C18Q1 Learn electronics and build a pedal

Philtre

Adam_MD said:

Yup powder coated plus a decal and envirotex is definitely the way to go.  

Definitely.

But I guess, as with all things new, sometimes you have to learn the hard way. My original idea (aka the cheapskate approach) was to use Posca pens directly on the aluminium then a clear coat. But some experiments show that Posca pens directly on metal can be a bit hit and miss unless the metal is super clean and shiny.

@Adam_MD Not heard of Envirotex before. Googled it - epoxy goo? Is this hard to work with?

Adam_MD

 I was the same when I started @Philtre trying to do stuff as cheaply as possible with bare enclosures which took an age to sand, prime, paint, decal and then clear coat.  

Now I just grab powder coated enclosures drill it put a decal on and use Juan Solos excellent envirotex guide.  you won’t get a spray at home clear coat to either look as good or be as hard wearing

Doing it this way means I can finish an enclosure in the house anytime of day regardless of what the weather is like.  

http://juansolo.co.uk/stompage/finishing.html

This will give you an idea of the level of gloss the first pic is after I applied the decal



This is after the envirotex has been poured you can see the reflections of my component drawers.

Philtre

@Adam_MD That looks amazing!

Adam_MD

Thanks Phil there's definitely a learning curve to using envirotex but if you follow Juan and Cleggy's guide it's pretty easy to work with once you get used to it.

Philtre

I think what I'm aiming for with this first pedal is the cheesy, hand-made look like the pedals from this guy:

https://championleccy.com/

I'm hoping that this combination will work:

• Undercoat with Rustoleum Surface Primer - spray and leave for 24 hours (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rustoleum-AE0040027E8-400ml-Surface-Primer/dp/B001W03PT0)
• Main paint of Rustoleum Painters Touch Gloss - spray and leave for 24 hours (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rust-Oleum-400ml-Painters-Touch-Spray/dp/B001W03PFE?th=1)
• Add hand painted nonsense with Posca pens (water based acrylic paint pens)
• Finish with Rustoleum Crystal Clear Gloss (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rustoleum-AE0040001E8-400ml-Crystal-Clear/dp/B001W03PRM)

Not sure what will happen!

Philtre

While I wait for the paint to dry I thought that I would extend this C18Q1 challenge to "Learn Electronics and build 3 pedals". The last few days have not been about the "Learn Electronics" part so much as "Learn how to drill and paint enclosures" ;-) So now I want to get back to putting together some more components on a veroboard and understanding the schematics.

So, candidates for pedal #1 and #2 have to be more or less at the same level of difficulty as the Timmy clone and also fit in 1590B Hammond enclosures (I bought 4). They also have to be spray painted Spa Blue (as do the next 100 pedals unless I use up this spray can sooner) ;-)

I thought about:

• Jan Ray clone (but maybe too much like the Timmy?)
• Amp 11 (also close to Timmy)
• A fuzz?

Adam_MD

Deep blue delay or a tubescreamer

Danny1969

@Adam_MD ; that's an awesome job you have done there !

@Philtre

I can recommend the Amp 11 ...... I'm very pleased with mine ..... I know it's close to a Timmy but in fairness just about every overdrive pedal is basically an opamp with clipping diodes in the neg feedback loop. It's only the filtering that changes really changes from pedal to pedal. 

Have a look at this guys channel for some very good electronics learning videos. Here's an opamp vid to get you started 

Philtre

Adam_MD said:

...or a tubescreamer

Then I'd have to buy some green paint, right? ;-)

Philtre

I need to stock up on solder. What is your favourite brand?

Adam_MD

Philtre said:

Adam_MD said:

...or a tubescreamer

Then I'd have to buy some green paint, right? ;-)

Nope one of the awesome things with the diy scene is you can do anything you want.  If you want a spa blue tubescreamer you can have one ;-) you could even cover it with silver stars and posca paints if you want.  

Philtre

Adam_MD said:

Philtre said:

Adam_MD said:

...or a tubescreamer

Then I'd have to buy some green paint, right? ;-)

Nope one of the awesome things with the diy scene is you can do anything you want.  If you want a spa blue tubescreamer you can have one ;-) you could even cover it with silver stars and posca paints if you want.  

I know, I was joking. :-) Not sure if you're joking or not about the silver stars, though... ;-)

Adam_MD

Not really I think silver stars and spa blue could look pretty good.  I’ve only made one blue pedal I tend to buy white or black powder coated enclosures.  

I am serious about the deep blue delay though it’ll be a bit harder than your Timmy build but sounds great and not that much harder.  I think the dbd was my third or fourth pedal on vero.  

Philtre

Good call about the DBD - I'll need to order some more stuff for that one.

Vero layouts http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/mad-professor-deep-blue-delay.html

I guess it'll fit in a 1590B? Or maybe a bigger enclosure for more wriggle room?

Adam_MD

It fits fine in a 1590b. I’ll dig out my original one on vero and post a gut shot for you.  It’ll be interesting to see one of my earlier attempts with fresh eyes.  

Philtre

Just sprayed the enclosure with "Spa Blue" Rustoleum gloss spray paint. Now I have to wait 24 hours at least before I can use the Posca pens on it (and I hope they adhere to this paint). Then after that I have to spray it with Rustoleum Clear Coat and wait another 24 hours....

...and I thought "screw that", so just ordered some pre-painted Hammond enclosures from CPC. I don't want to spend another 3 days on this smelly, messy spray painting stuff.

Philtre

Quick update:

• Still no delivery from Tayda. It's been 2 weeks now, so glad I got bits from UK suppliers.
• Rustoleoum spray paint is still tacky, so needs another day or two before I can Posca pen the enclosure
• Started putting the veroboards together for the Skreddy Lunar Module Deluxe (http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/great-modern-take-on-classic-fuzz.html) and the Deep Blue Delay (http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/mad-professor-deep-blue-delay.html)
• Have you ever cut the tracks in a veroboard only to find out that you were off by one track? Yep, me too. Top tip - print the vero layout so it's flipped horizontally.
  

Adam_MD

Philtre said:

Quick update:

• Still no delivery from Tayda. It's been 2 weeks now, so glad I got bits from UK suppliers.

Wow that’s weird I’ve found Tayda is usually 2 weeks max closer to 10 days most of the time.  I hope it turns up soon Phil.  

Danny1969

Just out of interest what are people buying from Tayda that isn't available from CPC \ RS \ Rapid \ Bright Components etc

I mean 2 weeks for basic electronic components is way too long, I've had 2 batchs of 10K pots turn up from China since poor old Philtre ordered from Tayda !

Philtre

Danny1969 said:

Just out of interest what are people buying from Tayda that isn't available from CPC \ RS \ Rapid \ Bright Components etc

I mean 2 weeks for basic electronic components is way too long, I've had 2 batchs of 10K pots turn up from China since poor old Philtre ordered from Tayda !

Pots, knobs and enclosures are cheap from Tayda. I guess I placed the order with them as an experiment to see how long it would take and test the quality. Since then I've learnt to cherry pick from Bitsbox, CP and RS. I did order some resistors from a random Chinese eBay seller and that took 10 days to arrive.