debug bazz fuss

[goroth]

Shit, it took me that long to write this post that it logged out and my post disappeared. Probably just as well. Anyways, I'd appreciate any help with debugging a Bazz fuss. It's Seiche's fault that I'm posting, so if this post (or the eventual bucket full of mistakes) is stupid it's all his fault.
I'm thinking of just starting over, but I really struggled translating the picture of the perfboard to reality - maybe there is an obvious in how I've attempted this. Felt a bit like I "Davinci'd" it and got everything mirrored and back to front. That said it seems to make sense with the schematic. I don't know!

Pedal: Bazz fuss
Schem: Homewrecker http://home-wrecker.com/bazz.html
Parts used: Socketed caps and transistor, 1n914 diode, BC459 transistor, 10k input resistor, 100k output pot
Symptom: Fuzz. Of the "white noise-ish flourescent light-ish doesn't make a difference if I play or not or if the guitar is plugged in or not" type of fuzz. That is, the output seems totally independent of any input. That said the output pot works - I can decrease the volume of the white noise rubbish fuzz.

I've checked for continuity and it looks ok.
Voltages for the transistor: C: 1,1v, B: 0,6v, E: 0. That 0 doesn't feel right, but I haven't been able to find any voltages for this circuit anywhere, and I know next to nothing about circuits, so maybe it is right!

I think the transistor orientation is correct, but I've tried both ways, and with two different BC459s and a 2n5089. No effect on the sound.

The mess in the top corner of the photo near the input is some left over wire and stuff which just got stuck there, and given the circuit wasn't working I haven't cleaned it up yet. Haven't trimmed all the leads yet either. I don't think I cooked the diode as I was pretty bloody quick with the iron, but you never know.

Tested using a fully functional 1 spot (I hate batteries). Given that I haven't boxed it up I grounded everything to the DC jack - the lug with the circley bit on it. Is that where things went pear shaped?

Thanks in advance for any help duders.

PS let me know if if I've done something wrong with this post - I'm always a little unsure of forum etiquette - I generally lurk even at the forums where I am "active", and I'm definitely new to ILF.

PPS - I hope I can get this fuzz working. I've already got a tour box lined up for TGP.

[Seiche]

my fault haha

wow what a mess :P
- voltages are not right, i think, but i havent build the bazz. collector should be around 4.5v i think. Is the resistor really a 100k? can't see the color-code properly
- white noise indicates a grounding problem. I would connect the ground to the jacks and connect the jacks with each other.
- Is the input cap really 4.7uF? usually they are bigger (and electrolytic), i have not seen a common red cap with 4.7uF

btw: your layout is mirrored, usually you look at it from the top where the components are and do the wiring underneath mirrored. this isn't a problem though.

[goroth]

Hehe, yeah, it's a mess!

The resistor is 10k - I had a 100k in there, but then in schem 2 and 3 on homewrecker there was a 10k input resistor. But that would lead to really low impedence input wouldn't it? Meh, I'll go back to 100.

I'll measure the caps - they came from a bag that had 4,7 uF written on it, but on the other hand, I was the one who wrote it on there so it may indeed be completely wrong. If the input cap should be electrolytic, aren't most electrolytic caps polarised? In which case, shouldn't that be indicated on the schem? Or is that a bit like bypass switching - it's left off because it's assumed knowledge?

Thanks S (and anyone else who's read this!)

If I can get this to work I'm so slapping a red dot on it and ebaying it for $250.

[RR Bigman]

By input resistor do you mean the resistor from v+ to collector or do you have one going from input to ground for filtering? Also, as long as the cap isn't huge value wise it shouldn't affect the operation of the pedal bar changing the tone (more/less bass etc) I'd still check just to rule it out though.

Edit; nvm, there's only one resistor on there.

[Seiche]

the 10k is for a darlington transistor. they have lots and lots of gain. that's probably how you bias them, i've never used one. dude it's all in the link you posted.
the orientation of the polarized electrolytic cap is also shown in the layout that you used I think it doesn't have to be polarized as long as the value is in the ballpark.

[goroth]

Thanks for the help guys - I've been mixing up the different layouts and schems totally. If I get time tomorrow I'll change the 10k resistor for a 100k, put in a proper cap (not the 0,047 that I had there... Seiche you were right!), ground everything to the jacks and see what happens! Will report here as soon as I get the changes done!