sethaberry
New member
With over 50 pedals (ranging from stripboards to kits) and 2 amp builds under my belt, I've finally run into a problem that's got me a bit stumped. I was pumped to build the Caesar, but I'm struggling to get any joy.
Behavior
Everything behaves as it should when bypassed. When powered, the indicator LED is on, but the rate indicator remains unblinking. When the blend knob is set to fully dry, the clean signal comes through as it should. As the blend knob moves towards wet, there is no signal.
What I've Tried
All of the following have been tried since taking the attached pictures.
Slowly tweaking the trim pot.
Reflowed all joints (has worked for 95% of the problems that I've encountered) and scrubbed PCB with alcohol.
A check of component values. I went through each component and confirmed values against the sheet, but if I missed one on install, there's a nonzero chance that I bungled the inspection too.
Some audio probing. I can get the clean signal from input through output. At no point have I heard anything close to a modulated signal. I can get sound coming off a few IC pins.
Switched the 9.1V diode. I wondered if I hadn't put in the right diode, but no behavior change with a confirmed Zener.
Tried new ICs in all positions.
Replaced all transistors.
There is a piece of cardboard and electrical tape underneath the wet/dry pot.
Suspicions
I've used them before, but the 220U capacitor is just 10V.
I tend to use whatever capacitor types that I have on hand, so I'll use an MLCC instead of a box film if I have the value already. It isn't something that's ever given me an issue, but stranger things, I suppose.
There's a trace broken somewhere.
I've got a misvalued component somewhere and I just haven't caught it.
I've followed a few other posts similar to this, but haven't had any luck with the suggested fixes. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Behavior
Everything behaves as it should when bypassed. When powered, the indicator LED is on, but the rate indicator remains unblinking. When the blend knob is set to fully dry, the clean signal comes through as it should. As the blend knob moves towards wet, there is no signal.
What I've Tried
All of the following have been tried since taking the attached pictures.
Slowly tweaking the trim pot.
Reflowed all joints (has worked for 95% of the problems that I've encountered) and scrubbed PCB with alcohol.
A check of component values. I went through each component and confirmed values against the sheet, but if I missed one on install, there's a nonzero chance that I bungled the inspection too.
Some audio probing. I can get the clean signal from input through output. At no point have I heard anything close to a modulated signal. I can get sound coming off a few IC pins.
Switched the 9.1V diode. I wondered if I hadn't put in the right diode, but no behavior change with a confirmed Zener.
Tried new ICs in all positions.
Replaced all transistors.
There is a piece of cardboard and electrical tape underneath the wet/dry pot.
Suspicions
I've used them before, but the 220U capacitor is just 10V.
I tend to use whatever capacitor types that I have on hand, so I'll use an MLCC instead of a box film if I have the value already. It isn't something that's ever given me an issue, but stranger things, I suppose.
There's a trace broken somewhere.
I've got a misvalued component somewhere and I just haven't caught it.
I've followed a few other posts similar to this, but haven't had any luck with the suggested fixes. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
