Modded Micro POG

[Hexjibber]

Quite proud of this one so thought I would share with you guys..

Its a modded Micro POG (mod here) which I thought I would give a new box job while I was in there!

The mod is really useful for me as I mainly use two settings on this pedal when playing live so the channel switch swaps between the two rows of pots, effectively giving you two presets. I'd seen the JHS mod and a few other similar ones so decided to see if it was DIY-able and turned out to be the case! I can't say I enjoyed the process all that much, lots of nerve wracking desoldering, wondering if I'd destroyed the thing and then a boat load of fiddly wiring for the actual mod. To say I was relieved when it worked first time is an understatement!

Etched with NaOH/Caustic Soda/Lye and painted, really happy with how it came out in the end.

 

[Barry]

Box looks great

 

[HamishR]

OMG! I can certainly understand your nerves. Well done!

 

[Hexjibber]

Box looks great

Cheers Barry!

 

[Hexjibber]

OMG! I can certainly understand your nerves. Well done!

Thanks!

 

[untamedfrontier]

I have a micro pog as well and have always been curious about this mod, I can definitely see how nerve wracking that would be.

What guide did you follow for doing the mod?

I wonder if this could be done also using the PPCB Relay channel switching mode...now that would be extra cool

 

[Hexjibber]

I have a micro pog as well and have always been curious about this mod, I can definitely see how nerve wracking that would be.

What guide did you follow for doing the mod?

I wonder if this could be done also using the PPCB Relay channel switching mode...now that would be extra cool

I used this layout;

Micro POG Dual Control [modification]

Collection of vero (stripboard) & tagboard layouts for 100s of popular guitar effects, with over 1000 verified designs. DIY your own boutique effects!

tagboardeffects.blogspot.com

The diagram specs 10kC pots but if you read down the comments you can see people have had better results using linear taper. The value you need depends on the version of the POG you have, some have 5k pots in which case you need 10kB, or as was the case with mine it had 10k pots so I used 20kB and it works as expected.

In essence the mod itself is simple but for me the nervous part was monkeying around with that PCB in the knowledge that if I really messed it up it would be toast and I'd have no idea how to fix it, would have been an expensive mistake! I imagine people more adept than me wouldn't be fazed but SMD combined with DSP is all still a dark art to me!

 

[Esben]

Hey @Hexjibber I am doing this mod inspired by you! Do you have a picture of the other side of the PCB? It would really help me and maybe others. I have it planned out, but I am not sure I have the best solution mapped out

 

[Hexjibber]

Hey @Hexjibber I am doing this mod inspired by you! Do you have a picture of the other side of the PCB? It would really help me and maybe others. I have it planned out, but I am not sure I have the best solution mapped out

Hey Esben, I just had a look through my phone but looks like I only took the one gut shot, sorry! If you follow the wiring instructions in the Tagboard Effects link above carefully then you should be ok, it's relatively simple. The hardest bit I found was desoldering things but that was back when I had a really cheap soldering iron, since buying a Hakko that sort of stuff is so much easier now!

 

[JamieJ]

 

[Feral Feline]

I missed the OP when it first dropped, but I'd like to say:

That's the best-looking Micro-POG I've ever seen.

Always wanted one, this pushes the GAS pedal to the metal...

 

[Esben]

Hey Esben, I just had a look through my phone but looks like I only took the one gut shot, sorry! If you follow the wiring instructions in the Tagboard Effects link above carefully then you should be ok, it's relatively simple. The hardest bit I found was desoldering things but that was back when I had a really cheap soldering iron, since buying a Hakko that sort of stuff is so much easier now!

Thanks for checking anyways! Can I just ask you. The dry A, sub A and up A pots are all soldered to the PCB right? So the wiring in the instructions are in addition to the dry A, sub A and up A pots being soldered to the PCB? And where did you solder to ground? On the DC jack? I am used to very detailed instructions when soldering, hehe. Cheers!

 

[Hexjibber]

I missed the OP when it first dropped, but I'd like to say:

That's the best-looking Micro-POG I've ever seen.

Always wanted one, this pushes the GAS pedal to the metal...

Thanks! I love this pedal tbh, it's never left my board so would definitely recommend it!

 

[Hexjibber]

So the wiring in the instructions are in addition to the dry A, sub A and up A pots being soldered to the PCB?

Yes that's right, to the corresponding pads listed on the diagram, I seem to remember being a bit confused by that as it wasn't shown in the actual diagram.

And where did you solder to ground?

I can't quite remember tbh, sorry it's all a bit vague in my memory! I think it might have been the underside of the board on a ground pad that was left behind after I removed the old DC jack. If I remember correctly there are two ground pads for it so one went to the new DC jack and the other I used for the off board ground. I recall checking continuity with my DMM to make sure the pad was connected the ground so I think it was that.

EDIT: Just found an underside board shot from another POG and you can see the three pads for the DC jack so fairly certain I used one of them.

 

[Esben]

Yes that's right, to the corresponding pads listed on the diagram, I seem to remember being a bit confused by that as it wasn't shown in the actual diagram.

I can't quite remember tbh, sorry it's all a bit vague in my memory! I think it might have been the underside of the board on a ground pad that was left behind after I removed the old DC jack. If I remember correctly there are two ground pads for it so one went to the new DC jack and the other I used for the off board ground. I recall checking continuity with my DMM to make sure the pad was connected the ground so I think it was that.

Thank you so much for answers! I am waiting for the last parts to ship now. Such a useful mod. Out of curiosity, why did you remove the old DC jack? Made it easier to work with when it is not mounted directly to the PCB perhaps?

 

[Hexjibber]

Thank you so much for answers! I am waiting for the last parts to ship now. Such a useful mod. Out of curiosity, why did you remove the old DC jack? Made it easier to work with when it is not mounted directly to the PCB perhaps?

No problem, happy to help if I can! The main reason for me was that I was using and drilling a new box so I could do the etch (this is actually the second time I've rehoused it!) and I don't have anything like a Dremel to be able to cut square holes to fit the original DC jack so was just easier for me to replace it with the type I normally use.

 

[Esben]

No problem, happy to help if I can! The main reason for me was that I was using and drilling a new box so I could do the etch (this is actually the second time I've rehoused it!) and I don't have anything like a Dremel to be able to cut square holes to fit the original DC jack so was just easier for me to replace it with the type I normally use.

Ahh, i see. So you rehoused the whole thing. I was wondering where that footswitch hole went Sick artwork by the way, very impressive!

 

[Hexjibber]

Ahh, i see. So you rehoused the whole thing. I was wondering where that footswitch hole went Sick artwork by the way, very impressive!

Thanks! Yeah my old rehouse job had started to get pretty battered so decided to treat it to a new box! It looked like this in a former life after I etched the original box;

 

[Esben]

Thanks! Yeah my old rehouse job had started to get pretty battered so decided to treat it to a new box! It looked like this in a former life after I etched the original box;

Nice, I really like those impossible triangles! I don't have the skills to do that so I might just paint the box in a plain colour. I have to figure out what to do with the big hole after I move the footswich though.

 

[Hexjibber]

Nice, I really like those impossible triangles! I don't have the skills to do that so I might just paint the box in a plain colour. I have to figure out what to do with the big hole after I move the footswich though.

You could get one of those 10mm LEDs or an amp jewel light which would fit there pretty well I reckon