Help my first build isnt working!

[DBDbadreligion]

Step 1 - please post all your voltages like in the Debugging Page 

While you're in there doing that, test that the grounding screw you're using does in fact make electrical contact with the enclosure and ground (battery - terminal) when a plug is inserted into the input jack.  Use a DMM, no battery, patch cord plugged into input, and check from that screw to the - terminal of the battery clip (the 'male' part).  You should get a beep on the continuity setting.  Sometimes the contact isn't good, which will do what you're describing...

ok well i only have an Analog Multimeter, so what should i look for on that?  im pretty sure mine doesnt beep.

[petemoore]

  A cheep to better to best DMM is a debuggers best friend.
  Analog...can be done...but, long way around.
  Instead of 'beep' mode you have to look at the VU meter and decide if the resistance is low enough to be a 'connection', compare reading to what a wire reads.
  Then you have to get good at setting/reading the ranges/scales on the face...
  Easier in the long run to just get the DMM.

[DBDbadreligion]

ok well what mode do i use?
mine is similar to this one http://www.rd.com/images/tfhimport/2000/Apr00_Using_Tools/20000401_Using_Tools_page001img001_size2.jpg

[DBDbadreligion]

ok i did it and on the ohms section it said 30

[DBDbadreligion]

here's all the voltages, i replaced the battrery in the MM.  got precise readings after that.

first off i checked continuity of a wire, it shot up straight to o ohms.  which from what i read on the internet means there is a good connection.
also R2 and R3 went straight up to zero as well, so they are fine.

here are the IC voltages:

IC-1:
Pin 1 - 13 ohms
Pin 2 - 13 ohms
Pin 3 - the needle wiggles but not enough to call it a measurement.
Pin 4 - 12 ohms
Pin 5 - 13 ohms
Pin 6 - 30 ohms
Pin 7 - 30 ohms
Pin 8 - shot up straight to zero, so it gets a good connection.

IC-2 is the same readings as above.

i think i must have something to do with the input cap. i grounded all the grouns to the input and then the input to the output like you all said, it took the volume knobs buzzing away.  but unfortunately there is still no sound when the blender is turned on.

hopefully this will help all of you out.

thanks nick

[enigmur]

i also want to mention, that i grounded all the grounds to a screw that i screwed in the enclosure.  the aluminum lid of the enclosure would not let solder stick to it, neither the pots would.  so i may have a ground issue.

Did you connect the sleeve of the input jack to sleeve of the output jack?

For ground, we normally send all the grounds to the input jack sleeve, and then connect the input jack sleeve to the output jack sleeve. If you are using open metal jacks, and a metal enclosure, then you wont need to connect the input and output sleeve together, as this connection will be made through the enclosure.

I've never heard of anyone doing it with a screw into the enclosure, although I understand your logic... Also, if you ground something twice, sometimes that can cause problems. I.e. having a connection through the enclosure between input/output jacks, and also having all the grounds connected to the enclosure. Sometimes, you forget that the connection is made without wires.

Hope some of that helps. Look at tonepad's off board wiring diagram for grounding techniques as described above.

Matt

ok i will try this, i have not grounded it like that i just put all the grounds on the screw because i dont have a metal enclosure.

So do those grounds in any way have contact with the output jack sleeve? If not, you might want to connect them to it so it is actually grounding - since you don't have it in an enclosure...

Also, those readings are in ohms, you need it in volts.

Does the multimeter have a voltage section on it at all? Usually you can set it to 20v and it will show voltages if they are under 20v it will show the reading. At the moment you are reading resistance not voltage.

[DBDbadreligion]

i also want to mention, that i grounded all the grounds to a screw that i screwed in the enclosure.  the aluminum lid of the enclosure would not let solder stick to it, neither the pots would.  so i may have a ground issue.

Did you connect the sleeve of the input jack to sleeve of the output jack?

For ground, we normally send all the grounds to the input jack sleeve, and then connect the input jack sleeve to the output jack sleeve. If you are using open metal jacks, and a metal enclosure, then you wont need to connect the input and output sleeve together, as this connection will be made through the enclosure.

I've never heard of anyone doing it with a screw into the enclosure, although I understand your logic... Also, if you ground something twice, sometimes that can cause problems. I.e. having a connection through the enclosure between input/output jacks, and also having all the grounds connected to the enclosure. Sometimes, you forget that the connection is made without wires.

Hope some of that helps. Look at tonepad's off board wiring diagram for grounding techniques as described above.

Matt

ok i will try this, i have not grounded it like that i just put all the grounds on the screw because i dont have a metal enclosure.

So do those grounds in any way have contact with the output jack sleeve? If not, you might want to connect them to it so it is actually grounding - since you don't have it in an enclosure...

Also, those readings are in ohms, you need it in volts.

Does the multimeter have a voltage section on it at all? Usually you can set it to 20v and it will show voltages if they are under 20v it will show the reading. At the moment you are reading resistance not voltage.

here is a link to my MM,
http://www.gardnerbender.com/Products/Product_Manuals/PDF/analog_multimeters/GMT_18A.pdf
it has DCV, but only a 2.5 V and a 50 V.  i guess 50 V will work.  ill post after trying.

[DBDbadreligion]

alright, if i tested just a wire on the 50V setting, the needle didnt move.
the R2 and R3 also did not move.

here are the IC Voltages:
IC-1:
1 - i gave me the following one on top of the other in a column, 50/10/2 V
2 - 50/10/2 V
3 - doesnt move
4 - 50/10/2 V
5 - 50/10/2 V
6 - 50/10/2 V
7 - 50/10/2 V
8 - doesnt move

IC-2 is the same as IC-1 still.

[DBDbadreligion]

bump......

[mattpocket]

Sounds like you've sorted your grounds out, so that should help.

Check your offboard wiring according to this: there different wiring diagrams depending on whether you have used dpdt or 3pdt, millenium bypass, LED, DC jacks, but it should be pretty easy to find the setup you have used. http://www.tonepad.com/getFileInfo.asp?id=76

These readings you are getting for the IC's wont really help anyone. I am guessing that you'll need a DMM to get a more solid reading. I cant help with the debugging from your voltage readings, they arent specific enough, and I am not experienced enough to tell you what might be wrong just from a list of voltages. These other guys are clever...

Keep trying, you'll get it...

Matt

[petemoore]

  Thing about DMM is it's easier to read, it spits out numbers, they either make sense, your'e in the wrong range setting or mode, it needs a battery or...
  The readings will make sense.
  For analog meter, reading voltages, I'd start with a battery and a divider circuit, two equal value resistors, any voltage batteries say a 9v and a 1.5v.
  Measureing the 9v battery with the correct voltage range set on the meter, you should find a scale on the face under the needle which says '10'...the needle should be just to the left of that if the fresh battery is say 9.4v, a little farther left if it's actually only 8.7v.
  Then measure the middle of the divider circuit, [the 10k's seriesed across battery poles], re-measure the battery poles, if they're 9v, the middle of the divider should read 4.5v.
  Then use the 1.5v battery/divider circuit to see what 1.5v and .75v look like on the meter...at this point you'll either be frustrated or feel better about believing what readings you're coming up with, and have a 'comparator'...sometimes the meters read ratios well, but the exact readings can be 'off' like a bathroom weight scale that needs adjusted..the voltages can be used as ratios...in fact they are in the circuit, but you'll want to know your battery is indeed 9v [instead of reading 9 when it's actually 7v]...
  Then grab some resistors and compare what the color codes read compared to what the meter reads, grab a yellow purple yellow...see if you can find a 470k on the meter, then try a 330k, see if you can read resistors and have the readings appear reasonable.
  For a debugger, DMM's are worth every penny.

[mattpocket]

Just get a cheap DMM, mine was about four quid from maplins... Ratshack will have some cheap ones in the US (I dont know where you are calling from)

[DBDbadreligion]

alright i will rewire it using offboard wiring 5.

[mattpocket]

Ok, that will stand you in better stead for getting this thing going...

I know how frustrating it is to have to do things again, but 9 times out of 10 it only takes 5 minutes to do... and can make all the difference... even if the circuit doesnt work afterwards, at least you can rule something else out, and it means we are all singing from the same hymn sheet so to speak.

Let us know how it goes...

Matt

[DBDbadreligion]

alright will do.

[DBDbadreligion]

ok it didnt work it's still doing the same thing.
im gonna post some pictures of the pedal.

[DBDbadreligion]

here's a ton of pics of it http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y178/DBDbadreligion/BBlender/

[DBDbadreligion]

alright i did the audio probe, when i probed throughout the input section of the pedal, sound came out of my amp.  when i put the probe on the output jack of the circuit it worked.  but when i turned the pedal on and put it on the output jack it made no sound.  so i imagine iit is somewhere either the wire coming from the volume or somewhere else on the board.

[DBDbadreligion]

i cant find the output issue anywhere on the PC board, i probed every single solder joint on the board.  all of the input ones worked but just not the output ones.  i dont know what to do, what could it be?  both of the opamps are definately getting power.

[petemoore]

  Could be the output jack tip is getting ground, and shouldn't be.
  Where ground isn't is as important as where it is.
  You're getting a DMM? Clip the black lead to a ground point, test all grounds [circuit unpowered, test all points that are easy to find [like jack tips], and see if there's a ground in there that shouldn't be.
  Problem with 'too many' grounds is that everywhere that's grounded is grounded, it can be a needle/hackstack type search, or lifting things here and there to see what eliminates the undesired grounding.
  Might not be, but I've had it be that and something else.