Where did I go wrong...

B

bokchoi1124

New member
This is my first pedal build ever. I thought I followed all the instructions but it's clearly not working😅 When it's not engaged it's bypassed properly but when engaged, the LED doesn't turn on and the effect itself does not turn on/engage and so twisting the knobs does absolutely nothing. Anyone know where I can start troubleshooting from? I was making the Closed ciruit booster limiter. (Also i didn't space things properly so that's why my input outputs are on the bottom😅)
 

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Erik S said:
Pretty confusing to look at with everything kinda upside down like that!

If I’m looking at it right I think the pots and the ICs are both mounted to the board upside down for starters.
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Oh my goodness... does that mean I gotta take them all out and flip them onto the other side of the pcb... I thought the word side would be the side I place them on🤣
 
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bokchoi1124 said:
Oh my goodness... does that mean I gotta take them all out and flip them onto the other side of the pcb... I thought the word side would be the side I place them on🤣
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Nope, you got them on the right sides at least!

If you look at the holes where the ICs mount, there’s a square pad for pin 1. That’s the pin on the IC where the dot is.

Those would need to get desoldered, do a 180 and go back in.

The two pots at the edge of the board should be hanging off the edge. That’s how I know they’re 180 off too. I assume the third pot is the same.

Desoldering is always a bummer, and unfortunately ICs and pots are some of the hardest things to desolder.

Maybe search the forum for the pcb you’re working on and see if there are some pics of finished ones for an idea how they would normally be assembled.

Also, IC sockets would have been very handy in your situation.
 
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Erik S said:
There’s a nice looking one to go off in case my explanation didn’t make sense.

View attachment 114085

Cybercow

Thread '"STORM" Closed Circuit Booster Limiter'

Another nice surprise from @Robert. The "Closed Circuit Booster Limiter". Who knew such a great utility pedal existed? Not me. Anyway, here's my build out of it.

Storm_Boost_Done_02.JPG Storm_Boost_Done_03.JPG Storm_Boost_Guts_Done_01.jpg
  • Like
  • This ROCKS!
  • Love
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Thank you so much! This helps a lot the visual is really helpful. Do you think the pots would still work just in reverse if i kept them as is?
 
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bokchoi1124 said:
Thank you so much! This helps a lot the visual is really helpful. Do you think the pots would still work just in reverse if i kept them as is?
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Probably would work but the function would be backwards, terms of the sweep of the pot.
bokchoi1124 said:
I don't have another one but hopefully I can get this one out and just solder it back in. To be sure, the IC is the black rectangular box right?
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Yep the black box with 8 legs is the IC. Also, if you are going to start building more pedals, I highly recommend getting some IC sockets. Especially some 8 pin sockets. That will cover a majority of your builds and you can double them for 16 pin ICs.
 
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chongmagic said:
Probably would work but the function would be backwards, terms of the sweep of the pot.

Yep the black box with 8 legs is the IC. Also, if you are going to start building more pedals, I highly recommend getting some IC sockets. Especially some 8 pin sockets. That will cover a majority of your builds and you can double them for 16 pin ICs.
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To add to that. I would get the machine pin sockets with the circular holes, not the leaf spring type.
 
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chongmagic said:
Probably would work but the function would be backwards, terms of the sweep of the pot.

Yep the black box with 8 legs is the IC. Also, if you are going to start building more pedals, I highly recommend getting some IC sockets. Especially some 8 pin sockets. That will cover a majority of your builds and you can double them for 16 pin ICs.
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Gotcha. For the IC's are they not specific per pedal design? I tried to find the parts with their specific numbered labels when building this but itd be very useful to know if thats doesn't need to be the case.
 
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bokchoi1124 said:
Gotcha. For the IC's are they not specific per pedal design? I tried to find the parts with their specific numbered labels when building this but itd be very useful to know if thats doesn't need to be the case.
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No, the ICs, with numbering or lettering are specific for that circuit, the sockets are what you solder in first, that way you can remove the IC if needed and not have to desolder the legs. There are two main varieties. This one with the milled sockets. 1774397889110.png

Or this one with the metal insertion tabs.

1774397918300.png

I prefer the top version, more durable and better quality.

Hope this helps.
 
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Now that im trying to desolder this IC this wouldve been very helpful... This is literally impossible how am I supposed to do this. Do I have to buy desoldering braid? I'm literally just melting, unmelting, melting, unmelting trying to use a pump but the solder literally instantly cools so i cant even use the pump... What do i do🤣
 
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chongmagic said:
No, the ICs, with numbering or lettering are specific for that circuit, the sockets are what you solder in first, that way you can remove the IC if needed and not have to desolder the legs. There are two main varieties. This one with the milled sockets. View attachment 114086

Or this one with the metal insertion tabs.

View attachment 114087

I prefer the top version, more durable and better quality.

Hope this helps.
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If I get this, do I not have to solder the IC into this component anyways? Or is this for the sake of not having to solder in the IC and just being able to place it into this item.
 
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bokchoi1124 said:
If I get this, do I not have to solder the IC into this component anyways? Or is this for the sake of not having to solder in the IC and just being able to place it into this item.
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You solder the socket to the PCB, then just place your IC into the socket. Great for changing out ICs in cases where options matter and for troubleshooting.

I'm sure most of us have been where you are before too, don't worry. Slow and steady. Going forward, just be sure to double check part orientation before soldering, as many things need to be put in a certain way
 
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p_wats said:
You solder the socket to the PCB, then just place your IC into the socket. Great for changing out ICs in cases where options matter and for troubleshooting.

I'm sure most of us have been where you are before too, don't worry. Slow and steady. Going forward, just be sure to double check part orientation before soldering, as many things need to be put in a certain way
Click to expand...
Gotcha! This sounds so awesome. If I change out ICs then will it make extremely different sounds based in what I choose?
 
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bokchoi1124 said:
Gotcha! This sounds so awesome. If I change out ICs then will it make extremely different sounds based in what I choose?
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Well... not really, in practice. There might be some special cases where it might be true (and for some FV-1 based digital effect pedals like the Pythagoras, you switch out the EEPROM which holds the code - so in that case it will be extremely different, but it's a very special case).

But most of the you would be changing between different op amps (single or dual), and while there will be differences, they won't be very large. As a general rule of thumb, for gain stage duties you can use a lot of different op amps and they will usually work fine, but that also means they will sound mostly similar. Not always true, but most of the time.

For solder pumps, I've mostly seen two types (although I assume there are others):

The shit kind: https://www.amazon.com/Teenitor-Solder-Sucker-Desoldering-Removal/dp/B0739LXQ6N

And the good kind: https://www.amazon.com/ENGINEER-Engineer-Solder-Suction-SS-03/dp/B0D7Q293KV

Switching from the first type to the second type helped me a lot (even though I use a cheaper Aliexpress version of the second type). The small piece of silicone tube also helps since you can stick it right in there, so you can suck the solder out before it cools. Just need to clean the tube often or it gets filled with solder.

But yes, desoldering sucks, leaded solder makes it easier I believe (lower melting point), but unleaded is not fun. You do get better at it with practice (and a good pump/braid and iron/solder).
 
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