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 Post subject: Analog Vibrato Revisited
PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2017 4:20 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 12:36 pm
Posts: 26
I built this pedal about a year ago and really like it (especially the ramp feature), but there are two issues with my build that I should deal with.

1. First, the LED is always on, whether or not the pedal is activated. (In case this makes any difference, when I first built it, the LED never went on, even though the pedal worked fine; and so I flipped the LED around and now it never goes off.)

2. When the pedal turns on, there's a noticeable volume drop, maybe even 30-40%. My sense is that this drop has gotten worse over time -- at first I didn't even notice it, and then for a while it only bothered me a little, but when I plugged this pedal back into my effects chain recently it seems like it's become a bigger problem.

I assume I need to reflow everything and I'll do that tomorrow, but if anyone has any thoughts about these issues, I'd be glad to hear them.

(I remember when I built it that I struggled with wiring the pots -- is it possible that I installed them in the wrong places, or maybe even wired them backwards?)

Thanks in advance --

Rob


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 3:06 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 12:36 pm
Posts: 26
Some tweaking with the trimpots seems to have helped. There's still a noticeable lack of brightness/high end with the effect on, but not so much of a volume drop. I'll reflow everything next time I have the chance to see if that helps.

Any ideas on why the LED is always on?


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 3:43 pm 
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Location: Richland, WA.
If your LED is staying on, it's a sign that there is a bridge or short somewhere. Upload the pictures of your build and we can see if anything stands out.

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 7:24 pm 
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Nwkenning wrote:
If your LED is staying on, it's a sign that there is a bridge or short somewhere.

Specifically, a short to ground somewhere between the cathode (negative side) and the footswitch. The LED always has power to the anode (+ side) but lacks the necessary path to ground from the cathode in order for current to flow through it. The other possibility (less likely) is that the footswitch is defective and the 1 and 2 lugs are always in contact regardless of the switch position. This can be easily tested for with a multimeter.

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