Forum FV-1 project

[Ice-9]

By the way, I have been following and still have interest in this.

Second off, this is one of the things that makes me very interested in this: http://www.zcatpedals.com/?dir=view&id=20101015121326uDaa

That link to zcatpedals was super encouraging. I think this is totally worth pursuing.

Jacob

These look interesting , there is no mention on the website that they are all FV-

1 controlled. Does anyone know for sure if they use the FV-1 chip.

Yes Sir, I do.
Voilà: (lying on my desk)



This is the Q-Mod Pedal of Z.Cat.

Helge

They are a nice range of pedals, the one pictured only seems to have a basic fet or bjt input buffer and no output buffer just a standard 2 pole filter as seen in the FV-1 data sheet. Do you know if there is anymore circuitry underneath the main pcb.

[Ice-9]

I'd prefer the mix CCW full dry CW full wet idea.

Seconded.

Jacob

So be it. Thats what I will draw up in the next schematic and alter the pcb to match.

I also got rid of the switch popping, it was a bad capacitor on the input.

[Fuzz Aldryn]

By the way, I have been following and still have interest in this.

Second off, this is one of the things that makes me very interested in this: http://www.zcatpedals.com/?dir=view&id=20101015121326uDaa

That link to zcatpedals was super encouraging. I think this is totally worth pursuing.

Jacob

These look interesting , there is no mention on the website that they are all FV-

1 controlled. Does anyone know for sure if they use the FV-1 chip.

Yes Sir, I do.
Voilà: (lying on my desk)



This is the Q-Mod Pedal of Z.Cat.

Helge

They are a nice range of pedals, the one pictured only seems to have a basic fet or bjt input buffer and no output buffer just a standard 2 pole filter as seen in the FV-1 data sheet. Do you know if there is anymore circuitry underneath the main pcb.

Yes, there is. But sadfully I can't get that f***** out and can't see what's holding it in its place. Unsrewed everything and did remove the ground connection but it didn't want to come lose. :/

[jkokura]

Dang Helge, sorry for mistaking you.

Jacob

[Ice-9]

Just a minor update for now !!

I've had a few days away from this dealing with other things life throws at you.

Today I got out my programmer out to program up an external eeprom just to make sure that part of the circuit was working correctly, trouble was since last using my chip programmer I had changed motherboards in my pc and this new one didn't have a parallel port    so I couldn't program a chip up. So programmer in hand I took it to work and programmed up 3 chips using the works pc. I put on the 3 sets of 8 programs from the spin website. (I will have to get a new motherboard with a parallel port for my home pc as there is no way I can replace this programmer for the newer USB version, it would cost more to replace than build a whole new PC)

I have to say I was very pleased with the Auto wah.  Some of the reverbs sound good but do seem to be wet signal only so I will definitely be adding the dry/wet mix pot in next.

I must learn to program my own code next as I think developing code is the way to go with this. I know there are a few people on this forum doing some software development, it would be good when I have got the hardware finished and the software starts to emerge as this FV-1 chip has a lot of potential.

[Fuzz Aldryn]

Dang Helge, sorry for mistaking you.

Jacob

Could have been worse. ;-) I know my Scandinavian name sometimes misleads people.

[Ice-9]

I've made a little progress tonight I'm happy to say. At the moment I am trying to keep the programs that are put on the external Eeprom ones that are available to everyone, so have picked some of the ones that seem more suitable to having the extra mix control pot. (for now anyway i'm sure some great code will become available once the hardware side is done)

I have added the 4th pot for the dry/wet mix and it makes a huge difference to the quality of the the sound, for instance the reverbs become very usable as opposed to a show piece of how reverb sounds. I have also adjusted some of the values in the input and output buffers so that when the mix control is set at dry the difference between true bypass and effect is pretty much zero, at the moment there is a very slight bass drop when the effect is in the on position but hardly noticeable, i am sure I can rectify that easily.

I will get a schematic update as soon as I can, and I will also make a new PCB once I'm happy with the final schematic that will incorporate the mix control.

I think the final project isn't too far away and then we can start with the add-on bits like the smart card reader and alternative patch switching and any other great ideas anyone comes up with.

[Ice-9]

I have two pictures of the mods so far and have the stuff boxed up to some degree. Not the greatest pics though.

[Skruffyhound]

You are really making headway with this Mick. Kudos

[Ice-9]

Another minor update only this time, I do have another schematic ready to go but before I make a PCB I wanted to tackle mounting the PCB in the enclosure which I will incorporate into the next revision as well. One of my hates is having a pcb just floating around in an enclosure either wrapped in something or just ready to short out.

As I had used a 1x4 header size pinout on the pcb for the program select rotary switch, I thought why not put it to use, so I etched a pcb for the program switch and extended it to match up with the FV-1 PCB so  that it would sit on top and solder to it. The pictures in order explain it better than my long winded chatter I think.

Program switch pcb with header for main pcb

main pcb placed onto program switch pcb

program switch and pcb mounted to enclosure ready to solder the 4 pin header onto main FV-1 pcb

All solidly mounted up ready for bypass and jacks to go in.

[slacker]

That looks amazing Mick, very clever.

[peterv999]

Mick,
Very impressive design. Wondering if shielding on your main board would be beneficial to your design?

For people not familiar with the FV-1, I know that this DSP processor is capable of delivering world-class effects.
"Head off " for your achievements already and I'll  keep a close eye on future developments.

Piet

[culturejam]

Mick,

After doing your awesome mods to the EHX Holy Stain, I'm totally down for this one.

I thought, though, that the effects were all pre-programmed into the FV-1. So it's cool to hear that you can do more than what is in the old Holy Stain.

[jkokura]

Mick, I'm very impressed, and I think your work so far is super. One of the things that's throwing me however, is the lack of personal taste options. I like my jacks top mounted, and while I like the top three knobs, I'm worried that the selection knob might be a little close to the stomp switch for my taste. In your opinion, will anyone who wants to try this project be married to the layout that you've got there, or do you think there's room for a little bit different layout?

Jacob

[Ice-9]

Mick, I'm very impressed, and I think your work so far is super. One of the things that's throwing me however, is the lack of personal taste options. I like my jacks top mounted, and while I like the top three knobs, I'm worried that the selection knob might be a little close to the stomp switch for my taste. In your opinion, will anyone who wants to try this project be married to the layout that you've got there, or do you think there's room for a little bit different layout?

Jacob

Jacob, The layout is just a proto at the moment, jacks switches and pots can be mounted anywhere you want them, there is also a second output so if you have room to fit a second output jack the effect can be stereo outs. I just took advantage of the 4 pin header for the data pot to mount the main pcb in this enclosure. The 3 control pots also have a 5 pin header for mounting to the main pcb, there is no need at all to put them on the little pcb I knocked up as they can all be mounted anywhere in the enclosure then wired up as normal using any wire you like. This first experiment was just to see how much I could fit into these little 1590bb enclosures.

I am working on ver 2 which has mix controls for wet/dry controls as well. The thing I wanted to incorporate into this design was to have a number of options to connect different controls to the main PCB, by putting the headers on there for the pots etc I will be able to replace the data switch/pot with lets say a footswitch circuit which could scroll through the programs and still just use the same 4 pin header on the pcb.  also the pots could all be replaced with a second pcb which could have a micro controlled and led display to control the patches and control pots. These are just different ideas to think about.

Once I have the main circuit that is finished with all the facilities on it I will make a through hole pcb as well, for the time being I find it quicker to prototype pcb's in SMD , all that time saved drilling holes 

[Ice-9]

Mick,
Very impressive design. Wondering if shielding on your main board would be beneficial to your design?

For people not familiar with the FV-1, I know that this DSP processor is capable of delivering world-class effects.
"Head off " for your achievements already and I'll  keep a close eye on future developments.

Piet

Hi Piet

The PCB has a ground plane but as the pcb is quite small and compact there isn't a great deal of it to see.

[Tpetty5]

As a long time lurker, I just wanted to speak up and say great work.  I am following this with interest.

[mathewglenn]

As a long time lurker, I just wanted to speak up and say great work.  I am following this with interest.

Same here.

[Ice-9]

As a long time lurker, I just wanted to speak up and say great work.  I am following this with interest.

Pull up a chair and sit in, everyone is welcome at this party

[Fuzz Aldryn]

As a long time lurker, I just wanted to speak up and say great work.  I am following this with interest.

Pull up a chair and sit in, everyone is welcome at this party

Ok, sit on too. But first I need: Fresh pots! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhdCslFcKFU