DIY Pedal Will Not Work [PICS Included] - DIY MOD KITS (The Thunderdrive Deluxe)

[The_Bloody_Omen]

  [img][img]Dear DIYstompboxes forum,

Nub here. I recently tried to put together this Thunderdrive pedal

Schematic - http://www.modkitsdiy.com/sites/default/files/product_files/Thunderdrive%20Deluxe%20Schematic.pdf
Instructions with pictures - http://www.modkitsdiy.com/sites/default/files/product_files/K-955%20Thunderdrive%20Deluxe%20Instructions.pdf

However, I can only get the true bypass signal to come through to the amp, and that signal is almost entirely covered up by a loud fuzz, reverb sound, which is constant
in volume and irritation.  Another issue, is that I can not figure out which terminals on my transistor (http://www.nteinc.com/specs/10to99/pdf/nte47.pdf) are the emitor,
base, and collector. Is it EBC on the round side, or EBC on the flat side (yarrrrrrrrrrrrrrg). Lastly, I used a ZIPPO light to shrink wrap some components like the reverse
polarity diodes, but stopped after I realized the diodes themselves were becoming quite toasty.  Is it possible to fry your components this way, or at all with heat like this?

Pictures
http://imgur.com/a/SMHzl
I think there might be a loose connection on the terminal, since I did not solder that bad boy yet.

Thank you for reading,
5047Nelson (Bloody Tampon)

[LucifersTrip]

Dear DIYstompboxes forum,
Nub here. I recently tried to put together this Thunderdrive pedal

Schematic - http://www.modkitsdiy.com/sites/default/files/product_files/Thunderdrive%20Deluxe%20Schematic.pdf

However, I can only get the true bypass signal to come through to the amp, and that signal is almost entirely covered up by a loud fuzz, reverb sound, which is constant
in volume and irritation. 

note the voltages on the schematic...how close are you?

Another issue, is that I can not figure out which terminals on my transistor (http://www.nteinc.com/specs/10to99/pdf/nte47.pdf) are the emitor,
base, and collector.

note the vertical stripes on the pic. that is the flat side

Lastly, I used a ZIPPO light to shrink wrap some components like the reverse
polarity diodes, but stopped after I realized the diodes themselves were becoming quite toasty.

I would guess that would not even get close to what a soldering iron would do...so prob no damage

[The_Bloody_Omen]

Hay, sorry it took so long for me to get back, ive been busier than eva. I also went and re-did the entire circuit, this time lightly soldering each components to make sure there was no accidental connections.  This means I also soldered the resistors which got decently hot with a small amount of heat for a limited time. Do resistors get super messed up if they are placed under 400 degrees yo?  When I hooked up my rig, the exact same thing happened. My transistor is a different one then was specified, but met the same V_CBO,V_CEO, and V_EBO. Im not sure if any other stats on that would matter ya.  Im going to post a video of what sound comes through sortly.  And LucifersTrip, I do not own a mult-meter lol, and I figured out the transitor thank you dude!

[garcho]

For the most part, the components to worry about overheating are semi-conductors: diodes, LEDs, transistors, ICs, etc. You can destroy anything (resisters, caps, etc.) with heat, but much less likely. Most issues seem to arise from cold solder joints, misreading pin-outs, shorts from one trace to another, or something really stupid like forgetting to put the IC in the socket or something. Take pictures of your board, that will probably help more than the video. If you plan on building more stuff, get a multimeter.

[The_Bloody_Omen]

Hay so I got the pictures of the new build here:
http://imgur.com/a/MjoVd

The diodes' (picture dos) casings kinda fused together so idk if that is a good indicator that there toasted.

Video:
http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=24130w7&s=6

Im getting some kind of signal through the amp on the first part, however after I hit the foot switch nothing I play comes through to the amp, but when I adjust the "output pot" the buzz noice goes down and then up. And the LED does not go on or off.  I am curious as I think it might be the transistor I used?

Thanks,
5047Nelson

[R.G.]

Some distilled wisdom from watching people start with DIY effects for the last 20+ years:
- The most likely problems are all builder-induced, as you've guessed: part inserted the wrong way round, soldering problems and wiring problems. Bad new parts are very rare. Not unheard of, but very rare.
- Resistors are almost immune to soldering heat damage. Non-electro caps, nearly so. Electro caps can be damaged. Silicon semiconductors can be damaged, but they're pretty tough. It's germanium semiconductors that die if you overheat them. Those and the PCB itself; copper lifts off the board material if you get it too hot.
- You really can't get much more debugging done except by lucky guess unless you buy/borrow a multimeter. It's possible that good high-res photos can help, as can people easter-egging and guessing, but the odds of getting it fixed that way go down a lot.
- If you're going to ever build another effect, you ought to figure out how to get a meter. They can be had for under $10 at Harbor Freight and by email.

[The_Bloody_Omen]

Hay!

I found the problem and it was that my two jacks were not grounded lol, being on my bench. It's all gewd!

However, when the pedal is engaged the volume is very low and can barely be heard when I crank up my amp. Then when I click the pedal off, I get Supa blasted, it creates tornados. I was wondering if this has to do with my transistor?

R.G: thank you so much for your advice, harbor tools is dabomb.com. They are having a 20% off one item and a free flashlight with purchase sale if you have a store near you.

http://is200.imagesocket.com/images/2012/04/19/2467100-vfuf.jpg - 20% off

http://is100.imagesocket.com/images/2012/04/09/2463310-wo6k.jpg - fleshlight

[Jdansti]

Just a bit of advice on heat shrink tubing:  Use a heat gun on medium to medium-high. If you don't have a heat gun, use a hair dryer on high.

[petey twofinger]

i cut in a 7809 last night and found it was putting out 11.43 v off of 12 . could it be that i fried it from too much heat when soldering ?

i had a 1uf cap on the in and a .1 on the out , and thats it .

i did heat it up a lil more cause it was point to point .

edit ....

oops , i didnt connect the ground !!   

[J0K3RX]

Do yourself a favor and build some sort of test bed so your stuff is not strung all over the floor! Maybe get a bread board if you are not fond of soldering? Transistors are sensitive to heat as stated before... Diodes don't need heat shrink... Tin your wires maybe, I see small strands of wire sticking out all over the place wrapped around contacts etc.. Those are not good connections btw. For the transistors get some sort of socket so you don't apply unnecessary heat to the component, even an IC socket will work... Radio Shack has those for 65 cents. They also have bread boards for $8.00..

BTW: When testing you don't have to wire in the foot switch... Save you some trouble

Another thing about Harbor Freight, they are great for certain things but their meters are pure garbage! Get one at Radio Shack if possible, not that theirs are much better but from my experience at least they work. I bought a couple meters at HF and both didn't work... one didn't work at all and I even tried to fix it myself but no luck. The other one was so far off that it was useless! It was so cheap that I didn't even bother taking it back and just scrapped it for a few parts. I already have a Fluke that I got at a pawn shop for $15.00 and it's a $200.00 meter, solid as a rock... But I am always looking for another one if the price is right. Gotta have a meter!!!

Might want to pick up a couple packs of these? http://www.harborfreight.com/18-inch-low-voltage-multi-colored-test-leads-66717.html

Anyway, if you are going to do "point to point" then get a piece of wood and drive some nails in it and wrap your wires around the nails or something...? Do something other than creating a spliced/twisted/spaghetti bowl/dog chewed up my project mess... Not knocking what you are trying to do, I have created a few "wtf is that" pieces of modern art myself but I always end up taking it all apart and doing it right in the end.  

[Jdansti]

Another thing about Harbor Freight, they are great for certain things but their meters are pure garbage! Get one at Radio Shack if possible, not that theirs are much better but from my experience at least they work. I bought a couple meters at HF and both didn't work... one didn't work at all and I even tried to fix it myself but no luck. The other one was so far off that it was useless! It was so cheap that I didn't even bother taking it back and just scrapped it for a few parts. I already have a Fluke that I got at a pawn shop for $15.00 and it's a $200.00 meter, solid as a rock... But I am always looking for another one if the price is right. Gotta have a meter!!!

I agree!  My experience with their meters has been hit and miss. My local Fry's in Houston has a good selection of meters.

Anyway, if you are going to do "point to point" then get a piece of wood and drive some nails in it and wrap your wires around the nails or something...? Do something other than creating a spliced/twisted/spaghetti bowl/dog chewed up my project mess... Not knocking what you are trying to do, I have created a few "wtf is that" pieces of modern art myself but I always end up taking it all apart and doing it right in the end.  

Another option that is similar to point to point is get a plain perf board and connect everything point to point on the board.  In a pinch at work, I need to put together a small board that just had a few components and some leads, so I used a piece of cardboard and stuck the component leads through it and soldered everything on the back side. Worked great.

[The_Bloody_Omen]

Hay,

Sorry it took me a while to get back, I actually bought a multimeter from harbor before I read this lol and I will defiantly pick up some of them lobster claws.   

The pedal works, just does not amplify the signal. I think it is my transistor, will look into it and thank you for all your help!

[The_Bloody_Omen]

Hey sorry to bother you all again, however I am getting a terribly low signal from the pedal.  I was wondering if it is my transistor, or if it would matter if it was BJT or a JFET, because the instructions say to use a bipolar j-shun one. Would anyone reccommend buying a BJT with higher values. The one im using is the 47 NTE " http://www.nteinc.com/specs/10to99/pdf/nte47.pdf ", and it has a 45, 45, 6.5 values, and the intake current is 200 which I think may be the problem as well.  Sorry for being such a nub cake, but thank you for your awsome help.

Thanks,
5047N

[Jdansti]

I'll leave this one to the experts, but I'm curious. It's been a while since you posted on this. Did you have it working and this problem is new, or are you still trying to get it to work?

[The_Bloody_Omen]

       Thanks Jdansti, its chuggin along lol.  And it was an existing problem.

Here is the reccomended transitor for the project, (its in the instruction manual)

http://www.futurlec.com/Transistors/MPSA18.shtml

And here is the one im using:

http://www.nteinc.com/specs/10to99/pdf/nte47.pdf

By,
5047N yo

[Jdansti]

The NTE site crosses the MPSA18 to the NTE47, but I don't know enough to say whether this is an exact substitution or whether it would affect this circuit.

[The_Bloody_Omen]

  Ok ya, I was also thinking it could be the SPDT switch, depicted in pictures #1 and #4:

http://imgur.com/a/SMHzl

When I switch it one way, I get like a bypass signal and then the other way turns it off. Do you ponder it was thoust diodes sir?

[haveyouseenhim]

I had a guy ask me to fix his that he had tried to build. And there was a fundamental flaw with this kit. It came with a metal dc jack. it was a center negative which meant the outer positive was touching the box which is grounded.

It made me rage that they would sell a kit that didn't work even if you followed the instructions.

http://is100.imagesocket.com/images/2012/04/09/2463310-wo6k.jpg - fleshlight

Am i the only one that noticed the typo?    At least i hope it was a typo

[R O Tiree]

I noticed it, had a giggle and moved on...

[Jdansti]

  Ok ya, I was also thinking it could be the SPDT switch, depicted in pictures #1 and #4:

http://imgur.com/a/SMHzl

When I switch it one way, I get like a bypass signal and then the other way turns it off. Do you ponder it was thoust diodes sir?

Well Bloody Omen, that looks like a bloody mess!!!  (I mean that in the nicest way )

Seriously, it's hard to tell from the point to point layout and orientation of the 3PDT switch if everything is properly connected. Also, you've got a lot of frayed wires sticking out all over the place and some unsoldered connections.  All of that needs to be cleaned up.  I assume you had the transistor connected.  As for swapping transistors, I'd solder a socket in so you can easily swap them out.

The SPDT switch just switches the diode pair in and out. It shouldn't completely kill your signal if everything is wired correctly. Are the diodes 1N4148?