bobbass4k

Does anyone have a reliable source for PNP germanium transistors? Got a couple of cheap job lots off ebay (40pcs) and they're all sub 40 hfe garbage. In the past I've gone for low gain silicon ones but they seem to be running out too. Got a TAFM clone to build but need a couple of 60-100 hfe PNPs. Been a long time since i've had to look but the usual sources seem to have dried up.

I got the new boards and the test build worked but it had a nasty hum. I was trouble shooting it but other things got in the way and I never finished. Something to look at over Xmas, I'll PM you the schematic/Gerbers though. I'm very bad at PCB design so there may well be a schoolboy error.

Yup, the conspiracy to commit electronics boards - there's the Noble clone, the bassman and the soldano GTO (high gain) - all excellent and easy builds (HV safety aside). I'm actually enjoying the noble a lot, it's a nice always on pre-recording interface and it takes pedals well.

Moving the "office" around so moving and cataloguing all my pedals - I actually thought I had more than this -

Aion are great - boards are good and documentation is always very good. Good to order from directly as well - they're US based but shipping isn't too bad and Musikding don't sell their bare PCBs anymore. Musikding also great - quick despatch and I've never had any customs/import issues post-brexit. Never had a kit from though TBF, I usually buy bare PCBs.

There's a couple of PCBs I want from deadendfx - anybody interested in splitting shipping? I think they've had issues in the past shipping to the UK so they'll only ship super fancy fast tracked and it's $48...I'll just pay it if need be cos one of them is a pretty years clone and I need that in my life, but if anyone wants anything, good chance to save on shipping... https://www.deadendfx.com/

Yeah footprints are a bit of a pain in Kicad - I tried creating one for TH/SMT together but I got impatient and eventually just bodged it, I just added an extra J201 symbol to the schematic in parallel and set that to an SMD footprint...

That's fair, I'm annoyed cos I was going to triple check the schematic after I'd laid the board out but I thought it would be fine... Gonna try and add SMT pads for the 5089s as well as to-92 versions are harder to get hold of now apparently...

Works apart from 2 additional stupid mistakes, I forgot a cap on one of the gain stages (cut a trace and add a cap across 2 pads) and the pins on the j201 symbol are apparently wrong, so the through hole and SMT pads are wrong. I had some through hole j113s that I twisted the legs on and seen to work just fine. I was in a rush to get them made and skipped some more thorough double checking... I'm gonna redesign the board but you're welcome to one of these, they're simple hacks (I'll cut the trace so you know it's the right one)

These arrived far, far too quickly for £3.29. gonna put one together tonight.

I'll have to test it out when I get the boards, I suspect it may bring the knobs too low and interfere with footswitch, it's an 80mm X 60mm PCB for a 1590BB, but yeah definitely an option.

Yeah just got 1 and 3 reversed on the sustain pot then c+p'd it for the other gain pots. Annoying but no way am I re-laying out the board... Yeah if you wanted to swap pins 1+3 that'd work, I've designed for the alpha right angle pots though so you'd have to snip and run wires. PCBs are ordered - got 10 for $3.20 on slow delivery with a first time order voucher - I do not understand how that's economically viable but I ain't complaining. Edit - I was going to post the heliotropic schematic but I didn't realise fuzzrocious were still making them. Fuzzrocious are good eggs so I don't want to publicily post an in production pedal, anyone wants the schematic drop me a PM.

Cool, just realised i put the gain pots in the schematic backwards so they'll all work in the reverse... Oh well, this is my first PCB in about 5 years....

Okay yeah £2.68 for 5 PCBs delivered feels like it shouldn't be profitable. I used to be a buyer for a contract manufacturer and that's not far off the wholesale/volume prices we used to pay with negotiated discounts... Anybody fancy a heliotropic PCB when they arrive? I can post the schematic when I'm home, but it's basically a modified Muff (no clipping on the 2nd gain stage) that goes straight into a preamp/boost with a Muff tonestack. Edit - apologies, £3.60 for Lead Free HASL. Still cheaper than some coffee's i've bought recently...

What PCB prototyping services have people used recently? I traced the fuzzrocious heliotropic years ago and i couldn't remember how it sounded so I breadboarded it this weekend and it's great. Bit unwieldy for stripboard but I've knocked a PCB together in kiCad. $37 for 3 from oshpark. Will I get cheaper than that? I know years ago oshpark was pretty much the only game in town but I know a few other prototyping services have popped up. I know Digikey do it but as an employee of Farnell I can't give money to the enemy...