A Stupid Squidward with an Intelligent Relay Bypass in a 1590B

[andare]

Build Rating

3.00 star(s)

I have a bunch of octave fuzzes (Joe Gore's Screech + a Foxx Tone Machine and an Ampeg Scrambler clones I built from Musikding kits) and they are wonderful but I usually play with an always-on Fuzz Face and adding fuzz to fuzz makes my amp go splat.

Enter the Green Ringer, which is just the octave. I have a few riffs where it'd be useful to be able to use the octave as an accent so instead of dropping 200 Euros on an EQD Tentacle I decided to build this and add the relay switching with the temporary function.



The first time I built the board I got solder in virgin holes. After using those special hollow needles and purchasing an Engineer SS02 solder sucker, I ended up freeing the holes but the pads came off.

I ordered a second board and was extra careful with the iron. This is a tight one. I matched the resistors, caps and diodes in the octave circuit. Pretty happy with the sound. A dedicated octave fuzz sounds better but this is good for adding that flavor occasionally.

As you can see from the guts:



I made a big mess inside. The relay board is connected to the main board with pin headers, however the boards are floating inside the enclosure, held by wire tension. I had to cover the enclosure with electrical tape to avoid shorts.
The other issue was soldering two wires to the minuscule lugs on the Lumberg DC jack, one for the main PCB and one for the relay. Why is everything so tiny and cramped?!

The fact that I used a 1590B (thanks @MichaelW for the drill measurements! Of course I still botched it a bit) made things more difficult. The box is too shallow to mount the relay board on top of the switch. And the main board has no switches or pots. Double whammy.
This is a build for better builders than me

I used a green LED with a lens. I should've breadboarded the LED to find the right CLR. As it is it's a bit faint. Also this is my first build in a painted enclosure. It's a Hammond so quite expensive. Sorry no way to do graphics.

I rate the build 3 stars because it is a quality product, especially the relay board - the temporary function is really cool and reliable - but it requires better skills to be executed in an elegant fashion. And to think that I hail from Milan, one of the world's fashion capitals...no wonder I had to relocate to Poland.

I see other similar clones are integrated with the 3PDT board - that would allow the footswitch to support the board inside.

 

[Feral Feline]

I love this!

What a great idea to have the smart relay board in it for momentary blasts of octave!
I've got a couple of the smart relay boards (well, at least one) already pegged for another build, so may have to stock up on some more of them — this is the perfect application of that bypass's capabilities, IMO.

Couple suggestions for your next build of/like this:
- Hammond 1590B2, gives you a bit more height than the standard 1590B without becoming too tall for the surrounding pedals on you board like the 1590BS does.
- build on a cardboard mockup, such as a cereal box, with "outie" power jack — then you have full access to everything and can build it outside the enclosure and test and change the CLR if need be, etc before stuffing it in the box.

 

[Dan0h]

Nice. Don’t feel bad about a floating board. I have a few of those too and they work just fine. Sometimes you gotta do what ya gotta do. This is a really good idea with the momentary.

 

[andare]

Thanks but the temporary bypass was not my idea, that's how the Tentacle works, so mine is a total ripoff

 

[Robert]

I probably should consider adding a mounting hole for a standoff for those times when the PCB isn't used along with a 3PDT breakout board.

Technically I suppose you could mount the relay PCB to the footswitch with rigid connectors (solid core wire or long pinheaders) and that would secure it, but that'd be putting a lot of physical stress on a pair of small connectors.

What you have shouldn't be a problem, I've traced many expensive pedals with floating PCBs. As long as nothing can easily move enough to cause a short it should be fine. The boards are fairly lightweight, you'd really have to beat the heck out of it to cause it to shift significantly.

 

[szukalski]

Looks great! The green ringer is a perfect option for a 1590A (maybe not top mount). Easy to sneak onto a board. With a relay.. tricky task

I found it very receptive to different Ge diodes, all useful in their own right but with more octave focus in different parts of the fretboard.

 

[Bricksnbeatles]

Looks great! The green ringer is a perfect option for a 1590A (maybe not top mount). Easy to sneak onto a board. With a relay.. tricky task

I found it very receptive to different Ge diodes, all useful in their own right but with more octave focus in different parts of the fretboard.

Didn’t someone do 1590A top jacks a while back? Completely incomprehensible to me, but I know I saw it.

Edit: Indeed

 

[szukalski]

Didn’t someone do 1590A top jacks a while back? Completely incomprehensible to me, but I know I saw it.

Edit: Indeed

I think the Gorva is slightly wider. But it’s a great idea if someone can make a top mount 1590A hardware board.

I went through a 1590A phase for a bit, but once you add cables to them, they’re around the same width as 1590B with top mount (without the space constraint).

 

[Bricksnbeatles]

I think the Gorva is slightly wider. But it’s a great idea if someone can make a top mount 1590A hardware board.

I went through a 1590A phase for a bit, but once you add cables to them, they’re around the same width as 1590B with top mount (without the space constraint).

The one big benefit to 1590A over top mount 1590B is the weight savings. I’m typically not inclined to bother with 1590A either though

 

[DGWVI]

Didn’t someone do 1590A top jacks a while back? Completely incomprehensible to me, but I know I saw it.

Edit: Indeed

I'll have to dig up pics, but this thread shows how I typically secure the pcbs when there aren't any other means of mounting- I use solid core 22awg and run at least a couple wires under the trace side. In the case of the 1590a Squidward, I used 300v 22awg wire. Board ain't movin

 

[Feral Feline]

I never thought about the weight difference, Nick, good point.



I've used Sugru mouldable glue-putty in the past to keep things in place. Works fairly well, but I've not banged my pedals around or subjected them to the rigours of touring.