First off, this is my *first* pedal build. Thought I'd do something as a lockdown build.
It's an Eagle Claw Overdrive from FuzzDog.
https://shop.pedalparts.co.uk/Eagle_Claw_Overdrive/p847124_17569983.aspxAll done, all works, but it's not 100%, hence the questions.
Q1: I've followed the pictures to build it.
http://pedalparts.co.uk/docs/EagleClaw.pdf*Why* do they have 2 x LEDs on the underside of the board? Surely they're not going to be visible from there? And why *2* LEDs, isn't one enough?
But I didn't think of that as I was busy soldering everything in place, as per the pictures! So, Q2 ...
Q2: Having soldered all the components onto the main board, I then moved on to the daughterboard. It appears that I should have kept one of the LEDs back for the daughterboard, plus the CLR. But (a) which LED and (b) which is the CLR?
Q3: Rather than unsoldering the LED and CLR from the main board, can I just add extra ones to the daughterboard and leave the existing ones in-situ?
Q4: Any good sources for odd LEDs and resistors, or is any eBay seller as good as any other?
TIA !!
Comments
2) when I did my fuzzdog kits there was an extra LED and resistor left over for the daughterboard so maybe they forgot to pack them. When I had some parts missing in one kit I let fuzzdog know and they sent them out.
I think the LED for the daughterboard is smaller than the type used on the main board so I don't think you'll need to desolder anything.
2/3 - CLR: Current Limiting Resistor for the LED. It's entirely separate from the effect circuit really, so it's not on the main board. If the extra LED and resistor weren't supplied with the kit you'll need to get suitable ones. The right resistor value depends on what colour LED you use and how bright you want it to be, but something between 1K and 4K7 should be about right.
4 - Ebay is fine for small quantities. It's usually not economical if you need a lot of parts but if you're only buying a few it often works out the cheapest.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Can pop one of each in the post if you like.
I pinged them a message via their contact form this morning.
30mins later, I've got a reply saying that looks like they missed the LED, so there'll be one in the post, plus another 2k2 CLR. tomorrow.
Guess where I'll be going for my next pedal build kit ...
I remember in the early days of guitar building, people would say "use a piece of scrap". But I was just starting out - I had no scrap!
It's a similar stage for my electronics dabbling ... I've not accumulated any odds & ends yet.
I'm not planning on building loads of pedals, this was really just a lockdown project (that I didn't find time for in lockdown #1) and a bit of soldering practice. Although pedals do take up a LOT less space than guitars ...
JM build | Pedalboard plans
To be completely honest, it worked, which was all I was hoping for!
How does it compare to X, Y or Z pedals? I'd really have no idea because I've never tried any of them (I'm not much of a pedalist). But for the price, and an hour or two of my time, I'm more than happy with it.
For me, the fun was 2/3rds making it and 1/3rd using it.
I found pedal wiring made guitar wiring seem a lot simpler
JM build | Pedalboard plans