Dr Boogie Build journal/log

[Blatant]

hey I will use this as a project log as I attempt to build a Dr Boogie. I'm sure heaps of beginners will be able to learn from the mistakes I'm sure to make!

I've ordered most of my parts, and thanks to the patient ladies at pedalpartsplus.com for entertaining my stupid questions!

So far I have etched the PCB, my first attempt at using the toner transfer method was unsuccessful because I heated the iron up first.  I learnt a trick thanks to this community - Layer the transfer on the copper clad, and I folded a little extra paper underneath for additional stability - Wish I had a photo of that.
Then I applied the iron and let it heat up gradually.  My original mistake meant that some toner melted on at the first touch of the iron, but the transfer wasn't secure so I had a really blurry etch.

Next was the chemical bath which went accordingly, and uneventful.

Drilling the holes is an absolute pain.  I have a hand drill, snapped my 0.8mm bit and had to use the 1mm bit which also snapped, so my drill holes are both quite large, and not 100% in the right spot - lets see if this causes problems later with alignment. 

So far it's going okay, tomorrow I'll start soldering on components and upload photos

[Blatant]

okay Soldered most of the caps on today. God I suck at soldering. Pics to come when I figure out how to host them

[deadastronaut]

good luck...

[Blatant]

Pictures as promised
my successful etch. first timer here, it's not perfect but the rails have been tested with my multimeter and are all good


the caps going in.


my dirty soldering. I bet this is going to cause hissing later I can come back to that at least..


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Edit: the bits of copper missing from around drill holes is because my bit snapped, so it lost it's cutting ability and shredded the board a little, hopefully a touch up with solder will suffice.

[Blatant]

Finally got my order from PPP (thanks guys for putting up with my questions)
Soldered in all the components bar a few resistors which I don't have correct values for.
Everything's looking good so far (except the back - soldering haha)

now I have to figure out what designs to do.  Wondering how waterside decals look on matte paint.

Interesting side note: a tooth brush and metho is excellent for cleaning a partially soldered/populated PCB

[deadastronaut]

@blatant: looks ok so far ...ive built the same version...great pedal...

if/when i build one again, i'll go for the 2 footswitches, lo gain/hi gain...just one more knob and switch..

but much more useful live.. theres a few designs around that have that...good idea.

as for water slides, theyre ok..and so is painting, but i'm an etching fan...no chipping paint etc...and permanent, and looks cool....

best of all its the same stuff you etch your pcbs with...

its nice to follow a build too from start to finish...look forward to the hardcore results.. \m/  \m/   

[Blatant]

yeah I've got the painting done by PPP, so it's pro-grade and I'm hesitant about potentially stuffing it up, but at the same time I need to label the knobs

I did see the 2 switch designs but didn't know how to incorporate them into the gauss pcb (ultra noob here)
I'll upload more photos tonight and I plan to start the offboard wiring for it too.
Figured it would be nice to show the whole palava of the build for any other newbies who encounter similar hiccups as I did.

[deadastronaut]

there are a few methods of putting decals on your box...waterslide/  transparencies..etc...have a search, there is some good info abot on here..

as for the boogie, i was thinking today that i fancy pulling mine apart and making it 2 switches...and 2 gains and 2 volumes..

not sure on the wiring of that myself though... ive asked in another thread...(alas no answer yet!)..

there are threads with diagrams for the one extra gain and 2 switches..but i'm greedy...

[Blatant]

I've got waterslides but yeah, the box is a matte finish so I'm not sure weather the waterslide will look glossy or not. I can always clearcoat it with matte clearcoat I suppose.
Might try it on an old box first..

[deadastronaut]

yeah clearcoat over the waterslide to fix it to the box anyway....use gloss clear if you want it shiny...or matte..its down to your taste!..

with some waterslide you have to 'fix' the ink with clear anyway....light dust coats...to stop the water ruining it..

[Blatant]

so you can gloss over a matte paintjob?

[deadastronaut]

yes you can... you will have to, to keep your waterslide on there!..clean it and make sure its grease/dust free etc...

(if it were me, i'd wet sand it lightly with 1200 grade paper to give the laquer a key ....very light though.. with washing up liquid...rinse and dry...)..

put your waterslide on....let it dry.. thoroughly...then do a few light coats of clear...let dry for 30mins between coats...

dont go mad, otherwise your decal may wrinkle ....slow and steady and light till it all looks ok...let that dry..touch dry...

then do your full wet coat for an even finish...i stick mine on a warm radiator (not roasting) when wet..it cures it quicker so you dont get dust in it... ..


the only way your box will look glosy is if you clear gloss coat it...waterslide wont do that on its own..

[Blatant]

thanks deadastronaut. Very useful tips here. We'll see how it all goes I guess - gotta get the circuit operational before I really worry about paint haha.  Lets just hope its not too cold when I'm trying to cure it (winter is starting here)

[Blatant]

More progress. It's getting crowded

[deadastronaut]

whooohoooo.......

yep, get it going first....

[Blatant]

starting to learn the trick to soldering. In my case I am slow so often the flux boils off too fast for me. I find if i take the iron away before the strand of unmelted solder, things work better.

[Blatant]

another update. everything's on board, final check of the layout and I missed a drill hole (oops). fixed that. offboard wiring half done, just need to attach the wires to the PCB and start the testing.
if all goes well I'll be spray painting next week, if not I'll be debugging haha

[deadastronaut]

cool, yeah get that beast working first!...

[Blatant]

started testing. woops I soldered the input jacks back to front so the tip was ground
fixed that, there's still squealing if you turn the mid up, and when it does work there's no sustain on it however it does sound badass.
I've roughly biased by ear, and the wiring is an absolute mess, I might redo it

questions:
do i ground to the enclosure?
do i ground the backs of the pots?
will crummy soldering cause noises?
i have a 5k pot for Mid, what do i do to halve it to 2.5k?

cheers

[euronymous0001]

started testing. woops I soldered the input jacks back to front so the tip was ground
fixed that, there's still squealing if you turn the mid up, and when it does work there's no sustain on it however it does sound badass.
I've roughly biased by ear, and the wiring is an absolute mess, I might redo it

questions:
do i ground to the enclosure?
do i ground the backs of the pots?
will crummy soldering cause noises?
i have a 5k pot for Mid, what do i do to halve it to 2.5k?

cheers

solder a 5k1/5.1k resistor between lugs 1 and 3 of the mid pot