Orange squeezer trouble

[smoguzbenjamin]

Hi everyone

I have breadboarded an orange squeezer a la GGG, and I didn't know the FET pinouts, just that the Source was in the middle. so I poked em in and fiddled the trimmer. On low resistances I got sparks on my trimmer, and the FETs were getting hot! It smelt bad too, so I killed the power, flipped the FETs and played with the trimmer again. I ain't hearing nuthin. Is the effect just so transparent or am I not doing something right.

I subbed an A117 diode in place of the 1N100 which wasn't available, and at the junction between the diode and the opamp output cap I read some negative voltage when I play, but never more than 3 millivolts. Is that normal, or did I fry my envelope following FETs?

[petemoore]

Heat and Smoke fro Fet's is surely not a good sign, as I'm sure you feel aware of...but I wouldn't count on them being any good, stick 'em in a FF and see or some other test...
 " I got sparks on my trimmer"...also undesirable...maybe still usable, can't count on it, see if it can be tested somehow, that trim actually does nothing to or for the OS builds of mine, maybe if you're 'on the edge of some tolerance in it or something, you need it...[ ].
 That section of the OS is tricky, I don't know that I got it right any of the first times. I hooked the little arrow above the left Jfet to the wrong end of the power supply...there's a buncha 'gotcha's' in that  "folding circuit' near Jfet pinouts... soemthing must have connected alot of current through there...I'd try figureing on that section [if it's PCB...if it's perf it may be harder to re-do on the original board without a mess...]...I'd check for shorts, and try something different in that area [hopefully 'straightening things out], then stick the old Jfets in and see if smoke and sparks fly before installing new Fets in it and trying it.
 Can take some serious co-ponderance to get that OS working, wiring it straight is the only way I could figure it, not knowing anything about what voltages in the Jfet area to look for.

[travissk]

Test the trimpot with a meter, it might be ok still... I would bet that you're going to need to order a new transistor, though.

[smoguzbenjamin]

Well, luckily my circuit is on a breadboard (the solderless kind) so swapping stuff out is easy. I tested the trimmers, and they're fine. The BF245 trannies.... dunno, but I checked my connections and they're OK.
I guess I fried the trannies. Lucky me I live a 15 min. bikeride away rom an electronics shoppe so I can get some new FETs on monday. The thing is, that when I turn the trimpot down, my signal cuts out. So at least something is going on there, but I have no clue what.

One question though, how different can I expect this effect to be from my dry signal, just so I know what I'm looking for.

thanks!
Ben

[travissk]

The OS is a pretty opaque compressor, so luckily you'll get some noticable tonal change. Also try hitting strings hard and soft, see if your sound compresses noticably. Try extreme settings; while it might not jump out as much as other pedals, it's definitely noticable.

I tried to get the ToneFrenzy OS soundclip, but their links seem to be broken . Searched some more, but couldn't find anywhere with a clip. Anyone got one? My Squeezer is 1800 miles away.

[smoguzbenjamin]

Well, I've confirmed that my FETs were funky. I don't have anything else laying around right now so I'll be off to the local shop tomorrow. :mrgreen: