80s wah pedal inductor ID?

Started by WoundUp, August 31, 2021, 10:42:55 PM

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WoundUp

Just got a new-to-me 80s Crybaby Wah pedal and I was curious about what's inside. I picked up a yellow fasel inductor to try but I was wondering what came in it from Dunlop? It's the exact board shown below. Rev D, I think? It has a black inductor with a nut on top and what looks like hot glue around the edges of it on the board itself.

I've looked all over the internet and can't find any specific documentation stating what it is. So I thought I'd ask. I don't plan on doing much to the pedal since it's all original and came in the original box. I'll likely just add a 2.1mm power port on the side that can adapt to the 9v pigtail with a 2nd 9v pigtail turned 180* and swap the inductor.

So what inductor is in this pedal? I found a pic of the insides of one of those with the black cover and it looks to be a toroidal inductor? Is this a stock fasel inductor? Thanks.






Rob Strand

#1
QuoteSo what inductor is in this pedal? I found a pic of the insides of one of those with the black cover and it looks to be a toroidal inductor? Is this a stock fasel inductor? Thanks.

In the 80's the inductors didn't have colloquial names like the vintage stuff.
They were made with those style of inductors. It's called a pot core.   
There's two common sizes larger 18/11 and smaller 14/8.
This type of inductor was used on vintage wahs as well.

From what I can work out Rev D was late 80's.  The wires connect to the PCB with white connectors,
which is consistent with Rev D.  The inductor is a 18/11 pot core.

If you measure the DC resistance of the coil it's probably around 18 ohm.

IIRC these are better than the earlier inductors.   The 80's stuff gets a bad wrap.

As for your lower pic, it could be deceiving.  I think the inductor with the cap is actually red.  The pic of the toroid above it
is a different inductor, not what is inside the plastic cap.   I've got a similar looking but different pic.


FWIW, it could be a Rev C.

Send:     . .- .-. - .... / - --- / --. --- .-. -
According to the water analogy of electricity, transistor leakage is caused by holes.

WoundUp

#2
Yea the one without the cap appears to be what's under the black cap on my board currently. The page I got that from was someone replacing the stock black one like I posted with the red fasel. They black cover came off so they posted an inside shot of the stock inductor with the new red fasel next to it.

I got. It from this page. You can see their pics on that page. This is their pcb and they were replacing the same inductor I'm asking about(I believe) with a red fasel


http://www.danieleturani.com/howto-and-diy/crybaby-gcb-95-replace-stock-inductor-with-fasels/




It actually sounds pretty good as it is so I'll probably wait a while before I swap in the yellow fasel I have. Was considering just making up an entire new board so I don't have to modify the original but I'm not sure if I will yet.

anotherjim

I see it does have those horrible mustard yellow axial lead MLCC ceramic caps. They can fracture internally eventually and fail open-circuit. When you do play with the inductor, change those caps for proper film caps.

If you see too many pins on an inductor, that doesn't mean it's wrong. Some formers have a full set of pins for making transformers, but a simple inductor may only use 2 of them.

Rob Strand

#4
Quote from: WoundUp on September 01, 2021, 11:38:47 AM
Yea the one without the cap appears to be what's under the black cap on my board currently. The page I got that from was someone replacing the stock black one like I posted with the red fasel. They black cover came off so they posted an inside shot of the stock inductor with the new red fasel next to it.

I got. It from this page. You can see their pics on that page. This is their pcb and they were replacing the same inductor I'm asking about(I believe) with a red fasel


http://www.danieleturani.com/howto-and-diy/crybaby-gcb-95-replace-stock-inductor-with-fasels/



Yes the that pic looks like inductor is a toroid type, which is different to the a pot core.
The tell-tale sign is the winding goes around in the axial direction.   The pic has some black
"cardboard" disks and a nut which makes it look like a pot core.

Heres a toroid,


Here's a pot core.  There's no covers as such.  The two halves are made from Ferrite, similar
to the black stuff you see on some magnets.   On the pot core coil is wound on plastic bobbin.
You will see plastic screws, metal screws, clips or epoxy holding the two halves together.
Notice the notches on the sides to allow the wires to come out - the toroid version
only has round disks.





Your original pic looks like a pot core.  Whereas the pic link you posted is for the later Rev F and is a toroid.
It's possible Rev F came with both types.  Unfortunately I've got a few holes in my knowledge of these things.
[Edit: See below I think this is Rev G.]

QuoteIt actually sounds pretty good as it is so I'll probably wait a while before I swap in the yellow fasel I have. Was considering just making up an entire new board so I don't have to modify the original but I'm not sure if I will yet.

I think the pot core version you have from the late 80's is OK.

The crap ones from the early 80's which most people replace are the inductors with the heatshrink.


Send:     . .- .-. - .... / - --- / --. --- .-. -
According to the water analogy of electricity, transistor leakage is caused by holes.

Rob Strand

#5
Quote from: WoundUp on September 01, 2021, 11:38:47 AM

http://www.danieleturani.com/howto-and-diy/crybaby-gcb-95-replace-stock-inductor-with-fasels/



I'm pretty sure this version is an early Rev G:

- 5.5mm/2.2mm DC Jack   (Rev G changed from 3.5mm type DC Jacks to the common 5.5mm barrel type.)
- no silk screen  (hence early Rev G , later Rev G's have a silk screen)
- toroid inductor.     (perhaps on Rev G)
  Later Rev G  (and Rev H) have an unmarked black-plastic cover over the inductor.
  [It's possible the earlier Rev G's had no cover.]
Send:     . .- .-. - .... / - --- / --. --- .-. -
According to the water analogy of electricity, transistor leakage is caused by holes.

WoundUp

#6
Quote from: Rob Strand on September 01, 2021, 07:17:37 PM
Quote from: WoundUp on September 01, 2021, 11:38:47 AM
Yea the one without the cap appears to be what's under the black cap on my board currently. The page I got that from was someone replacing the stock black one like I posted with the red fasel. They black cover came off so they posted an inside shot of the stock inductor with the new red fasel next to it.

I got. It from this page. You can see their pics on that page. This is their pcb and they were replacing the same inductor I'm asking about(I believe) with a red fasel


http://www.danieleturani.com/howto-and-diy/crybaby-gcb-95-replace-stock-inductor-with-fasels/



Yes the that pic looks like inductor is a toroid type, which is different to the a pot core.
The tell-tale sign is the winding goes around in the axial direction.   The pic has some black
"cardboard" disks and a nut which makes it look like a pot core.

Heres a toroid,


Here's a pot core.  There's no covers as such.  The two halves are made from Ferrite, similar
to the black stuff you see on some magnets.   On the pot core coil is wound on plastic bobbin.
You will see plastic screws, metal screws, clips or epoxy holding the two halves together.
Notice the notches on the sides to allow the wires to come out - the toroid version
only has round disks.





Your original pic looks like a pot core.  Whereas the pic link you posted is for the later Rev F and is a toroid.

It's possible Rev F came with both types.  Unfortunately I've got a few holes in my knowledge of these things.

QuoteIt actually sounds pretty good as it is so I'll probably wait a while before I swap in the yellow fasel I have. Was considering just making up an entire new board so I don't have to modify the original but I'm not sure if I will yet.

I think the pot core version you have from the late 80's is OK.

The crap ones from the early 80's which most people replace are the inductors with the heatshrink.




Thank you! Ironically, I just found this info about 30 seconds before checking this post.
Quote from: Rob Strand on September 01, 2021, 08:28:58 PM
Quote from: WoundUp on September 01, 2021, 11:38:47 AM

http://www.danieleturani.com/howto-and-diy/crybaby-gcb-95-replace-stock-inductor-with-fasels/



I'm pretty sure this version is an early Rev G:

- 5.5mm/2.2mm DC Jack   (Rev G changed from 3.5mm type DC Jacks to the common 5.5mm barrel type.)
- no silk screen  (hence early Rev G , later Rev G's have a silk screen)
- toroid inductor.     (perhaps on Rev G)
  Later Rev G  (and Rev H) have an unmarked black-plastic cover over the inductor.
  [It's possible the earlier Rev G's had no cover.]


Yea, in my researching wah mods, that's the info I found. It's much newer than mine. Almost exactly what they sell as a replacement pcb so it's gotta be one of the most recent.

I was only using that pic to show what the inductor looked like that's taken apart in the previous pic I posted. Since it looks just like mine, it's safe to assume my inductor looks like that inside, also. The fact that it's on the different rev. isn't critical to my example so I figured it didn't matter that it doesn't match mine. I was only interested in the inductor.


Rob Strand

QuoteYea, in my researching wah mods, that's the info I found. It's much newer than mine. Almost exactly what they sell as a replacement pcb so it's gotta be one of the most recent.

I was only using that pic to show what the inductor looked like that's taken apart in the previous pic I posted. Since it looks just like mine, it's safe to assume my inductor looks like that inside, also. The fact that it's on the different rev. isn't critical to my example so I figured it didn't matter that it doesn't match mine. I was only interested in the inductor.

No worries.    From Rev F to Ref I they only make small changes, which are easy to miss.
Apart from the surface mount units the units from Rev I have the inductor mounted across the board,

Whereas earlier units with fasel upgrades have the inductor mounted 90 deg to that (good idea to check mod sites for details)


I suspect you will only detect small changes from your current inductor.   There are reports that the tolerances on the inductors isn't great and you can get variations from unit to unit even for the same looking inductor.

The whole wah version thing is quite messy.   I've nearly got it worked out but not quite.
Send:     . .- .-. - .... / - --- / --. --- .-. -
According to the water analogy of electricity, transistor leakage is caused by holes.