@bigo
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I would just run the wires to the LED from the board as I have done this in many builds, using the photo #1 layout so the pot action is correct instead of reversed, as Wilkie pointed out. If you have one of Barry’s 3PDT wiring boards, you can connect the LED to that.
The way I contend with the LED is that I form hooks or a J in each of the LED leads and the same with the the ends of the wires from the board. Crimp the wires and LED leads together, solder them together using a heat sink clip on the LED leads and then cover the soldered joints with heat shrink tubing. Just make sure the heat shrink tubing has been slid on the insulated wires beforehand so you can just slide them up over the solder joints before applying heat. See below at top of image.
<h2></h2>If you do a little research on the internet you will find a good article on the Phase 90 on the Electrosmash website. It appears that the LFO, or Low Frequency Oscillator, chip (IC) for the phaser is the TL061. But that is about what my non-extensive knowledge about this circuit tells me. You may want to get another TL061 and replace the one currently socketed in your build.
I see from the build instructions that this is a complex circuit meant for experienced builders, so I am not surprised that an inexperienced builder would have difficulty with this pedal. Building multiple pedals from easy to moderate difficulty provides one the skills to tackle the more complex and involved pedal projects.
Thanks for the possible explanation. I figured it might have something to do with how the DCA devices accomplish their analytic functions versus the DMM’s.
I was thinking about getting a DCA75, but figured I didn’t need the extra fancy smancy curve functions for the additional cost involved. I will stick with the DCA55. Of course my best friend from college, a EE, thinks I should be using an oscilloscope.
Cybercrow, I realize that some Ge diodes can have a forward voltage around that of a Si diode. The thing that is head scratching to me is that my DCA55 measures forward voltage of the 1N34 at around 0.8V and my other multimeters measures the same diode around 0.4V. I can’t figure out why that is. All other diodes I analyzed had comparable measurements with the DCA55 and the other multimeters.
I will say I enjoyed your post on clipping diodes and curve tracking. It was very informative.
Barry, you are right. I will experiment with the different coupling capacitor values. This is maybe why the Trotsky Drive has a 47nF coupling cap (passing AC and filtering out DC). That is unless you are talking about the coupling cap on the other side the circuit, which I believe some may call that a decoupling capacitor (filtering out the DC and passing the AC signal).
Did my own investigating via breadboard. For R3, the higher the resistance the greater the distortion. So using a 50K Pot and a 3.3K resistor is the best way to go IMO to have controllable amount of distortion. I tried 680R and 470R (the value on one of the schematics) at R2 and there didn’t appear to be much of a difference. Leaving R3 at 68K and using a linear 10K trimmer at R2 does also control the degree of dirt well, although it would be better to have a Log Pot here. Instead of finding a C10K Pot to use here, maybe I could use an A10K Pot for a dirt control.
At C1, there does not appear to be much of a difference using a 0.1uF (100n) capacitor vs. a 0.047uF (47n) capacitor. I may make this a switchable option on my build. Changing Q1 from a 2N3094 of ~150HFE to a 2N5088 of ~630HFE does slightly increase the overall amount of distortion, but not by very much.
I was going to use 2 Rototones for differing Symmetric and Asymmetric clipping that would be switchable between the Symmetric and Asymmetric variations as below. However I found out I like blending a diode labeled 1N34 with the other diodes I have, so I may keep that one in fixed position and the other diodes on the Rototone. I still have to test the 1N34 to see if it is really a Germanium one or a fake (purchased from Mammoth a few years ago). I also have some true Ge diodes from Small Bear I am going to try in the circuit as well.
Very nice graphics!
This discussion on the circuit, although I understand a little of it, is definitely above my pay grade.
Looks like I accidentally added an errant post on this topic. However, I should note that the build shows an orderly interior layout. Nicely done.
Excellent discussion and I love the simple explanation drawing up above. A picture is worth a thousand words. I already have this image in my head, but it is absolutely great for teaching newbies about how the switch works and can be wired.
A question regarding the 3pdt Wiring Boards from GuitarPCB. Is the Lug 6 eyelet connected to the Lug 1 eyelet? From what I can tell, it isn’t. Maybe this could be made into an alternate 3pdt Wiring Board, a “Pop Suppressor” 3pdt Wiring Board. Of course wiring in 1M or greater pulldown resistors at the beginning and/or end of a circuit also helps to mitigate the popping noise as well.
I suppose an MKC in the chain might fit the bill, but I have not auditioned mine yet as it needs to be built, which it will in the next few months. Therefore, I can’t be of much use. I started with a BYOC ESV Ge Fuzz Face because at the time, there were not any Ge FF’s on the market that were less than $100. I thought, well I build this one off stock pedal and be done with it. Unfortunately, it became an addiction and I started building more stock pedals, then modded versions, and finally started building some pedals of my own design based on known circuit schematics and modifying them. I now have perfboard, veroboard and lots of component parts for playing around with circuits. It is a great hobby, even for those of us who don’t play out in public anymore.
It was on the BYOC forum when posing a question that someone pushed me in the direction of GuitarPCB and I am sure glad they did. The circuits are great and Barry is a wonderful person to deal with!
Actually there a permanent 1/4″ thick nylon felt pads underneath the feet. Really don’t need much more isolation since it is on a hardwood floor installed on a concrete slab.
I also forgot to mention my solid state Crate bass amp for the occasional bass playing. And my Hurricane season water supply sitting in front of the rig, LOL!
PRS Custom 24 (purchased used for a pretty cheap price a few years ago), Route 101 Solimar Custom with Splitable Hot Rails, and Brian Moore iGuitar9.13 with Midi and Piezo pickups (obtained when they were practically giving them away at fire sale prices) are on the wall and floor. I get fairly good acoustic sounds with the Piezo pickup into an old Boss ME50 (Ebay for $50) set on acoustic simulator mode. None of the equipment and guitars were purchased new, or without a major discount except the Solimar which cost less than a MIM Strat at the time. Probably why Route 101 went out of business – you can’t get an American assembled guitar with numerous custom options for such a cheap price. Not a good business model. Just shows one can get fairly high end equipment at a reasonable price if one is a value shopper.
Barry – Notice you have an Avatar speaker cab. Why kind of speaker is loaded in it?
The old radio signal problem. I was having the same problem with a couple of my HS treble booster pedals when the boost was dimed and the amp at a fairly loud volume. I changed out the 2n3904 transistors in the pedals to S9013’s and the radio broadcast disappeared. Put the 3904’s back in and I could hear the radio. Why, I for certain don’t know. But switching out the transistors work and I’m not going to argue the point.
A picture of my main rig described above. I have two other amps in my office, a rare Reverend Goblin 5/15 and the Big O “One Louder” amp that goes to 11, of course, output to a cheap Seismic Audio guitar speaker mounted in a cheap subwoofer cab from Dayton Audio/Parts Express (cabinet total cost of $79).
Below is the schematic for the Hot Silicon. Credit goes to the author of this schematic, Doug Hammond. Apparently this is based on Aron Nelson’s Hot Fuzz.
Checking with the schematic from the Hot Chilicon that I built, the only differences are that C4 is 47u in the Chilicon and there is a trimpot at Q3. I opened my Hot Chilicon and the transistors I ended up changing to are 2N3094’s at Q1 and Q2 with HFE’s around 100, a 2N2222 at Q3 with slightly greater than 200 HFE and a 2N5088 at Q4, HFE around 400. The fuzz sounds slightly nastier depending upon how you bias it than when using all 2n5089’s.
Nice rig, and I thought I was OCD when it came to my play around rig. I have 2 Randall MTS Series amps (RM50 head and RM22 head) with Plexi and Top Boost preamp modules in the RM50 out to a Eminence British type speaker (Reignmaker) in a 2×12 cabinet. The RM22 head is loaded with Blackface and JTM preamp modules out to a Radial Cabbone cabinet switcher to select either an American type speaker (Eminence Legend 1258) or British type speaker (Avatar Hellatone 30 – broken in Celestion G12H30). The Reignmaker is dialed up to provide near max attenuation and therefore greater compression so that ear bleeding Marshall amp on 11 tones can be at close to bedroom levels. The MTS preamp modules are basically the same topology as the original circuits they emulate so one is getting true Marshall, Fender, etc. amp sounds.
The setup allows me to switch between most classic tones using an ABY switch. Marshall Plexi and Vox from the RM50 and Fender Blackface, Marshall JTM and Fender Bassman from the RM22 depending upon which speaker type is selected. The JTM and Bassman are nearly identical circuits. One can also get the SRV mixed Fender/Marshall sound with a S-type guitar and using the Y function of the ABY switch. Now only if I could play like SRV. Took me over 10 years to accumulate the gear for this setup.
