Help a noob getting into DIY land

Y

yossarian

New member
Hi,
first post, please go easy if I'm in the wrong section or ask silly questions. I'd be grateful for some help and directions for some of the questions I'm facing right now. I'm sure I will soon have many more questions though...

I'd like to start DIY because I want to find out more about how the circuits work, what the components actually do, experiment with values, etc. Ultimately I also want to build good sounding pedals, but for the time being I'm less concerned with actually finishing a pedal project. Overall I'm most interested in boosts, overdrive and fuzz pedals. I play blues, bluesrock, classic rock at home.

1) I wonder whether soldering DIY kits or rather breadboarding is the best way to start this endeavor. Since I want to experiment primarily I thought about breadboarding but I get the impression that apart from super simple boost circuits things get very confusing on a breadboard real quick.

2) Does it make sense to buy these more fancy breadboards from Coppersound or are the bare ones from Mouser just as good for beginners? What size would you get?

3) I'm leaning towards kits because I find sourcing the parts an almost unsurmountable problem. How do I know whether I need 1/4W or 1/2W or 2W resistors?

4) I thought about starting with an Omega boost (Fuzz Dog) and then a fuzz (Astra or Fuzz Face). What projects would you recommend to get these "ahhh, that's how it works" - lightbulb moments?

5) Where should I look for transistors? Ebay is somewhat overwhelming and the dealers I've checked sell single transistors and I don't know how to find two that make a good pair for a fuzz face for example.

Thanks!
 
yossarian said:
Hi,
first post, please go easy if I'm in the wrong section or ask silly questions. I'd be grateful for some help and directions
Click to expand...

i suggest reading through this recent thread:

collecting all right components?

But... that's the point of "pre-tinned pre-bonded stranded"... you don't have to pre-tin. AND it stays where you route it, almost as good as solid-core. ohhhh that stuff (topcoat?) is the bees knees, but only like 2 people in the world seem to ever stock it
forum.pedalpcb.com forum.pedalpcb.com
 
Kits are great to get started quickly, and get some nice stompboxes without too much efforts. Just following the instructions, without thinking too much, can be attractive sometimes.

Often the circuit won't work at the first try, so you will have your chance to learn about electronics while debugging it, with the help of kind forumites.

You can add some personnal modifications to most circuits (toggleswitches changing values here and there, etc.), that's also a good way to learn.

Building circuits on veroboard is also quite easy once you get the hang of it. It's cheaper, and useful for small circuits that don't really need a real pcb. It's also useful when there isn't any pcb available for your project. No kits available, so you'll have to manage with what you've got.
Here is an exemple :
dirtboxlayouts.blogspot.com

Guyatone PS-024 Distortion H

Guyatone realeased some very interesting, innovative and good sounding circuits in the 80s. Since they are sadly overlooked and quite rare, ...
dirtboxlayouts.blogspot.com dirtboxlayouts.blogspot.com

If you like to build things and get your hands dirty, there's also perfboard builds. Basically, you solder all the parts on a board, and do all the connections yourself with braided wires, or components legs, etc. creating your own pcb from scratch.
In my experience, it's the most satisfying way of building stompboxes, this is some real craftmanship.

Here is an exemple :

Pictures! - Page 1482

Pictures! - Page 1482
www.diystompboxes.com
 
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Awesome! I love forums! 5 minutes in and I have tons of valuable material. Thanks!

So, any breadboard will do then? How much would you invest in a soldering iron?
 
There is a LOT of reading…. every question you have or haven’t even thought about yet has probably been asked multiple times in different threads here alone. Do some digging, and if you can’t find the info you are looking for just ask l, someone will always point you in the right direction.. my advice is read, read, read, then read some more.
 
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Good choice to get into DIY!

Since you're already thinking along the lines of starting with a kit, I say go with it. It will save the hassle of sourcing parts and allow you to focus on the building process first. That's how I started. After a couple of kits, then I started figuring out how to source my own parts.

As for breadboard, you don't need a fancy one. I'd recommend a standard 830 point one to get started. It looks like those fancy ones are just charging you extra $40 to attach jacks.

For a starting project, for building, focus on something that you'll want to actually use. For breadboarding, just start with simple buffers, boosters, and fuzzes.

For transistors, use tayda, stompboxparts, antique electric supply, mouser, or smallbear. Stay away from ebay or amazon unless you can do a lot of vetting of the vendor.
 
Welcome first of all! Everyone above has great suggestions. Depending on where you’re located, Tayda will be your one stop shop when just starting out for components. They also carry breadboards and other electronic paraphernalia.

The Test Kitchen forum here is a great way to get into breadboarding and figuring out how stuff works. That’s the application side of things. Don’t know your EE knowledge (self taught here), but basic theory will go a loooooooong way on the breadboard. The resources thread in the kitchen has some great links.

TUTORIAL - What is a Breadboard and Why Do I Need One?

Hi Everyone! Welcome to "The Test Kitchen"! If you've opened this thread it probably means you're thinking one of two things: "What the heck is 'The Test Kitchen' and/or 'I'm kinda new around here and would love to brush up on my circuit knowledge/building skills'". Here is a great place to...
forum.pedalpcb.com forum.pedalpcb.com

Resources

Post links to supplies, tools, tutorials, cat videos, that turbo-lift blooper reel. Anything related to breadboarding (makes sense huh?)
forum.pedalpcb.com forum.pedalpcb.com
 
yossarian said:
Awesome! I love forums! 5 minutes in and I have tons of valuable material. Thanks!

So, any breadboard will do then? How much would you invest in a soldering iron?
Click to expand...
I'd recommend a Hakko or Weller, both are sitting at $115 today.



Personally, I like the Weller, but that's because I have an older Weller that's still working great. The Hakko gets a lot of love here so I'm sure it's equally good (even though it looks like a fisher price toy).

Prior to the Weller I had a couple of pen style ones, and I never had great success with them--having a station with variable temperatures is just so much better there's no comparison.

Check out https://forum.pedalpcb.com/threads/which-soldering-iron-do-you-like.16702/ for other advice.
 
honestly I bought the Hakko knockoffs from Amazon and they work just fine plus you get to choose the tip style that works best for you. I used conical for ages because it was what I had ... then I picked up a chisel tip and used it forever, now I'm liking the bevel tip
 
I got extra tips for the irons I use, and I've yet to need them after several years. I know where I keep them but not with enough specificity to actually find them, should I eventually need them. 🙃 I'd wait and order one when it looks like you're gonna need it, provided there's not a danger of it going obsolete.
 
yossarian said:
Ok, for the iron I'll go with the Hakko. I dig the goofy design. I've often read to get extra tips with your iron. What should I get?
Click to expand...
I like the one that came with the haako. It’s a chisel type. 2.4mm maybe? They can last a long time if you treat em good. Shut it off when you’re not using it, poke it in the brass thing every couple joints, and melt a little blob onto the tip when you’re shutting down for the day. I’m still on my first tip about 30 pedals in.
 
Which brings me to solder... I know many people here prefer the leaded solder but it's kind of banned where I live (France and Germany) and truth be told, with two small kids running around the house I prefer the lead-free stuff. So, which lead-free solder types have worked well in your experience? Which flux produces the least fumes/toxic stuff?
 
yossarian said:
Which brings me to solder... I know many people here prefer the leaded solder but it's kind of banned where I live (France and Germany) and truth be told, with two small kids running around the house I prefer the lead-free stuff. So, which lead-free solder types have worked well in your experience? Which flux produces the least fumes/toxic stuff?
Click to expand...
I used Kester lead free and it worked out pretty well for me. I had tried other brands (don't know which) with less success. Still prefer the leaded stuff though.
 
BuddytheReow said:
Welcome first of all! Everyone above has great suggestions. Depending on where you’re located, Tayda will be your main shop when just starting out for components. They also carry breadboards and other electronic paraphernalia.

The Test Kitchen forum here is a great way to get into breadboarding and figuring out how stuff works. That’s the application side of things. Don’t know your EE knowledge (self taught here), but basic theory will go a loooooooong way on the breadboard. The resources thread in the kitchen has some great links.

TUTORIAL - What is a Breadboard and Why Do I Need One?

Hi Everyone! Welcome to "The Test Kitchen"! If you've opened this thread it probably means you're thinking one of two things: "What the heck is 'The Test Kitchen' and/or 'I'm kinda new around here and would love to brush up on my circuit knowledge/building skills'". Here is a great place to...
forum.pedalpcb.com forum.pedalpcb.com

Resources

Post links to supplies, tools, tutorials, cat videos, that turbo-lift blooper reel. Anything related to breadboarding (makes sense huh?)
forum.pedalpcb.com forum.pedalpcb.com
Click to expand...
FYP

There are no "one stop" shops. 😘
 
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