Parentheses Fuzz (Old version) - Boost OK, Octave and Fuzz no

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edoardo94

New member
Hi, I have some problems with the Parentheses Fuzz:
  • The Boost section works perfectly;
  • The Octave section does not work - ON or OFF the sound does not change;
  • The Fuzz section does not work - when it is turned ON the sound disappear.
Some notes to help you to understand:
  • I have not yet istalled the ON/OFF leds for the three sections but placing them at their place they work correctly;
  • I have tried to change the orientation of D2 and D3 (read this in a similar post) but this solution did not changed anything;
  • I have a multimeter and a tester for electronic components (to read values of transistor, diodes and so on) but I have not an oscilloscope;
  • I checked the wiring of the switches so it should not be a problem of wiring.
Some photos here:
https://imgur.com/a/vHEYLYp

Please help me :)
 
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Hi @Chuck D. Bones thanks for replying me!

I removed the two GE diodes to change their orientation and installed four round pin headers: actually the GE diodes are placed in the "wrong" position but thanks to the pin headers I can now turn them as I wish.

Just to be sure: for measuring "Q1 pin 2" I should put the the positive probe on +9V point and the negative probe on the pin 2 of Q1?

If yes:
Q1 pin 2 - 8.72V
Q5 pin 2 - 8.74V

I don't know if it can be useful but the "real" voltage of my power supply is 9.4V
 
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No. Unless otherwise specified, the black minus probe goes to ground and the red plus probe goes to the place we want to measure.

Do the measurement over and report the results.

Where did you get your Ge diodes?
 
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Those are at the low end of the spec, but should not keep the pedal from working.

Inspect all of the solder joints.

Check the voltage on IC1 pin 6.

What happens when you rotate the OCTAVE pot with Octave engaged?
 
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Voltages of IC1:
pin 1 - 6.82V
pin 2 - "strange" started from a value and goes near to 0 (stopped at around 0.07V)
pin 3 - 2.27V
pin 4 - 0.00V
pin 5 - 0.20V
pin 6 - "strange" started from a value and goes near to 0 (stopped at around 0.07V)
pin 7 - 9.14V
pin 8 - 8.07V
 
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t could do with a clean with Isopryl and a toothbrush, there is a few spots where bits of solder & flux are between the pads.

I'm thinking you might have got some of the Transistors a little too HOT as they are very close to the Board
They should be left as long as possible with Minimal Heat. , You need to let them Cool before soldering each leg.
Some people use a Alligator clip on the leg to absorb the Heat.
Once you have built a few pedals you just get Better & Quicker at Soldering a component to the the PCB
 
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Thank you for your help, I'll try to clean a bit with Isopryl in the next days (I don't have it at home and shop are closed for Covid).
If this does not work i could try to remove and check the transistor and substitute them later: Do you think that install pin headers could be a nice idea to prevent transistor from heating too much?
 
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