Where to start???

[Hendrix________]

I'm stating to gather parts and stuff, but I don't know actually how to start. Is there some site that shows you how to read the schematics?? I'm using this

http://www.runoffgroove.com/littlegem.html

And am having trouble.. How did you guys learn to read that crap??

[robbiemcm]

I asked people when I didn't understand. It would be really useful for this site if they had a better chat. I reckon if we had a channel on quakenet or something, we'd be able to get enough people to idle there and help us when they're online. The chat on this site is stupid though.

I'd love to go through it in detail with you, but I have to go off to school relatively soon.

[robbiemcm]

Alright, I have some time now. I'm not really the best person for this job, but since nobody else seems to want to contribute I'll do my best. Next time post this in the main stompbox sub-forum up the top, the beginner project heading is a tad misleading, it's for a specific beginner project, maybe you should have a go at that one? Anyway, if I'm wrong, anyone feel free to point out my errors.

The in and out labels are the 1/4 jacks, these have to be wired in a certain way, use the search feature up the top. Most people tend to use one stereo jack, and one mono. This means you can have power switching when you plug in a lead into the stereo jack. I personally prefer two mono jacks with a switch to turn it on and off, but that's because I would leave the leads in the stompbox all the time.

All the big, downwards pointing arros you see that seem to lead nowhere connect to the negative of the battery, as you may have guessed the part that says +9v is connected to the positive of the battery. One connection on each of the 1/4 jacks will be connected to the negative of the battery aswell. The triangle pointing to the right that says 386 on it I think is an IC (integrated circuit). I've never used one before, so someone else will have to explain that. The zig-zagging lines are resistors, the zig-zagging lines with arrows pointing at them are potentiometers. It has the values for the pots, the one on the left says '5kL'. This means 5000 ohms and it's a linear pot, as opposed to an Audio/Log pot. At least I'm pretty sure that L is for linear, having log makes it confusing. Usually it's A or B, A is log B is linear. Someone will have to verify this for you aswell. The things that have two black lines in parallel (some have + signs on on side, I'll cover that in a second) these are capacitors. The first one ( 0.01 ) has a value of 0.01uF I think the unit is Farads, but that's not particularly important. The ones that have + signs are electrolytic capacitors, these are polarised (you need to put it in the correct one) the other capacitors are not electrolytic capacitors, so they can go in any way you like.

Sorry for the long post, and I gave it my best. I just hope someone who knows more than me reads through what I said and contributes somewhat.

[robotboy]

I'm still new at this as well, but I have completed five successful builds, so I think I can help you a little. All a schematic does is illlustrates the connections between all the components. If you were to lay everything in front of you and solder it together exactly as it is specified in the schematic, it would work; however, in reality, you usually end up laying things out differently because of component sizes. I would suggest working through the beginner project as laid out in this forum because it clearly explains how to build the project from start to finish. I'd also suggest learning what most basic electronic symbols represent and getting a bit of basic theory from one of the many electronic websites on the net such as allaboutcircuits.com. Here's a nice little index of common symbols you'll encounter when reading schematics.

http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/symbol.htm

Like I said, you might want to start with the NPN boost or something else that's extremely simple like the bazz fuzz. That opamp might confuse you a little if it's your first build, but if you decide to try it first, notice that there's a layout below the schematic that tells you where you can put everything on your board. This means you really don't even need to know how to read the schematic, but I would recommend learning anyway because it's a great skill and many projects don't provide a layout. Anyway, hope that helps, and good luck with your build.

[aron]

Please check out this page. Hit refresh to get the newer links:

http://www.diystompboxes.com/pedals/skills.html

[Marcos - Munky]

If I can help with something, e-mail me.