Build Your Own Clone Message Board

Which capacitor is the "tantalum" capacitor?

They are smallish capacitors with an elongated dome for a body. Should look a lot like this greatly enlarged photo:

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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, I don't think mine came with one. I just ordered and built it. Here's a pic of the inside. I did have to turn the trim pot full CCW to get the effect to work. Is that normal? I would like to do the longer swell mod.

There is no tantalum cap in the current version (2.0) of the Lazy Sprocket. I'm guessing that you were looking at the instructions for the previous version (Rev.1.4). The correct instructions for your pedal kit are here: http://byocelectronics.com/lazysprocketinstructions.pdf

Your build looks good to me, with nothing out of place that I can see. What type of JFET did you receive in the kit? Is it a 2N5457?

The trimpot should be adjusted per the instructions on page 9 of the instructions that I linked above. To get the best sounding swell effect, you can expect to be adjusting the Attack and Sensitivity controls quite regularly as you change guitars, amp settings, etc.

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

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

Yes, the JFET is a 2N5457.

Would the mod to swap out the B25k Attack pot with a B100k attack pot(with 220k resistor between lugs 1 & 2), still work to get a slower swell on my version?

Should work exactly the same because the earlier version was the same effect circuit. The version change was basically just to get the jacks on the top where most players seem to prefer them.

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

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

Awesome, thanks for your help. I've got the b100k pot and 220k resistor ordered! Can't wait to give them a try.

I just installed the B100k pot amd 220k resistor. Now I get hardly any volume if I turn the Attack knob past 11:00. Any idea what is going in with it?

Check the resistance range of your modified pot by measuring the resistance across the 220K resistor with the pot all the way CCW and then again with it all the way CW. You should see ~0 ohms at the one end of the pot sweep and ~69 Kohms at the other end.

BTW, did you readjust the trimpot per the page 9 instructions after completing the modification?

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

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

Looks like the modified pot is reading 1.7(full CCW) and 69.5(when Attack knob is full CW).

Yes, I tried to readjust the Trim Pot. Full turn CCW was the only working position. And even then, I would lose volume when I turn the Attack knob up past the 11:00 position.

Are you adjusting the Sensitivity control, as well?

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

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

Yes, and still losing audio with it at any position. I tested the modified pot at the point right before volume loss, and it was reading 26.6(roughly 10:00-11:00 on Attack pot).

Seems very odd, given the good resistance numbers you measured. Unfortunately, I don't any longer have the old v.1.4 pedal that I modified, and the v.2.0 pedal I have isn't modified. Maybe Keith has some idea what's going on with yours; I'll ask him to stop by.

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

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

I e-mailed Keith and he is suspicious of the 2N5457 in your pedal, since sourcing reliable JFETs has been getting more and more challenging as stocks of through-hole transistors have been drying up. He told me that he "recently procured a nice stash of primo N.O.S. 2SK30A which was the original SG-1 JFET." As you may know, the PCB has the extra hole to accommodate this specific part with its different pinout. Keith suggested that you contact sales@buildyourownclone.com and request a 2SK30A JFET to try in your Sprocket.

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

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

Thank you very much! I just emailed them, and will let you know when I get the new JFET installed.

I received the new JFET today and installed it. Now my Lazy Sprocket will not swell anymore. No matter how I adjust the trim pot, sensitivity pot, and attack pot, it just bypasses the signal. I get sound, but no effect when the pedal is on. I did notice the new JFET I received says "K30A" and "GR3A" on it, and has 3 pins.

Are you certain that you installed it correctly, i.e. per the note at the bottom of page 10 of the instructions?

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

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

Like this? Is it possible I got another bad JFET? How do I test it?

No, NOT like that. The idea is to move ALL of the legs down one position, leaving the upper D position (left-most in your photo) empty. So CAREFULLY desolder the new JFET and relocate it as described. I find that I get the best results from removing most of the solder with a "solder sucker" and then clean up the residual with good quality desoldering braid until all the legs are lose from the PCB. NEVER pull hard on the legs while any are still adhering to the eyelet, as this is a common way to damage the board!

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

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

Just moved it, and sounds like everything is working great now! Thanks for all your time and expertise!

Ah, that's good news! Glad to hear that the new JFET (properly installed!) did the trick.

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

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