EH is building a bass distortion pedal

[umph]

[quote name='EdwardHimself' post='663111' date='Nov 23 2009, 08:07 PM']Nah, no sound at all. Actually i get a tiny bit of sound when it's plugged into a DC adaptor so i suppose there is something wrong with the way i did the battery for a start. The thing is that i think the idea of doing a stripboard is flawed to begin with. I'm considering that i should just get a bead per hole board and that way it'll be a lot easier to have a visual reference with the schematic when i wire it because if there is something wrong with the wiring on the stripboard i seriously wouldn't know where to start.[/quote]
i normally use strip board - prefer it to pcbs, much more room for experimenting etc. what layout did you use, can you post pictures and do you have a dvm?

[EdwardHimself]

yeah i see your point about that but i really don't like the easy potential for shorts if you accidentaly solder together 2 strips or whatnot. Maybe i need a thinner tip or something.

[attachment=36947:P1010505.JPG]


This is the wiring plan i used and as far as i'm aware i followed it fine but i did spot a mistake with R18 (if you look there is 2 and the one in the middle is the right one) on the far right which i rectified but i don't know what other mistakes i could have done.

Edited November 24, 2009 by EdwardHimself

[umph]

few mistakes on the diagram your tone pot doesn't look wired right and the diode lift is wired wrong, you only need a single pull and it just essentially needs to break the connection between the diodes and the cap.

[url="http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=75787.0"]http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/inde...p?topic=75787.0[/url] - this may be a better layout than the one you used that looks quite OTT

[EdwardHimself]

[quote name='umph' post='663662' date='Nov 24 2009, 12:53 PM']few mistakes on the diagram your tone pot doesn't look wired right and the diode lift is wired wrong, you only need a single pull and it just essentially needs to break the connection between the diodes and the cap.

[url="http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=75787.0"]http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/inde...p?topic=75787.0[/url] - this may be a better layout than the one you used that looks quite OTT[/quote]

I'll do that next time. But as i said, it's a stripboard not a perfboard so you can only wire up components that are in parallel to the same row, which is why there was a lot of wasted space. As i said, i'm going to buy a perfboard next time and wire it up like that, but i'll probably have to buy all new resistors as these are 2w which i admit was overkill. I also don't know if i killed the transistors because i heatsunk them but they did get a bit warm. Also i'll replace the clip pot with the switch and obv have the opamp wiring as well. The only thing i can really do before i can get anything else ordered is obviously to de solder everything, stick them on a bit of paper and tape them down with the label of all the values of everything so i have it on hand for next time. Also i agree about offboard wiring, but in this case i don't really have a choice lol.

Edited November 24, 2009 by EdwardHimself

[umph]

you can cut strips on strip board so you don't have to have a component a line it's what i do. Also you only need 1/2W most people don't even use 2W in amps!

[EdwardHimself]

[quote name='umph' post='665041' date='Nov 25 2009, 01:33 PM']you can cut strips on strip board so you don't have to have a component a line it's what i do. Also you only need 1/2W most people don't even use 2W in amps![/quote]

yes that's exactly what i was thinking 1/2 watt. But still i think i'll be better off just using a perfboard anyway because there will be a lot of strips that need cutting in that case.

[Buzz]

This is why [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breadboard"]Breadboards[/url] are used before you solder everything together

And umph is right about breaking up the rows on strip boards, handilly, a hand held countersinking tool works brilliantly for it.

[EdwardHimself]

[quote name='Buzz' post='665275' date='Nov 25 2009, 04:33 PM']This is why [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breadboard"]Breadboards[/url] are used before you solder everything together

And umph is right about breaking up the rows on strip boards, handilly, a hand held countersinking tool works brilliantly for it.[/quote]

yeah i know about breadboards. Maybe i should have used one. It's too late now though.

Edited November 25, 2009 by EdwardHimself

[umph]

don't give up so soon, things like this rarely work first time, stick with it if you can. If you like you can send it to me and i'll get it going for you if you want?

[EdwardHimself]

[quote name='umph' post='666907' date='Nov 26 2009, 11:41 PM']don't give up so soon, things like this rarely work first time, stick with it if you can. If you like you can send it to me and i'll get it going for you if you want?[/quote]

That's a very nice offer mate. I'll give it another go with a perfboard and 1/2w resistors and if i get stuck then i will take you up on that. The problem is that i've de-soldered all the junctions on everything, kept the caps and i'm going to order new resistors, diodes and transistors (they're only cheap so i might as well). I realised that i need some electrolytes anyway. That might be one of the many reasons why it didn't work? I'll have to upload a pic of a new wiring plan i made with some software i found off that link, and maybe you can tell me if you think it's utterly crap or not? Thanks anyway friend, you're a real gent.

Edited November 27, 2009 by EdwardHimself

[EdwardHimself]

Well i finally managed to order some more parts off the banzai, so i should be able to sort this stuff out by next week at some point.

[cm261]

Any update on this, out of interest?

[EdwardHimself]

[quote name='cm261' post='690336' date='Dec 21 2009, 02:38 AM']Any update on this, out of interest?[/quote]

No, stupidly i forgot to order a perfboard for the build on banzai and it seems to be IMPOSSIBLE to find one anywhere in the UK and i don't want to be paying 8€ for delivery when i'm just ordering a cheap part like that.

[cm261]

About 5 seconds on google got me this:

Including delivery:

[url="http://www.dayga.co.uk/Component_Boards_and_Accessories/Pre_Punched_Ic_Spacing_Perfboard"]here[/url] at £4.35

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Microminiature-Prepunched-Perfboard-4.5%22-x-6%22_W0QQitemZ350271729540QQcmdZViewItem?rvr_id=&rvr_id=&cguid=0cd3beff1220a0aad0c7b127fecfa94b"]here[/url] at £4.29 if you like paypal

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Microminature-Pre-punched-Perfboard--152-mm-x-203-%286x8%22_W0QQitemZ350265032078QQcmdZViewItem?rvr_id=&rvr_id=&cguid=0cd3beff1220a0aad0c7b127fecfa94b"]here[/url] at £4.99 if you want a bigger bit

Alternatively, and something I would definately recommend, you can get some prototyping breadboard [url="http://www.bitsbox.co.uk/connects.html#test"]here[/url] since you've had problems with the build. Although it is 'prototyping' board there's nothing stopping you using it as a permanent solution if you're someone that really hates soldering.

Hope this helps.

[EdwardHimself]

[quote name='cm261' post='690682' date='Dec 21 2009, 02:55 PM']About 5 seconds on google got me this:

Including delivery:

[url="http://www.dayga.co.uk/Component_Boards_and_Accessories/Pre_Punched_Ic_Spacing_Perfboard"]here[/url] at £4.35

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Microminiature-Prepunched-Perfboard-4.5%22-x-6%22_W0QQitemZ350271729540QQcmdZViewItem?rvr_id=&rvr_id=&cguid=0cd3beff1220a0aad0c7b127fecfa94b"]here[/url] at £4.29 if you like paypal

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Microminature-Pre-punched-Perfboard--152-mm-x-203-%286x8%22_W0QQitemZ350265032078QQcmdZViewItem?rvr_id=&rvr_id=&cguid=0cd3beff1220a0aad0c7b127fecfa94b"]here[/url] at £4.99 if you want a bigger bit

Alternatively, and something I would definately recommend, you can get some prototyping breadboard [url="http://www.bitsbox.co.uk/connects.html#test"]here[/url] since you've had problems with the build. Although it is 'prototyping' board there's nothing stopping you using it as a permanent solution if you're someone that really hates soldering.

Hope this helps.[/quote]

I did see them, however it is quite expensive considering they were on banzai for like 60p or something. I might have to though if it comes down to it. I did think about just using a breadboard, not really sure about it though.

[cm261]

My Woolly Mammoth clone currently has a breadboard in it rather than any soldering, it took about 2 minutes to put it together (rather than the hours that soldering would have taken me - as I suck big time) and I see no reason to change it to a soldered circuit. If anything fries or goes wrong at any time I can swap it over without desoldering, and if I decide to mod it, which I am going to by adding a blender, I can just pop the mod in without desoldering/altering/having to rehouse the circuit on a bigger bit of perfboard/stripboard or whatever. It's a more expensive way of doing it, as the breadboard was £3, but to save on a couple of hours work for a circuit which might not actually end up working due to cold solders or whatever (as you, like me in the past, have discovered to your cost) it's a negligible expense

All IMO of course.

[EdwardHimself]

[quote name='cm261' post='690752' date='Dec 21 2009, 04:11 PM']My Woolly Mammoth clone currently has a breadboard in it rather than any soldering, it took about 2 minutes to put it together (rather than the hours that soldering would have taken me - as I suck big time) and I see no reason to change it to a soldered circuit. If anything fries or goes wrong at any time I can swap it over without desoldering, and if I decide to mod it, which I am going to by adding a blender, I can just pop the mod in without desoldering/altering/having to rehouse the circuit on a bigger bit of perfboard/stripboard or whatever. It's a more expensive way of doing it, as the breadboard was £3, but to save on a couple of hours work for a circuit which might not actually end up working due to cold solders or whatever (as you, like me in the past, have discovered to your cost) it's a negligible expense

All IMO of course.[/quote]

indeed it is a rather tempting proposition mate.

[EdwardHimself]

Right well i've finally ordered a perfboard. So as long as my father hasn't put all the electronics somewhere where i'll never find them again, i should be able to get re-going on this thing.