andrewcx13
New member
So I decided to take up pedal building during the pandemic. I'll spare you all the long story version and cut to the chase.
Out of 20 pedals I have built, 9 of them do not function as they should.
Yep, not great numbers I know.
I've lurked here for a bit, learned what I could, and now I'm stuck on how to actively troubleshoot these and what the next steps are.
I'm only going to present 3 of them here as the issue with one is the same across most of them, so I'm hoping it's something stupid on my part and I can move these into the done pile.
So disclaimer, I have a breadboard set up to test the boards before I install them into the cases. I can promise you, a hundred times over that the input jacks were wired correctly, the 9v dc was wired correctly and the switch was connected correctly in all of these cases. 11 of these worked just fine, 10 on first power up.
Pedal 1 - ADHD - the one with the pink led
I know this has a funky jack wiring, and I originally did wire it wrong, but I fixed my mistake.
Bypass signal is fine. With the effect engaged the output is super low. LED lights up as well.
I've reflowed all the joints, ran a craft knife between the solder joints to make sure there were no unseen shorts.
I'm at a loss for the moment.
Pictures
Yes I know, I need to get a tooth brush to clean some flux.
Pedal 2 - Caesar
This one is odd. So I'm building two of these, and both don't function for different reasons.
The one in these pictures I originally plugged in and powered up and heard the chorusy goodness, albeit distorted. I turned one of the knobs and then the magic was gone. I've tried the trim pot a bunch, to no avail. The bypass work, and with the effect on, the signal passes through without issue as well. The leds all light up, the rate led changes with the turning of the knob, and the two leds by the toggle, also keep rate with the rate knob's movement. the blend knob basically tapers the signal off to ground when the internal trim pot is turned to one extreme, and when turned to the other, it allows the clean signal to bypass until it hits this spot which sends the whole signal into distortion and static.
Pictures
Pedal 3 - Awful Waffle
So I've got three of these that I'm building. None of them work.
Like a majority of the rest of the ones that are on my does not work pile, this one has a very specific symptom. Bypass works just fine, and the led lights up when the effect is engaged. With the effect engaged, there is only a high pitched whine that the tone can be manipulated by the volume pot. I've got 4 others that do the exact same thing, so I'm assuming this is something stupid on my part, but at this point I need a second set of eyes to see what it is I'm doing wrong.
Pictures
I have a multimeter, though not sure how to utilize it to troubleshoot these issues. More than happy to learn, if there is advice or guides for me to read.
thank you for your help!
Out of 20 pedals I have built, 9 of them do not function as they should.
Yep, not great numbers I know.
I've lurked here for a bit, learned what I could, and now I'm stuck on how to actively troubleshoot these and what the next steps are.
I'm only going to present 3 of them here as the issue with one is the same across most of them, so I'm hoping it's something stupid on my part and I can move these into the done pile.
So disclaimer, I have a breadboard set up to test the boards before I install them into the cases. I can promise you, a hundred times over that the input jacks were wired correctly, the 9v dc was wired correctly and the switch was connected correctly in all of these cases. 11 of these worked just fine, 10 on first power up.
Pedal 1 - ADHD - the one with the pink led
I know this has a funky jack wiring, and I originally did wire it wrong, but I fixed my mistake.
Bypass signal is fine. With the effect engaged the output is super low. LED lights up as well.
I've reflowed all the joints, ran a craft knife between the solder joints to make sure there were no unseen shorts.
I'm at a loss for the moment.
Pictures
File_000.jpeg
drive.google.com
File_001.jpeg
drive.google.com
File_002.jpeg
drive.google.com
File_004.jpeg
drive.google.com
File_005.jpeg
drive.google.com
Yes I know, I need to get a tooth brush to clean some flux.
Pedal 2 - Caesar
This one is odd. So I'm building two of these, and both don't function for different reasons.
The one in these pictures I originally plugged in and powered up and heard the chorusy goodness, albeit distorted. I turned one of the knobs and then the magic was gone. I've tried the trim pot a bunch, to no avail. The bypass work, and with the effect on, the signal passes through without issue as well. The leds all light up, the rate led changes with the turning of the knob, and the two leds by the toggle, also keep rate with the rate knob's movement. the blend knob basically tapers the signal off to ground when the internal trim pot is turned to one extreme, and when turned to the other, it allows the clean signal to bypass until it hits this spot which sends the whole signal into distortion and static.
Pictures
File_008.jpeg
drive.google.com
File_009.jpeg
drive.google.com
Pedal 3 - Awful Waffle
So I've got three of these that I'm building. None of them work.
Like a majority of the rest of the ones that are on my does not work pile, this one has a very specific symptom. Bypass works just fine, and the led lights up when the effect is engaged. With the effect engaged, there is only a high pitched whine that the tone can be manipulated by the volume pot. I've got 4 others that do the exact same thing, so I'm assuming this is something stupid on my part, but at this point I need a second set of eyes to see what it is I'm doing wrong.
Pictures
File_009.jpeg
drive.google.com
File_007.jpeg
drive.google.com
I have a multimeter, though not sure how to utilize it to troubleshoot these issues. More than happy to learn, if there is advice or guides for me to read.
thank you for your help!
