DAM Meathead Silent

[makefast]

Okay, second pedal on lvlark's recommendation - DAM Meathead Dark.  

Vero layout

Pictures of what I have.

Only substitution:  1M pot instead of 500k as it was the closest I had.  Oh, and some wires aren't coming in at the places marked, but are going to the same Vero rail.

Problem:  I get nothing at output.

Voltages:  I tried to get these, but I may be doing something wrong.  To test I hooked up ground, input, and a 9v battery.  Put a dummy plug into input.  Multimeter set to voltage.  Black probe on ground, red used to touch C, B, E on the transistors.  Readings were all over the place and never settled down so I don't feel like they are accurate.

I did look up the datasheet for the BC108's I used and think I have it in there right - emitter is where the extra metal bit is, and that is "down."

This is only at testing stage (not in a box) at this point.

[cylens]

have you checked for continuity between rows (there seems to be solder between the bottom 2 rows) and across cuts (I see a tiny shiny bit of copper on the cut at the top)?

[makefast]

Checked continuity on the cuts when I made them (and just did it again) - nothing there.

No continuity between the bottom rows that my multimeter found.

[ξεναγος νεκροπολης]

hi mate. you've made a common mistake.
you've mirrored the layout.
when you see those cuts and links on a layout, you must know that those are from the components side.(up-side). so you have to mark cuts and links at the up side, drill those cuts from the up side to the back side and then clean the cuts at the copper side with a bigger drill or with a razor-knife.
for now try to turn 180 degrees your transistors.i hope you've used sockets for those.
also read this

http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.gr/2012/04/vero-build-guide.html

[makefast]

Wow.  I looked at it over and over again so many times.

I ended up redoing it (I need the solder practice anyway!) - fired up first time.  Geeze...I'm such a maroon!

[makefast]

And...now a footswitch wiring issue.

I have everything wired up as per the offboard guide here, but am getting no signal through no matter whether the switch is on/off.  So I'm not getting bypass and I'm not getting signal through the effect.

The only thing I get is when I turn the effect up there is a high pitch whine.

I tried doing it in a 1590A which may be part of my problem (but hey, I wanted a challenge!).  Hard to capture what the wiring is like.

It seems obvious it is a ground problem so I thought the input might have been grounding to the back of the enclosure (which may explain no signal ever), but even whit the enclosure off still no dice.

I'm not even sure how to go about diagnosing any issue.

[makefast]

Okay, the whine was from the power supply - that much I have determined as it whines on another OD in a similar manner.  Seems I recall something about adding a power filter capacitor to the 9v - as I understand the theory, you ground a capacitor and that filters that whine out - is that right?  What is an appropriate value there?

I have been over and over the wiring though and can't figure out why there is no signal.  I re-flowed solder on the input and output joints (at the jack and at the switch) thinking maybe there was no connection causing no signal.  I'm almost certain it is going to be something silly...just like doing the vero backwards earlier.

[ξεναγος νεκροπολης]

from the pics, lug 3 of the pot is touching the enclosure. that means that your signal goes straight to ground.try to move the pot a little bit and with your multimeter be sure that everything is ok

also.i can't clearly see the connections on the foot switch,so recheck those too. using a multimeter to confirm that everything is ok and that there are no unwanted connections is always a good idea.

[rocket88]

beat me to it savvas. it also looks to me that the one of the jacks may be just ever so touch the ground lug of the other jack.

[makefast]

Thanks guys - I started testing last night.  Looks like the input is connected to ground...just need to track down where/how.

[makefast]

Okay - I made the post below, but figured it out in the midst of typing, but I'm leaving it here for posterity.  Was examining the footswitch and the middle pole was taller than all the rest.  Used the iron to push it down and everything is working fine.

A bunch of pictures trying to show as much as I can.

I pulled off both jacks to make sure they weren't bad (when unsoldered they show no continuity between tip and sleeve), but that solution would have been too easy.

Since I get no signal in bypass (which would eliminate the pot/circuit being the source of the grounding), I'm thinking it has to  be in the switch.  The only thing working correctly is the LED.  So somewhere in the right 2/3 of the switch I have a problem.

I'm not sure how to test the switch.  The non-LED columns show vertical continuity at all times and between all poles.

[Beaker]

It's very easy to knacker a switch, and it's possible that you may have got a bad one to start with anyway.

At this point, I would suggest that you fit a new switch, taking extra care to ensure that it is wired up correctly.

Pain in the arse I know, but sometimes it's for the best! I've had switches before that seem to test out ok with a multimeter, but refuse to work right when stomped.