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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.
-BrachYes, the green led is supposed to pulse at all times. It shows you what the modulation speed will be when you engage the effect.
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.
-BrachYes, 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_40Correct, 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.
-BrachThat’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.
-BrachYummyFuzz,
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.
-BrachWhat 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.
-BrachRobin,
It was good to meet you yesterday. I’m glad we were able to help you flash your Quaverato.
It seems that now your Quaverato thinks the tap switch is being held down when you power it on. Make sure the tap foot switch wires aren’t twisted or connected somehow. We put this function on the this pedal so customers can see what software version they have on their microcontroller.
Check those wires and let me know if you still can’t get it going.
Good luck!
-BrachThe main thing is we need to figure out what caused R15 to explode. It could be dangerous to use the amp until we figure out what happened. If you are not 100% confident in your solder joints then please take out the board and re-solder them…it’s much better to be safe than dead…or have more components blow up. Also, try tightening your tube socket pins just to make sure everything is making good contact.
All the current the amp uses goes through R15, so something in your amp must have been drawing a lot more current than it’s supposed to. It makes me think that something is shorted….like a bad solder joint or something.
Are you sure that TP6 and TP9 are correct? The bias voltages on those parts of the circuit seem solid, so those test points should be higher. It concerns me that TP5 isn’t giving you a voltage…that’s pretty important to know what that voltage is. Like I said, try tightening your tube sockets, especially pins 8,4, and 9, and re-measure these voltages. Make sure you have the amp plugged into an 8 ohm load (speaker) at all times, even when you take these measurements.
Let me know what you find.
Good luck.
-BrachJake,
If you are getting that voltage range on those pins as you adjust the pots it means that the pots are working correctly and giving the microcontroller the proper voltage. So by deduction, we can say that the microcontroller is damaged and not working correctly.
Your microcontroller may be re-flashable, but it may have been damaged enough by static electricity that I can’t guarantee it will work. If you’d like to get a new microcontroller then contact us via email and let us know your serial number: info “at” zeppelindesignlabs “dot” com …we’ll let you know how to get one if that’s what you want to do.
To prevent static electricity damage you need to make sure that you are grounded, and not at a different potential (voltage) difference than the thing you’re handling. In our lab we have ESD conductive wrist bands that keep us “electrically” connected to the AC mains ground. If you don’t have a ESD wrist band then just make sure you are touching something big and conductive (that is grounded) as you touch static sensitive parts to make sure that no voltage difference can build up on either you or the thing you are working on.
Anyway, sorry about the trouble.
Take care,
-BrachJake,
Yes, it does sound like that may be a microcontroller issue. Just to make sure, what voltages are you getting on pin 25 of the microcontroller as you turn the multiplier knob? It should scroll between 0 and 5V if it is working properly. Let me know what you find out.
-Brach
