First Build... Unsuccesful :(

[diminishedlogic]

Hey guys. I'm new to this building stuff.

I learned a lot from my first and supposedly "easy" circuit build.

I used a BYOC kit of the 250.

There were no mods done. Built to 250 specs.

No sound, the bypass works and the LED doesnt come on. I suck at soldering.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in Advance!

-sam

pics...

[blooze_man]

My first guess is to check your wiring on the switch. And then read this:  http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=29816.0

[tyronethebig]

Hey man, I'm a noob too but it looks like you soldered the wrong side of the pcb.

[tuckster]

Did you solder on both sides or only on the parts side?
On the pics you can see cold solder joints which is a bad thing if you only soldered on the part side.
Don't do that Solder on the other side.
I bet there is a disconnection somewhere

[diminishedlogic]

Hey thanks for the responses. I soldered on the opposite side. the solder dripped through to the other side hence the cold solder beads...


but I may wind up rewiring the switch... i think thats the weakest link.

[Quackzed]

if your components are on the opposite side of the board, your op amp will need to be swapped to the other side to retain the correct pinout for your pcb... resistors and caps should be fine but the op amp won't be ...

[R.G.]

Your first build is not unsuccessful - it's just not finished yet, and you haven't given up.

[Earthscum]

Your first build is not unsuccessful - it's just not finished yet, and you haven't given up.

+1 to that! I gave up on my first build, and it's now scrap (re-used some of the components). I'd say that it was unsuccessful, although I now know what I did wrong (can't forward bias a diode if it's decoupled from DC). If I still had it, I could go back to it.

Don't give up on it... make it successful! Reward comes from persistence!

[Talon5051]

It looks like a purple jumper wire on the switch is broken.  I would also check for solder splashes (use a magnifying glass) and like the others say be persistent.

[Earthscum]

Was just looking at your build... remember, sockets!

I've done this before... basically get too much heat and fry your amplifying devices (fet, transistor, op amp...). If all else checks ok, I'd try a new amp and socket that sucker! 

[diminishedlogic]

Just tried the battery in addition to the DC.. The only thing that seems to work is the bypass. I guess that means the jacks are working? I will rewire the switch tonight. The PCB seems ok? the switch is the sloppiest thing.

[o2bthecream]

1. Even if the IC was subjected to too much heat and has failed, that does not explain why the LED does not light.

2. The components are on the correct side of the board.

if your components are on the opposite side of the board, your op amp will need to be swapped to the other side to retain the correct pinout for your pcb... resistors and caps should be fine but the op amp won't be ...

3. At this point it would be helpful to get some DC voltage readings at the pins of the IC and on the switch, both when the effect is bypassed and when it is engaged, to isolate the problem (I assume you have a multimeter). Just rewiring the switch without the knowledge that it is indeed your point of failure will probably lead to more work and frustration in the end.

[Govmnt_Lacky]

The biggest thing I see is that you are definitely NOT familiar with soldering. Here are some simple tips to help you with that.

1) ALWAYS use rosin-core solder. It helps the solder flow and spread MUCH better!
2) Invest in a solder remover/sucker. It will save you sometimes.
3) Use the proper size solder. Don't use a large gauge solder for small projects. (I think I use around a .03 diameter for pedals)
4) Keep your soldering iron tip tinned. That is, make sure to apply a small bead of solder to the tip EVERY TIME before putting the iron back into the holder.
5) Sometimes, I find it easier to apply a miniscule amount of solder to the tip BEFORE applying it to the point that I want to solder. It helps with the heat conduction.
6) If you have an iron with a temperature setting, I always have mine set to between 675-710 degrees. Some may set it differently but that is what I use.
7) Also, invest in some paste flux, it will help to flow the solder on older/oxidized wires.

Other things are a matter of timing and experience. Knowing how long to keep heat on a point is random however, if you hold the iron on a particular point (especially ICs) for more than about 5-7 seconds, you can be pretty sure that you just fried it!

Hope this helps  

[Earthscum]

1. Even if the IC was subjected to too much heat and has failed, that does not explain why the LED does not light.

Actually, one that I fried almost fried my PSU because it shorted out inside. Short from positive to ground will dump enough current to make the LED not light up. I make no more assumptions about a chip that could've been fried. I toss it out, they are cheap enough. Also, I have decided that the extra cash I spent on the extruded heatsink for my power supply has been well worth the money! 

[diminishedlogic]

i guess i'll get a multimeter. any more suggestions will be heeded. thanks...

[Earthscum]

Once you realize it's potential, and how it can help ya out, the multi-meter is your best friend... until you get an O-scope, I presume...

If ya have a Harbor Freight, they have cheap $4 meters that have a transistor gain function (measures hFE). I have that, just for transistors, and a better one from Sears. Sadly, I haven't been able to find a cheaper one that measures inductance yet, but it's on my watch-list. It's one you would probably wouldn't need unless you get into winding your own inductors. Right now I just use a spreadsheet and a horrible guess and trial and error.

But, yeah... multimeter, even cheap to get a foot in the door, will help you out in the long run.

Oh yeah... things you want it to measure are AC and DC volts and current, as small as possible... remember we work down to fractions of volts at times in pedals. The more accurate, the better.
Capacitance, resistance, and diode Vf. Generally, from what I've seen, if there's a capacitance function, there's a diode function. Also, battery test function is nice. The hFE function probably isn't necessity as of yet, but if you find a meter that you can afford with it, may as well get it.

[petemoore]

  One thing at a time.
  DMM, your buddy will tell you when things are screwed up.
  He'll also help you locate the miswire or misconnect.
  There are quite a number of things:
  The switching, the jacks, the circuit board.
  The circuit board can be 'test-jigged' so that the switch and other 'wrapper peripheral' items can be eliminated from the mix entirely.
  It's just a box w/2 jacks, 3 testclip wires from:
  input jack tip, output jack tip, ground-sleeve of both jacks.
  Put another open-tray type box [insulated like cardboard] on top of the box with the jacks, feed the testclip-wires through, the box can be tested by connecting the in/out testclips, it should bypass...insert circuit here, attach the three testclips.
  I found it a very useful item, once the circuit is in the box it's cramped/messy and stressful, no room to move, too much going on, the wires may inhibit visual or DMM inspections and are more prone to breaking. The testjig allows taking all that other stuff off to concentrate on the circuit function.

[Krallum]

If you're having trouble getting peices to stay in while you flip the board to solder, just use electrical tape to hold down that component.


Double check your capacitor values now triple check them and any of those resistors that have brown on each side. [Having a multimeter can fix this]. Also theres a few calculators on AMZ

[MikeH]

I suck at soldering.

For future reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_NU2ruzyc4

A good soldering tutorial.  Kind of dry, but short and to the point.

Also:  Until you're good at soldering you should use sockets instead of soldering ICs and transistors directly to the board.

[diminishedlogic]

UPDATE.

Well I rewired everything except the PCB. AND SHE WORKS!!!!


Sounds great. Now... anyone have any mods?