tissue.

I say Coke too, but I actually mean Coke.

[iainpunk]

BIC is a pen company, the inventors of the mass-producible ballpoint, its even in their logo!


i don't like coke, i drink pepsi!
but the word coke (coca cola) is to close to coke (cocaine), and it has caused miscommunications in the past since they both are unhealthy and give you energy!

cheers, Iain

[willienillie]

but the word coke (coca cola) is to close to coke (cocaine), and it has caused miscommunications in the past since they both are unhealthy and give you energy!

Coca-Cola originally contained cocaine, hence the name.  My great-grandmother used to live next to the dude that invented it, down in Atlanta (so I'm told).

Pepsi is disgusting.

Bic makes pens too, but their lighters are the best.  Other brands of disposables fall apart before they run out of fuel.

[iainpunk]

but the word coke (coca cola) is to close to coke (cocaine), and it has caused miscommunications in the past since they both are unhealthy and give you energy!

Coca-Cola originally contained cocaine, hence the name.  My great-grandmother used to live next to the dude that invented it, down in Atlanta (so I'm told).

it contained de-cocained coca leaf from the coca plant

Pepsi is disgusting.

you have clearly not done the pepsi-challenge because pepsi is just better, it tastes more ''open'', less compressed. the best thing to drink is still Ranja (typically dutch, its concentrated sweetened fruit flavored syrup that you dilute with water to drink, you can make it as strong or weak as you want, and its available in more than 20 flavors from a lot of different brands, i personally love the Raak brand. [mixing flavors is the best!] )

Bic makes pens too, but their lighters are the best.  Other brands of disposables fall apart before they run out of fuel.

i have good experience with cheap disposable but refillable lighters that are a tad cheaper than BIC lighters, and can be refilled!!!
edit: i love both CRICKET and CLIPPER lighters more than BIC lighters, BIC pens are impeccable tho

cheers, Iain

[slashandburn]

Well this took an unexpected turn. From Sharpies to Cocaine and makeshift weed baggies?

I was genuinely just looking to identify a pcb.

Are you all part of the reason I can't buy acetone by the gallon anymore?

[duck_arse]

who said this?

Oh also, just a few days ago I doused some pcbs in acetone and started scrubbing off the toner mask from the first one before realising I hadn't actually etched them yet.

Are you all part of the reason I can't buy acetone by the gallon anymore?

[anotherjim]

When I smoked, lighters either ran out of flint long before the fuel and refill nozzles didn't fit any fuel can nozzle (or is it nipple?) I could find.

Cyclic modulation effects are difficult things. I hardly ever use a synth LFO for anything other than PWM.

[iainpunk]

i have never ran out of flint on any clipper before the fuel ran out, most of the times after like 2 or 3 refills. i always ask friends for empty lighters to transplant the flint in to a clipper, since you can easily pull out the flint/wheel bit.
i currently use a cricket, it has one of those piezo sparklers, that everybody used to use to zapp friends back in school!

don't most refill cans come with a ring of converter/adapter bits that fit on a plethora of nipples? (yes nipples)

i prefer relaxation oscillators for LFO's so you can determine the ramp up and ramp down times individually, so you can go from saw tooth to triangle to reverse saw with ease.
i generally think a triangle wave sounds better than sin waves when it comes to tremolo or vibrato etc.

cheers, Iain