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Hi y'all.

I'm gonna build a BYOC Divided Octave pedal.
I'm taking photos as I go. I'll post them here like a journal or something.
Maybe people interested in byoc kits might find it interesting.
Maybe my journey of learning might help someone grow as a person.
Who knows?

So without further delay...

So I've been jonesing for one of these things since the 90's. I tried a few and loved them. But not the $800 price tag.
There have been rumors of kits, and I heard once someone trading as muton waas going to reissue them (or something).
Anyhoo, I lost my shit when BYOC announced it and ebayed a kit.

I've never built a BYOC kit before. Here's what they look like:

I busted open the pack and prepared to check off the components. It was at this point I realised I may have bitten off more than i can chew...


Everything was in there. One toggle switch had a leg bent, but hey, worse shit has happened.

The box was a little rougher than the boxes I'd been getting myself

Oooh that looks like a bundle of joy. I want one!

Holy shit, I didn't realise how much sanding it takes to get one of these things smooth!!!
Arrrrhg! hours of sanding with 240 and 800 grit paper and it looks like this:



I want this to look cool when its done. I haven't decided how to finish it.
I love the look of Laowiz's etchings , so i might investigate how its done.

To be continued!!

If this is your first kit take your time. A multimeter and magnifying glass will help.
Compared to most pedals there is a shit ton of off board wiring and it is extremely helpful, once you have the board completely populated, to make sure it works BEFORE you put it in the enclosure.
There are some great stickies at BYOC, DIYSB, FSB, Beavis Audio, and GGG. Check them out if you have not already.
I got my pcb for this in the post last week but I still need to source a couple things and finsh some other projects first.
Good luck.

First kit I did I only had the included parts and I mixed up a resistor color code. Broke the first misplaced one on removal, and off to Radioshack for an assortment for the spare and to not have to make a second trip. If you don't have spares, double or triple check the resistor codes to save yourself an errand.

Yeap I'm building some of these too! Can't wait to see yours.

goodluck brohan!

Boxbie wrote:Holy shit, I didn't realise how much sanding it takes to get one of these things smooth!!!
Arrrrhg! hours of sanding with 240 and 800 grit paper and it looks like this:

polished.jpg

I want this to look cool when its done. I haven't decided how to finish it.
I love the look of Laowiz's etchings , so i might investigate how its done.

To be continued!!

Hammond boxes aren't nearly as bad. 4Sites are better too. Those New Sensor boxes basically require a power sander, and even then it takes forever. If you're going to paint it, you should probably just go ahead and prime it to fill the cracks...
e
... but I guess that's for future reference.

The New Sensor ones do look cleaner when bare, though.

Good luck on the build! Didn't even know this kit existed.

Were you wet sanding or doing it dry. Usually I start off with 100, 200-300, and then a higher one of whatever I have around. 400-1000.

LaoWiz wrote:Were you wet sanding or doing it dry. Usually I start off with 100, 200-300, and then a higher one of whatever I have around. 400-1000.

Well, a bit of trial and error. I started off wet sanding with the 240, before twigging to dry sanding it rough with the 240 then wet sanding with 800 to get it pretty shiney.

I'm gonna populate the board and ponder what to do with the case.
Cheers!

So I've done a bit of etching research.
At some point I'm going to give it a try!
Both enclosures are drilled, so I guess I'll just paint/mask around the sides of the holes and put duct tape on the inside?
I found a local source of PnP blue. It ain't cheap!

Soldering will be my next step.

If you want the inside clean you should not use duct tape as it's likely to leave residue. I use blue painters tape for masking when etching and painting. I always use PNP for etching boxes. It's expensive and will probably try glossy magazine paper again someday... Best of luck with the project.

Aright!

So solder time!



I started with the reisistor. There were a lot. Oh yes.


It was fiddly. I had bagged up all the componants according to value, and metered each one before soldering.
It took along time.