Ok, having problems with lead wires...

[NeveSSL]

Hey all!  I have just built my first stombox, a TS-808.  It worked great, until I tried to stuff it into my 1590B and the leads broke because I had to take about 5 of the strands of the wire because that was all that would fit into the board.  What should I do to remedy this?  Should I just go ahead and put it in a 1590BB or should I drill the board out just a bit to get the entire lead wire in it?  Or should I do something else?

This is a great learning experience... I never dreamed building a pedal would be more complicated than an amp!  My P1X from AX84 was much easier... lol.  Thanks!

Brandon

[gaussmarkov]

Hey all!  I have just built my first stombox, a TS-808.  It worked great, until I tried to stuff it into my 1590B and the leads broke because I had to take about 5 of the strands of the wire because that was all that would fit into the board.  What should I do to remedy this?  Should I just go ahead and put it in a 1590BB or should I drill the board out just a bit to get the entire lead wire in it?  Or should I do something else?

Hmm.  I don't understand your problem.  :?  It sounds to me like issues with hooking up wires to the board, not an issue with the enclosure.  It would help me to have answers to these questions:  What gauge wire are you using?  Is your board perfboard or pcb?  If it's perfboard what are the diameters of the holes?  If your board fits inside a 1590B why would you use a 1590BB?

My guess is that you just need to use higher gauge wire.  Aron's FAQ recommends #22 or higher.  If that's what you are using, then drilling a whole big enough to accomodate that is in a pcb is the way that I would go, given that the board fits into your 1590B enclosure already.  Commonly used perfboard has holes that accomodate this wire, so you wouldn't need to drill that.

Hope this helps!

[vanhansen]

Something I've done if I couldn't get a wire through is using the cut off leads from components on the end of the wire.  I'd strip enough insulation off so it could be bent in to a hook after tinning it.  Then I'd bend one end of the lead in to a hook.  Hook the two hooks together, crimp, solder and then cover with shrink wrap leaving enough of the other end of the lead sticking out of the shrink wrap to go in the hole.  I tend to use this method on battery leads now because the battery snaps I've been using have very thin wire.  Doing this makes them more sturdy.

[NeveSSL]

Hey guys... thanks for the replies.

The reason I was worried about a larger enclosure is that the reason the wires are breaking is because the leads are too big to fit in, so I have to cut off all but 5 or 6 strands, and then I have to bend them back and forth a lot troubleshooting, which leads to more troubleshooting!  

I think I'm just going to drill them out or I may try to put some parts leads in them... that's a great idea!  I'm about to go work on it.    Thanks!

Brandon

[Rick]

Oh yeah, done that. Project works and stuff all that wiring into a box and dead pedal. Chalk it up to experience. Probably broken wire or two, maybe even track breaks or shorts. Tips: Try #24 wire (teflon coated if possible, it is a lot more flexible, very thin, and very strong- if you luck onto the good stuff).
And as you suspected, use the bigger box until you are more comfortable cramming it all in there. Try to design for the box size as you gain more experience. 1590bbs are beauties anyway! ...Rick

[NeveSSL]

Thanks for the reply, Rick.  I found what the problem was.  There were two broken leads, but even after drilling the PCB and redoing the wire leads, I still only got noise.  I was beginning to get mad and I thought I should have a look at the components.  The problem?  A completely broken in-two resistor!  My switch was right on top of it and when I tightened down the enclosure, and it broke it!  I couldn't tell until I looked closely because, obviously, both ends were soldered and they hadn't moved very far.  

I replaced it (excited because the controls were responding to knob changes, I just didn't have any signal so I was sure this was the problem) and VOILA!  It worked!  And beautifully, I might add.  So I play with it for a bit, decide to put it back together and (even after lowering the switch a bit) the same thing happens!  This time, I put the resistor on the trace side of the board, put my packing tape to prevent shorts, and it all fit in perfectly!  I just got done testing it and I'm EXTREMELY pleased.  It sounds great and I'm quite proud!  

Thanks for the help and suggestions.  Now it's on to projects 2 and 3!  A buffer and a compressor!

Brandon