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PostPosted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 2:53 pm 
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BUILD TIPS

So you're interested in building a BYOC Confidence Boost kit, or have one and are about to begin putting it together.

First up, check out all of the helpful stickied links in the DIY Discussion Lounge.

Most importantly, read through "Stephen's tips for a successful build": http://www.buildyourownclone.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=6401
And "Things to know before your first build": http://www.buildyourownclone.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=19168

Soldering

BYOC has a short soldering tutorial here: http://www.buildyourownclone.com/soldervid.html
Also, there's another, more informative soldering tutorial here:


Populating the PCB

Install the resistors first, and find the right values before installing them. Just about any veteran will tell you not to rely on the color codes. Buy a cheap digital multi meter (DMM), and measure each resistor before installing it. Bend the leads, insert them into the right spot, solder, and clip the leads as short as you can.
Photos from Stephen's tips:
Note that the components are inserted from the silkscreened side of the pcb and soldered from the the opposite side.
Image Image Image Image

Then install the diode, the IC, etc. as detailed in the instructions. Here's a finished build, make yours like this:
Attachment:
CB 005.jpg
CB 005.jpg [ 116.72 KiB | Viewed 22164 times ]

Here is the bottom of the pcb:
Attachment:
CB 007.jpg
CB 007.jpg [ 149.21 KiB | Viewed 22164 times ]


Note that I had a few 'iffy' looking solder joints. As with most of my builds, I then went back and touched up any solder joint that looked the least bit off. DO THIS! By far, the most common cause of non-working or poorly-working builds is due to a bad solder joint or two. After your first pass at soldering the pcb, take a look at all of the joints, and go back over any joints that don't look right. Make sure your soldering iron tip is clean (no oxidation), shiny (tinned with solder), and hot. And make sure each solder joint is even all the way around each component, covers all of the pcb solder pad, and is not so big as to be in danger of touching an adjacent pad, or so small as to cause connection problems. Here is the bottom after I touched it up:
Attachment:
CB-cleaned 008.jpg
CB-cleaned 008.jpg [ 138.32 KiB | Viewed 22161 times ]


Wiring

Bad wiring is probably the second most common cause of non-working builds. There is a section of "Stephen's Tips" that discusses how to solder a wire to a pcb and to a solder lug on a component such as a jack or a potentiometer. The most important parts of this is to tin the wire and make a solid mechanical connection (crimp the tinned lead to the solder jug). Tinning the wire takes all of 10 seconds once you get the hang of it. No excuses for not doing it. Here are more photos from "Stephen's Tips":
Bare Wire
Image
Tinned wire
Image
Crimp
Image
Mechanical connection
Image
Soldered
Image

Stripped wire
Image
Tinned wire
Image
Inserted into pcb pad
Image
Soldered
Image
If your connections do not look similar to this, something is wrong. Fix it before moving forward!

Here are some photos of my wiring (note that my kit came with two stereo jacks and that is what is shown here):
Attachment:
CB 003.jpg
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Attachment:
CB 005.jpg
CB 005.jpg [ 116.72 KiB | Viewed 22154 times ]
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CB 010.jpg
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CB 011.jpg
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CB 012.jpg
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CB 013.jpg
CB 013.jpg [ 70.51 KiB | Viewed 22127 times ]



My aim with this thread is to make the build process as clear as possible. If any of this information is unclear to you, or you would like clarification on another detail of the build, please post your questions/concerns in a new thread. I will continue to edit this post in response to your questions.

Have fun! :D

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 4:17 pm 
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Troubleshooting

So you built the Confidence Boost and it doesn't work? Here is some information I hope will be helpful.

First of all, take a break. It can be tremendously helpful to walk away from the build and look at it with fresh eyes. Did you install all of the components in the right place? Does your wiring look correct? Do you have a fresh 9 volt battery connected to it? Do your solder joints look 'right'? Is you guitar connected to the correct jacks (not hooked up backwards)? Is you amp on? Did you turn the trim pot?

Compare your build to the build below and see if you can detect anything amiss.
Attachment:
CB 005.jpg
CB 005.jpg [ 116.72 KiB | Viewed 22008 times ]


Attachment:
CB 008.jpg
CB 008.jpg [ 173.2 KiB | Viewed 22009 times ]


Attachment:
CB 012.jpg
CB 012.jpg [ 82.57 KiB | Viewed 21997 times ]


Attachment:
CB 013.jpg
CB 013.jpg [ 70.51 KiB | Viewed 21998 times ]

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 4:45 pm 
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Troubleshooting with a DMM

If you have a digital multi meter (DMM) and have some idea of how to use (or not), you can take some readings to see if things measure up correctly.

First up is continuity tests. If you have no idea what that is, here is a tutorial: http://www.ladyada.net/learn/multimeter/continuity.html

Basically, you set the meter to continuity, and it will beep when the connection you are measuring with the DMM leads is good, or has no resistance across it.

Here is a pcb map showing the ground connections:
Attachment:
CB Ground Map.jpg
CB Ground Map.jpg [ 215.39 KiB | Viewed 22002 times ]


So, both sleeve connections, the 'Black' pad, the bottom ends of R2, R4, and R5, pin 4 of the op amp, and the right side terminals of the trim pot should all connect to ground. To measure this with your DMM, set it to continuity, touch the two probes together to make sure the meter beeps, clamp the black probe to the sleeve lug of one of the jacks, and use the tip of the red probe to test for continuity at each of the points mentioned above. If you find a connection that is not getting continuity to ground, resolder that connection and try again.

Next up is supply voltage, referred to as V+. for this we will be measuring voltage, not continuity. Again, here is a tutorial: http://www.ladyada.net/learn/multimeter/voltage.html

You basically set the meter to DC voltage, clip the black lead to a ground point, like the sleeve lug of a jack, and use the read lead to touch components and record that reading. Here is a pcb map showing the components that connect to V+:
Attachment:
CB V+ Map.jpg
CB V+ Map.jpg [ 206.3 KiB | Viewed 21996 times ]


The 'Red' pcb pad, the bottom and top side of the diode, the positive side of C4, pin 8 of the op amp, and the bottom sides of R1, R3, and R6 should all have the same amount of voltage that you measured on the top side of the diode. The bottom side of the diode and the 'Red' pcb pad should be about one volt higher than the rest of the readings. Also, the bottom side of the diode and the 'Red' pad tell you how much voltage your battery is currently putting out. So, if you have less than about 7 volts there, you should probably try a fresh battery! My build has 8.96 volts at this point.

Other Voltages

Here are some other voltages you can check to make sure your build is working properly:

Pins 1 and 2 of the op amp should have about 1/2 of V+ (4.5 volts if you read 9 volts at the stripped end of the diode). (my build has 8.33 volts on the stripped end of the diode and 4.18 volts on pins 2/3)

Pin 3 of the op amp should have slightly less than 1/2 of V+. (my build has 3.81 volts)

The emitter of the transistor (E pad) should have about 1 volt or so. (my build has 0.98 volts)

The base of the transistor (B pad) should have slightly less voltage than the emitter (about 0.2 volts less). (my build has 0.69 volts)

The collector of the transistor (C pad) should have about 2/3 V+ (6 volts of you have 9 volts V+). (my build has 5.56 volts)

Again, if you have any questions at all, please ask in a separate post and we'll answer you as soon as we can.

Thanks!

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