it doesn't work

[choklitlove]

damn it.  it's the blue box.  here's what happens: when it's plugged in = nothing; when it's not plugged in= the led turns on, then fades out.

any ideas?

[R.G.]

Yep. Lots of them.

I wrote them down. Look at the sticky "what to do when it doesn't work". Get that info together and we have a chance.

[choklitlove]

i'm looking at that right now and getting the info together.

here's the only things i did differently than the layout at tonepad:
i used .047uf caps instead of the 2 .05ufs.
i used 2 150pf caps instead of the 300pf.
i did the octave switching mod.

i used tonepad's blue box layout, tonepad's offboard wiring 5 w/ a 3pdt, and i made the board.


i'll get back with more info.

[tiges_ tendres]

I cant recomend the audio probe enough!  I just made one, and it worked wonders.

I made a pulsar that was passing signal perfectly, but there was no tremolo throb at all.

Turned out to be a bad transistor in Q1 ! thanks to the sockets I installed, I was able to fix it in a really small amount of time, and I saved my poor head from being bashed on the table for the rest of the evening.

Do a search, so simple, and so brilliant.

[choklitlove]

thanks for the reply.  i found it, and it looks like a really good idea.
i'll try it.

thanks again!

[choklitlove]

another freakin setback.
i was trying to test various parts of the board for continuity.  i don't know what i did, but one of my transistors exploded.  luckily, i have more.

after i replace that, i'll try to start getting the voltages listed in the "what to do..." thread.

can anyone explain how to use my multimeter for this?  i confess, i don't know how the hell to work this thing.  it's analog.  sperry SP-6A (except mine doesn't say 'DCV', just 'V---' and stuff like that, that i don't know what it means):


sorry for being a *&^*&^.

[choklitlove]

okay.  i think i'm getting the hang of this thing.  i have it on 10 in the "D----" (DCV?) section.  i have the black lead clipped to the ground of the input.  it's moving when i touch different parts of the board (what it's supposed to do!).  so far, i'm getting nothing on any of the pins in IC2.  i'm guessing this might be a problem?

but due to my cluelessness when it comes to the meter, this might not mean anything.

[choklitlove]

i think my problem lies in the input area.  when it's unplugged the led comes on for a second.  but nothing happens when it's plugged in.  also, i can get some readings on the board only when it's unplugged.  my findings tell me that it's probably something very stupid on my part.  what the hell did i do?


tell me, is this right?
input jack-  uppermost terminal (closest to where the plug enters) = goes to the 'in' of 3pdt switch
                 middle terminal = battery negative
                 lower terminal = ground

[choklitlove]

i got it!

it's working now!


it was something to do with the battery/adapter jack/input jack.  in offboard wiring 5, it says that the black (-) of the battery goes to the ring (middle) of the input jack (to disconnect it when nothing is plugged in).  what i had to do to get it to work was: connect the battery's black to ground, and instead connect the adapter's ground to the input's ring.  this solved my original problem.


but, guess what... i have new problems.
1.  it only works with a 9 volt in the circuit.  i can't tell if it uses the adapter when it's plugged in, but if i take the battery out, no matter what, the box doesn't work.
2.  i've got no bypass.  when i hit the stomp switch, the effect turns off, but there's no signal getting through.
3.  even if nothing is plugged into the input, the box can still be on.  i have it (at least i think i have it) hooked up to where it should disconnect if nothing is plugged in (via offboard wiring 5).

i know that these problems are connected, but i've checked everything.  what do you think i should check harder?


but, hey!  the effects sounds awesome! 

[choklitlove]

did everyone just give up on me?

[HeaD]

In my opinion there is something wrong in the wiring. Are you using a 3pdt switch? Here is a bypass configuration: http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/diagrams/switch_lo_3pdt_ig_dcjack.gif

[Connoisseur of Distortion]

yep. i'll second HeaD's suggestion.

[tennisdude]

here's my analysis:

your board is fine. If it's working fine, leave it.

Now, concentrate on your offboard wiring, which you obviously screwed up somehow. If the 9v DC jack isn't working, either its broken (unlikely) or you wired it in wrong. Also, it seems like you wired your bypass switch wrong if no signal is coming through. do you have any pics?

[R.G.]

Just checking - did the offboard wiring fix it?

[choklitlove]

i re-wired it exactly like the ggg thing head posted.  it's exact.  this makes the bypass and the effect work fine, so the switch is okay now.  but, i still have problems.
1. it only works with an adapter now.
2. unplugging the input does nothing.  the effect can still be turned on.

although i can live with these problems, it'd be nice to fix them.  sorry, i don't have any pictures.  i've looked over everything, and i just don't see anything wrong.  i know these problems' solutions lie somewhere in the input/battery wiring.  any ideas?

thanks for everyone's help!

[petemoore]

i re-wired it exactly like the ggg thing head posted.  it's exact.  this makes the bypass and the effect work fine, so the switch is okay now.  but, i still have problems.
1. it only works with an adapter now.
2. unplugging the input does nothing.  the effect can still be turned on.
  The stereo jack input power switch/plug de-insert trick...is a connection from battery - soldered to > Jack Ring touching > MONO Plug sleeve [when present] to > Jack Sleeve soldered to ground.
 

although i can live with these problems, it'd be nice to fix them.  sorry, i don't have any pictures.  i've looked over everything, and i just don't see anything wrong.  i know these problems' solutions lie somewhere in the input/battery wiring.  any ideas?

thanks for everyone's help!

[tennisdude]

i re-wired it exactly like the ggg thing head posted.  it's exact.  this makes the bypass and the effect work fine, so the switch is okay now.  but, i still have problems.
1. it only works with an adapter now.
2. unplugging the input does nothing.  the effect can still be turned on.

although i can live with these problems, it'd be nice to fix them.  sorry, i don't have any pictures.  i've looked over everything, and i just don't see anything wrong.  i know these problems' solutions lie somewhere in the input/battery wiring.  any ideas?

thanks for everyone's help!

1. if it only works with an adaptor, you probably wired the battery snap incorrectly. triple check that. the battery snap black wire (ground) goes to the input jack ring. the red wire (+9v) goes to the +9v output of the DC jack.
2. thats because you're using a dc jack. i presume that by "the effect being turned on" you mean that the LED goes on, even if the cable isnt plugged in? If you don't want this to happen, instead of wiring the dc jack ground to the input jack shield, wire it to the input jack ring (like the battery snap). this way, the LED will only go on when a cable is in the input jack.

good luck

[choklitlove]

thanks for the reply.  i'll get back to you after i check it out.

[choklitlove]

okay, i tried hooking the ground of the adapter jack into the ring of the input (along with the battery's black).  now, nothing works.  it doesn't turn on at all now.  is there possibly something wrong with the input jack?  because nothing has worked regarding the ring of it yet.
here's a picture:


any more ideas?

[MartyB]

A few comments:  The tip of the rightmost jack looks like it could be touching ground thru the pot casing, especially with the jack inserted.  Some of your solder joints look alittle 'cold' , so I'd be trying to check continuity with my meter (if yours has this feature).  Lasltly, I've beel fooled by power jacks before.  The terminals can differ from other pics and diagrams as to which are center, which couple/uncouple ground.  That's another good use of a continuity meter.  Okay, now I see something else.  With the jack on the right, you lose the sleeve connection when the jack is inserted.  You might want to change to a different jack that never has a physical connection to ground until the male plug is inserted, which then bridges ring and sleeve thru the plug itself.  When -9v is connected to your jack-type you lose the connection when the plug is inserted.