weird dynacomp problem-help!

[bsmcc2010]

So i built a dynacomp with clear blend from this diagram http://www.flickr.com/photos/tylerh5/6095119723/

I made the hero circuit and then did all the off board wiring including the 3pdt switch an the jacks.

When the effect was in bypass mode my signal passed through fine so I'm guessing my switch wiring was fine. But when the effect was turned on there was nothing. No hum no buzz nothing. Just silence.

I re-did all the off board wiring but just to test it out didn't include the switch. So the output of the board went straight to the output jack tip etc.

Now here's the bit i don't understand-when the off board wiring is down as it should be i have the same issue as before-nothing. But when the ground of the output jack is connected to the tip of the input jack my signal passes through-as if it was in bypass mode with the switch. All the other wiring is exactly the same and thats the only lead that i've changed.

I just can't understand why it's doing that and how i get it to work!

[DavenPaget]

So i built a dynacomp with clear blend from this diagram http://www.flickr.com/photos/tylerh5/6095119723/

I made the hero circuit and then did all the off board wiring including the 3pdt switch an the jacks.

When the effect was in bypass mode my signal passed through fine so I'm guessing my switch wiring was fine. But when the effect was turned on there was nothing. No hum no buzz nothing. Just silence.

I re-did all the off board wiring but just to test it out didn't include the switch. So the output of the board went straight to the output jack tip etc.

Now here's the bit i don't understand-when the off board wiring is down as it should be i have the same issue as before-nothing. But when the ground of the output jack is connected to the tip of the input jack my signal passes through-as if it was in bypass mode with the switch. All the other wiring is exactly the same and thats the only lead that i've changed.

I just can't understand why it's doing that and how i get it to work!

1) Looks like your switch's not working too fine , maybe running a lil' rich 
2) Ground's disconnected somewhere offboard

[StereoKills]

I would double check the switches wiring. What off board wiring schematic are you using?

>But when the ground of the output jack is connected to the tip of the input jack my signal passes through-as if it was in bypass mode with the switch.

That's not right for sure. You may have your signal and ground wires swapped somewhere.

[bsmcc2010]

the switch wiring was right-i double/triple/quadruple checked it. Same with the the off board wiring :S

[StereoKills]

Well, something is not right if the sleeve of your output jack connected to the tip of the input jack passes sound - you should get no sound if you do that. Do you have a link to the off board wiring schematic you used? A picture of your wiring would also help!

[bsmcc2010]

http://www.beavisaudio.com/techpages/StompboxWiring/

thats what i used, but as i said i didn't put the switch in

[StereoKills]

Oh, no switch. I missed that one somehow. Well, as long as the input/output are connected to the appropriate tips, make sure all the joints are good. I prefer a star grounding method (all ground wires connected to one point, usually the input sleeve) to the one Beavis suggests, but that shouldn't stop something from coming through.

Now when you do hear sound coming through, are you sure it's not the output of the compressor? Depending on the settings it could be easy to mistake...

[bsmcc2010]

yeah, no matter how i change the volume pot nothing changes-the blend pot hasn't arrived yet so at the moment I'm just using a jumper between where the middle prong of the pot would go and there the left prong would go-will this make a difference? i was trying to just set the blend pot in an 'off' position

[StereoKills]

Without seeing the schematic that includes the clean blend mod, I'm not sure how that would affect it (I suck at reading stripboard layouts). If you're just putting a jumper there, you should put a 10K resistor from where the middle prong goes to where the right prong would go to simulate the pot turned all the way over. You're cutting part of the circuit out by not having that there.

[bsmcc2010]

ok so i'm starting to think that the problem might be the actual board then. I started it with a crappy soldering iron with a bad condition tip, bought a new iron for £10 from wilko's which after 3 days use is in almost as bad condition as the old one! not buying a crappy iron again then!

[StereoKills]

See my edited reply ^.

[bsmcc2010]

surly if it's middle to right prong then that would make the sound all clean and no compression? also would a just using a jumper instead of a 10k resistor mean no sound?

[DavenPaget]

ok so i'm starting to think that the problem might be the actual board then. I started it with a crappy soldering iron with a bad condition tip, bought a new iron for £10 from wilko's which after 3 days use is in almost as bad condition as the old one! not buying a crappy iron again then!

or 40 bucks and have a decent station from amazon  
Digital :
http://www.amazon.com/X-TRONIC-4000-Soldering-SOLDERING-MAGNIFYING/dp/B0053491YO/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1322081547&sr=8-10 If they can ship to you , that would be epic .
http://www.amazon.com/Aoyue-937-Digital-Soldering-Station/dp/B000I30QBW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1322081547&sr=8-3 If they can't ship to you the above
Analog :
40 bucks .

If you are interested in low cost SMD rework stations :
http://www.amazon.com/X-TRONIC-4040-Soldering-Assorted-MAGNIFYING/dp/B003TC8EQS/ref=sr_1_6?s=power-hand-tools&ie=UTF8&qid=1322081835&sr=1-6 A big one , once again , if they can ship to you .
http://www.amazon.com/X-TRONIC-6040-Soldering-SOLDERING-MAGNIFYING/dp/B0052M8SZA/ref=sr_1_13?s=power-hand-tools&ie=UTF8&qid=1322081835&sr=1-13 A small one , once again , if they can ship to you .
http://www.amazon.com/Updated-Aoyue-Digital-Soldering-absorber/dp/B000HDG0AO/ref=sr_1_11?s=power-hand-tools&ie=UTF8&qid=1322081835&sr=1-11 If they can't , get this one , i am buying this one soon  

[bsmcc2010]

they look a little too expensive for me...what about this http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=9284803&fh_location=//catalog01/en_GB/categories%3C%7B9372015%7D/categories%3C%7B9372043%7D/categories%3C%7B9372176%7D/categories%3C%7B9392053%7D/specificationsProductType=soldering/specificationsSpecificProductType=soldering_irons

[DavenPaget]

they look a little too expensive for me...what about this http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=9284803&fh_location=//catalog01/en_GB/categories%3C%7B9372015%7D/categories%3C%7B9372043%7D/categories%3C%7B9372176%7D/categories%3C%7B9392053%7D/specificationsProductType=soldering/specificationsSpecificProductType=soldering_irons

Weller is small and cheap but not good for anything worth your dime .
Get the 39USD model , it's cheap now .

[StereoKills]

surly if it's middle to right prong then that would make the sound all clean and no compression? also would a just using a jumper instead of a 10k resistor mean no sound?

Like I said, without a schematic it's hard to visualize, but you have to have both a jumper AND a resistor to emulate a knob turned all the way to one side. Otherwise it's like you are not hooking one of the pot lugs up.

And as for soldering irons, I wouldn't get one of the pencil style ones. Go for one with a base, it will save you headaches and money later.

[bsmcc2010]

well we shall see when i get the pot and hook it up-i seriously hope you're right!

[bsmcc2010]

ok so the last pot arrived and i hooked it up, but still nothing. I must have been wrong about my problem before, so it works in bypass i.e.:tip of output connected to tip of input, but when i connect them to the board i get absolutely nothing. Not noise nothing.

What could be wrong?

[StereoKills]

Alright, so it's been narrowed down to the board at least!
Now follow this post: http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=29816.0
and post your voltages!