'LIGHTWAH'

[frequencycentral]

Great job Rob, you should be very proud - sounds great!

The boy can play too.......

[ugly_guitar_guy]

ok heres the fnished 'LIGHTWAH'...at last!....

I fricken love the sound of this pedal. From a design standpoint however I think I would put the stomp switch more to the right of the box so that you could use your foot over the sensor on the left. Wouldn't "look" as nice and symmetrical, but it would give space and less possibility of accidentally stomping the switch if you were using your foot over the sensor instead of a hand.

[mattthegamer463]

so here is the final 'LIGHTWAH' shematic...untidy i know but hey...this is how it is!..and it works fine!......anyone fancy a weekend 1590b pcb designing project?...

I'm pretty interested.  I could have a run of boards done too, double-sided, through-hole plated, silk screen, the works.  Board cost would be close to $1.25 USD or so each, coming from china.  Thats for a board 2" by 2" max, which this could definitely fit into.  It would fit in a 1590B no problem.

Even if I just produced the PCB files and such and sent them to someone else to order and distribute to the other interested forum members, I would do.  Or I could distribute I guess.  They'd probably let me send a PCB in a padded envelope in the mail eh?

I'll watch this thread for any takers.

[deadastronaut]

cheers guys!...and thanks for all your help with this mad project....i know i'm a dumb @#$%er sometimes ...but i appreciate your time and patience...cool!..

@V. yeah just lose the lfo for a simplified version.....as for the light issues: i knocked up a circuit so that when the ldr goes dark, the led lights...
ive tried it in sunlight and it works fine...and in normal  household lighting too...you just adjust the sensitivity pot according to light conditions
i adjust till the 'blue' led is just off...then when its covered it lights fully.....when its dark i just flip the auto on..and no problems..
or you can turn the sensitivity right up full and have a type of treble boost..or halfway..a wah half way..

@ugly: i put the sensor there because i'm a lefty..and left footed too..but its sensitive enough to be anywhere around there really, plus i fancied the 'real' wah sound of when switched on
the wah is fully open...............the sensor part could be  used for a lot of other applications too..

@matt: hmmmm....dunno about all that side of things...i knock my own up..

[vendettav]

so any schematic other than the PCB layout 2 pages back?
it's easier to work with a scheme you know. also the reason i wanna take out the LFO bit is cause i doubt i'd be using it and i'd actually want to fit it in this enclosure i have predrilled fr 2 pots

[deadastronaut]

@v: here ya go, just the wah and light sensor section...this'll be ok.

just 2 pots and a sensor led,.....face 1 led to the ldr...and 1 on top for reference..and to look cool...




there is the other half of that 072 that can be used for something!!!!!!!!!....   or just use an 071....

cheers.

[petemoore]

  Very nice sound, the effects of the LED's keeps the sweeping de-and-accelerations in interesting forms, the wide-and-narrow sweep direction change points as well as the 'centering'. There's enough diversity of change to the sound that it seems to be 'continually revealing' itself.
   

[mattthegamer463]

I'm going to do a simple single-sided PCB layout today that I'll post, but my offer of doing up an order of professional boards is still on the table if people are interested.

[deadastronaut]

  Very nice sound, the effects of the LED's keeps the sweeping de-and-accelerations in interesting forms, the wide-and-narrow sweep direction change points as well as the 'centering'. There's enough diversity of change to the sound that it seems to be 'continually revealing' itself.
   

cheers pete: yeah its very fluid...took a while to get the lfo/ and led choice just right/or how i ike it....

@matt, just to let ya know, i did a pcb on pdf..and it takes into account the led/ldr size too...
http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=88582.msg792407#msg792407
bom adjustments:
C8=10uf
speed pot=470kb...ok.

[mattthegamer463]

  Very nice sound, the effects of the LED's keeps the sweeping de-and-accelerations in interesting forms, the wide-and-narrow sweep direction change points as well as the 'centering'. There's enough diversity of change to the sound that it seems to be 'continually revealing' itself.
   

cheers pete: yeah its very fluid...took a while to get the lfo/ and led choice just right/or how i ike it....

@matt, just to let ya know, i did a pcb on pdf..and it takes into account the led/ldr size too...
http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=88582.msg792407#msg792407
bom adjustments:
C8=10uf
speed pot=470kb...ok.

I see but do you have a transfer-ready version?  I am making a transfer version.

[deadastronaut]

yeah, the 2 pdfs are under the layout link..

one for layout, one for pcb...ready to print ok.

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=88582.msg792594#msg792594

[mattthegamer463]

yeah, the 2 pdfs are under the layout link..

one for layout, one for pcb...ready to print ok.

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=88582.msg792594#msg792594

Oh sorry I missed that.  Shouldn't be skimming instead of reading.

Thanks.  I'm still going to do my own layout (its good practice anyway) and in case anyone wants me to order up a batch.  I'd like to do it.  Maybe I'll just do it for myself.  Problem is its minimum of 10, so I'll have tons of extras.

[deadastronaut]

okey dokey!...

[mattthegamer463]

Here's what I got:







Don't be concerned about package appearances in the 3D render, I didn't bother making actual pots, etc. I just used the default single in-line connector package which has the same spacing as the typical board-mount 16mm pots.

Pot spacing is 1" apart, square.  Board size is 1.950" by 1.950", intended for 1590B.  Mini toggle switch goes in the middle.

I also redrew the schematic.  Deadastronaut, think you could give it a once-over to make sure I got it all right?  I've checked it but its good to have two sets of eyes.  I also tried to add a DC/battery switching setup, I don't ever use batteries so I don't know if that will work but I think it will, using typical 3-pin DC jacks.

Thoughts wanted.  Also anyone interested in having boards made should PM me.

[mattthegamer463]

Deadastronaut,

I've been thinking and appears it might be difficult to operate the pedal with a foot, how well does it work using your foot?  I imagine the threshold would be shorter since a foot blocks/allows light more abruptly than a finger does.  Also, how is performance in low/indirect/artificial light?

[arma61]

  Very nice sound, the effects of the LED's keeps the sweeping de-and-accelerations in interesting forms, the wide-and-narrow sweep direction change points as well as the 'centering'. There's enough diversity of change to the sound that it seems to be 'continually revealing' itself.
   

Pete, that's the best description ever for a guitar gear!!! (in a serious way)

Again Rob well done!

[mattthegamer463]

Here's an idea:

What if there was a bright IR LED on top of the box, aimed straight up, and the LDR had a visible light filter to eliminate the need for ambient light?  The resistance would be controlled by IR light from the LED reflecting off your foot and back to the LDR. The closer your foot the more reflected light.  It would also make this device work on a dark stage since it wouldn't rely on any outside light source.

[Gurner]

Here's an idea:

What if there was a bright IR LED on top of the box, aimed straight up, and the LDR had a visible light filter to eliminate the need for ambient light?  The resistance would be controlled by IR light from the LED reflecting off your foot and back to the LDR. The closer your foot the more reflected light.  It would also make this device work on a dark stage since it wouldn't rely on any outside light source.

There's a whole heap of IR in ambient light too (especially daylight), so your method wouldn't eliminate the problem.

The only way to eradicate the impact of ambient light is to modulate the LED driving signal .....then demodulate received signal.

Another (less component count) way of minimising the impact of ambient light would be to go with a differential setup at the ldr (one ldr to pickup the ambient light, one ldr for the 'foot reflected' led light...then only the difference between the two LDRs gets acted upon ...it's not ideal, but does help a lot...but even this method would still need a major overhaul of the present circuit iteration...and I know Rob is keen on simple/tiny solutions so not something that's likely gonna happen)

[mattthegamer463]

Here's an idea:

What if there was a bright IR LED on top of the box, aimed straight up, and the LDR had a visible light filter to eliminate the need for ambient light?  The resistance would be controlled by IR light from the LED reflecting off your foot and back to the LDR. The closer your foot the more reflected light.  It would also make this device work on a dark stage since it wouldn't rely on any outside light source.

There's a whole heap of IR in ambient light too (especially daylight), so your method wouldn't eliminate the problem.

The only way to eradicate the impact of ambient light is to modulate the LED driving signal .....then demodulate received signal.

Another (less compoinent count) way of minimising the impact of ambient light would be to go with a differential setup at the ldr receiver amp (one ldr to pickup the ambient light, one ldr for the reflected led light...only the difference between the two LDRs gets amplified...it's not ideal, but does help a lot)

You're right.  I forgot about the ambient IR.  Stupid.

Still might work better than relying on ambient, top-down light.

[vendettav]

@v: here ya go, just the wah and light sensor section...this'll be ok.

just 2 pots and a sensor led,.....face 1 led to the ldr...and 1 on top for reference..and to look cool...




there is the other half of that 072 that can be used for something!!!!!!!!!....   or just use an 071....

cheers.

that looks just great Rob! and it happens so that i have a 071 laying around.