How do you do your wiring?

[lessthanmatt88]

I've been wondering if any of you mount all the off board parts in your enclousure first before wiring them.  The way I do it involves wiring all parts and then trying to mount the guts in the board, but it seems the other way is better but I dont have another project im working on right now to find out.  Or if any of you have a method that gives really clean results would you like to share?

[GibsonGM]

I usually get an idea of where the board will go in an enclosure....mark the box for standoffs, etc.   Then populate my board, keeping track of what to stay away from (the standoffs, etc.).   I count on my level being on the left side of the board, tone in the middle and distortion on the right, and mark the board accordingly.  Course this is different if it's a phaser or something.  (this is reversed at the back of the board where I solder!).    I'll leave enough lead length to pots so I can get it in the box, and use stranded wire for them....temporarily attach jacks etc. to board, test effect, then set it up true bypass & test it again.  This lets me fix any screwups before it's all assembled.   
THEN the whole deal gets folded into the box.  If any leads are super too long I will cut them & resolder, but generally just fold them in.

This works for me; 99.9% of things I do on perfboard, so the layout is up to me.  A PCB might require different ideas...

[Sweetalk]

First I populate the board, double check for errors and then I make the enclosure. When the enclosure it's totally ready (painting, labeling, etc) I mount all the parts (previous wiring on the pots) and wire to the board, switch, jacks, led. I glue all the wires to the enclosure to give a better shielding.

Really I hate wiring!!!... that's why I'm desinging all in one boards to my pedals, it's quick, easy and clean, but it's a lot of desinging work.

[R.G.]

http://geofex.com/FX_images/solder_block.gif

[lessthanmatt88]

That wiring block is a clever idea.  I may have to try that.

And yeah, wiring is my least favorite part of building effects.

[birt]

i make the board with all wires on it, long enough to go everywhere in the enclosure.

then i mount pots, dc jack, switches, jacks... and wire all of it except for the wires that go to the board.

then i get the board in there and cut all wires to the right length and start soldering them.

[Processaurus]

I use the solder block idea, also I have a "third hand" that has just the right size alligator clips to hold a pots shaft, for easy soldering.  I do the wires from the board first and make them long, then figure out where the controls are going relative to the board, then give them an extra 1" for the part of the wire that gets stripped, and also getting the offboard parts in and out of the enclosure.

[343 Salty Beans]

I concur with the general concensus: wiring sucks.

I usually mount all the non-PCB/vero/perf parts in the box first; basically, switches, pots, and jacks. Then I make all the connections from those parts to each other (example: jack-to-jack, pot-to-jack, or switch-to-jack wires). For board-to-part connections, I solder color-coded wires to the PCB/vero/perf that are at least 3 inches longer than they need to be. I mount the PCB in the enclosure, then I run the wires as neatly as possible (I usually use dabs of hotglue to keep them in the corners of the enclosure) to where they need to go. I clip the excess wire and then solder it to where it needs to go.

Of course, this only works if your enclosure is big enough so that all your parts are visible. I usually don't mount my circuitboard to the point where it covers anything. If you're squeezing a lot of stuff in a little box, this probably won't work for you.

[idlechatterbox]

  wow
I guess I'm completely in the minority, or my level of sophistication is somewhere around Al Bundy. I never PCB, use light cardboard for the mockup, and use alligator clips, lots of colored wire, and even (this will confirm my Bundyism) those springy metal binder clips as temporary "solder"   

[Gilles C]

I populate the board, add the wires, and then test it by temporarly connecting the pots and jacks to the wires which were cut longer than necessary.

When it works, I unsolder the pots and jacks, install them with the board inside the box, and wire everything by cutting the wires to the correct length for a clean look and the minimum of noise/interference. It means to separate the signals from the supply and the Leds wires.

Many circuits don't go past the first step, so that's why I don't bother about the box at first.

Gilles

[Processaurus]

use your enclosure as a jig.

[Paul Marossy]

After I figure out where everything is going to go, I drill out the enclosure, install my components and wire it up like it were an amp chassis. I do this after the box is painting and the graphics are done, so when I'm done with the wiring, it's a completed project.

[markm]

After I figure out where everything is going to go, I drill out the enclosure, install my components and wire it up like it were an amp chassis. I do this after the box is painting and the graphics are done, so when I'm done with the wiring, it's a completed project.

Pretty much how I do it too.
After it's wired, it's finished business.

[QSQCaito]

I may be dumb or something, but wiring seems like the funniest part to me. I believe that PCB all are equals like, one to each other, but wiring makes the difference:P nothing better than spending my time doing neat wirings.. i only have white and grey though..

bye bye

[brett]

Hi
I do things really differently on most builds.
My PCBs are almost all cut to fit vertically in a Taiwanese box.  I use the box lid as the top (yes, the screws do show), and use gold pins or SIL connectors on the PCB to connect to switches/pots, etc.

However, I've just started etching and using boxes that don't have those annoying extra holes in them, so I'm thinking about building like most people do.
cheers

[Paul Marossy]

wiring makes the difference

It certainly can in high gain circuits! 

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

I try to design out as much wire as I can.
For most of my FX, the "main' board is held to the rear of the face of the box by snap-in pots (with 5 or 6 pots & a light board there is no problem).
Then a ribbon cable goes from that board, to a smaller board that has the jacks & power supply components on it.. that board is held on by the jacks, so no wire there either! And the ribbon cable is crimped to IDC connectors that plug to the boards..
so the only wire is for the power socket, the LED, and the footswitch

[petemoore]

  Simple two knob with small board...
  I just run the offboard wiring off one side of the board to the pots, board goes in middle of box, jacks/switches on one side, pots on the other, wires long enough so the pot bodies stretch to about 1.5'' from the board.
  Larger 'knobbier' circuits get a different approach...these have so many details, it's a 'one off-er' type affair like most of the larger builds...I only do one copy, and the layout is more complex, describing it in text form is even more complex...everything must fit in the box for it to fit in the box, less wiring the better.
  For really 'long' circuits, like in my multi-circuit boxes w/high gain, I put the circuit input near the first bpswitch and circuit board, have the successive board[s run 'striaghtline' toward the other side of the box, away from the switch, then I run a shielded wire for the circuit output to return across the box to the switch again...I'm talking about a seriesed chain of effects with bypass switches between them, and short wires use enabled to the bypass switches by placing them near where they will be wired to...between the circuit boards.
  the signal path flow Goes like:
  > Input jack/Switch>Circuit,b.p.switch>Circuit,b.p.Sw>Circuit,b.p.sw>...by this time it's a good enough length from the output back to the 'front', 'warranting' the use of 1 shielded wire which carries output signal  back across circuits real estate to the output.

[Paul Marossy]

I try to design out as much wire as I can.

Yeah, when you are producing a lot of the same thing, that is a real labor savings as well as a way to make things consistent.

[MartyMart]

I populate the board and take a look at the enclosure size, wiring all pots and i/o jacks
for a "working" circuit, that will fit the enclosure etc.
"De-bug" if required, then fit this in the enclosure, having first unsoldered the main i/o leads
to jacks from board.
Then I wire the DPDT or 3PDT switch and add the extra "to jack" leads , occasionaly I dont
leave enough length, so sometimes add a few cm's to a wire and cover in heat shrink for
neatness ( if i can't be bothered to use a total new wire ) !!

For pot/jack wire up I have a "helping hand" articulated thing with two aligator clips, big enough
to hold pots and jacks and sometimes the board "on it's side"
Circuits with more than three pots piss me off !! 

MM.