SOLVED Boneyard delegate ratio not working

[zeropluszero]

I built the delegate boneyard.
I have finally got a looper pedal so I could record something and then tinker with the pedal...all controls except Ratio seem to be working.
I've tried lots of combinations of the pots and playing but no difference where the Ratio is set.
Now, I'm by no means a guitar god, and frankly don't necessarily know shit about what I'm building, just figured a compressor would be something I didn't have.

I have been testing with a Tayda LDR and a GL5516 I got from pedalpcb - no difference. Tried a 5mm green led and a yellow one, when it's plugged in I measured the resistance on the LDR and it is moving, was below 10k in full light and when I shade it it does go higher. same with the pins on ratio potentiometer, when I spin the pot it changes the resistance reading on my multimeter...even swapped in a tl072, got sound but nothing from ratio pot.
I know this is meant to be a subtle compressor, and I'm not going to claim to have great ears...maybe if someone could even tell me a combination of the other pots I should use that should give me a less than subtle difference from the ratio pot and I would know its working?

I haven't tested it in full darkness, but I can tell a significant volume difference between playing with the lid on the enclosure and the lid off so I assume the LDR & LED are doing something.

 

[Nostradoomus]

Attack at 0
Release at 10
sustain up and level to taste
play with sweeping the ratio, it shouldnt be subtle. Ratio is how much compression you're getting vs the clean signal, like a blend.

 

[zeropluszero]

I'll give that a go, My normal setting is around 10 o'clock on level and 2-3 o'clock on sustain, tone 3o'clock.
This something I also need to test different playing dynamics with or just anything should be fine?

 

[zeropluszero]

finally got around to giving that a go, nothing different while sweeping the ratio with a looper going.
I did it in a dark closet too - the LED was working, and went stronger with the guitar dynamics, but nothing I could detect in the sound.
I noted also that the power connection is crappy, and the LED for the LDR is also pretty loose in the socket, so those are also both problems.
And on top of that my soldering iron died, and the replacement that took 2 weeks to arrive...is also dead.

Bit of a shit week already.

 

[Nostradoomus]

The ratio is tied to the LDR directly so yeah that could be an issue. And the power. And the soldering iron.
Taking a breather might not be bad

 

[zeropluszero]

i might scream.

 

[Nostradoomus]

you probably want a 6:1 ratio for that


sorry

 

[Chuck D. Bones]

Make sure the transistors, LED & LDR fit snugly in their sockets. Those sockets you're using were designed for fatter leads. You might need to build up a thin layer of solder on the leads.

 

[zeropluszero]

Im awaiting a delivery of some dc adaptors before i go removing and re-soldering stuff - is the socketed LED and transistors a plausible cause of my lack of ratio?

 

[Chuck D. Bones]

I have two answers for that question.
1. Yes, but in particular if the LDR is in a socket, then that is a plausible cause.
2. Anything questionable should be fixed, otherwise the problem can be a moving target.

 

[zeropluszero]

Yeh I'm with you - I'll update the thread when I've had a chance to fix up these changes.

 

[zeropluszero]

Ok, fixed the DC jack, removed sockets and resoldered in LDR and a new led, since apparently I fried the first one soldering it back in.
I'm back in my closet, the led is lit in the dark, and if I put my phone torch on the LDR the sound I get is definitely quieter when I do and then when I turn it off it's louder again.
If I use the settings nostradoomus gave I can still sweep the ratio and there appears to be no change.

 

[Stickman393]

Check R5 there.

Color codes indicate a 1.5k ohm resistor: schematic calls out a 2.2meg ohm.
That guy runs parallel to your 100k ratio pot...though the LDR is between 'em.

That's one hell of a shortcut right there. No wonder the ratio knob wasn't working: it's like trying to adjust the flow of a river by throwing a garden hose in there and fiddling with the hose bib's valve.

 

[Stickman393]

View attachment 80675

Check R5 there.

Color codes indicate a 1.5k ohm resistor: schematic calls out a 2.2meg ohm.
That guy runs parallel to your 100k ratio pot...though the LDR is between 'em.

That's one hell of a shortcut right there. No wonder the ratio knob wasn't working: it's like trying to adjust the flow of a river by throwing a garden hose in there and fiddling with the hose bib's valve.

View attachment 80676

*Edit*. R1 and R3 as well. Looks like all your 2.2megaohm resistors.

Could also be...what...1.1 megaohms? 1 4k? 1.5k makes the most sense from an E series perspective. Hard to tell the difference between green and yellow in the photos. And red and brown for that matter. Huh. Maybe I'm going color blind in my old age.

Regardless...check those. See whatcha got.

 

[zeropluszero]

R1, 3 and 5 are the same value - red, red, black, yellow, brown.

Sorry the flash is horrific

 

[Stickman393]

Damn. So it is!

Thanks for the pic with flash. That clears that up.

Hmm. Well, since you've got it out of the box, would you mind taking a photo of the reverse side?

 

[zeropluszero]

Hard to get lighting for this, phone camera is all I have. Let me know if I can take a photo of something more specific.

 

[Stickman393]

Can't say I'm seeing anything out of the ordinary there.

I suppose it's worth asking where you got the LDR? That component should measure as such:

Light Resistance: 5 – 10KΩ
Dark Resistance: 500KΩ
Rise Time: 30ms
Fall Time: 30ms

I imagine if you got a different component with a higher resistance range, that could impact the sweep of the ratio potentiometer.

 

[zeropluszero]

I had a couple from tayda, this one is actually from pedalpcb

 

[Stickman393]

I had a couple from tayda, this one is actually from pedalpcb

Well, balls.

I got nuthin.