DIY links, gear recommendations

[Jero]

^damn I need to get on that while they're cheap. Who knows how long it'll last. Only reason I don't have one of each of the peak's already was the cost.

[rnagoda]

Just Seen that The Peak Atlas DCA has had it price slashed on their main site

I picked one up a couple weeks ago. It ended up being something like $63 shipped to my door, from the UK to the USA.

Nice. Well worth it at twice the price . . . which is about what I paid. Dammit. I hope the price cuts aren't an act of desperation - I hear these are some cool kids who run this place and they definitely put out a good product.

[eatyourguitar]

thankyou post posting the DCA. I thought a tester for transistor gain would be like $300 to $500. that just shows how useless a 10 year old electronics book can be. I am totally copping one of these. then I'm a go crazy with the fuzz pedals.

[Jwar]

WOW! I just read through all of this and clicked 90% of the links. I think I am WAY too stupid to build my own pedal. You guys are awesome.

[veteransdaypoppy]

WOW! I just read through all of this and clicked 90% of the links. I think I am WAY too stupid to build my own pedal. You guys are awesome.

It's easier than you think, bud!

[D-Rainger]

Just thought I'd add, if you're UK-based, http://www.mutr.co.uk is great. Small selection, but kind of weird, and very cheap.

[dadniayesa]

Just thought I'd add, if you're UK-based, http://www.mutr.co.uk is great. Small selection, but kind of weird, and very cheap.

Thanks for the recommending this, i might go and try this. i hope this is really cheap.

[McSpunckle]

This thing is awesome and everyone should own one:

http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10410

It's tiny, operates smoothly, and the vacuum base is WAY strong. I've been using the little vise from Harbor Freight, but this is way better.

The only issue with it is that it's mostly plastic. Some more critical bits are metal (the screw and pins the jaws move on and the clamp that locks the head in place), but it doesn't really seem cheap, unless you're the type that thinks everything plastic feels cheap. The only reason it bothers me is that a soldering iron can melt the plastic jaws if you hold it on them.

But yeah. If you do a lot of soldering, grab one. You'll be glad you did. Way better than soldering on your desk or in a 3rd hand.

[Rygot]

^ I may need to pick one of those up, however, I'd probably end up melting it... I feel like I would have already if mine wasn't metal.

Anyone have any experience with the dremel drill press thing?

[eatyourguitar]

the basic metal panavise is $69.

[McSpunckle]

the basic metal panavise is $69.

Actually, it comes with nylon jaws-- and the only grooved jaws they sell are nylon. They have steel and brass, but you want grooves if you're holding PCBs (especially when desoldering). The jaws on the Jr have higher heat resistance than the nylon ones. AND the Jr has vertical and horizontal grooves, so it can be positioned much lower. And the jaws on the Jr open a bit wider!

Plus, the thing being small and WAY adjustable makes a huge difference.
Panavise makes a ton of different heads and such. They have some specifically made to hold PCBs, but they're huge.

[Schlatte]

I have recently discovered an android app that's great for pedal building/troubleshooting! It's called ElectroDroid... it's a free app and pretty awesome:
https://market.android.com/details?id=it.android.demi.elettronica

[Jero]

www.sciplus.com has cool stuff sometimes

[eatyourguitar]

I have recently discovered an android app that's great for pedal building/troubleshooting! It's called ElectroDroid... it's a free app and pretty awesome:
https://market.android.com/details?id=it.android.demi.elettronica

yeah I've had it for a while, I use the filters all the time. breadboarding with a RC filter calc and a DMM in hand. now if we could get the BMP tone stack calculator on the phone, that would be sick

[Schlatte]

now if we could get the BMP tone stack calculator on the phone, that would be sick

I had three years of java programming lessons in school so far.. if you could tell me the formulas I could probably program it. And I have the android plugin in my development pack... so I could make an app too...