Apollo tremolo buzz

[Anonymous]

Hi. I’m having some fun building effects pedals. This is my tenth so far.

Apollo tremelo sounds great. All pots work as intended but it buzzes.

Bypass good….no buzz

Effect on…buzz in time with LED. Although effect can be heard.

The only thing I can think of is the bi colour CA LED.

I wired it so the red flashes when the effect is on.

Would this cause the buzz?

 

[Anonymous]

[Playsforfun]

Hello Shaneo. I will answer your question with a maybe. I’ve had my share of bad parts and bad connections, and most were found after the build was completed. It definitely happens. In this case you will have to tell us. Everyone will tell you to reflow any solder joints that aren’t perfect, and to triple check your component values. That said, Try a new led or no led. Try a new depth pot. Maybe it has a bad connection within. Ive had plenty of faulty switches too. You could jumper the switch lugs with an alligator clip real quick. For power use a battery and a dc adapter, both, to see if there is a difference/problem, but use a battery for sure to eliminate possible outside noise. Also make sure your r10 value is correct at 330 ohms. Please report back. Others may have some advise to give.

[Anonymous]

UPDATE…

So the buzz drove me crazy. Crazy enough to buy another kit and start from scratch.

I did resolder the original Apollo to no avail.

So onto the second Apollo. Let’s call it Apollo ll. I put it together being super careful with the soldering. Bought a Weller soldering station so I can dial my temperature in. I find 380 degrees Celsius seems to work. Anyway I digress.

Apollo ll has the exact same buzz as Apollo l. Bypass works-no buzz. Effect works but buzzes in time with LFO/LED. I’ve adjusted the trim pot for optimum tremolo (around 12 o’clock on both)

So I’ve made the same mistake on both. Makes me think it’s a wiring issue?

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[Barry]

Any time there is a buzz you should always test the unit with a battery.

This eliminates a lot of wild goose chases. I took a quick look above and did not see a mention of a battery.

Anyway 8 times out of 10 there is no noise when powered by a battery which is very revealing.

I am also not sure what is going on here:

I hope that helps.

[Chuck]

I had a different tremolo with a buzz that drove me nuts for a long time. Turned out the Gain trimmer was up too high. I’d check that after I tested it with a battery.

Chuck

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies.

I have omitted the gain trimmer (Barry’s enlarged photo) because I’m using an external gain pot instead. The build report says do not use both. Is this correct?

Tested with 9V battery only. Same buzz unfortunately.

I haven’t tried jumping the switches yet but I’ll reflow the boards and wiring and report back.

 

 

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