Skipping the breadboard step?

[Gargaman]

Ok, so good so far. Good luck.
I use to start with resistors, then capacitors and then transistor. Feels like a warming up

[WoundUp]

Here's that first set of solder joints with the legs clipped flush with the solder. Doesn't look too bad for literally my first soldering on a circuit board.

You can almost see that there aren't any shorts between the pads in the pic lol


I'll probably do it that way, also. Gonna solder in 1 or 2 more things on that practice board, then go for it.

Quick question. If I need a resistor value I don't have, can I just solder multiples together in series to get what I need in a pinch? Is that an acceptable solution?

Thanks

[iainpunk]

i genuinely think the breadboard stage is infinitely more fun and interesting than the final product, so often, when i finish a circuit, i put it in the same re-used enclosure i almost always use for a new circuit im not 1000% in love with.
i also have played my breadboard on a stage in front of an audience more than any other pedal i have.

cheers

[davent]

...
Quick question. If I need a resistor value I don't have, can I just solder multiples together in series to get what I need in a pinch? Is that an acceptable solution?

Thanks

...

You can solder resistors in series to get the right value but for myself, i'm more inclined to use a couple resistors paralleled to get the value i'm after, all about the aesthetics and ease of getting odd values. To that end reverse parallel calculator, plug in the target value, plug in desired tolerance and the program calculates all the pairs of resistors that match your criteria.

http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-parallel.htm
dave

[WoundUp]

...
Quick question. If I need a resistor value I don't have, can I just solder multiples together in series to get what I need in a pinch? Is that an acceptable solution?

Thanks

...

You can solder resistors in series to get the right value but for myself, i'm more inclined to use a couple resistors paralleled to get the value i'm after, all about the aesthetics and ease of getting odd values. To that end reverse parallel calculator, plug in the target value, plug in desired tolerance and the program calculates all the pairs of resistors that match your criteria.

http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-parallel.htm
dave

Thanks! I'll have to check that out.

So, I was just reading about fuzz faces and came across a pretty slick website that let's you plug in all sorts of different guitars, effects and amps/cabs to get an idea of what it sounds like. Among the effects was the Crest Audio Fuzz Face reissue, which they said is the reissue thats the most in demand. I guess it has BC109c silicon transistors in it? Theres info at the page below. Apparently Crest Audio was owned by Dallas Industries, the original Fuzz Face mfg. I'm guessing that's why the Crest Audio fuzzes are in demand? Until now, I hadn't tried both of my BC109c's in my Fuzz Face but since it's still on the breadboard, I'm going to swap them in and see how it sounds.


https://www.tonepedia.com/crest-audio/electric/effect/fuzz-face-1987.html


That's also the website I mentioned above with the "tone machine" for lack of a better name lol

https://www.tonepedia.com/player#/electric/amplifier/253,218/null/694,691/filter_active=false


Anybody played a Crest Audio Fuzz Face? It sounds pretty gnarly on the website I posted. And yet the original Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face sounds even more gnarly than the Crest Audio. I think it's time to get some germanium transistors lol

[Phend]

My 2 nano bitcoin cents says,
There is no incorrect way of connecting basic electronic components.
Depends on what you desire the end result to be.
Want to stomp on it to death, want to use it in front of the tv, want to just see if it works, add it to a collection, put it in the closet ?
Many simple fuzz effects have been made point to point, even commercial.
Circuit boards are organized,  cool, box em up,  apply your best,  at times complex art work.
I have certainly taken an odd approach to making an effect. Using small cheapo bread boards in combo with (??).
Anyway do what you like, have fun, make sure it works cause if it doesn't that is when the fun really begins with the help of the folks here !
Paul

[Radical CJ]

You can solder resistors in series to get the right value but for myself, i'm more inclined to use a couple resistors paralleled to get the value i'm after, all about the aesthetics and ease of getting odd values. To that end reverse parallel calculator, plug in the target value, plug in desired tolerance and the program calculates all the pairs of resistors that match your criteria.

http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-parallel.htm
dave
[/quote]

That calculator is a nifty one. Good if you use a trim pot on the breadboard (e.g. to bias a fet), then can swap it out for two fixed resistors in the finished project.

[WoundUp]

...
Quick question. If I need a resistor value I don't have, can I just solder multiples together in series to get what I need in a pinch? Is that an acceptable solution?

Thanks

...

You can solder resistors in series to get the right value but for myself, i'm more inclined to use a couple resistors paralleled to get the value i'm after, all about the aesthetics and ease of getting odd values. To that end reverse parallel calculator, plug in the target value, plug in desired tolerance and the program calculates all the pairs of resistors that match your criteria.

http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-parallel.htm
dave

Thanks for recommending this. I ended up needing to use it for a 33k resistor(100k + 50k parallel) and that looks and works so much better than a whole bunch end to end. And it still fits on the board where a single resistor was supposed to go. Thanks!

[WoundUp]

Well it's time for an update. I got my first board done finally and it doesn't work. I've got 9.9v at each leg on both transistors and I'm not worried about troubleshooting it because it was basically a practice board. Let me explain.

When I bought these boards, I got an NPN Silicon & PNP Germanium board to build. Comparing them, the only difference I could see was that they switched the positive & negative leads on the PNP board and the electrolytic caps were reversed compared to the NPN board.

So I figured if I just reversed them from how it was marked, I could build it as an NPN board since I don't have any germanium PNP transistors right now. Well after having to remove a few components and replace them, I'm worried the board is compromised. With it not producing sound and the fact that I think I lifted a soldering pad, I'm just ditching it.

I started the actual NPN Silicon board and have all of the components soldered in. All that's left is the pots, input, output, power, & footswitch. For the time being, I'm skipping the footswitch and wiring it straight to power so it's on as soon as the battery is installed/cord is plugged in. As soon as I know it all works, I'll wire the footswitch in and be done!

The first one not working sucks. I can hear the volume going up and down but there's no guitar signal, it seems. No matter. I'm working on the other one now. I'll post pics of my soldering job in just a second.

Edit: jeez. They look much better in person. Lol. And they're TINY. I've never soldered anything that small in my life. One thing I don't understand is why the holes that are empty still are so big. So you can use larger gauge wiring to wire those things in? To fit multiple leads/wires twisted together? Anybody have any idea?

Edit: 2nd board is soldered and installed. See bottom of page for details.






Update #2

I was going to post a separate reply since this one is so long because I didn't want this update to get lost or skipped over.

Turns out I had the wires on the pots in the wrong holes on the 1st board along with the transistors backwards. The pot hookups aren't 1 to 1, 2 to 2, 3 to 3. It was 1st wire to 3rd hole, 2nd to 2nd hole, and 3rd wire to 1st hole. I just assumed it was gonna be straightforward and didn't trace the circuit to make sure I was hooking it all up correctly. My mistake.

The new board is done and the pedal is ready to be tested. Cross your fingers.

Update #3 - Fail. I've got barely any volume and 9.9 volts on every leg of eveey transistor. Guess I'll try a different board next time. Those tiny solder pads suck.

[Gargaman]

Please post photos of the board as it is now after all. I still don't understand if you finished or not so it's difficult to help. Post some images and we may point what went wrong and what can be done. Most times theres a fix. At least, you'll be aware of what not ti do on the next board you try.