I'm new to building GFX
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Hi I'm fairly new to this and have spoken to IvIark (Mark) to get some help with projects I am building and he suggested I might look for anyone in my area who builds these sort of projects that I could talk with, so here goes my email address is jimcolmn@aol.com and I live in Doncaster South Yorkshire UK. Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Jimcolmn |
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Nice to see you on here Jim. I'm in Manchester myself so a bit far but with a bit of luck someone from Yorkshire will spot this and may be able to offer you some assistance
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Hi Jim, and welcome, I've not been here long myslef so this is all pretty new to me as well, but have successfully managed a few small and simple builds and learned a huge amount just from reading through the posts on the site. I have made a few errors, but slow, steady methodical checking for right components, orientation etc have got all of them sorted so far. Unlike Mark, I'm the same side of the pennines as yourself, though south of Grimsby is realistically still a bit far to just nip over for nosey, perhaps we should have pedal builders conventions in each country ;o)
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Hi Pavlos
Thanks for the email, nice to here from you, I have just restarted building guitar fx. I used to build a few bits about 35-40 years ago and could build projects and design projects from schematics but sadly I can’t seem to remember how to do these things any more. I used to buy a monthly magazine back in the day it was called “ETI” Electronics International and it used to have lots of different projects each month so there should be plenty of knowledge in my head but it’s hard trying to remember, that, along with having dyslexia means it can take me quite a bit longer to read instructions and to email and write things down (my wife helps me quite a bit thank god) I find that accurate diagrams are great for me as I can decipher them better. Anyway thanks for your time and I hope we bounce ideas off each other. Regards Jim -----Original Message----- From: Pavlos [via Guitar FX Layouts] <[hidden email]> To: jimcolmn <[hidden email]> Sent: Sat, Feb 13, 2016 6:26 pm Subject: Re: I'm new to building GFX Hi Jim, and welcome, I've not been here long myslef so this is all pretty new to me as well, but have successfully managed a few small and simple builds and learned a huge amount just from reading through the posts on the site. I have made a few errors, but slow, steady methodical checking for right components, orientation etc have got all of them sorted so far. Unlike Mark, I'm the same side of the pennines as yourself, though south of Grimsby is realistically still a bit far to just nip over for nosey, perhaps we should have pedal builders conventions in each country ;o) ------------------------------------------------------------ If you reply to this email, your message will be added to the discussion below: http://guitar-fx-layouts.42897.x6.nabble.com/I-m-new-to-building-GFX-tp27998p28034.html To unsubscribe from I'm new to building GFX, click here. NAML |
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In reply to this post by IvIark
-----Original Message----- From: IvIark [via Guitar FX Layouts] <[hidden email]> To: jimcolmn <[hidden email]> Sent: Sat, Feb 13, 2016 5:34 pm Subject: Re: I'm new to building GFX Nice to see you on here Jim. I'm in Manchester myself so a bit far but with a bit of luck someone from Yorkshire will spot this and may be able to offer you some assistance ------------------------------------------------------------ If you reply to this email, your message will be added to the discussion below: http://guitar-fx-layouts.42897.x6.nabble.com/I-m-new-to-building-GFX-tp27998p28032.html To unsubscribe from I'm new to building GFX, click here. NAML |
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In reply to this post by IvIark
Thanks for the email Mark. I have been contacted by another subscriber "Pavlos" and he lives about an hours drive away from me and I have responded and I think it will help, so many thanks for the support. I'm sure I will be in touch again with the other projects I will be building.
Regards Jim -----Original Message----- From: IvIark [via Guitar FX Layouts] <[hidden email]> To: jimcolmn <[hidden email]> Sent: Sat, Feb 13, 2016 5:34 pm Subject: Re: I'm new to building GFX Nice to see you on here Jim. I'm in Manchester myself so a bit far but with a bit of luck someone from Yorkshire will spot this and may be able to offer you some assistance ------------------------------------------------------------ If you reply to this email, your message will be added to the discussion below: http://guitar-fx-layouts.42897.x6.nabble.com/I-m-new-to-building-GFX-tp27998p28032.html To unsubscribe from I'm new to building GFX, click here. NAML |
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Thanks for the vote of faith Jim :o) not sure how much help I might be though, as I have only been doing this for very short time and even though I feel as though I have learned a lot in a fairly short space of time I am realistic enough to know that I have barely scratched the surface. I can just about follow a signal through a simple schematic, but as for actually understanding what at all does and how......now that's scary mind blowing stuff lol
I have been somewhat lucky with my builds so far as well, though that might have been helped by having started with small and simple, and it probably also helps that I have a background that's hammered in methodical attention to detail (The good old measure twice cut once philosophy pays off once again) Oh and of course without a shadow of doubt all the time I've devoted to reading through the posts before I started to build anything has been an absolute godsend in trying to avoid too many mistakes, not all of them though, but sometimes we learn more from the mistakes than getting it right.........well at least that's what I told the fire brigade :o/ Be glad to help if I can though, and if I run out of ideas there are many here far more knowledgeable than myself who I'm sure will be willing to chip in and help :o) |
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i'm nowhere near you, i'm on the other side of the pond, but if you ever have any questions don't hesitate to reach out to me. i'll be glad to help you out as best as i can. funny that you mention being dyslexic, there's actually a few of us here that have dyslexia, including myself. one suggestion i can give you off the bat that will help is just take your time.
i'm super systematic in my builds. i start placing my sockets and links, so that i can use them as reference points for my other components. then i move onto resistors and diodes that are not going into sockets since they lay flat, starting from one end and working my way across. then i move to poly/ceramic/monolythic ceramic caps, and finally electrolytics since they're the tallest. |
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I'll second that method of building, it's pretty much the same as what I've been doing, discovered it in http://guitar-fx-layouts.42897.x6.nabble.com/How-To-s-amp-Guides-f24027.html thought it was a logical way to go, tried it and found it very easy to follow. Not only is it easy to see if things are looking right, it is also easy to do in small steps as well, I tend to work one side to the other as so far there has always been a nice obvious reference point to work from. And I absolutely agree about taking your time, much easier to spend a few minutes double checking as you go along than rushing and then trying to figure out why it's not working quite right :o)
And by the way Rocket (Mark, Miro and everyone else) thank you for all your posts and comments on various builds, they have been a real help in taking my own first steps on the site and plucking up the courage to have a go at building something.........so I'm blaming you for my new hobby.........and making my head hurt :o) |
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In reply to this post by rocket88
Hi Rocket88. Not sure if I have responded to your mail so just in case Hi nice to meet you. Thanks for the encouragement, as I have mentioned in other posts I have built projects before unfortunately it was about 35-40 years ago and apart from me forgetting most of what I learned back in the day I am now 62 years young and my fingers don’t seem to want to do what I want them to do. I wonder if you might be able to give me some direction on the following. I am as far as I can tell at the end of building my first project in years, I got the kit of parts from Bitsbox and set to building. This build is called the Heartthrob Tremolo. I have plugged it all in and connected my guitar….. well the bypass works but when I switch on the effect I am getting nothing but a very loud buzzing (I am using a 9v 1000ma power supply) any suggestions please? Please treat me as a complete novice as far as directions are concerned.
Regards Jim. Ps I have basic test gear ie. Multimeter |
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Hi Jim and welcome.
I'm also over in Manchester, so a bit far to drop in on you, but I have had what sounds like the same problem you're describing. Turned out my power supply wasn't grounded properly (break in the cable). Check all your grounding. Hope this helps. |
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Cheers Bogey will have a look, Thanks for the info
Jim -----Original Message----- From: bogey [via Guitar FX Layouts] <[hidden email]> To: jimcolmn <[hidden email]> Sent: Fri, Feb 19, 2016 2:22 pm Subject: Re: I'm new to building GFX Hi Jim and welcome. I'm also over in Manchester, so a bit far to drop in on you, but I have had what sounds like the same problem you're describing. Turned out my power supply wasn't grounded properly (break in the cable). Check all your grounding. Hope this helps. ------------------------------------------------------------ If you reply to this email, your message will be added to the discussion below: http://guitar-fx-layouts.42897.x6.nabble.com/I-m-new-to-building-GFX-tp27998p28228.html To unsubscribe from I'm new to building GFX, click here. NAML |
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Crap like that happens all the time, as in the bypass works and the effect doesn't. I haven't built the heart throb tremolo, but first things I would do whenever I have a problem are the following:
1. Run a knife, razor blade, saw blade, etc. between all the copper tracks. This makes sure there's no unwanted bridges between your tracks. I actually do this every time before I do the final wiring when boxing up an effect. Cheap insurance if you know what I mean. 2. Take you're time and check you're build against the layout, paying attention that each component is in the right place and electrolytics are oriented in the right direction, looking at my links and cuts to ensure they're in the correct locations. 3. Use you're multimeter to test the voltages on each leg of my transistors and IC's. This will tell you a lot about what's happening and if you've got a build error. 4. Check my active components, IC's and Transistors, that they are installed correctly and are not faulty. Usually I'll grab another one from my stock and throw it in. If it works I know the part was bad, if not then I know there's something else or that batch of parts are faulty. To be honest, with transistors I use my DCA75 to test them before I install them. If you really get into building and want to go deeper and use germanium transistors, and match parts get a DCA55 the DCA75 is a bit overkill, but for me it's been invaluable. Usually by this point I've got it working. If you don't get any sound at all usually something's grounding the signal, so I take out the in & out jacks and plug into them. If it works then my jack itself is grounding, which has happened when I didn't notice the jack could twist in the hole and hit the corner of the enclosure. |
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I'll second that Rocket88, the mention of running a a suitable object (Knife, saw blades etc) between tracks to make sure they are not shorting is mentioned by quite a few people on the site and is advice that I'm glad I saw sense in before I started my first build, I even clear out the cuts in the tracks just to make sure as well, oh and I have a cheap toothbrush which I use to go over the copper side of the board to make sure that I clear off anything that might not have already fallen off of it's own accord :o)
Working steadily in bite sized chunks and check and then check again as you go along has saved me a few problems as well. It takes a bit of time but it is time well spent as it is so much easier than having to fault find a complete build, even a simple layout is much harder to go over when fully populated than when only a few componets are on the board and something doesn't look quite right. I've had a few misplaced components so far but thankfully the double checking as I go along has stopped me making any major mistakes so far and made it nice and easy to rectify my errors, the future may well throw up many many doofus moments though but so far so good ;o) I have the heart throb on my to do list at the moment, might be a few weeks before I get round to it but will let you know how I get on. |
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In reply to this post by jimcolmn
Jim, I'm in The Midlands, so not local, but I have built the Hearthrob, and it worked perfectly first time, so unfortunately you must have an error somewhere.
I'd echo what Rocket and Pavlos have said - be methodical, check everything. Cuts and links, component placement, values and polarity and all your offboard connections. Check for shorts on the component side of the board, and offboard wiring too. Print off another copy of the layout, and go through it and tick off everything I've listed above. I use a triangular needle file to clean between tracks, and like Pavlos, an old toothbrush to scrub off and debris. Sometimes shorts can be so tiny, you can easily fail to spot them even with a magnifier. Finally if all else fails, put it away for a week and don't even look at it. Then check it again with fresh eyes. It's amazing how quickly you can spot an error if you do this, even though you've checked it ten times already! I call it solder blindness. |
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Hi Beaker
Thanks for the info, I will be going over the project again this week end, as this is most often the only time I get to do anything with the projects. As you have already done this project you will be aware that it has two "ground" wires, I'm assuming this is correct and that both should be connected to ground on either the input or output jacks. If not please could you give directions. Regards Jim -----Original Message----- From: Beaker [via Guitar FX Layouts] <[hidden email]> To: jimcolmn <[hidden email]> Sent: Mon, 22 Feb 2016 20:55 Subject: Re: I'm new to building GFX Jim, I'm in The Midlands, so not local, but I have built the Hearthrob, and it worked perfectly first time, so unfortunately you must have an error somewhere. I'd echo what Rocket and Pavlos have said - be methodical, check everything. Cuts and links, component placement, values and polarity and all your offboard connections. Check for shorts on the component side of the board, and offboard wiring too. Print off another copy of the layout, and go through it and tick off everything I've listed above. I use a triangular needle file to clean between tracks, and like Pavlos, an old toothbrush to scrub off and debris. Sometimes shorts can be so tiny, you can easily fail to spot them even with a magnifier. Finally if all else fails, put it away for a week and don't even look at it. Then check it again with fresh eyes. It's amazing how quickly you can spot an error if you do this, even though you've checked it ten times already! I call it solder blindness. ------------------------------------------------------------ If you reply to this email, your message will be added to the discussion below: http://guitar-fx-layouts.42897.x6.nabble.com/I-m-new-to-building-GFX-tp27998p28316.html To unsubscribe from I'm new to building GFX, click here. NAML |
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"As you have already done this project you will be aware that it has two "ground" wires, I'm assuming this is correct and that both should be connected to ground on either the input or output jacks. If not please could you give directions."
Yes you are correct. Most builds only have one ground wire, but some like this have more. I suspect it was done simply to save space, re-jigging it to have only one ground wire would mean a wider board that would be too wide to fit into a 1590B enclosure. So yes, both ground wires should be soldered to your jack ground lug. Alternatively, if you look at the white "loop" wire on the right hand side of the board that connects row 3 to row 11, you could if you wish, do the same kind of thing with the ground wire. In other words, solder the row 3 ground wire on the left side of the board, to row 12 column 2. (There is a spare hole for it there.) Now you will have connected the two ground rows together, and only need to have the one ground wire from row 12 going to the jack. Either method you use, it still works the same. |
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Thanks Beaker
I will do this this weekend while double checking all other connections before reconnecting to the amp and guitar Regards Jim -----Original Message----- From: Beaker [via Guitar FX Layouts] <[hidden email]> To: jimcolmn <[hidden email]> Sent: Wed, Feb 24, 2016 2:46 pm Subject: Re: I'm new to building GFX "As you have already done this project you will be aware that it has two "ground" wires, I'm assuming this is correct and that both should be connected to ground on either the input or output jacks. If not please could you give directions." Yes you are correct. Most builds only have one ground wire, but some like this have more. I suspect it was done simply to save space, re-jigging it to have only one ground wire would mean a wider board that would be to wide to fit into a 1590B enclosure. So both ground wires are soldered to your jack ground lug. Alternatively, if you look at the white "loop" wire on the right hand side of the board from row 3 to row 11, you could if you wish, do the same with the ground wire. In other words, solder the row 3 ground wire on the left side of the board, to row 12 column 2. (There is a spare hole for it there.) Now you will have connected the two rows together, and only have the ground wire from row 12 going to the jack. ------------------------------------------------------------ If you reply to this email, your message will be added to the discussion below: http://guitar-fx-layouts.42897.x6.nabble.com/I-m-new-to-building-GFX-tp27998p28349.html To unsubscribe from I'm new to building GFX, click here. NAML |
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If you're still having problems after that Jim, take a photo of the front and back of the board and post them here, we have some very eagle eyed members who can spot a mistake from 100 miles
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Thanks for the email Mark, hope I don't need to but will do if needed
regards Jim -----Original Message----- From: IvIark [via Guitar FX Layouts] <[hidden email]> To: jimcolmn <[hidden email]> Sent: Thu, Feb 25, 2016 5:32 pm Subject: Re: I'm new to building GFX If you're still having problems after that Jim, take a photo of the front and back of the board and post them here, we have some very eagle eyed members who can spot a mistake from 100 miles ------------------------------------------------------------ If you reply to this email, your message will be added to the discussion below: http://guitar-fx-layouts.42897.x6.nabble.com/I-m-new-to-building-GFX-tp27998p28379.html To unsubscribe from I'm new to building GFX, click here. NAML |
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