Build Your Own Clone Message Board

Just built a Lazy Sprocket Kit. No go. LED not lighting, but the board is getting power. Wiring seems correct (triple checked it, and the board is getting power via battery at the board solder joints), no led, no effect except the sensitivity knob works sort of like a noise gate at low settings if I let a note ring, it will dip below an envelope and cut out. The attack knob does nothing. Bypass works and I get a strong signal in both switch positions, just no effect. LED does work if I put 9v battery leads to it.

Didn't think this would happen to me!

If you've been reading the Guitar Joe post, ditto. Checked all the resistors as I was building the kit, diodes and caps all going the right direction, used 2n5457 have not tried K30 yet.

Sorry, no pictures yet. You're not going to see anything from pics anyway. It's a clean meticulous build that just ain't working! I think it's sort of working but there's a problem somewhere.

Any suggestions?

Looking again, there are some unused holes on my board that don't have component screen printing around them. Are there supposed to be some jumpers on this kit?!!!

Did you adjust the trimpot as per the instructions?

Verify the polarity of the LED -- common error it seems. Also, check again the wiring to the 3PDT switch.

Pictures do help. People can check compoenent values and polarities and very often someone detached from the process will find things while one closer to the situation cannot.

The effect is also very subtle, is very sensitive to playing style, pickups, and volume/tone settings of the guitar. But it definitely works.


Barry

Yeah, I guess it might be feasible it's the trim pot but I don't think so.

I checked the polarity of the LED. That's not the problem.

I think I need to sit down and stare at the schematic awhile to at least figure out why the LED isn't lighting. Maybe that will turn something up.

The LED is a completely separate circuit from the LS circuit. If it doesn't light up it can only be due to a handful of reasons.

* The LED is installed backwards

* The battery and/or power supply are connected backwards

* The switch isn't wired correctly

* The LED is toast

_________________
"It’s your soldering."

OK, what I SHOULD have said is that I checked the LED polarity at 5 am. I still haven't been to bed yet, but I have gotten a couple naps and a shower since then.

Yes, it WAS the LED in backwards! Re-reading the instructions I see why. The long leg on the LED goes in the ROUND solder pad hole, but when installing ALL the capacitors which comes first in the instructions, you put all the long leads in the SQUARE solder pad. I didn't read carefully, I just saw long lead and went for the square pad. DOH!!

Not that I'm explaining this to you, just trying to explain it to other newbies that might see this thread in the future, so they actually get resolution to the problem if the same thing happens to them.

Still need to put it back in the housing and fine tune the trim pot, but it is DEFINITELY working quite well!! Yes!

Thanks again for beating it into my head that I need to check LED polarity!! What a relief! Now I just need to get a replacement 2N5457. I was none too kind getting that thing back off the board to try the K30 and one of the legs is loose now. It still works but looks like a failure waiting to happen. No more 5 am pedal building for me! I learned my lesson!

Speaking of the schematic, is it correct in the manual?! I can only find 4 of 5 diodes and I can't find the LED on the schematic which would be a sixth diode.

What does the LED symbol look like? I thought is was supposed to be a diode symbol with an arrow through it to signify the photon emission.

What's the diode symbol with the arrow head pointing at a squiggly line (like D4 in the schematic) instead of a straight line (like D1 thru D3)?