2: The Schematic and parts list

[.Brandon]

Hello! Entirely new to all electronics. After reading around for a few days am I correct in assuming that the transistor is what directly effects the tone of the pedal? If so, would you be able to tell me which Transistor would give my boost the cleanest signal?

- Thanks
 Brandon

[aron]

The entire circuit affects the signal. It's really difficult to single out any particular part. Having enough headroom before clipping will give you the cleanest signal.

[bigmufffuzzwizz]

How to handwire on perfboard

great little walkthrough! sometimes i get a headache trying to figure it out in my head. really need to jot it down and work from there! I hope to do a vero or perf layout of the dragonfly seven

[rudedog1]

I would like to see this project as a grab bag in the store or in a new section called tutorials... Im new to this and not exactly sure which resistor I need when it just says something like 10k. I just purchased a soldering iron and a voltage meter and I'm eager to get my feet wet...

It sure would help the noobs like me to have the project available as a kit in the store and I'd love to buy it here and support the forums rather then the radiohut downtown.

Any thoughts? 

[blackcorvo]

I would like to see this project as a grab bag in the store or in a new section called tutorials... Im new to this and not exactly sure which resistor I need when it just says something like 10k. I just purchased a soldering iron and a voltage meter and I'm eager to get my feet wet...

It sure would help the noobs like me to have the project available as a kit in the store and I'd love to buy it here and support the forums rather then the radiohut downtown.

Any thoughts? 

It would be of big help to you to check the resistor color code, and have it always around you to identify a resistor's value: http://www.williamson-labs.com/images/res-color-code.gif
I kinda accidentally memorized it when I started studying electronics (and I'm not even kidding... I just woke up one day reading values in a couple resistors and got really surprised).
Would be nice if you could memorize it too, but it's not really necessary if you don't mind checking on a paper for reference.

[drinkingfiction]

Curious... looking at smallbear almost all their caps are measured in mf.  the .1uF input cap would be the equivalent of a .0001mF cap?

[drinkingfiction]

I would like to see this project as a grab bag in the store or in a new section called tutorials... Im new to this and not exactly sure which resistor I need when it just says something like 10k. I just purchased a soldering iron and a voltage meter and I'm eager to get my feet wet...

It sure would help the noobs like me to have the project available as a kit in the store and I'd love to buy it here and support the forums rather then the radiohut downtown.

it is actually available in the store as a kit... everything you need for the board... just no case i think.

Any thoughts? 

[super j]

Curious... looking at smallbear almost all their caps are measured in mf.  the .1uF input cap would be the equivalent of a .0001mF cap?

I had the same problem when looking at smallbear's caps recently. I found this on their faq page:

Capacitor values on the Stock List are Always expressed either as Microfarad (You'll see it as mf., mfd., uf., uF. in schematics and lists,) or picofarad (pf.). The use of mf. as "millifarad" is a change of recent years; it can be confusing, but the correct translation will be clear enough from how the capacitor is being used.

[Little_Horn]

Hey everyone!

This is my first electronics project and I might say it went very well and I'm very happy.
There is just one small detail:

I could not find a linear 5k pot and had to settle for a 5k log pot.
The thing is that I can only control the volume in the final 20% (more or less) of the rotation of the pot.
I even tried to experiment with a 1k ohm resistor I have laying around, and connected it to the center pin of the pot and to the pin that has no cap in it, and no matter what position the pot is in, it reads 80 k ohm on the multimeter. 
I also experimented with every other position on the pot, and the results were not what I expect.
So, my question is: can anybody tell me a way to make this log pot work (more or less) like a linear pot?

Thanks.

[Musok]

Hey guys!

Sooo... Newbie here and having a problem hooking up a transistor. I wired the schematic and no sound so I got rid of everything and starting slowly using the amp as a way to have a feedback. Hooking output to input directly of course I have a good feedback. I added the first capacitor and no problems here. Now, I hooked the transistor... it doesn't make any sound. i hook up the input (already with the 0.1uf) to the base and then i try to get the output on the emitter and no signal and same on the collector.

Ideas?

(From what I get this shouldn't be here sooo.... I'm making a new topic. Please moderators delete this and sorry for the inconvenience)

[il_mix]

Hi guys!
I started my DIY pedal adventure with this simple project...with not so much luck at the moment.
I made my circuit on a breadboard, checked everything seeeeeveral times, but I still get this behaviour:
- pot in starting position: no sound
- start rotating pot: no sound for a while, than something starts to came out
- near the end of the pot, distorsion with low volume for a while
- than, normal boost effect (volume increase while rotating) for a couple of rotation degrees
- finally, distorsion at high volume

...?
I'm using a 4.7K linear pot. I'm testing the circuit with an electic bass, not a guitar (don't know if this could be the problem.
Also, I've tested it with 2N2222A and 2N3904, with the same results.

Any hint about what could be the problem?
Thanks to everyone!

[aron]

>Any hint about what could be the problem?

Well it's obviously a wiring mistake but where??
Make the poor mans version of the audio probe (check the debugging page). All you do is "tap" into different parts of the circuit by wiring the output jack to different parts of the circuit on the breadboard.

[il_mix]

Make the poor mans version of the audio probe

Thank aaron. I'll give it a try.
The breadboard is tiny, so the circuit is a little mess. But I've checked it a lot of times... We'll see.
If I have further problems I'll open a new thread (better than mess up this one...).

[jhferguson]

Would the wiring be different if you wanted to use an audio pot in place of the linear pot? What are the pros and cons to this?