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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2021 10:44 am 
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With the parametric EQ I just can't get the pots in. I need tips.


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2021 11:44 am 
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I feel your pain! I used to struggle getting the pots & toggle switches aligned in kits that have a lot of them until I stopped using the method described in the instructions. It may work for some folks, but for me, I found this method to work much better, though it does take a bit of time. You might want to try it and see what you think:

  1. Start by installing any PCB-mounted toggle switches into the enclosure. These give you very little room for adjustment, so their position in the enclosure pretty much defines the rest of the process. About all you can do with them is to rotate them a bit in their holes to align with the PCB eyelets. Once mounted, slide your PCB down over the switch legs and tighten the mounting nuts a bit past finger-tight (i.e. use a wrench, but just enough so they won't move in their holes).
  2. Now start mounting the pots into the enclosure, one at a time. Between the play in the mounting holes (which are a bit larger than the pot shafts) and the fact that the legs can be bent inward or outward or spread apart/pinched together as needed, adjust the pot leg positions until you can get the PCB to slip down over them as well as the already-mounted toggle switch lugs. Once you accomplish that, tighten that pot's mounting nut just past finger tight.
  3. Repeat this process for each pot until they're all installed and the PCB slides down in place over ALL the switch and pot legs. I find it easiest to complete one horizontal row of pots at a time. The more pots you have installed, the more "finagling" it will take to get the needed alignment, but I still find this method a lot easier & less frustrating than trying to juggle a PCB with a handful of loose, floppy pots to get them aligned with the enclosure holes.
  4. Now remove the PCB and set the enclosure with all the pre-mounted toggle switches and pots aside until it's time for the wiring and final assembly.

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2021 12:07 pm 
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Lately, I've been soldering just one leg of each pot to the PCB. Do your best to get them lined up right out of the gate, of course, but just one pin soldered will allow you to bend them into place without them falling out.

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2021 1:13 pm 
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Holy crap!! I’ve been doing this wrong for 10 years, that way sounds so much easier. Thanks you guys!!! I’m being totally serious btw.


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2021 1:56 pm 
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There seem to be lots of variations on how to do this. There was a thread on a it a year or two ago with lots of good ideas. I like to mount all the pots and switches on the enclosure and try to seat the board down on them, but that can be really tricky. Sometimes I do one at a time, soldering only the middle lug like Keith said. The thing I add to that is that I always reflow the solder on that middle pin after I've finished the others, because the twisting and bending has caused some strain on it, and melting the solder allows it to drift back into wherever it's got the least strain.

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2021 2:19 pm 
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sjaustin wrote:
Sometimes I do one at a time, soldering only the middle lug like Keith said. The thing I add to that is that I always reflow the solder on that middle pin after I've finished the others, because the twisting and bending has caused some strain on it, and melting the solder allows it to drift back into wherever it's got the least strain.

Excellent guidance there--that final "strain relief" reflow should be SOP with this method.

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2021 3:42 pm 
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duhvoodooman wrote:
Excellent guidance there--that final "strain relief" reflow should be SOP with this method.


+1 to this! I reflow all the pots and switches after assembly. You often don't realize how much tension can be placed on those lugs when you shoehorn the PCB in there. Left unchecked, that can lead to cracked or intermittent solder joints later.

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2021 3:46 pm 
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I did it! I pulled it off. An idea came to me, I took a good stiff piece of cardboard from a notebook and made a hole template. Then I put all the pots in their respective places and bent pins so they wouldn't fall out (took me a while to figure out that step) and then, after a little bit of hassle, it came together. I also put electrical tape on the backs of the pots so that they can't short out.

Pedal is built and it is awesome!

First thing I've done since college in 1994. And I've got tremors! Determination, the right tools, some problem solving, and a lot of extra effort and it worked.

That idea of aligning one pot at a time is a great one too.

I would suggest that the kit include such a template and a thin sheet of electrical insulation for going in between the pot backs and board. :mrgreen:


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2021 6:59 pm 
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Woohoo! Nicely executed.


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2021 8:57 pm 
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jimilee wrote:
Woohoo! Nicely executed.

Gracias, Tennessee (used to live in the Volunteer State).


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