SOLVED TearJerker

[dividedzero]

Hello.

I've read through the posts I have found and it seems that no one else is having trouble with this pedal.

I've built it twice now with different pots and inductors. I've used both the dunlap red like I've seen posted and I've used this interesting one I found on Small Bear (https://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/sabbadius-soul-inductor/). It's 600mH. I'm not sure if there are other requirements. I also used different pots, this current version uses this pot - https://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/wah-pot-the-black-bear-100k/

It seems the Soul inductor worked better than the dunlap but maybe I didn't test right (That inductor went into another wah that is working perfectly and sounds hella sweet). I can get something that sounds right if I turn the tone on the guitar all the way down and on the neck humbucker. It's really quiet but sounds like a wah. But if I turn on 7 or 8 dip switch and maybe 6, it squeals. if i turn up the tone knob, it squeals. At some settings, the dip switches act like an octave scale even.

Almost all parts come from Mouser unless they don't have it then I get it from LoveMySwitches, Small Bear or StompBoxParts. All of which have given me great components so far. I've completed almost 300 working pedals (maybe 20 nonworking that I'll get back to some day) in the last 3 months and learning as much and as fast as I can but this one stumps me.

Let me know if I left out crucial details. I think that's everything.

 

[dividedzero]

Same thing with the ShamWah and this inductor https://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/eleca-halo-inductor/

I've checked to make sure the right pins were in the right pads (the pins with the copper wire coming from it I assume since they're not labeled on the bottom).

Am I just bad at picking inductors?

 

[Feral Feline]

... I've completed almost 300 working pedals (maybe 20 nonworking that I'll get back to some day) in the last 3 months ...

 

[dividedzero]

yeah I kind of went overboard. I've been doing eurorack modules too. still learning though.

 

[darwin999]

Is C6 really 220pF? I can't read the values in the photo, but that (Wima?) cap seems pretty stout for 220pF.
Can you provide a better focused pic of the main PCB?
Maybe also provide a pic of the PCB underside (to evaluate soldering) and a better pic of the stompswitch wiring.

 

[dividedzero]

Here are close ups of everything on the TearJerker. I appreciate the help. I'm still learning how to fix broken circuits. I've done a few already but this one confounds me. C6 is 220pf. It seems anytime i get a box capacitor under 1nf, this is what I get (Mouser). I need to be more particular with the sizes or just use ceramic.

 

[dividedzero]

Here's the ShamWah with the same problem.

 

[Nostradoomus]

It looks like your pots are wired in reverse, but the perspective isn’t great

 

[Robert]

Can you show which pins of the inductors you're using and which pads they're connecting to in the PCBs?

 

[dividedzero]

As soon as I posted these pictures, I went to test the Parasite Wah I've just finished and that didn't work either but is a completely different setup so that made me think there was something more universal in what I was doing. I tried reversing the input and output and it worked perfectly. The board mounted jacks and no board mounted pots or footswitch through me off my routine.

Thank you for the help. but this case is closed thankfully. I can go back and finish the other TearJerker I tried to build. I probably did the same thing.