Jake's Dr. Boogey build

[therockdemon]

That saves me $0.88!  There's another buck.  =]

Also just learned that I don't have access to a multimeter, so I'll need to buy one still.  Damn those things can get expensive!

Will this work for my needs?  http://www.amazon.com/Equus-3320-Auto-Ranging-Digital-Multimeter/dp/B000EVYGZA

I do not yet understand this "biasing/trimming" process, but from the looks of it, these trimmers regulate the flow of battery power into the signal path.  The battery starts as 9V, but the trimmers are used to "resist" some of this (pots are resistors...?) and end up with the desired voltage.  As for replacing the trimmers with resistors...  If I'm right, you'd bias with the trimmers to taste, and then use the multimeter to measure the resistance between trimmer lug 1 and 2.  A resistor of that value goes in place of where that was connected.  Do the same for lug 2 and 3.  In the final result, you'll have one more solder at trimmer's lug 2 location since there are 2 resistors instead of 1 trimmer lug.  Right?  I don't know shit about this stuff, but that's what it looks like in studying schematics for the first time, lol.

Is there any significant reason (relevant to my situation) for the price difference between Tayda and Mouser for certain parts such as Diodes and Transistors?  As an example, a J201 Transistor is $0.25 on Tayda, but $0.55 outside of Tayda HOWEVER, I located the Tayda's transistor on Mouser and Mouser had that transistor marked as "obsolete" and "out of stock".  This makes me wonder if there are in fact different makes of the same damn transistor?  For now I still plan on buying the $0.55 for the simple reason of having an part that's not obsolete?  Is this flat out retarded and a complete waste of $0.30 x 10 = $3.00?

Do I need these (click)?

And if these are supposed to be a matching pair, it's going to wind up with either the words or the PCB totally backwards.  ...And nobody's fixed and updated it in 5 years?
http://gaussmarkov.net/layouts/drboo/drboo-perf.png
http://gaussmarkov.net/layouts/drboo/drboo-pcb.png

[J0K3RX]

That saves me $0.88!  There's another buck.  =]

Also just learned that I don't have access to a multimeter, so I'll need to buy one still.  Damn those things can get expensive!

Will this work for my needs?  http://www.amazon.com/Equus-3320-Auto-Ranging-Digital-Multimeter/dp/B000EVYGZA

I do not yet understand this "biasing/trimming" process, but from the looks of it, these trimmers regulate the flow of battery power into the signal path.  The battery starts as 9V, but the trimmers are used to "resist" some of this (pots are resistors...?) and end up with the desired voltage.  As for replacing the trimmers with resistors...  If I'm right, you'd bias with the trimmers to taste, and then use the multimeter to measure the resistance between trimmer lug 1 and 2.  A resistor of that value goes in place of where that was connected.  Do the same for lug 2 and 3.  In the final result, you'll have one more solder at trimmer's lug 2 location since there are 2 resistors instead of 1 trimmer lug.  Right?  I don't know sh*t about this stuff, but that's what it looks like in studying schematics for the first time, lol.

Is there any significant reason (relevant to my situation) for the price difference between Tayda and Mouser for certain parts such as Diodes and Transistors?  As an example, a J201 Transistor is $0.25 on Tayda, but $0.55 outside of Tayda HOWEVER, I located the Tayda's transistor on Mouser and Mouser had that transistor marked as "obsolete" and "out of stock".  This makes me wonder if there are in fact different makes of the same damn transistor?  For now I still plan on buying the $0.55 for the simple reason of having an part that's not obsolete?  Is this flat out retarded and a complete waste of $0.30 x 10 = $3.00?

Do I need these (click)?

And if these are supposed to be a matching pair, it's going to wind up with either the words or the PCB totally backwards.  ...And nobody's fixed and updated it in 5 years?
http://gaussmarkov.net/layouts/drboo/drboo-perf.png
http://gaussmarkov.net/layouts/drboo/drboo-pcb.png

The meter looks fine!

Here is a good vid for biasing the JFET's on the boogie.

BTW - You can bias them by ear which is what I do now...

You are mostly right about how the trimmers work.. On the gaussmarkov layout you will notice that lugs 1 and 2 are bridged. So if you were to replace them with a resistor you would only have one resistor from the lug 3 hole to either lug 2 or 3 hole, doesn't matter which. If you bias them and then remove the trimmers you may and probably will have some odd ball resistance value for one or two or all of them. In this case you would use 2 resistors in series to reach the approximate value desired. Both resistors will be acting as one resistor and they will be place in the board the same as if it was one resistor. I only do this because I re-use the trimmers instead of buying them all the time. And I heard but don't know if it's true or not that a fixed resistor creates less noise than a pot? But that's not the reason why I do it... I do it because I am poor Another good reason to replace them with a fixed resistor is if you are going to sell it to somebody... They might open it up and fall victim to the irresistible urge to turn them and then complain that it isn't working or sounds like a Dr.Doodoo now  

The reason Mouser no longer has the J201's in through hole is because they have been discontinued... In other words they stopped manufacturing them. You have to be careful where you buy them from because I have heard that some re-sellers mostly in China are passing off duds ( I can't confirm this myself, just what I have heard)... But they have stopped making them. Some people are buying up as much as possible because they fear they will become harder and harder to find and cost big $$$.  Seems to me that if there is a big demand for something you would continue making whatever it is... Hell, they said they were gonna stop making tubes years ago and here we are a decade later and they still make vacuum tubes...

The board transfer is backwards/mirrored because when you apply it to the copper backing it will be correct, a mirror image. Otherwise if you did not it would be backwards. The board layout is looking at it from the top/component side of the board so that is what is probably confusing you.

I don't know what that other thing is? looks interesting though

[therockdemon]

No turning back now!  Everything has been paid for.

Ebay:
$16.98	goods
$0.00	shipping

Amazon
$37.77	goods
$13.22	shipping

Thai Shine
$20.38	goods
$0.00	shipping

Tayda
$26.68	goods
$6.99	shipping

Small Bear
$15.85	goods
$5.25	shipping

Mouser
$49.41	goods
$5.99	shipping

-----

Totals
$167.07	goods
$31.45	shipping

198.52

>>Updated Spreadsheet<< (click)


And I guess it'll be Radioshack for resistors if the extras I'll have don't work for me.  That is, to save on trimmers for future projects.  Knowing me, I'll take the multimeter to every last one and categorize them.  After all, they're not going to be exact, and I can work out the math on them.  I don't remember how parallel and series worked from physics class, but there's always time to learn, re-learn, and re-re-learn!

I found this info someplace regarding caps, not sure if resistors follow suit or how the hell you're supposed to do this stuff.  I will figure it out!

caps double in value if in PARALLEL, so two 2,500pF equals 5,000pF, or you can I believe put two

in series and the total value is divided by two IF they are the same value, soo, two 10,000pF in

series = 10,000/2 = 5,000pF exactly

And about that soldering gun...  My damn 30W soldering iron was given to me for free!  Total sh!t or not, it'll let me complete these few projects before I decide if I wanna pay for a good one.  That will be a more expensive bill than any single thing I've already purchased.

I started another thread:  http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=98848.0

[therockdemon]

I just wanted to chime in here and thank everybody for the advice, recommendations, comments, constructive critisizm, and I even laughed a few times.

You guys are awesome!
dead, Jim, mremic01

And I feel like this bird just might actually fly by the time I'm done with it =]

[therockdemon]

Jim, when I iron the photo paper to the copper, should I expect it to stick?

From my understanding after reading several articles on it, my understanding is that these are the steps:

1)  print a mirrored, actual size PCB image to glossy side of photo paper
2)  cut the photo paper to size, leaving a right angle on the corner closest to the toner image
3)  preheat the iron at the highest setting
4)  clean copper side of clad board with Tarn-X to de-oxidize
5)  tape clad board to hard, flat, iron-safe surface with the copper side up
6)  tape photo paper along the clad board on one side so it can be easily flipped
7)  preheat the clad board with the iron for 30 seconds
8 ) flip the photo paper onto the copper clad board, and iron for 60 seconds
9)  remove iron and allow everything to cool
10)  At this point magazine paper would stick to the copper, but it kinda seems to me like the photo paper won't.  I haven't had the chance to try yet since my materials are still en route, but I was wondering what's your experience with this?


A little off topic... does this look like the right pot for push-pull coil splitting configuration in a guitar equipped with passive pickups?  I also believe 2 of these would be needed (one for each pickup).  I do want to mention here that I agree using a 5-way blade switch would be a cleaner setup, but the guitar I plan to modify already has 2 volume pots, so this makes the most sense for the particular application I'm facing.

http://www.allparts.com/500K-DPDT-Push-Pull-Audio-Pot-p/ep-0286-000.htm

[deadastronaut]

^ print image

cut pcb to size

use something abrasive to ''key'' (scratch)the copper..(this makes it stick)...i use one of those green washing up squigy things...with a little washing up liquid.)

paper towel dry...keep clean...no fingers on the copper...

place image on copper

hot iron , hold image, place iron on one edge, the toner will grip, then slide iron over the rest...rub iron over it , edges etc....for around a minute or 2...

let cool, depending on paper, (photo you can peel straight off when just cooling,)  mag paper you can run it under water and rub it off...use toothbrush for any left residue..

done...

drop it into ferric chloride/warm water mix, agitate....and watch the excess copper disappear.....

clean

drill

build..

[mremic01]

Jim, when I iron the photo paper to the copper, should I expect it to stick?
When I etch, I don't leave any tabs on the paper. It seems to work better without, evne though it's more of a hassle to pull up. Pulling up on the tabs tends to bring up the toner with the paper for me. I use Walgreens glossy photopaper, meant for inkets but I use a laser printer. I have the iron set to 'cotton', the highest setting actually gets the worst results. I just wipe the copper off with acetone to cleaner, no need for Tarn-x. I iron on my kitchen counter and I don't bother to tape the glossy paper or preheat the copper. I just lay it down where I want it, then sit the iron on top of it. After a few minutes, I smooth everything out with a fair amount of pressure, making sure to get the sides because those are the areas most likely to fail to transfer. I iron until my gut tells me its enough. For pcbs, its just a few minutes. For 1590BBs, a few more minutes and a lot more pressure. For 1590DDs, I use a higher heat setting. I let everything cool for a very long time. Pcbs cool quickly, but enclosure take awhile. I get the best results when I've waited at least an hour though.

The photo paper itself doesn't stick. It's the toner that sticks. It should peel away from the paper as you pull the paper off. The parts of the paper that have no toner won't stick at all and may even start peeling up on their own as they cool.


1)  print a mirrored, actual size PCB image to glossy side of photo paper
2)  cut the photo paper to size, leaving a right angle on the corner closest to the toner image
3)  preheat the iron at the highest setting
4)  clean copper side of clad board with Tarn-X to de-oxidize
5)  tape clad board to hard, flat, iron-safe surface with the copper side up
6)  tape photo paper along the clad board on one side so it can be easily flipped
7)  preheat the clad board with the iron for 30 seconds
8 ) flip the photo paper onto the copper clad board, and iron for 60 seconds
9)  remove iron and allow everything to cool
10)  At this point magazine paper would stick to the copper, but it kinda seems to me like the photo paper won't.  I haven't had the chance to try yet since my materials are still en route, but I was wondering what's your experience with this?

When I

[J0K3RX]

You don't have to worry about mirroring the image on the gaussmarkov transfer, it's already flipped. Just print it, iron it, etch it, drill it, stuff it, play it...

[therockdemon]

It looks like I'm fixin to build the boogie on a 70.0 cm x 46.5 cm PCB.  Is this a practical size?

[mremic01]

Sorry, I don't know what happened to my post up there. Looks like it got cut off. I don't remember what I wrote exactly, but it was some etching tips.

Lets see... I just wipe the copper down with some acetone to clean it, I don't use anything abrasive on it. For enclosures, choosing 'thick paper' in the printer settings gets me a nice thick layer of toner, but for a pcb the thicker toner seems to have trouble sticking, so I just use a normal paper setting. I use Walgreen's glossy photo paper. I don't heat the copper first, I just lay it down and set the iron on top of it for a few minutes. I use the cotton setting for everything but 1590DDs. Anything hotter than the cotton setting seems to cause the toner to get reabsorbed into the paper. I also let it cool for a lot longer than it takes to just be cool to the touch. For some reason, two or three times the time tends to allow the toner to stick to the copper and aluminum better.

[therockdemon]

Your post is in the quote.  I read it and it was useful and good information.  Thank you!!

[mremic01]

Oh, wow, that got really screwed up.

There really is no right or wrong way to etch. It's just a matter of experimenting until you figure out what gets the best results with the stuff you have. I tried magazine paper, and I just couldn't get it off without taking the toner off too. But some people have great results with it. I saw in another thread that the Dollar Tree sells some super cheap glossy paper that works great.

[therockdemon]

I have a Duck's Unlimited magazine and some ads that came in the mail, as well as some photo paper I got "free after rebate" from Staples.  I'm going to print once on each (trying the Duck's Unlimited mag first) and if I eyeball the toner on the copper and don't feel happy with it, I'll clean off the toner and try one of the other methods.  I also have a Sharpie fine point oil-base paint pen I got from Jo-ann Fabrics, which is supposed to be one of the the "best" and/or "most popular" tools for touching up the toner in lacking areas.  I realize that if even one thing isn't right, nothing will work whatsoever!

Lastly, I do want to draw attention to this question I posted above:  does a 70.0 cm x 46.5 cm finished PCB sound like the right size?  I drew up all the math and design, and that's what I came up with... I'm checking my answer by asking you guys before things get physical in a few days =]

[J0K3RX]

I have a Duck's Unlimited magazine and some ads that came in the mail, as well as some photo paper I got "free after rebate" from Staples.  I'm going to print once on each (trying the Duck's Unlimited mag first) and if I eyeball the toner on the copper and don't feel happy with it, I'll clean off the toner and try one of the other methods.  I also have a Sharpie fine point oil-base paint pen I got from Jo-ann Fabrics, which is supposed to be one of the the "best" and/or "most popular" tools for touching up the toner in lacking areas.  I realize that if even one thing isn't right, nothing will work whatsoever!

Lastly, I do want to draw attention to this question I posted above:  does a 70.0 cm x 46.5 cm finished PCB sound like the right size?  I drew up all the math and design, and that's what I came up with... I'm checking my answer by asking you guys before things get physical in a few days =]

Which board are you trying to print? Rather than to resize why don't you just print page 3 of the gaussmarkov project.pdf? It's already sized for you. Just follow the instructions for printing (When printing this image, use "Page Scaling: None" in the Adobe Reader print dialog.) and you should be good to go...

http://gaussmarkov.net/layouts/drboo/drboo-project.pdf

[Pyr0]

I think your getting your cm's and mm's mixed up.
70cm would be around 28"

so 70mm x 46.5mm sounds about right.

But just follows Jim's advice above.

[therockdemon]

Sorry, meant millimeters there.  I'm making the boards now (not doing ferric chloride today though), and i'll post pics later.

[therockdemon]

Well, here' my shot at the boards on the first try.

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x30/ROCKHPC/P1010002.jpg
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x30/ROCKHPC/P1010003.jpg
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x30/ROCKHPC/P1010004.jpg
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x30/ROCKHPC/P1010005.jpg
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x30/ROCKHPC/P1010006-1.jpg
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x30/ROCKHPC/P1010007.jpg

[deadastronaut]

your getting there,

you shouldn't have to leave it overnight though.....if the toner has stuck it should be quite hard to remove...


ive used sharpies for corrections, it works but can be quite grainy...go over those a few times

[Pyr0]

I've also had success just peeling the paper off while the board is still hot, it leaves very little residue, but mind your fingers.
ymmv so keep experimenting.

[therockdemon]

I made 4 boards today and here's the best 2 (duplicate picture of the better of them):

I still don't have the ferric chloride yet, and I'll be sure to test on the duds before I etch that thing of beauty at the bottom there.  Maybe I can figure out a good time reference for the particular materials I have (I'm sure that will vary a bit).  I still have a spot to touch up on there (top left), and another to cut away a very slight amount with the pocket knife where it bled (bottom right).