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 Post subject: Glass diode help
PostPosted: Wed Feb 01, 2017 9:08 pm 
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I'm currently working on a Divided Octave but this question is pedal-agnostic: which side of this 1N60 diode is positive? I don't see a band but there is a white dot on one side. Thanks!Image


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 Post subject: Re: Glass diode help
PostPosted: Wed Feb 01, 2017 9:18 pm 
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The white dot serves the same function as a stripe and denotes the cathode side.

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 Post subject: Re: Glass diode help
PostPosted: Wed Feb 01, 2017 9:32 pm 
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duhvoodooman wrote:
The white dot serves the same function as a stripe and denotes the cathode side.


Life saver!!


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 Post subject: Re: Glass diode help
PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2017 9:20 am 
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1st time post / 1st time builder:

I finished building the Divided Octave pedal, but it isn't working and I'm just starting to troubleshoot.

With respect to the germanium diode (1N60) - looking at the diode, it appears that the white dot represents the anode side. I struggled with this point (assuming white dot represented cathode), so I asked Nick at BYOC and he confirmed (via testing) that the white dot is the anode side.

Having said that, does your pedal work with the diodes installed with the white dot on the cathode side? Perhaps I'm wrong about this.


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 Post subject: Re: Glass diode help
PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2017 1:36 pm 
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Hi,

I finished mine last night and it's working fine (using the dot in place of the line guidance). I'm attaching a test video of it in action (I tested it with my modular synth). It was late at night and I was too lazy to record the audio separately into my DAW so the audio is via my iPad mic (mortal sin!).

Actually, is this how this pedal should sound? The bass is a bit quieter than I would have preferred. I would imagine that nothing would work, however, if the diode was backward, right?



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 Post subject: Re: Glass diode help
PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2017 8:53 pm 
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dComposer wrote:
Actually, is this how this pedal should sound? The bass is a bit quieter than I would have preferred.

Maybe some of the other forum regulars here have a better ear for this than I do, but I just can't tell if that sounds right with those synth tones. Would it be possible to hear a guitar played through the pedal?

dComposer wrote:
I would imagine that nothing would work, however, if the diode was backward, right?

To quote the old Gershwin tune, "It ain't necessarily so." Depends on the function of the diode and the part of the circuit it's in. I asked Keith to poke his head in here and comment on this whole diode question, so hopefully he can illuminate all of us on this question.

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 Post subject: Re: Glass diode help
PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2017 9:42 pm 
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Sure! Yeah, trying to hear it with the iPad mic wasn't helping the situation either.

Here's a test with my guitar (signal flow: Les Paul -> Divided Octave -> Komplete Audio 6 USB audio interface -> Logic Pro X) --


Thanks again!


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 Post subject: Re: Glass diode help
PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2017 10:09 pm 
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Yeah, that sounds about right from here. It would be helpful to hear some stuff higher up on the neck, but the octave up and octave down signals are both clearly present.

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 Post subject: Re: Glass diode help
PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2017 10:17 pm 
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Awesome! So it's settled then: white dot = black line!

One small step for man...


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 Post subject: Re: Glass diode help
PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 8:03 am 
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That sounds right. Congrats on the build.

It seems the circuit will work with the diode installed in either direction, because I installed mine assuming the white dot was anode and my pedal is working.

When you look at the diode (because it is clear glass) you can see the cathode end (the cathode end of a diode usually has a small structure, the anode end usually has a small wire leading to it).

Attachment:
germanium.jpg


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 Post subject: Re: Glass diode help
PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 8:06 am 
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Congrats on your end as well! Mind posting some audio so we can compare? Cheers!


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 Post subject: Re: Glass diode help
PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 12:29 pm 
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dComposer wrote:
Awesome! So it's settled then: white dot = black line!

One small step for man...


This is not correct. I would have assumed the same thing, but we just did a test and it seems the white dot is in fact the anode. Typically, the side with a stripe marks the cathode, but this doesn't seem to be the case with a white dot. So the white dot side would go in the round hole. The side with no dot would go in the square solder pad or stripe side.

I'm very sorry for the confusion this has caused. We are updating the instructions now.

NOTE: If you are reading this and you have white dot germanium diodes, and put them in backwards, but it was in a distortion/fuzz circuit where the diodes are being used in opposing pairs, you DO NOT need to change them. It doesn't make any difference which diode is facing which direction as long as they are facing opposite directions.

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 Post subject: Re: Glass diode help
PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 12:33 pm 
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Thanks for chiming in! That's so odd that my pedal works then... listening to the video I posted, is there supposed to be something different going on?

Also, any tips for desoldering a glass diode? I'm not sure I have the cajones!


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 Post subject: Re: Glass diode help
PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 12:45 pm 
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dComposer wrote:
Thanks for chiming in! That's so odd that my pedal works then... listening to the video I posted, is there supposed to be something different going on?

Also, any tips for desoldering a glass diode? I'm not sure I have the cajones!


I'm not sure. It's been a long time since I played this pedal and I can't find mine, but your ringer doesn't sound quite right. It's not quite as distinct an octave up like a POG would have and the ringer is also pretty dirty (it's literally a Dan Armstrong Green Ringer circuit sandwiched in there), that's just how it is, but yours sounds a little dirtier and has less octave up presence than I recall it normally having. I think. It could just be that I've been playing with a POG a lot lately so I might expect it to sound a little different.

Don't sweat swapping the diodes. Be as careful as possible, but if they break, email sales@buildyourownclone.com and we'll send you some new ones.

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Please do not PM me. email is prefered. keith@buildyourownclone.com


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 Post subject: Re: Glass diode help
PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 10:22 pm 
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Oh yeah -- this sounds much better now! Switching the diodes around and getting everything back into the enclosure wasn't nearly as difficult as I originally assumed. And the end result made it totally worth it! Thanks so much for all your help and thank you, Sap, for following up on my original question! Key takeaway from this experience is to always use my DMM to double check everything.

Here it is in all it's glory!



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 Post subject: Re: Glass diode help
PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2017 10:56 pm 
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PS: This pedal sounds killer with a theremin too!!!



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