Noob capacitor ?'s

[aron]

I'm plannin on just using a dc jack instead of using both the battery connection and dc jack. Would I just wire the dc jack the way the battery is wired in this diagram.

Check this out:

http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/index.php?option=content&task=category&sectionid=4&id=26&Itemid=200

[343 Salty Beans]

Also, check out the offboard wiring page at tonepad:



Click the link under 'layouts' and then get the PDF file.  it's a handy reference to me even though I've been at this for a little while.

[Fuzzy-Train]

I'm plannin on just using a dc jack instead of using both the battery connection and dc jack. Would I just wire the dc jack the way the battery is wired in this diagram.

Check this out:

http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/index.php?option=content&task=category&sectionid=4&id=26&Itemid=200

Pretty cool idea. But I don't have, or ordered a battery jack, I just ordered a DC jack.

Do I really NEED to install a battery jack?

I mean, as long as I have the positive from the pcb going to the DC jack's positive, and the DC jacks ground going to the input jack, it will work , right? I was just wondering because the DC jacks come with 3 slugs, and one of them is supposed to go to the battery, that's why I'm wondering if I need the battery jack.

^ that tone pad site is great! Thanks a lot for that one.

This is probably another noob question but bare with me... (I've only ever modded a pedal and re-wired my guitar, so I still don't know the basics yet)... this pedal is wired to be negative ground, right?

Thanks again for the help, and links everyone, very much appreciated.

[MikeH]

You  don't need to install a battery jack.  Most my builds I've done with just a DC jack for simplicity sake.  That way you don't need a stereo jack for the input, because you don't need to cut off the battery supply when you're not using it.

[343 Salty Beans]

^ that tone pad site is great! Thanks a lot for that one.

This is probably another noob question but bare with me... (I've only ever modded a pedal and re-wired my guitar, so I still don't know the basics yet)... this pedal is wired to be negative ground, right?

Thanks again for the help, and links everyone, very much appreciated.

Tonepad is awesome, and Francisco Pena (sorry if I botched your name, FP) is a really helpful guy.

Yep, its negative ground. It's a fair question because there's a PNP transistor in the mix in there. However, the original Octavia circuit was a positive ground.

No problem for the help. It's what the forum is for  and trust me, I had way more questions than you when I first came in.

[Fuzzy-Train]

I have another question.

I ordered a regular 2 slug mono 1/4" jack, and I have a another 3 slug 1/4" jack already like this one:

http://www.smallbearelec.com/Detail.bok?no=88

But on the pics from guitar gadgets it has the 3 slug 1/4" jack like this one:

http://www.smallbearelec.com/Detail.bok?no=89

Does it matter if mine is different?

I'm also not sure which wires go to which slug. I think that the bottom slug on the jack is supposed to be groundand the top ones positive, right? In this layout, the wire going from the J2 jack to the pcb is the ground wire and should be wired to the bottom slug, and the wire going to the switch should be wired to the top slug, right? I think I'm a little confused about the 3 slug jack though. Does the bottom slug go to the pcb's ground, the wire to the switch to the middle, and the top slug wired to the power supply?



Thanks in advance for the help.

[MikeH]

If you're builing it with just a DC jack, it doesn't matter.  The type of jack you have will be fine if you're just using a DC jack, but it's not going to work if you want to wire a battery so that it shorts when you unplug a cable.  The type of jack you have there disconnects the tip from the extra lug (the one that isn't the sleeve) when something is plugged in.  They're often used for headphone jacks.  The speaker signal is wired through the extra lug, and when you plug in the headphones, it disconnects the speaker.

So, in summary, it won't matter if you're not using a battery snap.  Just make sure you use the tip and the ground sleeve; just leave the extra lug alone.

[Fuzzy-Train]

Cool.

But, there are three wires going to the J1 jack, one to the pcb ground, one to the battery ground, and the other to the switch. I figured, if the batteries ground goes to the jack, then the DC jack's ground should go there to right? OR, can I just ground the DC jack to the pcb's 4th ground hole from the right, or to one of the pots or something?

Thanks for the help.

[Fuzzy-Train]

Anybody?

[MikeH]

Right.  The lug on you input jack going to the battery "ground" or "-" will not be used, if you're not using a battery snap.  In this case, it won't matter where all of the grounds connect, it just matters that they are all connected, and that they are conected to the - terminal on the DC jack.  So in the diagram below, you could simply connect the battery - to the sleeve (ground) on the input jack and you'll be fine.  It also looks like the pcb has an extra solder pad for the ground, so you could also connect it there, where all of the other grounds are connected.  Whichever works best.

[Fuzzy-Train]

Thanks a lot for the help man.

Hopefully everything will arrive this week, and I'll put it all together this weekend, or if I get some spare time this week.

Thanks again for all the help everyone, I can't wait to "pop" my "DIY effects pedal cherry".

[343 Salty Beans]

Thanks a lot for the help man.

Hopefully everything will arrive this week, and I'll put it all together this weekend, or if I get some spare time this week.

Thanks again for all the help everyone, I can't wait to "pop" my "DIY effects pedal cherry".

Thanks a lot for the help man.

Hopefully everything will arrive this week, and I'll put it all together this weekend, or if I get some spare time this week.

Thanks again for all the help everyone, I can't wait to "pop" my "DIY effects pedal cherry".

Kinky  ...




Your first pedal might need debugging. The debugging link up on the top of this page will really help you out. Then again, you might get beginners luck like me and have it fire up the first time! 

[Fuzzy-Train]

Well I ordered the "pre-etched ready to solder" octavia pcb from guitar gadgets, and if I solder everything in like in the picture, hopefully it'll be fool proof and I'll be able to just solder and go... hopefully.

Yeah, I took a gander at the debugging page already, good stuff. Hopefully I won't have to use it *crosses fingers*.

Thanks again for the help.

[Fuzzy-Train]

Well, I got home early today, like every friday (perks of working for your uncle)... anyways, when I got home I saw a package had arrived: my PCB from guitar gadgets.

"Great!" I thought, until I opened it.... I had an idea of how small it was going to be, but I didn't know it was going to be this small LOL. My hand is like 3x bigger then it, and the worst part is that my sondering irons tip seems too big to do this properly... and 3 of the pads were drilled off-center. Here's an "artist" rendering of what they look like:



The thing is 2 of them are right on the edge of the pads... sort of cutting the edge off the pads.  Do you think I should send this one back? Or will it work just fine as long as my joints are solid?

The letter I got with the PCB said to rub the board down with fine steel wool. Which would you recommend using, the 000 or 0000 ( do they make finer steel wool then these)? And should I do any other kind of prep work to the PCB before soldering, other then the steel wool? It also said that I can drill my mounting holes to whatever size mounting studs, or bolts I'm using. When drilling into a PCB should I drill on the copper trace side, or on the components side, and should I be drilling slowly?

Last 2 questions I swear LOL. In the previous pic I posted (the layout with all the wiring) do the big circular pads on both sides of the transformer have to be soldered in as well? In that same pic: if some of the ground wire joints are touching is that a bad thing?

I realise I'm asking a lot of questions, but don't feel the need to answer all of them, just answer what you can please.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[zjokka]

The one thing I would definitely advise:

Go to http://www.futurlec.com/ValuePacks.shtml and buy the electrolytic, ceramic, and mylar packs. IC, transistor, and diode packs are alright too, but those 3 packs have lasted me a good long while and they're CHEAP 

1+ for the value packs at futurlec. I just had to order some stuff from banzaieffects.com that they didn't have at futurlec, saw they had value packs too, ordered a diode pack and noticed the familiar handwriting from the futurlec value packs.

if you order mylar cap, resistors, diodes and transistor value packs you're set to go for $25 or so. can' go wrong. Remember driving your car to the electronics store nearby will cost you a good handful of parts.

good luck

[Fuzzy-Train]

^^ Anybody?

I really just need the "off center drilled pads", and the "ground wire" question answered.

[343 Salty Beans]

as long as there's continuity across the pad (each trace leading away from it is connected to the copper), it will be fine. You can always make a solder bridge between the two traces if you're worried 

The ground wire joints are fine, they're all on the same copper trace.

[Fuzzy-Train]

Sweet.... What's a solder bridge BTW?

Thanks for the help.

EDIT: Wait, so if some joints are all on the same pad  it doesn't matter if the joints are touching or fused to one another?

[343 Salty Beans]

Sweet.... What's a solder bridge BTW?

Thanks for the help.

EDIT: Wait, so if some joints are all on the same pad  it doesn't matter if the joints are touching or fused to one another?

A solder bridge is just soldering one trace to another. Usually they're unintentional, and muck up a project because you accidentally bridge two traces and electricity starts going where it's not supposed to  but you can spread solder from one trace, across the off-center pad, and to the other trace to ensure continuity.

If I'm reading you correctly, you're asking if some joints are all on the same TRACE, it doesn't matter. That's correct. Look at the ground trace on your circuitboard. It wraps all the way around PCB, which means that all of that is one big ground. If there were a hole for it, you could solder all your ground points on the far left and it would do the exact same thing. Either way, there is continuity between all of those joints, because they're all on the same copper trace.

For instance, look at the bottom end of the resistors R3 and R4. They both share a common copper trace, so there's continuity between them. If they're solder joints were touching, it's the same exact concept...it enables electricity to flow. For that matter, you could bend the excess lead of R4 and solder it to the top lead of C8, and it's the same thing as that copper trace. Think of one of the traces as just a wire that gets electricity from point to point.

[Fuzzy-Train]

Awesome, that changes my whole perspective on the difficulty of this thing. I thought I was going to mess things up if any joints touched, but now I'm not worried as much as I was before.

I have a transistor question though: In the layout I posted, that is the way the transistors are susposed to be installed right? 2 flat sides facing the right of the PCB and one of the flat sides facing the left PCB. I don't have a heatsink, would you recommend getting one for soldering the transistors? Do I need to use the heatsink for any other parts?

Thanks again for the help man. If this pedal is a complete succes it'll be due to all the help you guys have given me ... if it fails I'll sill blame you guys LOL J/K