Build Your Own Clone Message Board

Hi guys,

I've run into trouble with my Phaser Royal. LED works, bypass works and I get signal but no phase sound. When I turn the mix knob all the way clockwise, I get full dry signal. When I turn it the other way I get no sound at all.

I've reflown most of the points a couple of times now and some of the joins are starting to get messy. I've also added extra solder to the otherside of the knobs and rewired input and outputs, each time with the same problem.












Hope someone can help.

Thanks,
Angus

Did you try dialing in the trim pot? There is a small sweet spot in it's rotation where the phasing takes place so you need to dial it in slowly.

Your soldering could use some improving. A good solder joint should have a conical shape to it. The dome shaped solder joints like I see in your build are possible cold joints. I would recommend removing the solder in these places and re-soldering them properly.

Yeah, I've been dialling the trim pot very slowly each time I test it out.
I've starting checking for continuity on as many points as I can reach but they've all been fine so far. I'm hoping not to have to take any of the knobs off the PCB.

+1 on what Stephen said about the soldering. I see a LOT of what look like cold solder joints. Doesn't look like you're getting good solder flow & wetting, which is usually indicative that your solder iron isn't hot enough. When solder properly melts, it will flow through the eyelets of the PCB and be visible on the component side of the board. I see almost no evidence of this. I'd recommend going back through the effect with a hotter iron. What wattage iron are you using? Is it temp-controlled or just the "on/off" type? If the former, I'd have it set up around 375 C/700 F. If the latter, you might want to consider a stronger iron. 20 - 30W is about optimum for pedal work.

Hi guys, thanks for the replies.
I didn’t realise my solder joints weren’t done correctly and I’ve gone back over and fixed a whole bunch of them. Having said that, this is my 5th BYOC build and until now I’ve never had any problems.
I don’t know a lot about using a multimeter but I can check for continuity. I’ve tested as many places as I could and everything seemed fine.
The bypass works, I have power and there is a guitar signal going in and out so I assume the wiring is OK. Are there some other ways I can try and narrow it down?

Thanks,

Angus

Do you have a signal tester? That's the best way to narrow it down...

I am having the exact same issue with my Phaser, although I have an old classic Phaser which apparently has been discontinued. My LED turns on, bypass works, and signal still goes through when the pedal is turned on. However, when it's on it seems to be boosting the low's a bit. This leads me to believe that the LFO is not oscillating? I've reflowed all my solder and still have the same problem.

Here are a couple of pictures of what I've got.






I picked up a DMM from Radio Shack to test everything and find the culprit, which leads me to my main question - What should I be testing and how exactly do I test it?

Someone in another thread on here said that the LFO was the one on the bottom left but he was referring to the Phase Royal. Is it in the same place on the older Phaser? He also said to test pins 2 and 3 on that one. Would that mean the things circled in the picture below?

You have Q1 in backwards. You also have a few iffy looking solder joints.

Wow! I can't believe I didn't notice that! I just unsoldered it and put it back in the correct way, but still have the exact same problem. Bypass works, LED comes on, signal still goes through either way, but no phasing.

Did you try dialing in the trim pot after flipping the transistor?

Yep. I tried playing notes and turning the trim pot very, very slowly to try to find the sweet spot but there is absolutely no change no matter what I do. I also tried adjusting the pots differently and turning the trim pot but there's still no change.

Basically my phaser is acting more like a low pass filter. When I turn it on, there is a noticeable difference in tone but it is not changing at all like it's supposed to. Wouldn't this mean that the problem is with one or more of the opamps? As I said before, I have a DMM but my knowledge of this stuff is pretty limited and I don't know exactly how/what to test.

Colonel Phorbin - welcome to the forum! In the future, please start your own support thread instead of gloming onto someone else's; especially when referring to a different circuit! It helps us keep the lounge clean and helps to separate search results.

Your symptoms could be caused by the LFO not oscillating or it could be a problem in the wet signal path. Before you start worry about op amps and parts, you need to resolder all of your joints. Like Stephen said, you have some iffy-looking ones. About nine times out of ten, problems like this are simply bad solder connections and not bad opamps or transistors. You need to go back over each joint and remelt the solder so that it is nice and shiny. Make sure your iron tip is clean, shiny, and hot. Search for 'Stephen's tips for a successful build' in the DIY Discussion lounge to see how solder joints should look. And when you're finished, make sure and cut each component and wire leading poking through the bottom of the pcb as short as you can.

Yes, you can take some voltage readings to make sure the LFO is oscillating. The easiest way is to get the voltage from pcb pad R2. Set your DMM for DC voltage, clip or touch the black probe to a ground point (like the middle lug of the input jack), place the red probe on R2, and watch the readout. You should have a positive DC voltage reading that moves up and down. You can also take voltage readings at the +9v pad to record your supply voltage, and at pin 7 of each IC to make sure you have supply voltage there.