SKC Willie wrote:
the booster's LED turns on anytime the switch is engaged.
This tells me you probably have the input jack wired wrong. Battery negative goes to Ring, circuit ground goes to Sleeve, and Tip goes to the switch. I think you have the jack lugs mixed up.
I'll have a good look at the pictures when I get a chance later today.
Possibly not helpful, but your soldering iron isn't hot enough. Heat the joint for a couple seconds then let the solder flow freely. Don't attempt to make the solder do stuff with the tip of your iron - this is what causes scorching and dry solder joints.
timhulio wrote:Possibly not helpful, but your soldering iron isn't hot enough. Heat the joint for a couple seconds then let the solder flow freely. Don't attempt to make the solder do stuff with the tip of your iron - this is what causes scorching and dry solder joints.
yeah, I'm using a really cheap iron right now. I wish it got hotter because it is limiting.
I just went thru the pics of the salt booster board and it all looks good in terms of cuts and part placement. I think the issue on that one is cold solder joints. I would go to radio shack and buy a new 30watt soldering iron for $10 and reflow all the solder joints on the board.
lorez wrote: I'm a fuzz lover so my clean is another man's crunch
You included an extra horizontal row which makes you board 8x8 instead of 7x8. This may not be an issue as it looks like you did a good job of skipping the extra row, all thou I would check the bottom leg of Q1 as I cannot see where it is placed on the board in the pics.
For c5 you used a film or tant cap. It should be an electro. I'm not sure if this is an issue but more than likely this is not the main issue.
What I feel the main culprit is is the tranny pinouts. I cannot see what tranny you used in q2 in the pic but I am assuming it is the same one you mentioned in your pm, the BC547. This tranny has a different pinout than the BC182L. You will have to rotate q2 180 degrees and bend the collector and base to change there positions. That is probably a shitty explaination so check out the data sheets I have included.
that definitely helps. All the connections are good on all the boards. I did this slow and checked everything with my voltmeter. The biggest issue I've had with my shitty iron is it not lasting.
as far as the transistor goes, the veroboard layout called for a BC182L which is a ECB but I used a BC546 which is a CBE. So are you saying that I need move the pins so they're arranged to ECB? I think I'm following. I just need to make sure the collector, base, and emitter on my transistors matches that of the recommended transistor.
I'll fix that and go through the saltboost and make sure I have good connections everywhere. any other criticisms, pro-tips, and wisdom is much appreciated. I'm rather enjoying the problem solving side of pedal building.
I went through the Salt Booster too. It looks fine as long as everything is solder solid and the transistor didn't get damaged due to overheating.
One thing you can do to make sure your circuit is working correctly is to eliminate all the switch wiring. Hook up the input of the circuit directly to the input jack tip and the output of the circuit directly to the output jack tip. This will get rid of any issues with switch wiring or a faulty switch. If it works this way, your fault is in the wiring or the switch itself.
I have a breadboard where I built a box on it with a true bypass switch, in/out jacks and a power jack. I have wires hooked up outside the box with alligator clips on it. I hook up the FX input, FX output, V+ and ground to these alligator clips to test the circuit out. This way I know I have a working circuit and if something is wrong when I box it up, it most likely is a wiring issue.
I switched the transistor so it's correct on the board and now I get no sound. I checked all of my connections again and while sloppy, they're all good.
I'm pretty convinced this is a power issue. I don't seem to be getting power where I need it. Since I'm not using the power input, how should I be wiring the battery clip to the LED to the circuit. I just checked and I'm not getting voltage to the booster on the board.
EDIT: never mind, I was measuring voltage right. when I hook up the group on the input to the board, it's reading 9volts. It must be something with the circuit. is there anyway to check and make sure I didn't try my transistors?
If you aren't using a dc jack, the red lead of the battery clip goes to the 9v on the board. Power for the LED would have to go there also (with a resistor in between). The black lead of the battery clip goes to ring of the input jack.
If you are using a dc jack, red lead of the battery clip goes to middle lug of the dc jack. 9v goes from top lug to 9v on the board and also to the LED (with a resistor in between of course), black lead of the battery clip still goes to ring of input jack. Ground goes to the sideways lug of the input jack.
Edit: An audio probe would allow you to follow through the circuit to see where audio stops and/or is weak.
"veroboard layout called for a BC182L which is a ECB but I used a BC546 which is a CBE"
Are you sure you can substitute the 182L with the 546? Just the mere fact that they are both transistors doesn't mean they both will work. Has anyone successfully built with this substitution? Just a thought.
Bill Oakley wrote:"veroboard layout called for a BC182L which is a ECB but I used a BC546 which is a CBE"
Are you sure you can substitute the 182L with the 546? Just the mere fact that they are both transistors doesn't mean they both will work. Has anyone successfully built with this substitution? Just a thought.
I read that they're a direct replacement somewhere but I can't remember where. I am using them because I couldn't source a BC182L. I suppose I should spend more time trying to source one then try again.
Are there layouts you use Mike? Is is possible the veroboard's are wrong? Eliminating that from the possibilities would be nice; I assume they're correct and it's something I'm doing.
also, I just remember I used a 100k instead of an 820k for R2, I'm going to fix that and see what happens.
SKC Willie wrote:also, I just remember I used a 100k instead of an 820k for R2, I'm going to fix that and see what happens.
BAM! worked magic! the saltbooster is working 95% as it should. I need to go in and switch a couple of ground wires so the LED isn't on when the input isn't plugged in but other than that, it works!! So stoked right now.
Mike wrote:Yes they're the layouts I use/have used.
Cheers, thanks. I built the saltbooster and when I went to switch the grounds, so the LED would only come on with the input jack in, everything quit working. I worked on it for 2 hours before I realized the switch was broken; amateur mistake I suppose.
Now, I don't have a switch to fix the fuzz but I think I'm going to scrap it and start over or try something with more than one knob now that I've got a working pedal and more confidence in what I'm doing.
I've been meaning to ask a few questions about building pedals, so I'll chuck them in here as I remember them:
I'm looking to get set up to start building pedals. Does this look like a good deal or a good idea? Or, if not, is there anything better about? Like, would I be better off buying a pack of assorted resistors, a pack of assorted caps, transistors etc?
BacchusPaul wrote:I've been meaning to ask a few questions about building pedals, so I'll chuck them in here as I remember them:
I'm looking to get set up to start building pedals. Does this look like a good deal or a good idea? Or, if not, is there anything better about? Like, would I be better off buying a pack of assorted resistors, a pack of assorted caps, transistors etc?
That's not a bad start but you probably won't use most of the regulators other than the 5v and you will need a lot more pots than that.
You will also need:
3pdt switches
Enclosures
DC jacks
Battery Clips
Mono and Stereo 1/4" jacks
Knobs
I probably forgot a few things.
As for tools:
A good adjustable GROUNDED soldering iron
Wire stripper
Flush/wire cutter
Solder
Solder removal braid and/or pump
That's probably a good start with just the basics but I do highly recommend you build an audio probe if you are going to build pedals.
It will be most handy when something doesn't work and make finding where the signal goes bad a lot easier.
I'm new at this, so take it with a grain of salt, but everything is way cheaper in bulk (at least in the states). I have a lot of capacitors and resistors and buy everything else as the project calls for it. So, I only buy switches, LEDs, enclosures, transistors, and pots that I know I'm going to use.. It seems to be fine so far
