brach

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  • in reply to: How best to test for no signal? #14393
    brach
    Moderator

    Dan,
    Thanks for the pictures. A lot of your leads seem really long, you may want to clip them shorter so they have less chance of shorting together. Make sure the the back of the pots aren’t shorting any leads on the board.
    Are you able to hear any LFO sound when the pedal is engaged and you turn up your amp loud? If so, is the rate and volume of the LFO adjustable with the controls?
    Are those little pieces of solder on the top of the board near R33? If so, clean those up (and any others around the board). Also, resolder R29 and push it closer to the board. If any of the components around that area of the board are touching or shorted out against anything then the muting circuit may be malfunctioning. So check all the solder joints on the components around R29 to make sure nothing is shorted.
    Let me know what you find.
    -Brach

    in reply to: No output signal? #14392
    brach
    Moderator

    Thanks for the photos and sound file. Since you are getting the sound of the LFO out of the pedal, it seems to be mostly working, there is probably just something wrong in the signal path.
    Does the volume of the LFO change when you adjust the volume control?
    Does the rate change when you adjust the rate control?
    Make sure there are not solder shorts anywhere, also make sure the back of the pots aren’t shorting out of the solder joints on the board.
    Let me know about the controls.
    -Brach

    in reply to: No output signal? #14373
    brach
    Moderator

    Did you remember to solder the jumpers?

    in reply to: Some observations #14324
    brach
    Moderator

    Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us…it helps in knowing what issues exist in real life.
    1) I would hope that the grounded chassis would keep this from happening much, but power transformers do emmit a lot of flux. If you want to keep it on your amp, maybe try to keep the pedal on the side of your amp away from the power transformer (the side where the guitar input is). Also, mind how your input and output cables are laying on the amp top. They can pick up hum too.
    2) Yes it can add emphasise some higher frequencies, but you can “tune” it with the high and low trim pots to get more of a natural sound.
    3) Amp sag should just happen when you hit the gutiar hard, whereas the sag from the tremolo LFO will happen in steady time. One idea is to set the tremolo LFO faster (like 2:1 or faster ratio) so that when you hit the amp hard on the down beat the LFO can still be hard and the two phenomena don’t have as much effect on each other…just an idea.
    4) The battery should be fine for short stints. I estimate around 6 or 7 hours of use with a typical 9 volt battery.
    Your 9v/300mA power supply is fine…the pedal uses around 50mA, so anything more than double that should be fine.
    Thanks agian for your comments.
    -Brach

    in reply to: Pedal done and working despite roadblocks #14323
    brach
    Moderator

    Nice build! Good job!

    in reply to: One more question about Midi Gnd Lift #14322
    brach
    Moderator

    Sorry for just now getting back with you. It’s been a crazy week with a lot going on.
    I did forget about mentioning this in the new manual. I have a running list of changes we need to make to it. Thanks for letting us know about this.
    The midi ground lift socket gives you the oppotuinity to disconnect the pedal from the ground path of whatever midi controller you are using. This may be useful if you are experiencing ground loops, which can cause a lot of noise. In some cercunstances it may more quiet to lift the ground, in others it may be more quiet to connect the ground…you have the option with this jumper. By default i’d leave it un-connected (jumper off) unless you are experiencing a lot of noise when the midi controller is used.
    I hope this helps.
    -Brach

    in reply to: Oops: One more question #14273
    brach
    Moderator

    Yes, the green led is supposed to pulse at all times. It shows you what the modulation speed will be when you engage the effect.

    in reply to: 9v Battery #14147
    brach
    Moderator

    Cool! Thanks for sharing. I’m glad it’s working well for you.
    -Brach

    in reply to: Works until I put the case together #14135
    brach
    Moderator

    Yes, please email me your phone number and we can arrange a time to talk on the phone. Also, feel free to come to our lab again if you need any assistance…but we can talk about that on the phone.
    -Brach

    in reply to: 9v Battery #14134
    brach
    Moderator

    Yes, using a battery is possible, but not suggested. For one, the current draw is around 50mA so it’d be like using a battery on something like a Boss DD-7 delay pedal…you’d only get about 6 hours of use from one battery. Also, as you noticed, there isn’t a place in the pedal for a battery, so you’d have to use a “battery snap to barrel jack” adaptor…something like this:
    http://www.voodoolab.com/shop/index.php?cPath=22_24_40

    in reply to: Works until I put the case together #14107
    brach
    Moderator

    Correct, the microcontroller should be connected to ground on pins 8 and 22 (not 11, unless the mode switch is flipped). What I was asking in question 1 above is if pin 4 is actually connected to ground even though it’s not supposed to be (use your continuity tester on your meter to find out…when the pedal is powered on). If pin 4 isn’t at ground potential, then tell me what DC voltage is on pin 4 when the pedal is on.
    By engaging the routine in the code to flash the software number, it’s acting like pin 4 is being held low upon power on. We just have to figure out what’s holding it low….either there is some sort of external short on pin 4 or the microcontroller is internally damaged.
    Let me know.
    -Brach

    in reply to: Works until I put the case together #14031
    brach
    Moderator

    That’s bizarre. 2 more questions:
    1) Is the microcontroller pin 4 is connected to ground?
    2) Upon power up, does the green LED wait about 2 seconds until it starts blinking?
    Let me know.
    -Brach

    in reply to: less highs when engaged… #14007
    brach
    Moderator

    YummyFuzz,
    The ratio of R3 to R2 will set the gain of the first stage. If you keep them the same this stage will have no gain (unity).
    R2 contributes to the input impedance of the pedal, so raising this to 220k (or something relatively high) will help it work better with other pedals and guitars. As you noticed, version 8.2 has some changes that uses a different topology to raise the input impedance very high, as well as a quiet switching circuit that keeps the relay click from being heard when the bypass switch is pressed. If you want to play with the first stage’s gain, I would suggest replacing R3 with a 500k trim pot. This would give you maximum gain of over 2, which is probably too much…the later stages in the circuit might start clipping, but you can always dial it down. There’s no need to use a trim pot in place of R2…it’s best to just keep this as a set resistor.
    Hopefully this answers your questions and gives you something to work with.
    Good luck.
    -Brach

    in reply to: Works until I put the case together #13940
    brach
    Moderator

    Let me know what you find out with the continuity test.

    in reply to: Works until I put the case together #13903
    brach
    Moderator

    What are you lifting to cause the symptoms you described to go away? It seems something may be shorting to the board. Make sure the paper under the pots doesn’t have any holes in it from the leads poking through. Make sure none of the pot backs are touching anything they shouldn’t be touching.
    Make sure chassis is grounded to the board (use a continuity test).
    Also use a continuity test to see if the tap switch wires are connected…they shouldn’t be unless the switch is pressed down.
    Let me know what you find.
    -Brach

Viewing 15 posts - 271 through 285 (of 421 total)