Aion PCB's

[Robert]

Usually.... sometimes... if all else fails just shoot me a message and I'll send it to you if I have it.

 

[Robert]

I accidentally ordered a PCB recently with refdes instead of values....

Never again. Ugh.

Almost pulled a @music6000 while verifying it.


BUT, to be fair, and in defense of the RefDes method.... I wanted to change a couple component values and not having the values on the board saved that entire batch.

So...

 

[psb962]

I built 2 Aion kits before turning to PedalPCB builds. Aion's strategy is to simplify the offboard wiring as that seems to be the biggest challenge builders face. I think their breakout board and interconnect solution is good but it only works if you have enclosures with a square cutout for the power jack. I had no problems with their PCBs and didnt expect the values to be printed on the board as there were alternative components in the build doc.

I suggest that PedalPCB look at Aion's I/O board strategy and see if it would be possible to produce a PedalPCB I/O board that is compatible with the Tayda pre-drilled enclosures if specific power and I/O jacks are used.

 

[Aentons]

How do you see them when the board is assembled?

What I'd love is to do it the way consumer electronics manufacturers used to do it.... RefDes on the bottom of the PCB so you can flip it over and follow the circuit without the components in the way.

I've seen a lot of consumer boards with both values printed on the same side.

Either way, what ever is on the board is too small for me to read and I have to print out a larger view.

Also, I have been trained to never assume the values on the board are correct. The build doc is the source of truth.

 

[Robert]

I suggest that PedalPCB look at Aion's I/O board strategy and see if it would be possible to produce a PedalPCB I/O board that is compatible with the Tayda pre-drilled enclosures if specific power and I/O jacks are used.

This? Had it for years. Also have a flush mount DC jack version coming "eventually".

Power I/O Module - PedalPCB.com

Power I/O Module

www.pedalpcb.com

 

[psb962]

This? Had it for years. Also have a flush mount DC jack version coming "eventually".

Power I/O Module - PedalPCB.com

Power I/O Module

www.pedalpcb.com

That module is very close but - as you say - it needs to integrate a round pcb-mounted DC jack so it works with the hundreds of predrilled enclosures that Tayda makes for PedalPCB boards. It wont be easy as the Tayda predrilled enclosures have the power jack on different level to the I/O, but if it could be done it would be huge.

 

[Robert]

Ahh I gotcha, I was thinking of the drill service, not predrilled.

The problem there is that there isn't a one size fits all solution.

The PCB mounted DC jack has to be near inline with the 1/4" jacks, but if you drill the enclosure that way I don't think you can fit the larger panel mount DC jacks. Then you've forced everyone to use PCB mount, and I don't think those are the popular choice

The solution is to just use the custom drill service.

I suppose Tayda could offer both styles, but that's going to lead to confusion and folks getting the wrong style.

I'm not aware of any jacks that would align the DC jack with the predrilled enclosures without something like a riser with pinheaders.

 

[sticky1138]

Psst...on some of the Aion boards (other brands as well), you can stretch the legs of the pots and cram them into a standard PPCB enclosure if the layout is close enough.

 

[Gordo]

It's good to have an opinion. Everyone has one. Just like everyone has an asshole. I just hate to see haters. I understand both sides but there's enough problems in the world that this thread is like beating a dead horse. Can we just agree to disagree and let this one go? Kevin does well for the industry even if you just copy his traces. I have a handful of shops that I'm loyal to no matter what. Aion is one of them.

 

[jimilee]

No question, Aion has some of the best documentation around.

My issue is that some of the projects offered here are new circuits, not vintage/classics, so I can't give you a lecture about what the designer was thinking or intending when designing the circuit because I don't know and I'm not just going to make stuff up to fill up the page.

The tracing journals are cool too, but personally I'd rather just go trace something else rather than document the whole process in detail.

Just to be clear, I like Kevin, I'm not bashing Aion in any way, I just don't have that much to talk about.

My tracing journal would go like this:
I ordered the pedal.
The pedal finally arrived after many USPS delays.
I scraped away the goop, traced it, made a layout, verified it, now here is the PCB.
Build it.

I feel like if you just made stuff up, that would be equally as entertaining.

 

[bean]

It's good to have an opinion. Everyone has one. Just like everyone has an asshole. I just hate to see haters. I understand both sides but there's enough problems in the world that this thread is like beating a dead horse. Can we just agree to disagree and let this one go? Kevin does well for the industry even if you just copy his traces. I have a handful of shops that I'm loyal to no matter what. Aion is one of them.

I wanna echo that. Kevin is among the best of us in terms of the quality and depth of his work. I know for a fact he's put everything he has into it. It's good to offer constructive criticism (we all can benefit from it). It's also good to remember that this is a small community: one that is overwhelming positive to both builders and build enablers. And, having been on both sides of that equation I can guarantee you Kevin is probably a much harsher critic of his own work than anyone. I know it's true for me, as well.

 

[jimilee]

Well, I understand that some recent circuits don't have much history to talk about, and you can't make it up.

However, i think that just a few words to describe the circuits, maybe a quick description about what's happening in the signal path, a simple mention of which circuit a variant is based on, would go a long way with the public visiting PPCB website.

In many case, some of us could avoid being disappointed or misguided on a project, and it would help us to find the right circuit that suit us best.
Basically, it's about helping people find what they are looking for, or find something they don't know yet, that will interest them.

Let's have one exemple : I've heard about JHS angry charlie online. Mostly good reviews about a MIAB circuit, "the best" they said.

I bought PPCB angry charles kit, built it, and struggled with it for 2 years, trying to figure out how to dial the right sound.
Until the day i posted on PPCB forum, asking for advice about a good MIAB circuit. Angry Charles aroused my interest for this kind of sound, but i was miserable with its controls.
Kind forumites led me toward MI audio Crunch box : PPCB Crunch Captain Deluxe. I finally learned that JHS angry charly was based on MI audio Crunch box. I ordered it, built it and still love it.

My point is : with a little more information i would have known that 2 years ago. For exemple by reading PPCB Angry Charles description, explaining to me what Angry charles really is, and i wouldn't have lost my time struggling with the wrong circuit.

Surely i could have posted sooner, or done my own research by myself. But who will search on utube every unknown PPCB circuit they come across ? Who spend hours searching the internet for every available information before spending money and time on a project ? I know that's what we should do, but we often just don't make the tidious preliminary research, for lots of various reasons.

I'm sure there are a lot of circuits on PPCB website that can interest me. I'll never know because even if i looked at every projects, i don't have the means to understand what i am looking at. Sometimes there is only one hint in the title and that's it, like with this Colossal Muffin project.
The original circuit is mentionned, but i wouldn't look that up online unless i 'd have a good reason. There are simply too much projects to search about them all in details.

That's why a quick description on the project page, or in the instructions, would go a long way, in my humble opinion.
It wouldn't be so hard, musikding already does it for you... or sort of. I mean they don't say much, unfortunately.

I hope PPCB, Robert and his brilliant team, would kindly consider this humble request from a faithful and loyal customer.

I do that stuff. Just like @Roberts OCD I obsess and hem and haw over circuits.

 

[jimilee]

This is exactly how my descriptions would go....

"This is a printed circuit board. It's black, approximately 1.6mm thick, has rounded corners, and if you build it properly it might sound cool. Hell it might sound cool even if you don't build it properly. It makes a 'plink' sound when dropped on the floor. And it is, most definitely, not a buffer."

Are round corners really corners?

 

[jimilee]

Taking me a mi Ute to catch up here.

When Aion started doing this, he was the first one. Can you imagine coming from etched boards to the first PCBs to Aions boards? It was a lot more clean and easy to work with. I guess I started building shortly after @bean switched over from etched, there were still some floating around. Short of the power being on the footswitch, it’s the same as every other footswitch. There’s room for all of us in this hobby. @music6000 is passionate about it, and that’s ok. I see his point, no one can change his mind and that’s ok, but maybe he can see our position as well.

 

[Robert]

Are round corners really corners?

They were before they were rounded.

 

[Bricksnbeatles]

Are round corners really corners?

Every corner is round if you zoom in close enough

 

[Gordo]

Yeah, I suppose I need to fill in some info here. I totally appreciate all of music6000's work. I was more focused on being a bit more unicorns and fairies

I can't even listen to or watch the news anymore so I'm a bit hyper-sensitive to ANY conflict.

 

[Gordo]

But I refuse to sing Kumbya. Though it might sound good with a bit of drive...

 

[music6000]

You made your point. I don't see a utility in dragging it out and arguing against people's preferences (which are subjective and cannot be objectively wrong). I'm expressing my opinion the same as everyone else. That is the nature of discourse. "Stay out of the discussion" is not a constructive way to deal with those who do not share your opinion nor is obduracy.

Discussing your preference is fine; disinformation about a company's products on a competitor's forum is certainly a bit gauche. I provided a link to a replacement daughterboard after someone said there are no replacements available (absent context that it was a non-standard daughterboard in that situation). Further, if this is a real problem for folks, have they talked to Aion about it?

Kevin has his product line designed to be streamlined with his kit offerings. Clearly a decision is being made there to prioritize the form of the bypass and power management as well as the grounding scheme. If that doesn't appeal to a consumer, they are not forced to buy the product. Aion's continued growth seems to evince that the product line resonates with consumers. While that may not include you, there are people that are willing to be a customer of his site. So while you may be more inclined to purchase the projects if they were otherwise, it doesn't mean he's wrong to change directions. The 'legacy' boards are still available to buy if that's your preference.

Personally, I prefer refdes on boards—especially with more complicated builds. I find it easier to troubleshoot and reference the schematic while understanding the circuit and integrating modifications. Although I can do that on boards that use values instead of refdes, it involves additional steps.

Here are my Aion builds from 2017 When they were more user friendly to build:

 

[Gordo]

See, if I could build like that...

You and I don't have a problem my friend. Your stuff looks as good as the mock-ups.