Stock

[mr-nad]

Would that be in place of the 5mm superbrights on the diagram?

There was only 4 results for that specific vactrol on ebay, starting at £10 each!!!

Its one way to push up build price

[motterpaul]

I would check that thread I posted about 7 posts up. The maker is talking about this and someone reports that vactrol does not work very well. He recommends orange LEDs (3mm).

It actually makes a big difference - because the amount of light variation is what sets to control for the effect.

Here: http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=108355.60

[mr-nad]

Ive got some LDR's already, how would i test what the ohmage is on them?
also, some superbright purple 5mm and an array of 3mm in a range of colours that i wrongly ordered. I know i can put them to good use. (maybe piggyback the rate Leds on top or series them and have the base panel glow)

Just ordered some ultrabrights on Ebay, pretty good price and fairly local, so no shipping charges

[rocket88]

If you have the part number you can check to see what the range is. You don't want super-bright, or water-clear LEDs, you want diffused, the old ones that have the color on the LED. The color will have a massive effect on how it will work due to the amount of light the emit, similarly if you use an LDR that has a different resistance range it will work differently. There's an important interaction between the two. You can try different ones and see what happens, maybe you'll like something better then what is recommended, I mean most of us build something to spec then start changing things to mKe it sound how we want, cause we think it sounds better then the stock parts

Trust me, LEDs can never really be ordered wrong. Different colors will clip differently so they can be great for clipping diodes, and you can use them as status LEDs.

[dbat69]

I would agree with Rocket.  Try lots of different ones.
I built the Bigfoot Magnavibe and tried vactrols, and my own made up versions with different LEDs and LDRs.  I also tried different distances between LDR and LED.  I did this by using a small plastic box (a pill box) which I painted black on the inside, used bluetak on the inside to hold the components in place (the leads were passed through very small holes I drilled).  THe bluetak not only held the components and stopped light getting in through the holes, but also allowed me to try the different gaps between components.

In the end I found a diffused LED with a certain LDR - I can't remember which combination but I did post some of my findings on here.

[motterpaul]

I am not at all surprised you did this. I did it too because I saw a site selling them and they only had one kind. It did not even occur to me it might not be the right spec. That was why my original post was conservative about buying parts and I said one should check exact part numbers on different projects before they start - to be sure to have what works.

In this case - get your LDR part number (look for the confirmation email from your order or go back to the web site) and look for a range that says 2k to 24K (that is on the tremsetter parts list at that site).

[motterpaul]

Rocket - got a link for this? It doesn't show in the search engine. Thanks.

<< Motter, there is actually a difference between the switches. Beleive it or not, the color can actually tell you. On the AMZ blog, there was actually a comparison between each one, and there can be a significant difference in quality >>

[IvIark]

rocket88 wrote

Mark, it's funny that you and I quite smoking around the same time, but I didn't spend as much as you, maybe aroun $200-250 a month.

Like petrol it's much cheaper for you over there
I smoked Silk Cut which are now close to £10 for 19 (another rip off there), I only ever smoked maybe 15 a day (unless I was on a night out) but it adds up when the cigs are so expensive.  I wanted to give up for ages and moreso since my kids started making me feel worse about it, but in the end I think the fact that I felt like I was getting totally ripped off and treated like an idiot was also a massive motivation.  Especially when you're also treated like a second class citizen right across the board if you smoke, no matter how much you end up contributing to the economy.  

Fuck em

[rocket88]

Bwahaha. I quit because my gf has asthma, and I felt bad that if was making things worse for her, plus my friends nick named me smokestack, so I got tired of that. I smoked one of two cigarettes, either marlbro reds in a soft pack $7 (could do tricks with them), or dunhill blues $15 a pack. When I would buy in NYC it would be double .

Now all that extra cash goes into parts, my cars, and beer. Which I think is a much better use of the money anyways.

[IvIark]

Very true mate, it is

[Silver Blues]

You can test LEDs conveniently with a 3v coin cell like a CR2032.

[rocket88]

Or stick them in a potato.

[motterpaul]

This is a really great article on "stock" for pedals - especially for its diode information which is very detailed.

http://www.guitarpcb.com/PDF%20Files/A%20Beginners%20Guide%20to%20Effects%20Pedal%20Components.pdf

[mr-nad]

So it all arrived this morning!!! plus a few other bits that i bought on ebay.

Quite surprised on the packaging, i expected it to be in a larger package. It all fit quite snug inside an a4 padded.

It's time to get to work
Happy days!!

[motterpaul]

Gives you a feeling of power to have the right components in your hands, doesn't it? Enjoy it.

[mr-nad]

I can finally work properly now as ive just worked with what little i had in transistors and diodes.

The power is surging, but first, I must put some dinner in hte oven and make a plan of action.