Tube boost + overdrive running off a 9 volt battery

[kurtlives]

You need to use a regulated DC power supply  with adequate filtering.

[tipetu]

hmm, I`m using a standard wall supply. 9V DC 450mA Does this sound ok? if not, got any tips for a better suited one?? thanks

[GeToChKn]

How hard would it be to modify this to function as a headphone amp?  Would I just basically add a 386 based amp after this circuit?  Also, I love the condor type cab sims.  Where would add a cab sim into this, or any other type of headphone amp.

[tipetu]

yeey! I hooked the pedal up to a 9V battery and the hum is gone! seems like it`s the power supply that`s messed up! I found a 1.1A regulated 9V wall supply on ebay. Does that sound right??

[Renegadrian]

As Some of us have experienced before, power from a wallwart has to be well filtered and regulated.
Also, try to get one running at 12V as it suits the circuit and the tube best

[tipetu]

yeah, I`ve tried 5 diffenrent wall warts and every single one is different from the other.. let`s hope this 9V I found works, if not I`ll have to buy a buch of batteries in the meantime.

[Renegadrian]

hm...

[Ripthorn]

Just make sure the wall wart you buy is center negative (or rewire the DC jack).  Last thing you want to do is fry something.

[tipetu]

center negative??.. All the wall warts I have is center positive. Thought they all were so. Anyways I connected the battery in such way that the tip of the plug was positive, so I guess it works that was with batteries but not with wall warts. Thanks for the help. I painted it gold and will be posting pics in a couple days!

[tipetu]

The polished chassis were all scratched up so I painted the entire thing gold.. Cool

Stamped some stuff on it too.. looks retro









Good usage of a hot power tranny.   That sencence sounded weird! :-S

[REGNAD]

hey guys, i have my valvecaster built and have been using it for awhile. i took it to a buddys place and it didnt work. brought it back home and it worked... turns out that it works connected in the beginning of my fx chain but doesnt work with just guitar to valvecaster to amp... why is this?

[Ripthorn]

Sounds like a weird problem, but if it truly doesn't work when going straight into an amp that suggests a very high output impedance.  This is odd, especially since many amps have a large input impdance.  Will it not work with any amp or just the one?  Also, I have found that a poorly wired pot can cause loading like nobody's business (something like this gave me a heck of a time in my submini tube amp a couple months ago).  That's all I've got for right now.

[REGNAD]

ive tried it on two different amps now. when i flip the on switch i get a louder hum but no signal. works fine in the chain.

[frequencycentral]

ive tried it on two different amps now. when i flip the on switch i get a louder hum but no signal. works fine in the chain.

Time to post some voltages! You haven't missed out the output cap by any chance?

[REGNAD]

i'll dig up the schematic I used and post. where do you want these voltages measured?

[frequencycentral]

i'll dig up the schematic I used and post. where do you want these voltages measured?

Directly from all 9 pins of the tube. Also include the voltage of the power supply you're using.

[REGNAD]

question, do i take these voltages with the tube inserted or not inserted?

[frequencycentral]

question, do i take these voltages with the tube inserted or not inserted?

Inserted.

[REGNAD]

i just discovered two things. im using a plastic box and my power negative was not common with signal negative, not sure if thats a deal breaker..but, i also discovered a cold solder joint. when the tube was wiggled i got a signal to pass through the circuit. resoldered all the socket lugs and all is good now. the voltages below where taken before i resoldered, so they may be skewed...


voltages:

incoming connected----9.2
pins:
1-9.0 vdc
2-0 vdc
3-started out around 7 vdc and stabilized at 1.3 vdc
4-power negative
5-9.2 vdc
6-9.1 vdc
7-0 vdc
8-started out around 5 vdc and stabilized at 1.3 vdc
9-4.5 vdc

[tipetu]

Took some shots today of the finished pedal..







oh yes, I repainted it cause the writing didnt work well with the clear.