Made a Newbie mistake, Have a few questions

[2liveis2die]

I recently built a Blowerbox clone(http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.ie/2014/07/idiotbox-blowerbox.html#comment-form).

But i made the mistake of not mirroring the cuts,(similar to this guy http://guitar-fx-layouts.42897.x6.nabble.com/First-tryout-with-strip-boards-tp13131.html;cid=1410665043237-772)

I mirrored the layout and it didnt work because of the OP amp, my question is by trying it will i have burnt the chip out?? ive ordered some more stripboard and a OP amp just in case.

next time should i mirror the image, do the cuts and links and then place the parts as originally  intended?

[rocket88]

hey buddy. my suggestion is don't mirror anything. what i do is i make a mark for each of my cuts on the top of the board (non-strip side) with a sharpie, and drill through the board with a 1/16" drill bit, then to complete the cut i use a larger drill bit and spin it in the larger hole till the connection is removed. so i do everything from the top down.

i do this for 2 reasons:
1 - i can compare what i'm doing to the layout at any point in time to check that it's going correctly simply by holding it up to the layout, and i can see the cuts as well as jumpers and components.
2 - i use the cuts as reference markers for where components should be placed while building.

i just find trying to mirror things for the bottom cuts, and such just makes things more confusing they they need to be. just MHO

as far as the chip, it may be find or may not it depends if and what leg got power and was grounded. if you're going to start over, i would build it, and try the chip, if it's fired usually you won't get any signal when the pedal is engaged.

[2liveis2die]

Thanks, ill try and do it your way. hopefully i havnt fried the chip. Pins 2 and 6 probably got 9v. not 100% sure as im new to electronics,

Also the chip is an lm308n, but i just noticed that ive ordered a lm308h, will this work? i believe the last letter represents the box style of chip?

1 more thing, thevero layout i recieved with the kit differs from the layout posted here. the 1m resistor to the left of the IC goes from row 4 to row 13 in the layout i got from mklec, whereas it goes from rows 4 to 9 joining pin 3 of the IC.

Also does anyone have a schematic of this or a link to it? Itll make my understanding of why parts are where they are much easier.

[cylens]

I think it's the last schematic in this thread:

http://freestompboxes.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=24763

though, there might have been a mod with a resistor (and that might be the one you're talking about), it's detailed in the thread, too

[2liveis2die]

Thanks, having the schematic to compare to the layout makes more sense, the 1M resistor will work in both places, ending up at pin 3 either way. Thanks again for the link. Its helped me immensely.

[rocket88]

it depends on the chip what the last letter means, sometimes its the package, sometimes is important characteristics, so sometimes you need to be careful. for instance, the 7660 and 7660s will perform the same job, but will behave differently, and you don't want to sub a 7660 where you need a 7660s. the only time you really don't need to worry what the letters are is the prefix, which usually tells you who made it. for example an lm741 is the same as an ua741 are the same chip, just different manufacturers.

[2liveis2die]

Thanks rocket, ive some learning to do, this will be my 2nd build, my 1st was a pcb kit from fuzzdogs pedals, made a green russian muff with suited caps for bass. this is my 1st stripboard build when i get it to work.

[rocket88]

any time buddy, i'm glad to help. i've hear you about needing/wanting to learn a lot when it comes to this stuff. as far as general building i've learned so much just from reading things posted on DIYSB, FSB, and here, which i've learned a lot about interchangeability and what certain parts mean/do. i'ld also suggest GeoFex (R.G. Keens site), beavis audio, amzfx (muzique.com) which are amazing free sources. i could also suggest some great books too, that were suggested to me by R.G. Keen, P.R.R. (Paul) on DIYSB, induction (here), and just books about electrical engineering that really has helped me go from not knowing a much to a decent amount, i mean i do still have & ask random stupid/simple questions .

i like working with stripboard, it took me 2-3 layouts to really get what i was doing. i try to be systematic in my builds starting at the input and moving to the output putting my jumpers in first, followed by sockets, then all of the resistors i can, then moving ceramic/multilayer ceramic caps, to poly caps, and electrolytics. my diodes, transistors, and/or IC's last because i just pop them in their respective sockets. that's just how i approach my builds, and it's helped me a lot and prevent a lot of stupid mistakes, it may or may not work for you.

the best advice i can give though is don't try to rush through the build. take your time and check things as you're going through the build. it will help prevent a lot of headaches later. sometimes on my harder builds i even print out the layout and cross off each part as i install them and know they're in the right spot. good luck buddy, hope your build goes well, let us know how it works out. most importantly don't be afraid to ask for help and welcome.

[2liveis2die]

Well the stripboard arrived today so i got to work, Spent 3 hours marking and building. Then spent the next 2 hours troubleshooting, all parts in the right place, all cuts and links correct, all caps right polarity. My soldering skills arn't the neatest so i ran a stanley blade between the tracks even though they looked clear, (damn nearly cut the board in half making sure). I was just about to give up only to find a short on the lugs of one of the pots. snipped off excess wire. hey presto sound. A good sound. The IC wasnt dead as i feared earlier although the spare i ordered sounds better.

Next step Switch wiring.


Can sombody please tell me how the orientation of the switch can be identified??

on my last build the switch didnt work so i rotated it 90 degrees and re wired and it worked.

[dbat69]

The easiest way is to use the continuity setting on your DMM and test the pins on the bottom of the switch to see which ones are connected.

I suggest you choose a row of 3, put one probe on the middle pin, and then check each side.  One side should be connected, and when the switch pressed the other side should be connected.

[dbat69]

I should have added that the pins are usually numbered as follows

1  4  7
2  5  8
3  6  9

The main contact will be the centre row i.e. 2,5,8

In the case of the first row, pin 2 will connect with either 1 or 3

The same will apply for each other row

[Frank_NH]

Are you referring to the 3PDT switch?  Here is an image (from http://gaussmarkov.net):



Make sure the rectangular lugs are oriented horizontally as shown.  This is an easy mistake to make if you haven't used these switches.

[2liveis2die]

Ive my switch wired differently i think.

With the lugs orientated as above its wired like.....

1 = output from board
2 = output jack tip
3 = linked to pin 7 and input tip
4 = led
5 = ground
6 = linked to 9
7 = linked to 3 and input tip
8 = board input
9 = linked to 6

Is this correct?

Also ive no l.e.d wired in at the moment, its in a temporary box until its final one arrived and the switches to put the clippers on.

Also will it be safe to run the L.E.D + directly from the board? should i put it after the safety diode? its quite a tight fit but it would be easier to take it from the first row as i believe it is +9 also as it links to the D lug of the transistor through a 20k trimpot to bias the transistor? theres room for the resistor for the L.E.D on that row too.

And one last thing.....

Any suggestions on what to experiment with as clipping diodes? i have a few L.E.Ds here that im gonna try, glad i remembered to socket them.