Build Your Own Clone Message Board

So I did my 1st pedal build, and it seemed to work out ok. I just have one question.

should the signal sound more effected when the pots are turned down. It seems that with the pots all the way up, I have very litte filter like sound. Do I have some wiring backwards? I triple checked the wiring with the instructions and the pot wiring is the same? Could I be missing something.

thanks

so, when you turn the knobs clockwise the signal/effect lessens? Volume dropping?
Do you have any pictures of wiring from the board to the pots?
Are you sure they are wired correctly?

yes, the effect lessens. but no volume drop the volume stays about the same.

I can take some pics

Yes, please post some pics as soon as you can, as that would be very helpful. I have miswired the lugs of the pots, or how they go into the board, and its really hard to tell sometimes without seeing it.

I can't seem to attach a photo. should there be an attach icon to click on, or do I have to host the pic somewhere else. sorry to be a pain.

the R3 is wired to the left lug, r2 to the middle, and r1 to the right. same with l3 l2 and l1.

I will keep trying to post the pics

photobucket works well

When you say "the R3 is wired to the left lug, r2 to the middle, and r1 to the right. same with l3 l2 and l1.", do you mean looking at the lugs from the front or back? If the shaft is facing you that is front.

When you say the "left lug" do you mean as you look at the back of the pot or the shaft side of the pot? The wiring diagrams in the build instructions are shown from the back of the pots. Perhaps you have lugs 1 and 3 backwards?

lol
great minds...

Duh!:? I didn't even see your reply.

You may have a great mind but mine's a bit inebriated right now. Just call me comfortably numb.

I should have clarified:

as I am looking at the inside of the pedal from the back, with the pots at the top, and the switch at the bottom.

the R3 is wired to the left lug, r2 to the middle, and r1 to the right. same with l3 l2 and l1.

here is a link to my pics, I'm sure my soldering sucks, so let me know, and I won't cry.

sorry I should have clarified

as I am looking at the inside of the pedal from the back, with the pots at the top, and the switch at the bottom.

the R3 is wired to the left lug, r2 to the middle, and r1 to the right. same with l3 l2 and l1.

As far as I can tell, it looks like the wiring is correct, but maybe someone else can help me verify that.

Have you tried reflowing (just putting a hot soldering iron on the on the solder thats already on the connection to re-heat, and re-flow the solder to the component and/or PCB) the solder joints on the pots and from the pots to the PCB?

I just mention this because it may just be a camera angle/flash issue, but the solder on the PCB at L2 looks kind of dull and not as shiny as the 2 on either side, and that might be a cold solder joint, which would interfere with proper function of the pots.

I think the wiring is right. I agree to resoldering the pots.

ok, I will try that. thanks alot.

cchord59, any progress? Just let us know if this did the trick, if not, we'll try to help you out some more.

Yes, I reflowed the connections, and everything seems great. Thanks a lot for all your help. I can't wait to build another pedal. Its hard to know if it sounds like it should because I've never heard an original but it definatly filters.

Awesome, glad to hear it works!

As far as for the sound, you could search try maybe searching the net for different envelope filter sound bites...

Hi BYOCers,

I have just finished building an envelope filter pedal kit, and seem to be having the same problem---reversed pots. Is the pedal designed so that the MINIMUM should be fully CLOCKWISE, and the MAXIMUM fully ANTI-CLOCKWISE? (so for example, setting the range pot to fully anti-clockwise gives the largest filter range) This is how all 3 of my pots seem to be behaving.

If the pedal is designed to work like this, is there any way to make the pots work the opposite way? And if not, does anyone have any suggestions as to what the problem might be? I have already tried re-flowing the solder around the connection wires as suggested earlier in this post, which unfortunately didn't help.

I have the solder-lugged pot kit, and I am fairly sure I have wired the pots up correctly---so that lug 1 goes to R1 of the range pot, lug 2 to R2 etc.

Thanks very much!

If you have tried what was mentioned previously in this thread, then some pics would help cause they are worth a thousand words...

OK, have managed to track down a digital camera, so here are some pics!

Board underside:


Board topside:


Thanks in advance for any help.

Thanks for the pics. It looks like everything is okay, but I have no idea why your pots seem to be working in reverse. The only thing I can suggest right nowoff the top of my head is flip flopping the 1 and 3 connections off each pot...other than that, I'll have to think a bit about your issue...

Have swapped pins 1 and 3 for all pots; seems to have done the trick. Thanks very much for the help. I'm still mystified as to why this should be happening though... Never mind, at least it works now!

Me too, but at least it works now!

This is exactly what's happening with mine too! I'll attempt the re-jig of lugs 1 and 3 and report back.

Also, though, the volume knob doesn't seem to have any effect, so I'll resolder that too.

I bought this pedal pre-built by a board user, in an excellent deal. It's a very pro-looking build so I'd be surprised if there's anything too far amiss.

The "level" knob is kind of confusing because it refers more to a frequency level than a volume level, so be why it seems to have no effect...