Mica Wailer FT-12 schematic or layout?

[mds]

Hey guys,

I've got an old Mica Wailer that isn't working. It looks like someones done some pretty ugly stuff to it too. I'm going to try to revive it, but I'm not sure what the layout is supposed to be(the battery leads have been removed and there are a few other floating wiress. Anyone got a schematic or some idea what the general signal path should be?

Thanks!

[Dan N]

What is that? I've seen Mica wahs, fuzzes, and fuzz-wahs. In fact, different kinds of each.

If you have a camera, we might be able to figure out where the wires should go from a good photo.

[mds]

I think it is a fuzz box. Let me know if a more detailed pic helps. I apologize for the shadows. I'll take some more if necessary. There are three unattached wires. 2 of them are red and come off the corners. These might be battery leads, though it is weird that they're both red. The third is an orange wire coming off of the volume pot. The soldering in this thing is the worst stuff I've seen, ever...











Thanks!

[toneman]

Boy, THATs! an OLDie!!!

[Dan N]

I think this is the same thing with a different name:

http://users.rio.com/senorris/junk/olsonns.gif

Good luck!

[lovric]

the same:
http://users.rio.com/senorris/junk/wailer3.gif

[Dan N]

the same:
http://users.rio.com/senorris/junk/wailer3.gif

Well, I found that in my files and uploaded it before looking at it. The Olson looks closer to being right, although it looks way goofy too.

[Mark Hammer]

On the other hand, that schem for the Wailer is probably pretty darn close to a lot of things that some folks here build....right before they post a query asking why it won't work properly even after they've checked all the solder joints.  Yup, if you want a really hot output, you gots ta use the base!

[mds]

Thanks guys! The schematics say it runs on a 1.5v battery. What would it have been, a AA? After looking over it it looks like the Olsen is a more like what I've got. So I THINK the orange wire just needs to connect to .003uf cap on the output side and the two red wires should connect to the battery. Right? After I hook those up I can measure voltages and report back...

[Dan N]

Funny, when I look at your photos I get something like this:

http://users.rio.com/senorris/junk/olsonns2.gif

Don't forget that those are PNP's so pos ground that AA.

[mds]

I'll check that one out...I have no idea what PNPs are or what "pos ground" means....I'm a neophyte for sure!

[Dan N]

Pos ground means that the battery + goes to ground. In your second photo, the battery + goes to the free wire coming off the switch. Neg goes to the wire on the top left of the pcb in that photo. Radio Shack might still sell little plastic battery holders that might work for you.

[mds]

Oh, gothya. POS didn't translate to positive. What did you mean by PNPs?

When I first pulled this out I tried using a 9v to power it up to see if it worked. Seems to me it is pretty likely I hosed some components by doing that, though probably only the transistors. Are those hard to find?

[lovric]

please don't worry yet about the components.

wailer3.gif in its clumsy way confirms the supply of -1.5V and the type of transistors. try any 1.5V battery, any kind,  but a battery holder is neccessary.

mr Wiedmann drawing it in plain 'paint' program, certainly had the best of intentions and was not looking for any kind of mojo. transistor substitutes for 2SB175 would be AC125..126, AC151, 2SB54, 2SB56.

there's the PNP term. it names the type of transistor that you have in the wailer in triplicate. 'positive ground' is a term that is used to describe how the device with PNP transistors is connected to a supply. in very rough words it means that the positive battery pole will connect to the wires in your instrument and amp cables that do not convey the signal.

what is hard in finding the Ge transistors is not the actual transistor but the fact that their specifications vary very much. the practical solution would be to get a handful of Ge PNP transistors, put sockets on the board and try them one by one. i hope this explanation dosnt turn you off of this box. on this issue you might want to read:
geofex.com/Article_Folders/fuzzface/fftech.htm

there is a metal plate in the casing with plus and minus signs. i wonder what kind of battery would strech between those two signs?

look at the flipside of the board. see the copper trace along one side? that is where the positive pole of your battery should be connected in the end. so, connect the positive pole of the battery to the orange wire that goes to the pot-switch! the orange wire is not the output wire as you initially tought because the pot that it's connected to is actually a pot with the switch. the orange wire is connected to swich part and enables the supply of electricity to the circuit.

look at the component side now. the transistors occupy the upper half. the red wire that comes out from under the board's lower right corner should go to the negative pole of the battery. it seems that the white wire that comes out from that same side is output.

its hard for me to spot the input. it has to be on the other side of a green capacitor on the left which is connected to the nearest transistor with its other leg. could be the second red wire (it's on the left) that may have been torn off from the 'instrument' jack.

ouptput wire is blue, seems still connected.


you may get to know your wailer better and perhaps why it was named so from this page:
www.muzique.com/lab/lowvolt.htm

malicious person might have some prejudice because the schems were found in the 'junk' folder (http://users.rio.com/senorris/junk/olsonns.gif) but in spite to them the 'junk' was not deleted and might still prove useful.

good luck!

[Dan N]

malicious person might have some prejudice because the schems were found in the 'junk' folder (http://users.rio.com/senorris/junk/olsonns.gif) but in spite to them the 'junk' was not deleted and might still prove useful.

Hey! Just a doggone minute! I keep my favorite stuff in my "junk" folder!




But on topic, here's what I see in the photos. This is kind of x-ray view from the top:

http://users.rio.com/senorris/junk/micabd1F.gif

If this is correct, the last schematic I posted should be a "correct" version 3. Just trusting the values from the other schematics...

[lovric]

me, i'm like a fleamarket. just, indoors. (treasurer to the kamacrown, the guard at the fort knock offs)

but, off topic, the 'x-ray view' strikes me as it looks like a watercolor painting! what  do you use to draw these?

[Dan N]

the 'x-ray view' strikes me as it looks like a watercolor painting! what  do you use to draw these?

The pencil tool in Photoshop. Never needs sharpening!

Thanks for the link to Jack's Low Voltage Boosters page. Very cool!

[mds]

Hey guys,

I hadn't looked at this thread in a couple days. I come back and you guys have walked me through it! I've got some time today, so I'm gonna give it a shot! Thanks for the help!

Mike

[mds]

its hard for me to spot the input. it has to be on the other side of a green capacitor on the left which is connected to the nearest transistor with its other leg. could be the second red wire (it's on the left) that may have been torn off from the 'instrument' jack.good luck!

Upon closer inspection I see a little bit of wire remnants that would connect to the other leg of the green cap on the left side. The little bit of wire looks like it is braided copper, though, and the red wires are solid silver(or whatever). I thought the orange wire might connect to this spot, but from your description it would go to the battery, so I'm still a little confused.

I don't see anything that looks like it is missing from the input jack and the left side red wire isn't long enough to reach to the input jack. In fact, that wire is almost the perfect length to reach to the negative side of the battery. Other than that I'm not sure where it would go...

Am I making sense? Any more thoughts? Would more pictures help?

THANKS!

[mds]

Ok...more looking, studying, thinking...I think the shorter left side red wire was connected to the input wire at the switch. So that could be the input, but it doesn't connect to the leg of the cap that goes to the first transistor. Maybe I'm missing a wire..where might that go?!?!