Build Your Own Clone Message Board

Hi all,

I finished up the Analog Chorus and while the LED is flashing and responding to the pots as I twist them and there's a perfect connection from guitar to amp (on or off), there is no chorus happening at all. I messed with the trimpot, extreme one way cut the signal, so I left it extreme the other way until I figure this out.

See pictures at this link, explanations below: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1wAcvh ... oB_TRtXpHL

I had problems while building this guy and there a few things to note which may be the source of the issue:

- I put scotch tape on the back of the resistors to prevent grounding by an unwanted connection after reading this tip on a forum. Is this vaild or bogus? Shouldn't be hard to remove.

- I burned out one pad on a socket as circled in blue in one of the Drive pictures. This was routed by wire to a ground connection and I checked using my multimeter to ensure connectivity

- The socket due to go into this area was damaged on the side - just the plastic really, one metal connector was slightly out of place so I pushed back with needle nose pliers. The IC fitted perfectly.

- 2/4 ICs I had difficulty placing in firmly. You can see they're most of the way in and I'm wondering do they need to be perfect or not. As far as I can see the metal pins are touching those of the socket so there should be a connection, but I could be wrong. Do you need a firm click on both sides of the socket as you place the IC in?

- Not sure if this is relevant, but I only tested using a battery

Feel free to ask any questions. Looking forward to hearing advice!

...so I left it extreme the other way until I figure this out.

Put it dead center for now, that's about where it wants to be, it might be a hair to one side or the other, but middle is where you should start. Give it another try with the trimpot in the center, and see where you are.

- I put scotch tape on the back of the resistors to prevent grounding by an unwanted connection after reading this tip on a forum. Is this vaild or bogus? Shouldn't be hard to remove.

Back of the resistors? If you mean potentiometers, then it's not a bad thing. Not usually necessary, but a good practice, just in case.

- I burned out one pad on a socket as circled in blue in one of the Drive pictures. This was routed by wire to a ground connection and I checked using my multimeter to ensure connectivity

I wouldn't worry about it if the continuity is there.

- The socket due to go into this area was damaged on the side - just the plastic really, one metal connector was slightly out of place so I pushed back with needle nose pliers. The IC fitted perfectly.

You did what I do when I over heat a socket. The important part is that the metal holds the IC, and the pin of the socket is soldered to the PCB pad. As long as you have a physical connection, you should be good. This is an area that you should keep in mind for future troubleshooting, but if it gripped the IC, you should be good.

- 2/4 ICs I had difficulty placing in firmly. You can see they're most of the way in and I'm wondering do they need to be perfect or not. As far as I can see the metal pins are touching those of the socket so there should be a connection, but I could be wrong. Do you need a firm click on both sides of the socket as you place the IC in?

They look good from here, but a bit of a wiggle couldn't hurt. Just be careful not to bend or break the legs. If they won't easily wiggle into place, just leave them for now.

- Not sure if this is relevant, but I only tested using a battery

Always relevant, as is the battery charge level, if it was new, out of a pack, carry on. If not, try a new one if you can, or switch to a regulated 9v, tip-negative power supply.

_________________
The tone is in my hands?!
Email: nick@buildyourownclone.com

Ok I can confirm that using a 9V power supply didn't change anything.

I turned the internal trimpot to center as advised, and yes, I meant pots not resistors re: scotch tape.

That leaves the ICs. I could take them out and try do better with very firm placement but they look good to me so I wonder if this is a red herring...

It's possible. Go through the typical steps:

Make sure your resistors and caps are the correct values.

Make sure your wiring is correct.

Make sure all your solder joints are solid.

Double check IC orientation.

_________________
The tone is in my hands?!
Email: nick@buildyourownclone.com

So I just finished all of the above and I got the same result.

Do you have any other ideas? Thanks for all your help so far

Next, get some voltage readings from your ICs. Please label them properly so we know what you're working with.

For a little extra guidance, here are the pin numberings for the ICs:




Your ICs will either have a notch like the one in the picture, or a dot to indicate pin 1. If your ICs have both, always use the notch as your orientation guide.

_________________
The tone is in my hands?!
Email: nick@buildyourownclone.com

Excellent, I'll check into this over the weekend when I have time.

On a side note, something I didn't consider may or may not be an issue. I bought a replacement footswitch, a 3PDT on/off/on as this is what came up on Google. Now I'm after seeing there's such a thing as just On On - is this what I actually need?

Yes, there are two states, bypass (on) and effect (on) so an on-on is what you would want. Here is a link to it in our store: https://buildyourownclone.com/collectio ... ton-switch But just about every pedal parts source will stock them.

_________________
The tone is in my hands?!
Email: nick@buildyourownclone.com

Apologies for the long delay in responding, life got in the way there for a while. back to troubleshooting this guy as of this evening. I replaced the footswitch and got the same result.

I have not properly voltage tested the ICs like your post above asks. I've never done this before so I looked up videos on how to do it. Correct me if I'm wrong but these are the steps I took in a quick attempt:

1) Set multimeter to diode symbol with 'V' symbol next to it on digital display (as opposed to the B function on this setting which is a continuity check)
2) Placed one lead on pin 1 and checked it against all other pins
3) On ICs 3007 and 3101, I was getting various readings of ~.750 to ~.450, however, there were no readings coming up at all on the other ICs even though these were the two that had fit snugly without issue in their sockets.

Note: I am checking the ICs via the piece of metal on each pin that sticks out over the socket as I assume it is not necessary to check them via their solder connections underneath the board?

Did I do that correctly or is there a different way I need to gather readings? Let me know what I need to change.

Cheers!

Would you mind showing a picture of the face of your meter? It should be set to DC voltage, 20v range (or in that area). There's usually a dotted line above or below a solid line to indicate DC.
As far as your red lead goes, you're correct. Make sure the black lead is connected to the negative terminal on the battery you're using, or the negative lead on the 9v jack. Take your time and try not to bridge the meter lead across anything.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

Okay I was definitely doing that wrong but I believe I got it right this time. Multimeter set to DC voltage. These are the numbers I got:

TL022

1=7.47
2=7.54
3=7.46
4=7.50
5=7.51
6=7.16
7=7.47
8=7.54

3101

1=7.54
2=7.10
3=7.54
4=7.10
5=7.04
6=7.02
7=7.39
8=7.54

3007

1=7.54
2=7.10
3=7.52
4=7.54
5=7.54
6=7.10
7=7.48
8=7.48

4558

1=7.09
2=7.10
3=7.52
4=7.54
5=7.53
6=7.10
7=7.08
8=7.54

Does this make sense?

No that doesn't seem right. The voltages across the chips should go from 0 to close to supply voltage. Unfortunately my knowledge runs out here lol. My analog chorus also didn't work when i built it, new chips fixed the issue. Check out some other threads on this pedal to see how your voltages compare to working pedals.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

No, not at all. If your pedal is passing signal at all in effect mode, these voltage readings are incorrect. For example, you should have zero volts on TL022 and 4558 pin 4 (these are grounded) and close to 9 volts on pin 8. What is your voltage on the non-striped side of the 1N4001 diode (D4)?

I suggest reviewing these two posts and reflowing all of your solder joints before going any further. Take the chips out of the sockets before reflowing, and send us updated photos of the bottom of the PCB after reflowing.

http://www.byocelectronics.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=52188

http://www.byocelectronics.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=52211

_________________
MasterDelayer/Reverbrador/Ampaholic/TopJacker

Updated voltage numbers:

TL022

1=0-4.5*
2=3.38
3=2-4*
4=0
5=3.4
6=3.4
7=2-4
8=6.75

3101

1=6.53
2=3.06
3=0
4=3.10
5=.29
6=6.13
7=2.22
8=6.08

3007

1=6.52
2=3.10
3=2.84
4=6.08
5=0
6=3.06
7=5.06
8=5.06

4558

1=3.50
2=3.50
3=3.49
4=0
5=3.50
6=3.50
7=3.50
8=6.70

01.4v - This is what I got when I tested the volts on the diode as requested. I touched the positive probe on the copper ring on the non-striped end of the diode.

*Won't settle on a figure

Here's a google drive link with pics of the reflowed board: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Dfy60 ... Id6C_tvOZV

Note with the pics that I did the reflowing half by half with the board, hence the camera angles. Let me know if anything is off!

One thing that sticks out is that your power source voltage is low. The pins that are showing mid-6's voltage should be right about 9V. If you're using a battery, replace it.

_________________
“My favorite programming language is SOLDER” - Bob Pease (RIP)

My Website * My Musical Gear * My DIY Pedals: Pg.1 - Pg.2

I took these readings with a 9V power supply instead of a battery:

TL022

1=2-6
2=4.27
3=3-5
4=0
5=4.3
6=4.3
7=3-5
8=8.5

3101

1=8.2
2=3.9
3=0
4=3.9
5=0.34
6=7.8
7=2.7
8=7.8

3007

1=8.3
2=3.9
3=3.8
4=7.7
5=0
6=3.9
7=6.7
8=6.7

4558

1=4.4
2=4.4
3=4.4
4=0
5=4.4
6=4.4
7=4.4
8=8.5

The positive voltage on my working chorus is measuring 8.3 which is just a tiny bit lower than yours. However, my bias voltage on the 4558 is measuring 4.75 and 4.1 on pin 3 of 3007. This is only a little bit higher than yours, but given that your supply voltage is slightly higher, your bias voltages should be slightly higher as well. So maybe you need to fine tune your bias trimpot.

_________________
*patience is a virtue*

Please do not PM me. email is prefered. keith@buildyourownclone.com

Okay cool I'll try changing the bias soon. One question in the meantime: some of my voltages would not land on a definite number, they jumped all over the place and wouldn't settle (the ones with a dash on the TL022 readings). Does this mean the chip is busted?

I'll defer to the BBD experts here, but I think that just means that the LFO portion of the circuit is working properly.

_________________
“My favorite programming language is SOLDER” - Bob Pease (RIP)

My Website * My Musical Gear * My DIY Pedals: Pg.1 - Pg.2

Exactly. The TL022 is the op amp for the LFO (low frequency oscillator) portion of the circuit. It creates a fluctuating voltage to make the BBD (bucket brigade delay) fluctuate its delay time, which creates the vibrato effect. It also makes the LED blink in time. The voltage coming out of pin 1 is a square wave. It should jump instantly from 2v to 6v. The voltage coming out of pin 7 is a triangle wave. The voltage should ramp up and down in a linear fashion between 2 and 6v.

_________________
*patience is a virtue*

Please do not PM me. email is prefered. keith@buildyourownclone.com

Ok good to hear, would rule out damage then I suppose.

I'm running out of ideas here. One thing I can think of is that I'm not using the original footswitch supplied with the package. I purchased 4 BYOC packages at the same time and got to work on them one by one. The 3rd one was the spring reverb and it turned out I had a faulty footswitch. I was sent another for free but impatience got the better of me in the meantime so I tried to install the one packaged with the analog chorus. Now, I managed to wreck this one because of amateur soldering skills (melted a lug), but I purchased another to replace it for the reverb and got it working. Meanwhile, I used the replacement switch which had been sent for the reverb on the chorus.

Is it possible that these footswitches aren't compatible with their given pedals? Is this the problem all along? I assume it's a non-issue but I thought I'd check to be 100% sure.

No, they're all standard 3PDT latching footswitches.

_________________
“My favorite programming language is SOLDER” - Bob Pease (RIP)

My Website * My Musical Gear * My DIY Pedals: Pg.1 - Pg.2

I hate to be THAT guy, but to be honest your reflowed pictures still leave something to be desired. It seems like the iron isn't hot enough or the tip isn't clean/properly tinned.

Since the pros think your IC voltages look ok, did you take your time with the trim pot? Crank the depth and rate all the way, start in the middle, and go SLOWWWWWLY until you hear the chorus. Also, could the back of a pot be touching the circuit board? I put something under my pots when i built it.

Also, do a dummy test. With your trim pot adjusted or at least close, engage the effect and play. Lightly tap components and connections on the board. If you hear anything through the amp, that's where a loose connection or faulty component could be.

All criticism is welcome and thank you for saying it. I want to get good at soldering.

Note that I had a disaster early on with one of the sockets for the ICs where, in my ignorance, I thought the notch on the socket had to line up on the PCB just like the actual IC does. Before hearing on a forum that this is not the case, I had a hell of a time trying to remove the socket and burned out a pad while making a mess of others nearby. Perhaps you are referencing these ones? If you can download the image and circle which joints look poor, I can reflow. Thank you!

Well it's not a just a few. There's not one problem spot or section, it looks like your iron tip is dirty or just not hot enough. There are great instructionals on youtube on how to solder the correct way. I thought i was good at soldering until i started making these pedals. You need a good quality tip, solder, and ability to keep both clean. If you try the dummy test it may give you a clue toward a certain section.

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