Beginner Advice/Encouragement

[spacefuzz74]

i just wanted to contribute here, as everyone has been really great in answering my simple, mostly ignorant questions.

for all you beginners out there, keep building, even if your first few circuits don't work.  Even though you may not know exactly what to do, by trying and by failing, you learn quickly...and you learn a lot of what NOT to do.

-Work slow, be patient

-Build a test box! - seriously, you will be so glad you did.  I wish it was the 1st thing i built.  It will give you a whole new outlook to these projects (i attached a photo of mine so you can see how simple they can be).

-even if schematic diagrams are completely foreign to you, keep trying & learning how to read them.  they DO help you understand.  try not to rely completely on the VERO diagrams.
 
-when you get the hang of things, EXPERIMENT!  this is where a lot of the fun and satisfaction will lie!

thanks everyone!

[vid.sicious]

Oh nice one man! Best thing about this whole DIY stompbox thing is the community. I knew I'd be into electronics for a long time but this site made me make my first electronics projects and it expanded into much more than just pedals. It's a. Great skill to have and this is the best place to start off I think. Good luck to all the new builders, don't get too disappointed if something doesn't work. Learn from it and keep learning! Amazing things happen when you get to a certain point and even after almost a year of building pedals I keep blowing my own mind not to mention people who don't know crap about all these circuitries. Good luck!

[motterpaul]

I like your test box - very simple.  It's a good idea to attach long wires with alligator clips, also. Mine has wire latches that require me to solder long leads onto my circuit. Your approach makes more sense.

One nice thing to add to a test box is an audio probe, and also a square wave oscillator (switchable on/off) that goes to the circuit in - so you can set up quick audio probing.

And yes - it does get easier. Trouble-shooting can be a bitch, but you soon learn how to spot things.

[Marbles]

+100000 for the testbox.. Made my life so much easier.
Plus the whole offboard wiring is kind of intimidating I find. With a testbox, I got to see them as 2 separate things. To be able to tell if your problem lies in the circuit or the offboard wiring is such a huge timesaver.

And socket transistors and IC's, always! :D