AMZ Mini-Booster switch question

[p_funk]

Hello.

I am new here and this is my first post.  Great site, by the way!  I don't have much electrical knowledge, but I love to tinker.  I have built 2 very simple circuits in the past with no problems.  I don't really understand the schematic side of things yet, as I've only built from perfboard layouts.  I have just finished building the Mini-Booster circuit board, but have a question about the offboard wiring.  I am using the layout on General Guitar Gadgets and it uses a 3PDT switch with an LED and dc jack.  I want to wire this circuit to use onboard in my guitar.  How would I wire it with a DPDT (no LED or DC jack).  Obviously, the output would be a stereo jack to save the battery life, but past that I have no clue on how to wire it.  If someone could illustrate it for me, or give me a link to a layout for a similar circuit that would work, I would appreciate it.  

Also, if it matters, my guitar has only one humbucker and I'm using a 500K push/push DPDT pot (guitar volume) to switch the booster in and out of the circuit.  Will this cause any problems... being connected to a 500k pot.  I have replaced the 100k A volume pot on the circuit with a 47k trimpot and will preset the amount of boost on the board itself.  My hope is to only have one pickup and one knob on my guitar.  

This stuff still confuses me, but not as much as it did before finding this great site!    

Thanks for you help!

[jbm222]

here, i'll make a text picture of it:

Code Select Expand


          From Pickup___
                        |
                        |
TO Booster  ------O      O        O
                                 |   <--- Jumper
                                 |          or
From Booster -----O      O        O     Bend Terminals
                        |
                        |
         To Out Jack___/



You might have to switch which side the jumper goes on depending on whether you wand to have the boost on the pulled up or pushed down position.  If your multi tester has a diode tester or something that beeps when there's contact, that's a good way to test it.

As far as determining where to put the volume knob... putting it before the booster (right between the pickups and the switch) would make it act just like it would as an external pedal.  After the booster and it would act more like turning down the volume on the booster.  Putting the vol. knob first might bleed off more treble like it normally does, where putting it after it might not.

[p_funk]

OK!  That makes a little sense to me, but not much.   :oops:   I don't know why switches and offboard wiring confuse me so much.  I appreciate your drawing, but I have no clue which wire goes where.  Is the the negative or the positive?  How does the battery tie into that?

I am using this layout:
http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/diagrams/joam_lo_sm_amz.gif

Can I use the offboard wiring for the stratoblaster booster found here:
http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/diagrams/asb_gc_lo.gif

If so, where would the wires connect to the board on the minibooster?  If not, what would I change?  I'm sure you get sick of hearing the same old questions from the uneducated, but I have searched everywhere I can think of searching.  This is the last circuit I am building and I am just hoping I can make it work.  Thank you.

[jbm222]

yes, that method would work just fine.  Either way, that's how you want to wire the battery.  The negative lead goes to the ring terminal of the jack, the pickup ground and board ground goes to the sleeve.  Output goes to the tip.  When you plug in a MONO 1/4" cable, the ring and sleeve terminals are connected, allowing the battery to power the circuit.


With my switching method, the "to booster" wire goes to the same place as the green wire.  The "From Booster" goes to wiper (middle terminal) of your volume trim pot you say you're using to replace that pot.

If you put the guitar volume before the booster then do this:


Disconnect the WIPER wire on the volume pot from your output jack (I assume that's where it's going now if you don't have tone controls).  Connect it to the terminal that says "from pickup".  So vol. wiper to "from pickup".

"To Out Jack" would then go to the output jack tip.


If you put the volume AFTER the booster
Find the wire on the "hot" wire from the pickups on the volume pot.  If you look at it with terminals facing down, this should be the wire on the left.  If you have two different colored wires, just make sure it's not the black one.  Or if the case may be, make sure it's the copper wire instead of the silver colored wire.

This wire would then go to the "From Pickup" Terminal.

The "To Out Jack" then goes to the point the terminal on the vol. pot that the other wire came off of.


Also, you need to make sure the board is connected to your ground.  You could run a wire either to the opposite side of the volume pot (the side with a black wire or two already connected), Or directly to the sleeve on the jack.  Basically just make sure everything that has a ground symbol or a black wire is all somehow connected to eachother AND the jack sleeve, except for the battery negative which goes to the ring.  This doesn't mean you have to run 20 wires connecting all of these points, just think through it and make sure that some how they're all interconnected.