Build Your Own Clone Message Board

So I have been trying to work this out for more time than I want to admit here in front of you, but I got nothing. everything is done according to the instructions as best I can tell. I have walked away and returned many, many times. I have checked everything for continuity and it checks out. I did a re-flow of all of my soldering and rechecked for continuity and it all checks out. I waded through this DB in hopes that the failures of others might salvage my pride, but to no avail. So I come to you a humbled and broken man.

What is working is the led. What isn't working is the rest of the pedal. No sound in bypass, no sound when engaged. There is a feedback sound coming from the amp that builds and then holds steady. When I touch the strings of the guitar or the metal parts of the pedal it seems to ground and reduce the feedback, but only momentarily. The only thing that I know to be fact is that this is something I did wrong. I am posting a video...I hope it helps.

You do know that you don't have the op-amp installed, right?

Can you post photos that are in focus? Also include shots of the wiring to the jacks.

Yeah, Sorry about the pictures I'm working on that right now. As for the op-amp, I took it out when I was re-flowing.

http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z151 ... G_0310.mp4







When I max-out the volume and the gain I'm getting guitar sound. Still nothing in bypass. Tones of noise in both modes.

You appear to have the two + wires from the adapter jack to the PCB backwards.

Your soldering could stand some improving. The solder joints for pins 7&8 of the op-amp and a few others have a dome shape to them. These are possible cold solder joints. The solder joint of R11 that is closest to the stomp switch looks iffy at best.

You also need to cut off the excess component lead all the way down to the top of the solder joint. Leaving little tails sticking out are possible shorts waiting to happen. See the lead of R7 closest to lug 1 of the TONE pot for example. They don't appear to be touching but could create a short if it were bumped somehow and made contact with the pot. Make sure none are making contact with the under side of the TONE pot as well.

I took care of all of that, but still no change. I'm running low on inspiration. I'm a sore loser, but maybe I'm becoming a better person. What I really wanted to become, however, is a better equipped guitarist.

Time to take some voltage readings. Do you have a DMM?

You should have 4.5V (Vref) at these points...

Bottom of R2
Bottom of C6 & C7
Lug 1 of volume pot
Pins 1, 2, 5, 6 & 7 with 4.1V at pin 3

You should have 9V at pin 8 of the op-amp.

Do you have a signal probe?

I don't have a signal probe, but I do have a DMM. I measured by placing the black probe on the negative of the battery and the red probe on the location you gave (I hope this was right). The readings I got were between 8.22 and 8.3 at every location.

I somehow missed the part where you mentioned posting the video. Do you have the output jack grounded? I don't see a ground wire for it in your photos or the video. Without that ground connection the circuit is incomplete and there is no way you will get a signal out of the pedal. If the circuitry were in an enclosure the contact the output jack makes with the enclosure would be it's connection to ground.

If that doesn't fix it then by your voltage readings you have a major problem with your build somewhere. Those voltages are way off the mark.

You, sir, are brilliant! It works like a charm. Now, i'm thinking about adding an on/on toggle switch with a 10 and a 47 so that I have a bright and a phat option. Your new assignment is to tell me to leave well enough alone. Thanks for your help!

P.S. I already have the switch. It has three posts at the bottom. Would this mod need the six?