C18Q1 Learn electronics and build a pedal

Philtre

Whilst waiting for the paint to dry on the Timmy enclosure I started work on the Skreddy Lunar Module Deluxe:



I was out of beginner's luck this time round as it didn't work first time. After a late session of multimeter testing I got it working - dodgy solder joints being the culprit.

Philtre

Spray painting the enclosure with Rustoleum was a BAD idea. I waited 48 hours for the paint to dry and set about it with my Posca pens (water-based). Made a mistake and tried to rub off the pen marks with cloth and water. The paint rubbed off. So it's back to a respray and wait another 3 days for it to dry...

Adam_MD

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 !

I always order my pots and knobs from tayda and tbh they never take this long.  

I get everything else from rs,cpc,rapid, bitsbox, banzai, diyguitarpedals.au and pedalhacker electronics for mojotastic bits

Philtre

> mojotastic bits ??

Adam_MD

Philtre said:

> mojotastic bits ??

Hard to find nos bits which you end up paying way too much for but are fun to try every so often.  Pedalhacker is a good source for legit parts they’re just really expensive.  

randella

Philtre said:

After a late session of multimeter testing I got it working

Apols if this comes off patronising, but take it from someone with a long background in electronics (now mostly forgotten) - that is a valuable and underestimated skill you've learned there.

Philtre

randella said:

Philtre said:

After a late session of multimeter testing I got it working

Apols if this comes off patronising, but take it from someone with a long background in electronics (now mostly forgotten) - that is a valuable and underestimated skill you've learned there.

No, not at all patronising. :-) In fact, every single thing that I've done since I started this challenge has been a new skill - from theory, to ordering parts, to assembling vero, breadboarding, drilling, painting, testing, etc. But it's exciting!

Philtre

So, I've now got 5 pedals on the go in various states of development:

• The Timmy clone - still waiting for the paint to set, then I can clear coat it and assemble
• Skreddy Lunar Module Deluxe. Vero is done, waiting for delivery of enclosure.
• Deep Blue Delay clone - partly done, waiting on more components to arrive.
• Heartthrob Tremolo - vero cut, waiting for parts.
• Jan Ray clone. Vero is done but there's a problem...

Here's the problem I'm having with the Jan Ray clone:

The Jan Ray clone is this one - http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/vemuram-jan-ray.html - but it only gives distortion when the Bass pot is turned all the way to the right (actually from about 80% to 100%). If the Bass is, say, centred then the Gain control does nothing (except it seems to lose some treble when turned to the left). The trimpot on the vero also has to be all the way to the right to get any kind of distortion. The Treble and Volume pots work OK. I'm using trim-pots mounted on a breadboard instead of full 16mm pots for testing, but that shouldn't make a difference. I've double-checked all connections, solder joints, and components. Looking at the schematic I can't see how this could be like this.

Philtre

Continued on with the Jan Ray clone on the veroboard - still not working properly, so I built it on a breadboard and that worked OK. So it must be either a duff component, bad solder joint or I've connected something wrong. Still under investigation (to be honest, I might abandon it, as it's so similar to the Timmy clone)

Meanwhile, a shipment of a variety of pre-painted Hammond enclosures and other components has arrived so I can continue with the Deep Blue Delay clone and the Skreddy Lunar Module Deluxe.

Paint is still curing on the Timmy enclosure...tomorrow I'll clear coat it, wait another day and assemble it.

I think I've caught the pedal building bug ;-)

Philtre

Quick update:

• Jan Ray problem solved - the trimpot was soldered on wrong. Quickly fixed! On the plus side I learnt a lot from tracing and diagnosing the problem.
• The Tayda shipment arrived! Ordered on the 8th Jan, left Thailand on the 10th, arrived on the 26th. The pots are Alpha, non-splined and llok good. The knobs seem OK, and the enclosures are fine as well. Next time, I'll plan ahead!

Now to clear coat the Timmy enclosure...

Philtre

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Jazzy! pedal:



And here are the guts of this cool cat:



It's a pedal in honour of our musicologist cat, Jasper (or Jazzy as we called him), who sadly had to depart to a higher plane last summer. Jazzy would offer advice on the tones, pedals and guitars he did or didn't approve of by either curling up on the chair and making a small buzzing sound, or exiting the building. Thus the control names of "Shout" (Volume), "Buzz" (Drive), "Scratch" (Treble) and "Purr" (Bass).

The paint job is...not so brilliant. One thing I learnt the hard way is DON'T DO YOUR OWN SPRAY PAINTING! It cost me a week in wasted time waiting for the primer, paint and clear coat to dry; and the Rustoleum paint is actually pretty poor. I had grand ideas of elaborate designs with the Posca pens but in the end I just wanted to get on with it. Next pedals are going to be pre-painted.

Today, I assembled and connected all of the outboard hardware, and fired it up and it works a treat. Very pleased.

So, I did it. I completed my C18Q1 challenge of learning some (basic) electronics and building a pedal. I've learnt a hell of a lot with the help of all who commented in this thread, and especially @Adam_MD, @Danny1969, and @m_c. So thanks to you all! :-)

And now I've caught the pedal building bug, I'm working on the enclosure for the Lunar Module Deluxe Fuzz, and then the Deep Blue Delay...

Danny1969

That's a very nice job you've done there, even the paint job looks OK but yeah, easier to buy em pre painted in one solid colour 
Well done indeed

Adam_MD

Looking good Phil nice work it’s certainly a lot better than my first effort.  

Welcome to the club it’s particularly addictive and really satisfying to play with a board full of pedals you made yourself.  

If you fancy some interesting powder coated enclosures at some point head over to Banzai they’re based in Germany and do some great colours if you want something other than white, black, blue or red etc

 https://www.banzaimusic.com/B-Size/

Black sparkle is my current fav

Philtre

Thanks @Danny1969 and @Adam_MD :-)

I have a quick question about the quality of some capacitors I bought on ebay.

These are them - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Radial-Electrolytic-Capacitors-120-Pack-10-each-12-values-Kit-Assortment-Mix-UK/111246171219?hash=item19e6c9dc53:g:yQkAAOSweW5VJcWl

The bundle consists of different manufacturers names depending on the value. There is "Chengx", "Chenxing", "Jwco", "Chongx", "DS" and something else I can't read. Are these cheap and nasty caps? Should I be worried that they might crap out on me?

m_c

That looks pretty good for the finished article.

I always buy capacitors from reliable sources, as it avoids any doubt as to source and quality. They may work perfectly well, but then they might not. Only way to know, would be to test them for capacitance, and ESR. But neither of those will tell you what voltage they are actually capable of.

Adam_MD

I’d be pretty dubious about those caps and wouldn’t use them myself to be honest.  The other potential problem is they don’t list the sizes If there’s anything over 11mm you’ll have problems getting them to fit in a 1590bb without folding them over.

With electros I only ever use Nichicon or Panasonic and always use the mini sizes either 5mm or 7mm in height.  

Philtre

OK, thanks. I'll order some better electrolytic caps.

As for ceramic caps, I know @Adam_MD you said to use NP0 or C0G ceramic types, but Bitsbox only does a limited range of values. For example, they don't have 150pF, 220pF or 470pF values. Do you know where to get a wider range of these?

Adam_MD

If you only want a few of each value try Paul at diy guitar pedals he's based in Australia and the prices on his site are in Australian not US dollars so he's really cheap.  Shipping is also only about $4 and takes about a week to get here.  If your order is under £15 you wont pay tax or import charges.

http://www.diyguitarpedals.com.au/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=12_25  ;

The other option is you start buying in bulk from RS components or CPC in the UK.  This option involves paying more up front but paying less per component.  I started buying all of the parts in bulk for several pedals at a time then just buying the parts I needed after that in bulk.  You'll pretty quickly build up a pretty large stash and will be able to build most pedals out of the parts you already have in stock.  

If you only ever want to build a few pedals then stick to bitsbox and diyguitarpedals etc but if you decide this is the hobby for you then start buying resistors, caps etc from RS components in quantities of 100.  It works out cheaper in the long run if you keep building and use them all.

I can pm you some of the part numbers I buy from RS if you want to check them out let me know. 

Danny1969

Those caps are cheap but would be fine in a low voltage low current pedal build. Generally an electrolytic cap isn't a precision component, their tolerances are pretty wide, they have a high ESR and have a higher leakage than any other cap.   I wouldn't use a cheap electrolytic in a switch mode power supply or any other stressful environment though. Or for coupling low impedance audio loads. 
I brought a bundle of 1uf to 1000uf 25V from an ebay shop a while ago which were pretty cheap but I've just looked at the shops only showing large values now 

Philtre

Thanks, @Adam_MD and @Danny1969 - so for low value ceramic caps (22pf, 150pf, 470pf, etc) if I choose a brand that says "NP0" or "C0G" dielectric these should be OK for audio?