Build Your Own Clone Message Board

Hey Everyone,

I purchased the Lazy Sprocket kit from the site about 2 years ago, built it, plugged it in, and it didnt work. Until just recently, it sat with a few other projects I had been working on. I decided to pull it back out and go over my work again to see if I could figure out what I did wrong. I noticed that I had switched two of the restistors (390 and 390k) by accident. I switched those to their proper positions, and after a final check, I plugged it in....and it still doesn't work. I've gone over the instructions many times to double check my work. Not sure what I've done wrong here. I have to admit, at the time that I first built this, I wasn't AS knowledgeable with this stuff as I am now (and I'm still working to learn!), so I wasn't aware of the need for heat sinks. Here are some pictures of my build (hopefully, it's decipherable). Would anyone be willing to take a look and see if I've made a mistake? If I haven't, is it possible that I may have damaged a part while sodering w/o a heat sink and if so, how do I check for it?

FYI - You'll see the leads for the LED in the pictures have not been clipped. This has just been done and I have yet to be able to test it yet.

OK, so a couple of things. Can you give us a better description of what is going on with the pedal? Do you get signal when you bypass? Do you get signal when you switch it on, but no swell? Does the LED come on?

Your soldering is a little rough, and I realize this was done a couple of years ago There are several places where there are stray pieces of wire hanging out and some of the component leads also need clipping. I would also touch up most of the component joints. Let's start there and see where we get.

Mike

Well, when I have everything plugged in and ready to test, I get a signal through to the amp when I bypass (and I'm assuming that means when the pedal is NOT on/in use). When I hit the switch, the LED turns on, but the signal gets completely cut out and I get nadda...no popping, no crackling...just silence.

And a few questions of my own (sorry, I'm quite the newbie here on this): Component leads - are these the leads on the underside of the board where the soder joints are? If so, how close should I cut it? Also, when you mention 'touching up' soder joints, would you be able to show me an example of how a properly sodered joint should look?

the best way to do it is to flip your board over to see all your solder joints.. hold the board up horizontally and look at anything that looks like its sticking up past the mound o solder.. if it is, snip it off as close to the solder as possible. those things like to ground out when they bump into pots and such.
snipping them is easy, use some wire snippers. (if you dont have a pair, use some toenail clippers, but use them sparingly as the blades on them arnt that strong. then go to radio shack and get a good pair of snips that will last.)

re flowing the solder is a good idea on some of the joints as well..
heat up your iron, and touch it to the solder blobs and remelt your joints, this was what the problem with my build was.. one lousy cold solder joint.

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OK, great! I'll give all these points some attention today, check it out tonight again, and get back atcha tomorrow. The help is MUCH appreciated!

You should definitely read through this:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=6401

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

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

Thanks, DVM, you beat me to it !

Oh wow! What an awesome guide! I wish I had discovered this a few years ago before I started building!

Quick question: generally speaking, how easy is it to damage a componant on one of these builds? Are there certain componants that are damaged more easily by the heat from the iron than others?

While certainly possible, it is rare for these builds. Your issue is most likely due to a bad connection somewhere, possibly the switch or outboard wiring. But we're getting ahead of ourselves a bit!

Haha! Ok, baby steps.

But hey, good news! Last night, I took the pedal apart, clipped all the leads down more than they were, and touched up every soder joint on that sucker. When I plugged everything into my rig, not only did I get a signal when bypassing, but I also got a signal when the pedal was on! Alright! I'm not out of the woods yet though just one step closer (I'll try to explain the best I know how).

-First, when i adjust the trimpot, I hear no difference in tone, volume, etc (not really even sure WHAT I'd be expeting to hear anyway).
-Secondly, when the attack pot is turned to "0", I get an instantaneous response from the guitar through to the amp. When it's turned to it's max, I get a slight delay/swell. Is this what I should expect?
-Thirdly, when the sensitivity pot is turned to "0", I get nothing. Nadda. No signal. As soon as I turn it up though, I get signal, and as the volume is fading (say off of a single strum), it begins to crackle, then cut out. The time it take to cut out increases as I turn the pot towards max. Is this what I should expect here?

I threw some pictures in, although, they probably arent that great. My wiring is so messy, it's hard to get a good picture of it all. I've noticed that (referencing the post duhvoodooman referred me to) there is bare wire near my soder joints on the switch and on both the jacks. I dont have any heat shink to insulate it with, so I figured I'd just get new wire and follow the reccomended procedure outlined in that post. Whudda you think?

CONGRATS!
your pedal is working fine!
like i said before this ones picky about where its set at, but once you get it just exactly right, its awesome.
as i remember the knobs are not effective for most of their sweep, ill hook mine up this afternoon and post up the settings i find work best with it. the effect is kinda picky about what you play as well, it doesnt seem to do chords very well, but loves single notes.

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Sweet! You have a working Sprocket! Let me explain...

The Attack knob sets how long the swell will be: the more clockwise you turn, the longer the swell.

The SENS pot sets where the pedal will start to swell depending on the signal coming in from your guitar. Some guitars have a higher output than others and so you can dial in your guitar using this pot. Start at about 9:00 o'clock and make your adjustments from there. With SENS at zero the pedal does not sense an input and does not pass anything through.

The crackling you hear is because you do not have the trimpot set correctly. Here's how to do that: set the SENS at 9:00 (or what's best for your guitar) and the ATTACK full clockwise. Play some single notes and adjust the trimpot until you get a nice swell without too much volume loss.

Wonderful! Good to know. I was concerned that maybe it was a case of bad sodering. The crackling I hear...I'm supposed to expect that? I was testing it by strumming all 6 open strings, and if it doesnt handle chords well, maybe that's just the case. I'll have to play around with it tonight with the rest of my rig and fine tune it. Plus, having your settings to work off of should help me know what i should expect as well.

I guess I'm still concerned about the crackle noise I get when its just about to cut out as well as the trimpot seemingly not making a difference in sound. What is the trimpot supposed to do anyway? And does anyone suggest that I should redo the wiring? I feel like i should, but don't really know if it's absolutely necessary.

Thanks mmarsh, I read your post after i posted my last post. (whew)

No worries. BTW, for the sake of others reading this post, the instructions for adjusting the trimpot are in the build guide PDF on page 5 in the paragraph describing step 4.

Mike

Ok guys, another question: I'm playing around with the pedal now and adjusting the trimpot. Seems like the SLOWEST swell is when I have the trimpot turned all the way clockwise, but it sacrifices volume, unless I begin the turn the sens pot up. How slow should this SLOW swell typically be?

Listen to the first demo here, to get an idea: viewtopic.php?f=25&t=20956

Then set your trimpot to the slowest swell you can get without sacrificing volume.

Mike

All good with your Sprocket?