Ain't much, but first breadboard + mods

R

r.callison

Member
Not much more to say, just feeling like I did a good job. Build a successful Dallas Rangemaster on a breadboard that needed minimal troubleshooting, then added a tone control. Still don't really know what I'm doing, but feel like I learned a ton just by going through the steps. Added a 2.2n & 22n cap for the tone, a little farty when it's rolled up all the way. Would love feedback, thoughts, or just links to more I could do with this circuit, most of the resources I used were SmallBear & Electrosmash.

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It's a lot neater looking than my breadboard efforts

As you say a very good way too learn the usual mod is a switch for the input cap for stock, mid and full boost which you could try by changing your input cap till you get 3 you like

Rangemaster Tone mod?

Rangemaster Tone mod?
www.diystompboxes.com

"best" input caps for switchable rangemaster boost

"best" input caps for switchable rangemaster boost
www.diystompboxes.com

Here's RGs austin treble blaster the how to build one link gives some good info on its workings

The Dallas Rangemaster (and Austin Treble Blaster) is here

www.geofex.com

There's also the beavis board projects kinda cheating but a good way to introduce more complex bb layouts, the good thing being each has a schematic and suggested mods / things to try

 
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Nice. I just recently had breadboarding click in my brain after pondering it for
some time. First was just wiring up an incandenza bypass you see how it worked, 2nd was Chuck’s Biggus Dickus circuit. What a great distortion, waiting on some Lm386N-4s to fix the weird note decay I get from other types.

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I used a TI LM386-3 and then a JRC NJM386D, they both sounded good to me. Maybe the 1st stage needs a little tweak. Can you check the voltage on the emitter and collector (separately) of Q2? We might need to adjust the values of R4 or R5 to accommodate variation in Q1's Vp.

This has nothing to do with the tone, but I'm pretty sure that the way you have the diode installed, the breadboard is shorting anode to cathode. Those power rails run vertically end-to-end. You have to connect the anode and power in lead to a row off to the side.
 
r.callison said:
Not much more to say, just feeling like I did a good job. Build a successful Dallas Rangemaster on a breadboard that needed minimal troubleshooting, then added a tone control. Still don't really know what I'm doing, but feel like I learned a ton just by going through the steps. Added a 2.2n & 22n cap for the tone, a little farty when it's rolled up all the way. Would love feedback, thoughts, or just links to more I could do with this circuit, most of the resources I used were SmallBear & Electrosmash.
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Dude! Good work. Smart to take baby steps and work your way up. Can you post a schematic?
 
I just noticed you have the pot pins plugged directly into the protoboard. I tried that once and the contacts in the protoboard were never the same after that, the pins are just too big for the holes 😲. Mounting the pots on a bracket works well for me. The way PedalPCB does it on their protoboard with screw terminals supporting the pots is an excellent solution.
 
Oh crap haha. Didn’t think about that, definitely right about the diode. It’s already been disassembled but I’m pretty sure the issue was with the LM386N-1, as I had less of an issue with the 386L I popped in there. I have an Acapulco gold on vero I use to test them so no biggie, just got a tube of N-4s in from mouser.
 
Chuck D. Bones said:
I just noticed you have the pot pins plugged directly into the protoboard. I tried that once and the contacts in the protoboard were never the same after that, the pins are just too big for the holes 😲. Mounting the pots on a bracket works well for me. The way PedalPCB does it on their protoboard with screw terminals supporting the pots is an excellent solution.
Click to expand...

Wanna know the silliest part? I already have my breadboard set up for that. I think I ran out of jumper wire so I just plugged em in. 🤓

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Anybody wondering, go to the joist hanger section of your local hardware store and pick up a few of these Simpson TP37 tie plates. They’re a dollar or so a piece and already drilled through. Easy to bend and drill out bigger!
 
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Yeah I’m out of solid wire too haha. Besides some 20awg bus wire, little too big. I was looking for a busted piece of steel stud track to cut up and use but the tie plates are just fine!
 
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