Beavis Board, building your own

PRR · March 14, 2012, 11:27:23 PM

> finding a CND supplier

I say "Buy Maine!".

You would rationally say "Buy Canada!!".

These days all parts are made in Asia, but still you want to keep local stockists employed and avoid redundant border-crossings.

www.digikey.ca

http://www.sphere.bc.ca

canada.newark.com

www.rpelectronics.com

www.futureelectronics.com/WebsiteLanding.aspx

www.techspot.com/vb/topic113894.html

PRR · March 14, 2012, 11:43:24 PM

> Hadn't realized you were in Canada.

Google the town mentioned in his first post.

It's the middle of the continent way-far north of the US border, practically the last town before the North Pole. Lower Saskatchewan is all grass (now grain); but Meadow Lake is up in the forest. Interesting community at the end of the railroad tracks.

MrForbes · March 15, 2012, 03:26:32 PM

We are not the last civilization heading north but we are for sure in the Boreal Forest. We have a population of about 11000 if you include the rural families that also use the central businesses here.

Darren

Quote from: PRR on March 14, 2012, 11:43:24 PM
> Hadn't realized you were in Canada.

Google the town mentioned in his first post.

It's the middle of the continent way-far north of the US border, practically the last town before the North Pole. Lower Saskatchewan is all grass (now grain); but Meadow Lake is up in the forest. Interesting community at the end of the railroad tracks.

MrForbes · March 18, 2012, 07:34:05 PM

I got all my stuff to build a board. I will put it all together tomorrow! I am so pumped. Bent some lucite to attach the pots to. I am going to wire it for battery or plug in power. I cut enough lucite for five more boards at least since it is from my own stuff so I don't have to factor that into the cost. Pictures to follow!

MrForbes · March 20, 2012, 12:58:19 PM

Ok,

We literally had a snow storm here last night so I did not get out to the shop to finish my protoboard. We went from spring with no snow to the first official day of spring literally dumped on by snow. Been reading Electronics for Guitarists by Denton Dailey. The book is heavy reading. I keep having to go back to other sources and brush up on my electric theory. The actually science behind capacitors, their respective build materials, transistors is a little rusty for me. Any articles out there anyone can suggest?

Darren

MrForbes · March 21, 2012, 05:26:06 PM

The enclosure I ordered is too small to get all the components in! I must have ordered something too small. I am modifying it tonight.

Ok, I got everything in the box now. I have soldered most of it up and have the rest of the stuff almost ready to go. Been ultra busy with work/school. I will post pics as i promised.

MrForbes · March 23, 2012, 02:34:02 PM

Here are some pics of the breakout box. It can be run either with a battery or a 9v wall power supply

I think I am having some grounding issues. Should I use hot glue stick to insulate the points of bare wire and contacts? or is silicone a better option?

davent · March 23, 2012, 02:50:10 PM

Hello MrForbes,

Looking good, coming along nicely! Nail polish (enamel) has always worked well for me, as well easy to deal with after the fact . While wiring things up, heatshrink is usually the material of choice to protect exposed joints and leads.

Take care,
dave

MrForbes · March 23, 2012, 02:57:16 PM

Hey Thanks for the reply,

I did use heatshrink as much as possible but there are some points where the heat shrink was too cumbersome or too big (i did not have really thin stuff). I heard some folks use a hot glue gun to insulate these parts. I did not want to try it without some feedback.

I should have some time to put the rest together tomorrow sometime. I am still waiting for quotes on supplies for the class.

Darren

PRR · March 23, 2012, 10:21:28 PM

> insulate the points of bare wire

Air is a fine insulator, better than plastic, for all audio purposes.

"some grounding issues" gives us NO clue.

MrForbes · March 23, 2012, 11:28:29 PM

When I first put the box together everything worked fine. Now when I plug in the input jack and hit the switch the light does not come on (but did before). however, when I start to pull the 1/4 plug out the light will illuminate at that "halfway" out point.

So I have a stereo plug for the input 1/4". I tested the voltage sag, the voltage output to the breakout board and the voltage to the light when it lights. All is good. Both the battery power and power dc jack work fine. I think it may be a ground on the stereo jack plug. All the ground on the input jack are the same as the beavisboard breakout box. The difference is I have a separate battery input that shares the V+ contact on the dc input but is grounded to ring contact not the sleeve. The rest of the grounds are on the sleeve. I assume this is the correct wiring for a true bypass circuit in the breakout box?

PRR · March 24, 2012, 11:30:56 PM

> When I first ....everything worked fine. Now when I plug in

Works at first then goes bad is usually bad connections that just-barely worked.

Simplify. This is not a stage-box. You do not need the tricky-bit where un-plugging the signal cable also breaks the power. You do not need both battery and wart power options. You do not need the wart power to break the battery power. It is a classroom tool. Use battery (smaller sparks). Use simple OFF switch. Pre-wire battery to breadboard buses. At the end of the class period, tell the students to power-off. Check when putting the board in the closet.

I'm not too sure why Mr Beavis did this "breakout box". Seems to me, for experimental (or tutorial) purposes, the in and out jacks can be just wired to the breadboard. To me, an ex-educator, that breakout box is a "black box" which hides essential details. That may be more convenient for an experienced experimenter who knows all about basic box wiring, but I think beginners need to see all the paths and routes at once.

MrForbes · March 25, 2012, 11:29:21 AM

Quote from: PRR on March 24, 2012, 11:30:56 PM
Simplify. This is not a stage-box. You do not need the tricky-bit where un-plugging the signal cable also breaks the power. You do not need both battery and wart power options. You do not need the wart power to break the battery power. It is a classroom tool. Use battery (smaller sparks). Use simple OFF switch. Pre-wire battery to breadboard buses. At the end of the class period, tell the students to power-off. Check when putting the board in the closet.

I'm not too sure why Mr Beavis did this "breakout box". Seems to me, for experimental (or tutorial) purposes, the in and out jacks can be just wired to the breadboard. To me, an ex-educator, that breakout box is a "black box" which hides essential details. That may be more convenient for an experienced experimenter who knows all about basic box wiring, but I think beginners need to see all the paths and routes at once.

Good points here. I want to use clear boxes for the students. This one is my test run to make sure "I" can get it to work. If I can make one I can make others for the class. I will do some further testing and let you know. Worse case scenario, I take the stereo input plug out and put back in a mono. Thanks for the reply.

MrForbes · March 25, 2012, 12:47:18 PM

OK, I have checked the stereo plug and it is wired correctly. The switch is wired exactly like the beavis box. The only difference is the dc jack. The jack I have has only one positive lug and one ground lug. Both the battery and V+ leads off the dc jack all share the same lug. Does that matter?

caspercody · March 25, 2012, 02:05:07 PM

Is the 1/4" plug you are using a stereo or mono plug?

MrForbes · March 25, 2012, 02:20:01 PM

Quote from: caspercody on March 25, 2012, 02:05:07 PM
Is the 1/4" plug you are using a stereo or mono plug?

The plug wire I am using is mono.

Tracktr · March 25, 2012, 06:31:09 PM

Does anyone have any ideas as to why I'd be experiencing a huge voltage drop between the plug and the jack connections? The battery reads about 7 volts, but between the left lug and the top lug of the DC jack I'm seeing under two volts...

I've wired the Beavis Board exactly the way it shows on the diagram, not really sure what it could be.

mattthegamer463 · March 25, 2012, 06:40:09 PM

Here's my answer to the Beavis Board:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Proto-Pedal-for-DIY-Guitar-Effects/

Posted before in the Pictures thread but seems relevant here. A large hammond could be used instead of aluminum sheet.

MrForbes · March 25, 2012, 07:34:26 PM

Thanks for all the input and replies so far. I figured out the issue. I was inputting a 1/4 inch wire but it was carrying no signal (duh

). Once I hooked it put to a guitar instead of the air it worked as expected. Everything is working as it should as far as i can tell. Now I just have to build a basic circuit on the breadboard and test it. Then it is off to the admin to demo it for them. Things are moving forward! Again I'll keep you all posted.

Here are some pics of the finished board. I know the pots are overkill but they can read them through the lexan. i am going to build some clip on wires to use with the pots.

waltk · March 25, 2012, 09:29:55 PM

It's beautiful!

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Beavis Board, building your own