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OK... this Wah is my 3rd BYOC pedal so I am not a rookie but not an expert either. Here are the symptoms: 1. The wah sounds VERY weak. Unless all the trimpots are turned all the way up, it barely makes any sound. When the pots are turned all the way up, the sweep and wah sound is very poor. In bypass, all is OK 2. In my troubleshooting efforts, I noticed that there is 12VDC to ground when measured anywhere on the pedal chassis.

I found that the 12VDC is emanating from both "Jack" solder spots on the PCB.

I have gone through and checked all solder joints (reflowed a few), and triple checked all components and wire landings and everything is per instructions and layout.

There are no shorts I can see. It seems to me that the sleeve connections on both jacks (and therefore the chassis) should not be carrying 12VDC. My board has a date code of BYOC WAH 2006.

Thoughts?

Photos would be very helpful. Please post as described here: viewtopic.php?f=33&t=6030

The forum's file attachment function is useful for this purpose.

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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

Hopefully the photos help..... Thanks!

Could you explain how you measured 12V DC on the chassis? I don't see how that is possible. The chassis should be at ground potential since it has continuity with the Input & Output jacks which are also at ground potential.

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"It’s your soldering."

Sure. But let me say this first, I was led to check for stray current because unlike all my other pedals, when I plug the wah in with the amp on, it makes a VERY loud buzz.

Since I am running a Virtual Sound 1SPOT 9V power supply to power my pedal board I assume all metallic parts, i.e.; chassis, jacks, etc. share the same potential- ground. When I put the black DMM lead on a jack of another pedal, I assume am connecting to the negative side of the 1SPOT. If I then put the red lead of the DMM to the chassis or the body of either jack I read ~ +9.57 VDC. I don't see any voltage when measured the same way with any of my other pedals.

If I remove the jacks from the wah chassis and let them hang loose, the 9V cannot be read on the chassis but it can be read on the ground terminals of the jacks.

But then again.... I might be all wet. Like I said, I am not an expert....

I can't help but think that you aren't using your DMM correctly. With the jacks installed do you have continuity between the chassis and one of the ground lugs of either of the jacks? If you do there is no way you can have voltage on the chassis. Your DMM's probes would be shorted together.

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"It’s your soldering."

I probably did not explain myself properly. For that I apologize.

As a side note, I use a DMM as a professional in troubleshooting complex control circuits in ultraviolet and ozone generation systems used for water disinfection. I think I have the DMM thing down....

That being said, I am certainly NOT an expert on passive component circuits.

Regarding the voltage I read.... I hold the negative lead on the jack nut of one of the OTHER pedals powered by the 1SPOT. The wah pedal is isolated from the other pedals by NOT plugging in any 1/4" cords but is also powered by the 1SPOT. Then I hold the positive lead of the DMM to anywhere on the wah chassis or jacks and I read 9VDC.

In my mind I shouldn't be able to read any voltage since the chassis and jacks of the wah should share potential/have continuity with the ground on the 1SPOT via the adapter plug. Or am I wrong on the circuit layout? Please see the attached photo for clarification.

The interesting thing to me is that if I try the same procedure with any of the other pedals, I get no voltage reading....

Try plugging a plug in the Input jack of the wah pedal. There is no voltage going to the circuit without one. Also disconnect the wah from the other pedals and power only the wah with the power supply.

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"It’s your soldering."

OK. No voltage on chassis when I plug a jack into the input. Thanks! But... now on to question two: The pedal just doesn't seem right still. I plug it into the amp and unless the trimpots for the gain and buffer are all the way up, very little sound comes out and then when I adjust the Q and the tones a bit, the pedal still seems to have very little "wah" tone.

I have tried this on several of my amps, different cords, all with the exact same results. I must have made a mistake on this thing somewhere but if I did I can't find it.

I think I see the problem. Looks to me like you were provided with some incorrect resistors in the kit--instead of a pair of 2.2M resistors (red/red/green/gold) at R7 and R8, you have 2.2K resistors there (red/red/red/gold). Refer to the labeled PCB diagram below. Contact BYOC at sales@buildyourownclone.com for the correct resistors.

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

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

Thank you for the info! I will make the change and report back. It will be a few days as I am out of town on business. Stand by.

Davoodooman, you nailed it. I contacted BYOC sales and they sent the correct resistors and viola! The wah is perfect! Thanks so much for your help! Signed, a color blind guy who struggles with resistor color codes......