So I thought I would stop hijacking
@philtre 's thread and start my own for my pedal building stuff.
I got some stuff together over the last couple of days and I'm ready to get started. I've gone down a slightly different route from Phil and started off with a couple of PCB kits from FuzzDog. To get my soldering hand back in, since I haven't soldered anything more than a pickup swap in years, I thought I'd start with something very simple, so I have knocked up a little tester to allow me to power, switch and get a signal in and out of builds.
And here it is:
I forgotten just how fiddly soldering small parts on a PCB could be. The strip connector at the front is for connecting ribbon cable from FuzzDog direct connect compatible kits, whereas I can use the blue terminals to attach wires from other builds. The obvious downside of this setup compared to Phil's breadboard system is that there's no pots, so I either have to attach the pots first or double this with a breadboard for pots.
Nothing exciting so far - next up will be a pedal circuit. Another PCB kit from FuzzDog.
Comments
I connect the pots before testing too especially if you’re building a fuzzdog kit you’ll have pcb mount pots so super easy to install and difficult to get wrong vs pots on vero builds.
One advantage of the FD tester board that my breadboard tester doesn't have is the stomp switch. I recently finished a pedal build where it was popping when the stomp was switched on and off. Turned out that the output cap was the wrong way around on the layout diagram and I had to swap a cap out. The FD tester board would have caught that before I'd boxed it.
At some point I want to build a pedal kit with PCB mounted pots, but I'm nervous about lining up the pots with the drilled holes in the enclosure, so I'd appreciate any tips on that.
I will be connecting the pots on these kits first, since they are PCB mounted. I quite like the idea of trying the trim pot/breadboard thing for future Vero builds so I can experiment with different pot values etc.
I was a bit worried about that too, but the included Hammond enclosures came predrilled. The FD kits have a drill template in the instructions but not sure how good it is.
As to lining up pots/switches etc I drill my enclosure
Put my pots and switches in and tighten them down on the top of the enclosure
Hopefully that makes sense.
I got the main part of the board put together:
Hooked it up to my little test setup, attached the battery, plugged in the guitar and connected it to my amp, and... It didn't work!
A condor moment and a quick check revealed that I had the board 'upside down', i.e. I had connected the ribbon cable to the test rig backwards, so the V and G terminals were reversed, so I switched it round and YAY it works! I only had it plugged into my little Blackstar Fly 3 battery amp as it was handy to have on the table, but this thing seems to have a lot of gain. Looking forward to getting it all wired up properly and having a go in my proper amps - I reckon it would work ok as a clean boost, but would also break up an amp nicely. I'll report back once it's all finished.
I'm not going to bother finishing the enclosure just yet - this is a pretty basic circuit and I'm undecided whether I will keep it as yet so didn't want to 'waste' an enclosure that I could use for a better build. That said, if I do like it, I can always dismantle it and finish the enclosure another time.
I've also started wiring up the switching daughterboard and started wiring it into the enclosure but haven't got pics of that yet. Hopefully get this one finished tomorrow Really finding this enjoyable and a great way to pass time.
I was also pleasantly interrupted by various posties and couriers throughout the day bringing me all sorts of goodies from bits box, RS and CPC. Got plenty to be getting on with over the coming days and weeks. Keeping an eye out for a code for Tayda too, so would appreciate a shout if anyone sees one pop up in case I miss it.
Very sensible tip. My test box is pretty battered looking now after a few years of being used and abused but still going strong.
Tayda enclosures work at at just under £4 a pop, so you could "waste" a couple of those if needed. My last one was light blue, but I messed up the Envirotex mix and had to scrape it all off and sand it down. A quick respray with a can of Halfords "Kia White" car spray and I was back in the game.
Tayda just had a 15% discount code finishing on 2nd April. Reckon they'll do another before the month's out. I'll keep an eye out for you.
BTW - I've learnt more from my cock-ups than when things went perfectly. ;-)
Just going off bitsbox prices a bare 1590b is £7.90
https://www.bitsbox.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=185_187&products_id=2070
Whereas a red powder coated enclosure is only £11.33
https://www.bitsbox.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=185_187&products_id=2133
Unless you particularly like the painting process it’s just not worth it IMO.
If you want something a bit special head over to Banzai who have a ton of different colours for about £11 each though it’s worth buying a few at a time as postage is about £7 or £8.
https://www.banzaimusic.com/Enclosure-B-Antique-Gold-Bulk.html
And my personal favourites black sparkle and vintage orange sparkle
https://www.banzaimusic.com/Enclosure-B-Black-Sparkle-Bulk.html
https://www.banzaimusic.com/Enclosure-B-Vintage-Orange-Sparkle-Bulk.html