What’s on *YOUR* workbench?

Helix, Part 2. After getting this thing back together I realized I didn't pull the protective film off of the 12 displays. My initial thought (the lazy side) was "I can live with it". Reality kicked in and I'd never sleep again until it was corrected so the whole thing came apart again...

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This is the backside of the board with all of the switches and displays.

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Those are the tabs of the protective film. Like a worm in my brain it would have slowly eaten away at me...

This thing sounds SO good. Until I try to use it live.

It's a bitch to clean too :cool:
Oh yeah, I’m the same way.

Big long sigh… dammit.
 
Another update on the pedal progress.

Today was the first day of band camp with my high school band so I’ll slowly be getting these done in the mornings and evenings over the next two weeks.

I drilled the hole for the switch on the Son of Ben. There’s just enough room for the switch between the LED and the power jack. I cut the battery tab off the jack and bent the leads out to give a little more space. I’m probably still going to put some electrical tape in there but as of right now nothing is touching.

Next is everyone’s favorite over-priced overdrive, the Kliche. It’s probably getting a gold paint job with graphics similar to the Archer.

The third is the Big Muff Op Amp version. Since that was a Smashing Pumpkins edition, I’m keeping the case orange and it’s going to be Pumpkin Pi.

Still a few more to finish wiring. Hopefully I can hit some cases with primer tomorrow morning.


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Helix, Part 2. After getting this thing back together I realized I didn't pull the protective film off of the 12 displays. My initial thought (the lazy side) was "I can live with it". Reality kicked in and I'd never sleep again until it was corrected so the whole thing came apart again...

View attachment 100522

This is the backside of the board with all of the switches and displays.

View attachment 100523

Those are the tabs of the protective film. Like a worm in my brain it would have slowly eaten away at me...

This thing sounds SO good. Until I try to use it live.

It's a bitch to clean too :cool:
Ah shit, that soon after I sent it to ya it stated acting up?

What the fuckkkk. Whelp. Now I feel bad. Want some free germanium transistors, tested and labeled for gain an leakage?

Cause I got...like...a bunch. NPN, PNP. Name the type, leakage, and gain. Name it brotha.
 
Na, but thanks Stick. Was working perfectly fine when I got it and used it for quite a while before the bottom row multi color rings started to crap out. I’ve had enough Line6 gear to know the switches will crap out over time but they can usually be salvaged. LEDs got the best of me though.

Even with the repair this was still a great deal.
 
Scored these two well used cs9 chorus pedals. They don’t work but they were free so I figured they are worth checking out. They are both complete besides a battery snap on one. I am hoping I can get at least one working.
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Clean it all with isopropyl. Check your connection rooms, maybe new input jack and 1/4” jacks. Get some voltage readings if no magic smoke comes out.
 
Another day, another couple pedals wired and working. I didn’t get to paint today but I have eight cases ready to go in the morning.

First is the Van Pelt. I think I’m keeping the paint stock, yellow with some black.

Second the Low Baller. I built this one for the bass rig but after demo, there might be a guitar use for this as well. Paint will be local team colors.

Third is the always sexy 6 Band EQ. Knob colors pretty much do it all.

I still have 2 more boards to wire up but they will have to wait. I have time in the morning to hit the other 8 cases with primer and maybe some color before band camp resumes.
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Main reason I ain't looking at a peak atlas: I don't trust the instantaneous measurements those things take.

+1 You are not wrong.

My DCA75 misidentifies zener diodes. It is confident that my 1N4678 1.8V zener diodes are actually 3.3V. This isn't intermittent, borderline, or the occasional hiccup.... it insists. I can't recall the other voltages it has misidentified off the top of my head, but there have been others.

So, I bought the ZEN50... It's only purpose is to measure diodes, zener diodes specifically. Yeah, I agree, it seems silly to spend that kind of cash on a meter that I'll use so rarely, and on a single type of component.... but I need to trust my test equipment, so it'll be worth it.

I had visions of myself smiling like the kids in the toy section of the Sears catalog while hooking up my zener diodes and viewing the voltage with ease! Oh how this wonderful gadget is going to save me tens of minutes per year, I can't believe I've waited this long to buy one!

Except that son of a bitch thinks they're 3.3V too....

So for now (and possibly from now on), all of my zener diode testing will continue the way I've always done it.... A DC power supply, current limiting resistor, and DMM.

I had an old DMM modified for the task many years ago, but the other folks at the shop were uncomfortable with the AC cord that had to be plugged in to supply enough voltage for some of the higher voltage zeners we worked with.

Maybe one day I'll build a gadget like yours.
 
My DCA75 misidentifies zener diodes. It is confident that my 1N4678 1.8V zener diodes are actually 3.3V. This isn't intermittent, borderline, or the occasional hiccup.... it insists. I can't recall the other voltages it has misidentified off the top of my head, but there have been others.
Curious . . . . have you updated the DCA75's firmware?
 
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