Tonepad CE-2 still popping

[Bucksears]

I'm really pleased with the build of my Tonepad CE-2 (ultra-quiet chorus sound, lush/watery), but the footswitch pops louder than anything else I have. It has the 1M drop-down resistor on the board (built-in), but is there anything else that can be done to alleviate the pop? (another 1M at the output maybe?)
I really love this chorus a lot more than the TP Small Clone that I built previously.

Thanks,
Buck

[rustypinto]

How are you wiring your switch? If its a "true" or "total" bypass method, measure the voltage between the switching nodes (in/ out) in bypass and effect modes. This will tell you how much DC voltage you have on your hands (which is where the pop comes from). It could be from a number of things:

http://www.diystompboxes.com/wiki/index.php?title=DIY_FAQ#POPS

http://www.diystompboxes.com/wiki/index.php?title=DIY_FAQ#POPS

And of course, if you use electrolytic coupling caps, make sure they are facing the right direction.

[rustypinto]

BTW, "true" or "total" bypass as its sometimes called:

http://www.diystompboxes.com/pedals/images/3PDTwiring.jpg

[Bucksears]

Ok, it's been a while on this issue, but would like to revisit it. I picked up a Line 6 M9 about the time that I started this thread, and that didn't do it for me. I also picked up a MIT CE-2 in early January, but to my surprise, this Toneclone CE-2 sounds better and I'd like to get the popping resolved.

Here's the info:
Using a 3PDT footswitch, wired up the old way (in's on the left, out's on the right, LED/ground down the center)
Using a shielded wire from the footswitch to the output jack
(-) power lead is going to the ring tab on the input jack
LED ground, board ground and output jack ground all connect on the input jack ground tab; output wire shield (mentioned in #2) is connected to the output jack ground (which connects to the input jack ground)

All electrolytic caps are oriented correctly - triple checked them

I read about measuring voltage at the input/output wires, but from where to where? Put one lead at ground and the other at the input/output jack tip?

Thanks,
Buck

[Mark Hammer]

Does the pop occur only when the effect is turned on but not when you switch from effect to bypass?  If so, then the issue may also be the current draw from the LED turning on.  That sudden current draw is essentially the same thing that happens when an LFO ticks, except that instead of ticking repeatedly, it ticks only the one time.

The topic of curing LED-tick/pop has been addressed here frequently.

[Bucksears]

Thanks, Mark.
No, it pops when switching on AND off.

I should also note that I had the 'grounded input' switching config previously and it popped then, too.
AND I've taken the LED out of the equation before and it still popped.

Could it be a bad 100uF cap? (the one between the 9V rail and ground)?

[Mark Hammer]

That's a fair question to ask.

The smoothing cap essentially provides the circuit  a kind of "petty cash" reservoir of current to draw on for instantaneous current needs.  So if that cap was bad, or installed improperly, there is a possibility of some noise occurring.  But the thing is that the circuit, like any pedal, is always "on" in the background, and the stompswitch merely selects between signals.  So there is no expectation of switching-related noise due to power-supply smoothing issues, because hitting the stompswitch has little or no implications for current consumption in a chorus pedal other than a status LED.

[Bucksears]

I will also check the value of the resistor that is being used with the LED; I think it's 1k, but I'll try changing that out for a 4.7k.
It's the only other variable (other than grounding everything to the output jack lug) that I can modify easily.

Thanks again,