@barry
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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.
An Audio Probe is a fantastic tool to easily locate a problem area
To remove the LEDs I suggest a good soldapult brand tool (solder sucker) in tandem with your iron.
You can also use desoldering braid.
If you don’t have either of those the pads are close so you can lay your iron tip sideways covering both pads while pulling the LED from the other side. Be careful you do not overheat the pads or your fingers.
Once you put them in correctly you can re-flow all of your solder joints as well as part of a basic troubleshooting routine. Just touch the tip to each joint to reflow the solder and have some extra solder handy in case you need just a small bit extra on a few joints.
I see a problem I did not notice immediately.
It looks like the LEDs are in the wrong orientation.
The silkscreen shows a white bit over the round pad to indicate the Flat side. Also, the square pad would typically indicate that is + or Anode in this case. If I am seeing things correctly it looks like D5 (top LED) is Flat on the right side and D4 (just below) is round on the right side. It should be the opposite according to the board silkscreen and square pads.
Since a diode permits current to flow in a single direction and blocks it in the other direction using it in the wrong orientation could explain why there is no sound.
A helpful thing to remember is the
Fat Flat Cat
If that doesn’t help we will need voltages for your IC reported.
We need additional photos that show all of the off-board wiring connections as well as a description of what is wrong.
For example: Does the circuit work in bypass? etc.
While you are waiting I will point out a few things.
The potentiometers are in the wrong orientation. The square pad as well as the tiny silkscreen 1 indicates Lug 1 of the potentiometer belongs there. So you will need to desolder those and rotate them to match. Currently, the potentiometers will work in the opposite manner than they were designed to work. Once rotated this will then place the pots sitting under the board effectively giving you much-needed room inside the enclosure. You will also need some type of pot protection to keep the metal pot from contacting the solder side of the board.
I am not really keen on the electrolytic capacitors sitting up in the air like little antennas. I believe they will benefit from a secure soldered connection to the board. This could also be a cause for your noise.
I hope that helps.
I suggest you do some “noise troubleshooting”.
I do not offer a single circuit I would consider noisy.
The first thing is to supply the sonic tonic only with 2 “tested” good quality cables (no pedal boards etc). Only guitar -> Cable-> Pedal -> Cable -> AMP. Nothing else in between. Only power the sonic tonic with a battery. You can use a battery strap with a 9v battery connector on one side and a 2.1mm negative tip on the other.
This eliminates a ton of contenders for introducing noise and since batteries cannot produce noise then it will be very revealing.
There were two threads about noise here in the last couple weeks and both ended up being noisy power supplies. That of course is only one of the many reasons to have noise in your setup. The fact that you built two pedals with identical noise either means you have an error in the exact same place on both or there is an outside contributor.
If your pedal is still noisy after the battery test we are going to need some clear pictures.
The resistor added to the newer version only keeps your volume from dipping too low even at Mid rotation. It will not help if you are already too loud at minimum rotation.
If yours is too loud at minimum rotation I would suggest you have an issue.
First, what is your bias voltage?
Verify the Volume pot is not wired backward.
If that’s not it then verify all of the resistors.
I have built so many of these and (volume too loud) has never once been my experience, especially at minimum rotation.
The layout above you are showing is from an etched board. That actually goes back to 2010.
Took me a bit to locate it on the old site.
Either way, the schematic has never changed as far as I remember.
All 9v pads are connected to each other so you can use any of them in (different locations to accommodate all of the many different build styles).
For example: For those that place a power jack at the top of the enclosure (like yours) may use the power and ground pads at the top for convenience. Not everybody puts their power jack in that location however so that makes it an inconvenient location for them especially when trying to keep wires short.
So if it says 9v or G at the pad they are all connected respectively. This can easily be tested by using your DMM in continuity mode. The other reason there are extra 9v and Ground pads is so you can easily add mod boards, LEDs, or whatever inside the same enclosure without using an unstable star grounding or power scheme. You can read more on this on the Guides Page, especially in the Combo Builds guides and Beginners Guide. So basically pick the most convenient for your build style and use it. If you need help determining your build approach the Guides Page answers most any questions which are not included in the standard build docs for brevity.
If you are not getting a bypassed signal then it will not work in active mode. That means there is something wrong between the In Jack, Footswitch, and Out Jack. I would look hard at that wiring and use your DMM in continuity mode to verify you have the proper contact (there is a Guide for DMM continuity connections on the Guides Page). If not that then a bad Jack or foot switch perhaps. Also visually inspect the mechanical connections when inserting both cables.
Another tip I would suggest is to push off-board wiring through the pads until the PVC is flush with the board and solder from the opposite side for a firm connection that won’t break on you as well as it making a solid connection (joint).
I hope that helps.
I am sure that was a hit!
It is really nice to be able to DIY a gift, like that.
Thanks for sharing.
(I would get rid of that power adapter since it produces noise) you can always test pedals with a battery on a strap to rule out faulty power sources as part of a standard routine.
I can’t see the LED in the photo.
The Anode goes in the center pad and the Cathode goes in the non-white pad if using a standard LED.
Depth doesn’t matter as long as it is soldered to the pads.
You can also verify the LED is working with a 3 to 5v coin battery.
