New to EVERYTHING... and have a question (of course)

hoodoovoodoo9 · August 23, 2012, 10:59:51 PM

Hi all,
So i'm pretty handy when it comes to working on guitars; set-ups and neck adjustments are a breeze, changed pups like a mad man, built a couple cigar box guitars... so i thought i'd try building a fuzz pedal in an old pomade can - call my GREASY FUZZ. So i bought a Moss Rite reproduction kit off GuitarGadget and gave it a shot.... and after the better part of today i've got nothing. i figured i could follow along well enough and have worked with pots and soldering, but nothing.
So after a couple of hours trouble shooting, checking the schematics, checking the soldering, going and buying a new 9V just to make sure i've covered all my bases, i am officially beat but i do want to get this stuff and understand.
So finally to the question - is there a way i can tell if i've burnt out components of my kit? That's my kind of last explainable reason for not working i can figure. Or if you all have any suggestions i'd sure appreciate it.

Cheers,
Josh R. from Canada

.Mike · August 23, 2012, 11:58:36 PM

Hi Josh,

It's possible that you fried something, but chances are it is a simple mistake instead. We're going to need more to go on.

Here's the debugging topic that walks you through how to help us help you.

In the mean time, describe the problem and post up some pics. Maybe someone will spot a problem.

Mike

Kesh · August 24, 2012, 04:21:30 AM

Could have burnt out the transistors. Did you use a low watt soldering iron and a heat sink clip? Also could be solder joints touching. Also could be transistors in the wrong way.

hoodoovoodoo9 · August 27, 2012, 12:00:37 PM

Thanks for the tips. i haven't had a chance to get at this since the middle of last week but am dying to make this work.

hoodoovoodoo9 · August 30, 2012, 05:37:17 PM

Ok, so i've looked at this again... as far as i can tell the resistors are in the right direction, the solder joints aren't touching though things are definitely not 'pretty'.
So i'm posting a link to a few photos so that maybe y'all can give me a bit of guidance.
https://plus.google.com/photos/113603122661802604776/albums/5782580894630556545?authkey=CNfA3Nb888q6-gE *link fixed*
Would really appreciate some help.
The last photo shows my soldering iron info... i'm still thinking that i may have burned out some/all components but don't know how to test for it.

Seljer · August 30, 2012, 05:59:10 PM

Your photo appears to be set to private.

Resistors can't be turned the wrong way, orientation doesnt matter, neither does it for regular capacitors. Orientation only matters for electrolytic capactors, diodes, and practicaly everything that has more than 3 terminals.

Do you have a multimeter? It'll make debugging your pedal a lot easier (and it has a multitude of other uses

). You can get one that'll work well enough for your basic stompbox needs for $20.

hoodoovoodoo9 · August 30, 2012, 06:31:36 PM

i do have a multimeter but am not really sure how to use it.

So... a quick lesson?

Seljer · August 30, 2012, 10:18:43 PM

Quote from: hoodoovoodoo9 on August 30, 2012, 06:31:36 PM
i do have a multimeter but am not really sure how to use it.

So... a quick lesson?

A multimeter usually has (at least) three holes for the probes. One is common (usually black and might have some kind of ground symbol on it), one for measuring current and the other is for measuring voltage and resistance.

You're going to be measuring voltage so plug the probes into the common and voltage measurements inputs. Set the selector switch to have it measure DC volts, start from the highest setting and go down until you get an appropriate reading. Hook up your pedal (you may have to plugin a 1/4" cable for it to turn on if you used switching jacks). Using the probes, measure from ground (the - lug of the 9v battery or any other metal surface connected to ground, it can be anywhere on the circuit or on the jacks) to the point on the circuit you're measuring the voltage of. Measure the voltage on each of the legs of each of the transistors and post it here as described in the debugging topic that was linked.

tyronethebig · August 30, 2012, 10:21:56 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF3OyQ3HwfU

hoodoovoodoo9 · August 30, 2012, 10:39:47 PM

Thanks guys. Away we go.

Also, sorry the link to my photo album is *fixed*.

.Mike · August 30, 2012, 11:42:14 PM

Does your LED light up at all?

I ask because it looks like it might be connected backwards... maybe. It's hard to tell from the photos.

The wire from the board should connect to the pin on the round side of the LED, and the wire connected to the pin on the flat side of the LED should be connected to the switch.

Take a look.

Mike

hoodoovoodoo9 · September 23, 2012, 07:41:14 PM

So i finally got the time together to test this baby (after having to change my battery tester batteries twice and then replace the whole thing altogether).

All the leads tested with 013 voltage from my 9V, except from my input and output jacks.... i was using my ground point from one of the jacks throughout the entire testing; so i guess my question is where do i go from here? Are the jacks bad or i am as stupid as i feel and just need to switch the wires on my jacks?
Sorry i can't add photos as my phone is frakked! But if you look at the old photos nothing has changed.

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New to EVERYTHING... and have a question (of course)