SOLVED Cataclysm Jr. Hum, no signal

BipolarBear

New member
Hi all, building the cataclysm jr. delay pedal and I’ve encountered a problem. Everything’s all boxed up but I’m just getting a loud hum when I engage the stomp with no signal coming through. Any thoughts on what could be causing this? The bypass is clean and the led turns on correctly. Gut shot and sound clip of the hum below:

64383D0A-C6A5-4212-BB0C-DB072473D072.jpeg
(The floating washer on the stomp was for grounding the enclosure before I replaced the isolated jacks with normal ones. It doesn’t seem to be the problem seeing as it’s not touching anything, but who knows?)

Cataclysm Jr. Hum Recording

What do you guys think?
 
Your in/out jacks are wired in reverse. Àlso, what's happening under that heat shrink tubing at the footswitch? You might want to just cut it away as it's not doing what it was designed for and could cause problems if heated.
Just switched em and tested it, now the box doesn’t turn on at all... could there be another problem?
Also, the heat shrink was out of hope that it would keep the wires from breaking, which I’ve had problems with in the past. This is the first time I’ve used it so I might have gotten a little shrink-happy haha
 
Just to clarify, I was referring to the wires going to the tip and sleeve lugs of your input and output jack, not your DC jack, which may or may not be an issue with the new "doesn't turn on" issue.
It's hard to see some of the wiring, especially concerning the footswitch because of the heatshrink, and I'm not familiar with those DC jacks so it's hard to say, but a continuity test from your DMM will tell you what needs to be where (center pin negative is ground or -, etc).
I feel you on getting heatshrink happy. hehe. But, really it should only be used on single wires in areas to increase stability or shield exposed single wires from potential problems, if at all. It's not super necessary really.

Concerning keeping your wires from breaking, there are a few things you can do to mitigate this happening.
1. pre-tin your exposed stranded wire leads before inserting em into the pads to solder.
2. try to figure out just how much wire you will need to get from point A to point B and add a half inch for good measure.
3. streamlining your build process so you don't spend more time than needed on your offboard wiring, thus causing undo strain and wiggles in sensitive areas.
This may help if you haven't read it as it addresses some of the things I referred to

I would suggest cutting the heatshrink away then taking clear photos of the front and back of the PCB. Make sure to include offboard wiring in the photos and that the underside of the board has been cleaned with isopropyl alcohol so we can get a clear look at the solder pads.
 
Actually on further inspection, is your DC jack grounded to the enclosure? Could you share a product page link or datasheet for that jack? I see metal on metal where it's joined to the enclosure. That might be a problem but it's hard to see. If so, you may need a DC jack that has a shielded housing so that is isolated from the circuit. Something like these

 
I just test
Actually on further inspection, is your DC jack grounded to the enclosure? Could you share a product page link or datasheet for that jack? I see metal on metal where it's joined to the enclosure. That might be a problem but it's hard to see. If so, you may need a DC jack that has a shielded housing so that is isolated from the circuit. Something like this.
https://lovemyswitches.com/thinline-lumberg-dc-power-jack-2-1mm/
or this

I think this might be the problem, I just unboxed it and everything works just fine. I think I might be able to dig out an insulated jack from somewhere, I’ll throw it on and give it a go!
 
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