Newbie. I purchased the Sabbath distortion board, 2 actually. Built one and it didn't work. Every component was checked 4 times. Nada. Checked the second pcb and no Vcc to the R11/R10 voltage divider. I haven't finished checking the second board completely. I posted a low review months ago and it still isn't posted.
I also noted the quality of the boards isn't great. A couple of pads lifted while soldering. It's a temperature controlled iron that's been checked for temperature accuracy. Its not the iron. Just poor quality boards.
Not impressed.
Newbie. I purchased the Sabbath distortion board, 2 actually. Built one and it didn't work. Every component was checked 4 times. Nada. Checked the second pcb and no Vcc to the R11/R10 voltage divider. I haven't finished checking the second board completely. I posted a low review months ago and it still isn't posted.
I also noted the quality of the boards isn't great. A couple of pads lifted while soldering. It's a temperature controlled iron that's been checked for temperature accuracy. Its not the iron. Just poor quality boards.
Not impressed.
Did you contact the proprietor of PedalPCB about this, either by DM/PM or email prior to posting this thread?
Did you start a trouble-shooting thread for your boards/builds prior to initiating this thread?
"I posted a low review months ago and it still isn't posted."
So which came first, the posting of the review or the fact that it still hasn't posted, but if it hasn't posted then you couldn't have posted it, but you said you posted it so it must be posted ...
"It's a temperature controlled iron that's been checked for temperature accuracy."
My Hakko is also temperature controlled. I wonder what will happen to a PCB's pads if I leave my Hakko on each pad for 30-60 seconds...
Do you have some examples of higher-quality boards than PedalPCB's boards? I'd like to see them and learn who the manufacturer of those boards are. In my newbness to soldering I lifted some traces on other vendor's boards; they were good-enough boards but not as good as PedalPCB's — I've never lifted a trace/pad on a PedalPCB board.
There's a possibility you got a couple of duff boards, can't rule that out, nothing in this life is perfect and for every millionth brand-new sparkplug off the manufacturing line, one of the million is a dud (speaking from hard-won experience).
Robert is a nice guy, the rest of us are too. Mostly. But you are gonna get dragged, cause your descriptions of your issues (first one didn't work, second one no vcc at R10/R11) don't belie an in-depth knowledge base in this field, along with being a self-described newbie.
Think about it this way: you buy a car. Nobody tells you about changing the oil. So you run it on the same oil for 30k miles and eventually your valve cover gasket pops.
And then imagine that your immediate response is to log into a car enthusiast forum, proclaim your inexperience with cars, and loudly proclaim that (insert your car make here) makes poor quality vehicles based on your experiences.
Yeah. You gonna get dragged.
But, that's OK. We have a troubleshooting forum for the issues that you've experienced. Posting photos and descriptions of your issues with an open mind towards taking measurements and posting them when requested, or utilizing an audio probe...its all just physics. Electricity. Its something that can be figured out.
Particularly the issue about R10/11. There are *really* quite few places where this could have gone wrong. Consider the schematic:
All you've gotta do is track down the VCC trace. See where the problem is.
Also: lifted pads. Welcome to soldering. Heat is the issue, not temperature. Higher temperature increases the rate of heat transfer between the iron and board/component leads/solder. The same is true of *larger* soldering tips. Surface area available for conduction. Too much heat will lead to a softening of the board underneath: part of soldering with skill is identifying low-mass pads and adapting your technique to apply the correct amount of heat to the joint.
Skill comes with time. Early on its normal to feel like it can't be you, it's gotta be the board. Most likely: its you. Not the board. Off chance? Maybe its the board. Had that happen to me a total of once out of...well...a whole bunch.
So hey, stick around. Don't take the lumps too personally.
Newbie. I purchased the Sabbath distortion board, 2 actually. Built one and it didn't work. Every component was checked 4 times. Nada. Checked the second pcb and no Vcc to the R11/R10 voltage divider. I haven't finished checking the second board completely. I posted a low review months ago and it still isn't posted.
I also noted the quality of the boards isn't great. A couple of pads lifted while soldering. It's a temperature controlled iron that's been checked for temperature accuracy. Its not the iron. Just poor quality boards.
Not impressed.
This forum community is really fantastic for troubleshooting and encouragement, so don't throw the baby out with the bathwater just yet.
Since I started building in 2019 I've had some issues with boards from other folks, but I'm willing to bet it was more down to my soldering technique than the way they were built. I think it's also worth noting that I tried those other brands only because they had boards for circuits PedalPCB hadn't gotten around to at that point.
