"flatline" help for a newbee

[rosssurf]

Thanks for posting the flatline schematic. I have been watching this forum for a while and I have just begun to build the flatline compressor. I have never done this before. I am a bit confused as to what an LED/LRD is. that is the only part I don't have and I have no idea what it is or if I can make one.
   Also, I do not understand what the red boxes with the red circle in them are and what they mean. I am using JRC4558dd's I found in an old ibanez rack effects piece. I have used a chip socket to avoid over heating them with my 25 watt iron. I did have to remove them with the same iron and some braided solder remover, hopefully this did not damage them.   ..thoughts?
Also are there any mods that anyone recomends? to this schematic?
I am very excited to finish this build and see how it turns out. any help is greatly appreciated

[monty.carlos]

i'm still a noob myself, but i'll tell you what i think i know.   
the red boxes with the red circles in them mark the points where you cut the traces on the stripboard. 
an ldr is a light dependent resistor.  how it works and what exactly it does in the circuit is still a mystery to me. 
if you havent already, try searching the forum.  i've found a ton of stuff that way. 
good luck

[rosssurf]

Thanks for your help. When you say" cut the traces" do you mean remove the copper from under that spot. If so I have a bit off desoldering to do!!

[puffra]

yes, monty.carlos means that. it's easy done with a drill.

a LED (light emitting diode) is the little (often red) light that tells you if your effect is on.

[ianlogan123]

Hi there, I'm also a bit of a noob, but I managed to finish my Flatline a few weeks ago. I used the LED/LDR component that is available here...

http://www.banzaieffects.com/product.php?productid=17341&cat=311&page=1

I've still not finished the entire pedal (currently painting the enclosure), but I have tried the pedal and it works pretty well, although I'm going to try swapping the 220K resistor for a 390K, which I've read will give a bit more sustain/compression. I was looking for a really spongey, effected sound, while the Flatline (as it is) is very transparent (ie. improves sustain, and doesn't change the tone/timbre).

I'll put up my finished pics when I'm done. Let us know how you get on. Good luck.

Ian.

[rosssurf]

Ian Thanks for your help. I think the led/ldr ( optocoupler) is my problem. I really do not know what one is and I kind of guessed at it. The thing I purchased has 6 pins.  Maybe thats why mine does not work.
Let me know how the higher resistor works out and if it gives the compression more of the effect you are looking for.
I am hoping to build a OD-1 next.

[psiico]

Another noob here, is this the blind leading the blind thread or what?   I actually know some of this though.

An LDR is a light dependant resistor.  As the light level changes the resistance changes.  In this particular pedal as near as I can tell the louder a note from the guitar is the brighter an LED lights up, as the note fades the LED fades, changing the resistance on the LDR, increasing the volume output by the pedal.  I breadboarded one but it didn't work, lol.  I musty have done something wrong.  Covering the LDR did increase the volume though, so that part of the circuit worked.  My LED did nothing.

Here's what LDR's look like:

http://images.google.ca/images?hl=en&q=LDR&sa=N&tab=wi

LED is light emitting didode.  Some LED's:

http://images.google.ca/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=led&btnG=Search

[rosssurf]

Thanks for all the help guys. I ended up using a led with a photo transistor. it works but not quite right. I will head out to try to find a led/ "LDR"

[boogietube]

 Small Bear Electronics sells the right led and ldr for your project.
A vactrol is another possibility. (VTL5C2 / VTL5C3 etc) It's an led and a ldr in the same package.
Although you could accomplish something similar using heat shrink tubing and the led/ldr