New Pedal Kit Day

lincolnblue

So I got a Fuzz Dog boost pedal kit for Christmas.  Before I start is there anything I should read, any videos to watch etc? I think I have all I need, just need a solder sucker. Any advice greatfully received 

Adam_MD

It's more expensive than a cheap electrical store solder sucker but it actually works unlike the cheapies I've had

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B002MJMXD4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482828498&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=engineer+solder+sucker&dpPl=1&dpID=31FrUVEX1TL&ref=plSrch

Which boost did you get?  Best tip I've ever been given is blu tack.  It's really great for holding components in place while you solder. 

lincolnblue

Thanks. I like the blue tac top. I got the Box of tone 50. Looking forward to getting started

d8m

I found solder wick useful when doing mine.

Follow the instructions and you will be fine

TTBZ

Yep the fuzz dogs kits are easy so long as you can read resistor codes ok - I'm crap at it so if you're like me you might find an online code "calculator" helps a lot!

MattBanshee

What soldering iron do you have? My Xmas money is going to get me a variable heat one, as my fixed-power one gets so hot that I end up damaging vero strip if I'm not careful.

Adam_MD

MattBanshee said:

What soldering iron do you have? My Xmas money is going to get me a variable heat one, as my fixed-power one gets so hot that I end up damaging vero strip if I'm not careful.

What wattage is it?  I use a 40 watt for guitar electronics and a 25w for pedals. 

MattBanshee

Adam_MD said:

MattBanshee said:

What soldering iron do you have? My Xmas money is going to get me a variable heat one, as my fixed-power one gets so hot that I end up damaging vero strip if I'm not careful.

What wattage is it?  I use a 40 watt for guitar electronics and a 25w for pedals. 

I'm pretty sure mine is 40w.

lincolnblue

Are the instructions just the schematic 

Adam_MD

They're all on the website

http://pedalparts.co.uk/docs/COT50-V2.pdf

lincolnblue

Thanks. Just bought a multimeter and solder sucker so will do some reading up before I begin as capacitor values etc are all new to me. Anywhere you'd recommend online to learn the basics?

Adam_MD

There's a wealth of info on the madbean forum.  madbeanpedals.com

the search feature is pretty good on that forum

lincolnblue

So I've not had a chance to do anything with the pedal yet - feeling well and truly overwhelmed by it. Anyone know of any good videos to watch to help?

Adam_MD

How is your soldering?  are you overwhelmed by working out which part goes where, switch wiring or just everything?  

lincolnblue

My soldering is ok. It's more knowing which part goes where, which part ia which, what a daughter board is and what to do with it etc

TTBZ

Don't worry about the daughter board for the time being. To start with just make sure you know how to read the resistors and get them in the right places. With my first fuzz dogs one I basically picked up a resistor from the pile, checked it's value, checked if there was more than one in the circuit, if so found the others then put them in the corresponding places on the pcb and soldered in. Capacitors should be a bit easier to identify the values. 

Magnetic_Effects

Adam_MD said:

It's more expensive than a cheap electrical store solder sucker but it actually works unlike the cheapies I've had

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B002MJMXD4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482828498&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=engineer+solder+sucker&dpPl=1&dpID=31FrUVEX1TL&ref=plSrch

Love that sucker! Recommended!

Cols

lincolnblue said:

My soldering is ok. It's more knowing which part goes where, which part ia which, what a daughter board is and what to do with it etc

That's the starting point.  Fuzzdog's PCB layouts are excellent, but you do need to know how to 'read' components.  Sort them out logically so that you know which one is R1, C1, etc and you've won half the battle.

Resistors are all colour coded according to the series of coloured rings.  This is a decent guide for deciphering them:

https://www.digikey.co.uk/en/resources/conversion-calculators/conversion-calculator-resistor-color-code-4-band

Alternatively, if you have a multimeter you can just check the resistance of each.

Capacitors usually have the value printed on them.  Some of them are unpolarised and it won't matter which way round they go.  Some of them are polarised and need to be placed in the correct orientation.  The polarity is easily determined by looking at the leg length; the long leg is positive.

Finally, remember that Fuzzdog is an excellent chap and very helpful.  If you get stuck, drop him an e-mail and he'll normally get back to you quickly.

Which boost did you get, out of interest?

stickyfiddle

This reminds me I have a couple of builds I've had waiting to get to for months...

UnclePsychosis

I normally print out a paper copy of the BOM and then, before starting, use my multimeter to measure each resistor. You can then jab the legs through the paper so that the R1 resistor is next to R1 on the BOM. You can also do similar with the other components. 

Then, before soldering every component, I double check and triple check its the right one, just to be absolutely sure. It's not difficult, you just need to be thorough and patient. 

lincolnblue

Cols said:

lincolnblue said:

My soldering is ok. It's more knowing which part goes where, which part ia which, what a daughter board is and what to do with it etc

That's the starting point.  Fuzzdog's PCB layouts are excellent, but you do need to know how to 'read' components.  Sort them out logically so that you know which one is R1, C1, etc and you've won half the battle.

Resistors are all colour coded according to the series of coloured rings.  This is a decent guide for deciphering them:

https://www.digikey.co.uk/en/resources/conversion-calculators/conversion-calculator-resistor-color-code-4-band

Alternatively, if you have a multimeter you can just check the resistance of each.

Capacitors usually have the value printed on them.  Some of them are unpolarised and it won't matter which way round they go.  Some of them are polarised and need to be placed in the correct orientation.  The polarity is easily determined by looking at the leg length; the long leg is positive.

Finally, remember that Fuzzdog is an excellent chap and very helpful.  If you get stuck, drop him an e-mail and he'll normally get back to you quickly.

Which boost did you get, out of interest?

I got the box of tone 50