Build Your Own Clone Message Board

Greetings--for my 2nd BYOC (following a Classic Delay) I built a Spring Reverb pedal yesterday. In the end all is well but here is one small observation.

When I got to the pot soldering, I decided to actually follow the instructions this time and leave 2mm between the backs of the pots and the PCB, just in case of shorts etc. For the previous pedal I hadn't worried about it (I've built loads of stuff) but decided this time to follow the instructions, and used a popsicle stick (thickness 2mm) between the pots and the pcb to give the stability while I soldered the first few pads. I will point out that one pot had a plastic cover that I did not remove.

When time came to put in the enclosed 1/4-inch jacks, I found that they would not fit properly. They could still go in, but would have to be canted so that they would emerge through the holes at a noticeable angle (the nuts would not be flush with the enclosure face). Rather than desolder the nine pads I decided to just install a pair of open 1/4-in jacks (one mono and one stereo) that I have a good supply of anyway. I had to bend the prongs a bit, and carefully choose the orientation, but it all went in no problem and the pedal worked fine first go.

It seems likely that had I removed the plastic cap from the one pot I would have had less or no difficulty fitting the enclosed jacks in, as intended. Given the tight tolerances, perhaps a bit more guidance could be inserted into the instructions for those new to this; 1mm instead of 2mm, or suggest a couple thicknesses of electrical tape for insulation, or just take off the plastic cap, or whatever.

Ok! ... it was so much fun that it's now time for the Analog Chorus pedal. I will eyeball the recent "R16" traffic on that one and try to get it going first attempt--what a great resource this board is!