Problems with My Arcadilator Pedal Build. Would love help :)

[Canadianguitarguy]

First off, this is only my 4th pedal build, so I am a bit of a noob. I was wondering if anyone has ever experienced this and maybe there is something I missed.

So I have my pedal build all wired up. When I turn on the pedal, the LED goes on and off no problem. When it is off, the guitar signal passes through to the amp with no issues. However, when it is on, the pedal kind of works, but it's so quiet that I have to crank the amp all the way up just to hear it. Obviously, it's not usable. I've rewired all the off-board wiring three times, thinking maybe I made a mistake, but I get the same results every time. I will include a picture of my current wiring for reference and also include the pedal's off-board wiring. (sorry it looks so terrible... learning lol)



Wiring Diagram:


PCB:

Maybe you can see something that I don't:

[Link to wiring diagram: https://www.parasitstudio.se/uploads/2/4/4/9/2449159/wiringrev3.pdf]
[Link to build doc: https://www.parasitstudio.se/uploads/2/4/4/9/2449159/arcadiator_3_doc.pdf]

Also, if it's not the off-board wiring, is there something on the PCB itself I can check? I have done voltage tests, and everything seems to be getting power. Anyways, I'm really stumped and looking for a little guidance.

Thanks,

-B

 

[p_wats]

Dumb question, but I assume you've already adjusted the input trimpot for max volume?

 

[Canadianguitarguy]

Dumb question, but I assume you've already adjusted the input trimpot for max volume?

I most definitely have not. Is that this thing? I have play a little bit with it but never fixed the volume issues. Could maybe explain how to check the input trimpot for max volume? sorry i am total noob. Thanks for getting back to me !!

 

[p_wats]

I most definitely have not. Is that this thing? I have play a little bit with it but never fixed the volume issues. Could maybe explain how to check the input trimpot for max volume? sorry i am total noob. Thanks for getting back to me !!

I built one of these for someone else ages ago, but don't recall much now. From the doc it looks like it affects the glitchiness of the signal, so you'd want to strum the guitar and turn the trimpot until you feel it's set where you like it:

The PCB mounted trimmer sets the input sensitivity from very
sensitive and glitchy (with a long sustain) to very gated (with a
shorter sustain). Adjust it until you have a good balance between
sustain and gate.

 

[Canadianguitarguy]

Ok i will try that. So the trimpot is that dial with the arrow on it right?

 

[p_wats]

Ok i will try that. So the trimpot is that dial with the arrow on it right?

Yeah, the blue part marked "input trim" on the board. You can adjust it with a small screw driver and should hear a difference as you play around on the guitar

 

[Canadianguitarguy]

Ok i will try that out again tonight. i was messing with it before and seem to not resolve the issue, but i will definitely try again.

Any other suggestions you'd recommend trying while i have you on the tread ? thanks for all the help

 

[p_wats]

Ok i will try that out again tonight. i was messing with it before and seem to not resolve the issue, but i will definitely try again.

Any other suggestions you'd recommend trying while i have you on the tread ? thanks for all the help

Hmm. It could be the way you've got your power wired. Do you have a multimeter to measure voltage and check continuity?

See the empty 9v and Ground contacts you have at the top of the board? I'm curious if you need to connect those to power/ground or of the switch connections are enough on this board. Often a 9v connection to the switch like that is meant to feed the onboard bypass LED, so it may be going through a current limiting resistor and not actually powering the rest of the board.

Alternatively, you could just wire those two empty connections at the top of the board to 9v and ground, to be extra sure the board is getting power. (EDIT: sorry, I see you mentioned everything is getting power, so maybe this doesn't matter)

 

[p_wats]

Otherwise I would recommend posting a photo of the bottom side of the board too, so we can see the solder joints, etc. Could be a bridge somewhere

 

[Canadianguitarguy]

Is this what you mean by : " Alternatively, you could just wire those two empty connections at the top of the board to 9v and ground, to be extra sure the board is getting power. (EDIT: sorry, I see you mentioned everything is getting power, so maybe this doesn't matter)"

 

[Canadianguitarguy]

I also watched this video of this dudes acradiator build (

) and it appears he like the 9v and G holes open


.. but its also hard to tell cause he posted the video at 1000x speed lol . Appreciate all the advise though. I got lots to explore tonight i think

 

[Canadianguitarguy]

ok took out the PCB : here's is a bunch of photos of soldering. I can't seem to find anything wrong but maybe you can see something that i don't

 

[p_wats]

Ok, great. A few things:

- In the second picture of the board, it looks like a few of those offboard wiring connections may not actually be soldered in---are they?

- Those pots look to have no shielding on the backs of them (sometimes called pot-condoms or dust seals)---is it touching any of the solder joints beneath them? That would very likely cause issues.

- You mentioned taking voltage measurements: does that mean you have a multimeter and know how to use it (to check continuity between points, for example)?

 

[Canadianguitarguy]

ah thanks for the reply. I did resolder some of the off board wiring wiring you mentioned. I checked out the pots (the volume, rate, width etc) didn't notice any of them touching. Does the shielding need to be in to be working? Regarding the multimeter, i have limited experience, i have done continuity test and just voltage readings. To be honest i am not entirely sure what i am looking for . Would you know any good references for working with the multimeter on the PCB i would love how to use it more effectively.

 

[p_wats]

ah thanks for the reply. I did resolder some of the off board wiring wiring you mentioned. I checked out the pots (the volume, rate, width etc) didn't notice any of them touching. Does the shielding need to be in to be working? Regarding the multimeter, i have limited experience, i have done continuity test and just voltage readings. To be honest i am not entirely sure what i am looking for . Would you know any good references for working with the multimeter on the PCB i would love how to use it more effectively.

Personally, I would at least put a piece of card stock or electrical tape or something between the back of the pots and the board. Non-covered pots shorting against the board is a common issue in support threads, for sure.

As for using your multimeter in continuity test mode it's pretty simple: touch the test leads together and they will beep, showing they have continuity between them. You can then touch different points on the board to see if they do as well (if you touch two spots on the board and your meter beeps that means those spots are connected).

Easy example: touch one lead to a point on the board marked "G" for ground, then touch the other lead to another "G" connection and they should beep, as the grounds will likely be connected.

You can then try the same thin with those two 9V points on the board (See the next post---I was able to test this myself)

All else fails, I would double check that each resistor is the right value (you can use your meter in resistance or ohm mode to measure these, but sometimes measuring when they are soldered into a circuit won't give the expected value, so you can use the coloured bands on the resistor itself to tell you what value it is---just search "resistor colour codes" or similar). I can't count the number of times I've accidentally put a 10K resistor instead of a 10R, etc.

 

[p_wats]

Would you believe I forgot I actually bought an extra Arcadiator board and just haven't built it yet?

I was able to confirm there is continuity between the two 9V connections on the board, so you're all good there.

 

[Canadianguitarguy]

Would you believe I forgot I actually bought an extra Arcadiator board and just haven't built it yet?

I was able to confirm there is continuity between the two 9V connections on the board, so you're all good there.

awesome,, maybe you can just make a build tuitorial a I added the pot condoms to the back of the pots. did a little continuity test. I strangely feel like it may me an issue with the output and input... but not 100% i know they always come with those washers and i am never sure the correct way to install them. I usually just mess with them until they start working lol ... do you know the correct way ? is in input/washer/enclosure (like first photo) or does the washer on on the outside of the enclosure like the second photo?

sorry for all the question ! I kind just keep trying until it work lol ... i'm way too stubborn to quit. Thanks for all the feedback this is definitely the place to be

 

[p_wats]

awesome,, maybe you can just make a build tuitorial a I added the pot condoms to the back of the pots. did a little continuity test. I strangely feel like it may me an issue with the output and input... but not 100% i know they always come with those washers and i am never sure the correct way to install them. I usually just mess with them until they start working lol ... do you know the correct way ? is in input/washer/enclosure (like first photo) or does the washer on on the outside of the enclosure like the second photo?

sorry for all the question ! I kind just keep trying until it work lol ... i'm way too stubborn to quit. Thanks for all the feedback this is definitely the place to be

The washer should go on the outside with the nut, but that won't cause any problems. If moving those jacks around does something I would suspect the wiring connections aren't soldered properly. To be honest, it does look like the overall soldering could use some care, but that comes with practice and patience.

 

[Canadianguitarguy]

oh forsure lol .. its a bit of a mess. i've take it apart a few times already lol. It a pretty complicated build for me.. but I'll be over the moon if i can get it to work lol. I may try and redo the jacks later this week if i have time! thanks again. I'll be sure to update the process when i do .... for better or worse haha

I guess one over thing that i forgot to mention was i did break off one of the IC Chips and managed to solder it back on.. and that would be my next place to check maybe need to buy a new 4070CD IC .... but im hoping not.

 

[p_wats]

oh forsure lol .. its a bit of a mess. i've take it apart a few times already lol. It a pretty complicated build for me.. but I'll be over the moon if i can get it to work lol. I may try and redo the jacks later this week if i have time! thanks again. I'll be sure to update the process when i do .... for better or worse haha

I guess one over thing that i forgot to mention was i did break off one of the IC Chips and managed to solder it back on.. and that would be my next place to check maybe need to buy a new 4070CD IC .... but im hoping not.

Yeah, it's a tricky build with all the board mounted switches, etc. Probably why I haven't bothered with my other board yet!

What do you mean you broke off the IC chip? Does that mean one of the pins came off the chip itself or something with the socket (looks like they are all in sockets, which is good!). Could be a good time to try some continuity testing. Set your meter to continuity mode and touch one probe to the chip pin that broke and the other probe to the place on the board that it should be connected to and listen for the beep

Maybe a pic of the chip issue you're talking about?