noobie needs some help troubleshooting first build

[pulsewidthmod]

Hey peeps! my name is maeghan (this is my first post here ... woo hoo) i need some help; i'm building my first pedal and decided to dive right in with a devi ever pedal.
I've got it all wired up and the 3PDT switch works as it should when it is off (clean signal is coming through), the LED works but when it is on I'm just hearing a buzzing sound.

I'm building a Soda Meiser and here's my board:

[mysteriousj]

Hmm. All the parts look in the right place. (the only thing I couldn't confirm is right is Q4 but I assume you've done it right?) Check those solder joints, and double check the 3pdt wiring. Check you haven't wired the fx input to the fx output or something like that it could cause results like you've described. Good luck! First builds can be hard to complete but it's awesome once you get things going.

[AxAxSxS]

I use a little battery powered amp, an output jack wired with negative to an aligator clip and positive with a test probe, all cheap parts radio shack may have. I ground the clip, plug into the amp and go over the signal path. most of the time I forgot to solder something and I find it right away. good luck!

[soldersqueeze]

check yo' ground path. are the board and both jack sleeves getting grounded properly?

[pulsewidthmod]

check yo' ground path. are the board and both jack sleeves getting grounded properly?

does it matter where i ground them to? there's two places on the board to ground but couldn't i also ground to the case?

thanks so much ... I'm currently re-wiring the board and making things way neater ... my previous wiring was too chaotic. hopefully, i will get it right this time

[pulsewidthmod]

yup ... not working, still doing the same thing ... i know it's a ground issue but i don't know where it the problem is ...

[eatyourguitar]

I use a little battery powered amp, an output jack wired with negative to an aligator clip and positive with a test probe, all cheap parts radio shack may have. I ground the clip, plug into the amp and go over the signal path. most of the time I forgot to solder something and I find it right away. good luck!

I made a video that shows how to do this with a tone generator
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKP8Y64IK90[/youtube]

check yo' ground path. are the board and both jack sleeves getting grounded properly?

does it matter where i ground them to? there's two places on the board to ground but couldn't i also ground to the case?

you can ground to the case if the case is grounded. you need to run your power ground to the case somewhere and then you can run your audio grounds to the case. devi solders directly to the metal on the back of the pots since they do touch the case. I think it is a horrible idea. devi does not even connect the sleeve of one of the jacks since it is metal on metal with the case and already has ground. I do that sometimes and it works great.

my previous wiring was too chaotic

you got it right the first time, just wrap the PCB in a meter of black electrical tape and you have an authentic devi ever pedal.

on a more serious note, you may have a failed footswitch. beginners often heat them up past the melting point of the plastic. use your multimeter to do a complete continuity check with the switch in each of the two states. your checking for connections where they should be and no connections where they should not be. while your there, you can continuity check every ground point to every other ground point.

[pulsewidthmod]

here's what's going on ... the bypass on the switch works great ... the video will show what's happening ... i rewired one thing and now i don't get the wierd grounding out sound (hope that makes sense)

none of the signal is coming through when i turn the pedal on, if you watch the video you'll see what's happening

forgive me for the crappy video taking

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5gZ33R1v2c[/youtube]

[pulsewidthmod]

i just wired up a new switch ... didn't over-heat the switch ... i'm getting the same problem, it sounds like the board is getting a short-circuit sound or what i call a 'grounded-out' sound.
i've got the lug 3 going to in 3 and out 3 for the corresponding pots ... i've got the in 1 and out 1 going to the lug 1 on corresponding switches ... lug 2 for both pots are going to the switch

i've followed the directions on the interwebs ... i just don't know what i'm doing wrong

i've just run out of solder so i'm gonna have to put it down for now

on another note ... here's a pic of my customized arp axxe ...http://instagram.com/p/VFf1h5HKsW/

[pulsewidthmod]

here is how i wired it up ...

[eatyourguitar]

if you do not have a tone generator and an audio probe, you can do the opposite and make a grounding probe. connect a wire to the power ground and start touching points of interest with it. first I would test it by connecting the output tip of the ground probe. your amp should go silent. then slowly work your way back step by step. ground the effect output at the footswitch. then ground the effect output at the output of the last pot. then the input of the pot. then the output of the board. then use the schematic to ground the collectors of each transistor one by one. last ground the input of the board, the pot feeding the board, and the input side of the footswitch.

the point of all this is to see if it is amplifying noise or is it just an oscillator with the input disconnected. if you still get noise with the first transistor collector grounded, you can assume the problem is somewhere near the second transistor.

[pulsewidthmod]

if you do not have a tone generator and an audio probe, you can do the opposite and make a grounding probe. connect a wire to the power ground and start touching points of interest with it. first I would test it by connecting the output tip of the ground probe. your amp should go silent. then slowly work your way back step by step. ground the effect output at the footswitch. then ground the effect output at the output of the last pot. then the input of the pot. then the output of the board. then use the schematic to ground the collectors of each transistor one by one. last ground the input of the board, the pot feeding the board, and the input side of the footswitch.

the point of all this is to see if it is amplifying noise or is it just an oscillator with the input disconnected. if you still get noise with the first transistor collector grounded, you can assume the problem is somewhere near the second transistor.

i figured out that my power supply was bad ... here's what i'm getting now .. i'm getting a signal, it's just a sustaining fuzz with the signal coming through when played ...

i appreciate your help, i'm gonna be going to radio shack and hopefully i'll have enough cash to get the parts needed to make the probe

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acmXt6mlYCE[/youtube]

[Dr Satan]

Double check that you have the right transistors in the right place, one of them is a PNP while the others are all NPN, it will make a difference. Reflow all your solder joints, DO NOT USE LEAD FREE SOLDER. It's crap on a crap cracker and will give you problems. Double check the wiring on your 3PDT switch, and I would even recommend changing it to this layout as this will short the input to ground when bypassed so that you don't get any noise bleeding through. Use some jumper leads to connect all your grounds together as well. I'm not sure if her designs rely on the housing to complete the circuit or not. You can pick up a 10 pack of little jumpers for pretty cheap if you have a Northern Handyman or Harbor Freight around. Make sure you have enough solder in the holes but not so much that it is touching a neighboring hole. Make sure there are no flyaway leads, or solder tracking. Use an alligator clip on the leads of your transistors to help prevent them from overheating when you are soldering them in. It works a a simple heat sink.

[eatyourguitar]

lead free solder is only a problem if you do not have the tools and experience to work with it. the same can be said for desoldering anything from a 3PDT. the 3PDT does not stand up to repeated soldering like the other components do. the plastic will melt if you dwell too long on it. I would say don't mess with success unless the 3PDT wiring is completely wrong. remember that there are something like over a hundred permutations of correct 3PDT wirring if you include reflections and equivalent pole swaps. they might not all have grounded input or grounded output. some will have grounded input and grounded output. they all work. at least one of your inputs or outs should be grounded for best performance in bypass mode but the lack of does not cause a pedal to not work at all. if you need pinout information for your transistors, just google "2n5088 datasheet" or "2n5088 datasheet pdf" <---- use your part number instead of 2n5088.

[pulsewidthmod]

hey peeps, just wanted to let you guys know that i got the pedal workng. Actually, i built the TP alongside it and I now have myself the amazing SHoegazer pedal .... and it sounds awesome.

I also built an aenima pedal for my husband.

Currently working on a ea tremelo pedal and about to figure out the parts i need to build myself an 'eye of god' pedal.

woo hoo!!! (yeah yeah .. uber dork here)