Build Your Own Clone Message Board

I guess that would indicate that the problem is with the relay. Unless there's a bad solder joint at pins 7 or 8 of the relay. Was this what was happening with the first relay?

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

Yes, I need to engage the boost switch in order to hear the boost (or change in the boost pot)

This is the second (new) relay already in, so I didnt do the jumper test with the 1st relay that came with the kit. This is a relay I bought here in town according to the specs I discussed with Duhvoodooman

Just jumpered R3 and R4 noth sides. When engaging boost I get a beeeeeeeeeep... when pot is more open, when pot is closed nothing (but no guitar signal whatsoever).

What are the odds that this new relay is faulty (again)??

What is the part# for the relay you have?

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With the jumper, the relay is bypassed, so you should have the boost turned "off", but it should still actually be on and functioning normally.

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Actually, Nick confirmed the relay as a TQ2-5V-DC in this post: viewtopic.php?p=478094#p478094

Also, I should point out that the continuity testing that showed that there was a break on the input side of the boost while the output side was OK (including the output connection through the R2 relay) was done with the ORIGINAL relay. So it just seems very unlikely to me that there would be two relays with this same "output side works, input side doesn't" problem. I may well be wrong, but I think there's a bad solder joint or other type of circuit break somewhere between lug 3 of the 3PDT and the top of R3. I'd be pulling the PCB, removing the boost level pot and carefully inspecting & continuity testing that portion of the circuit. If it does turn out to be a bad relay, the PCB assembly is going to need to come out of the enclosure anyway....

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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

@byoc:

TQ2-5V
ATQ209
JAPAN 71012H

That would make sense. It doesn't sound like the relay. It sounds like a break somewhere between the points you mentioned. Is there any visible defect in the PCB trace that runs between those two points?

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

@Peter Denissen:

Could you please go ahead and pull the PCB assembly out of the enclosure, de-solder & remove the boost level pot, and take some close-up shots of the area of the solder side of the board shown in this diagram I posted earlier?



The photos need to be large, well-focused and well-lit. By all means, inspect the area very closely yourself, since you will obviously have the best view! But we may spot something based upon prior experience that you might overlook. The more eyes on this, the better!

I would also strongly suggest that you check continuity between the pairs of points connected with the pink lines in my diagram. When you do this, be careful to touch your meter probes to the tops of the component pins themselves and NOT to the solder joint around them. If there's a bad joint there, you want to be able to pick that up with your testing.

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

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

Photo's...

More photo's

Continuity check:

The upper pink line (to the first/switch) has good continuity!
The one downwards (to the north side of the resistor) has NO CONTINUITY

OK, I think we've got this figured out now! It appears to me from your photos--particularly THIS ONE--that the solder pad is missing from the top eyelet of R3. This would mean that there is no connection between that trace coming down from the relay pin and R3, which would cause exactly the problem you're seeing.

Probably the easiest way to fix this would be to "tack solder" a wire jumper between the source pin of the trace at the relay and the R3 leg poking through the eyelet. I believe there's enough of the leg poking through the hole for you to get a small glob of solder on it to attach the jumper. For the jumper, use a small length of hookup wire with no more than 1/8" of insulation stripped off both ends. Twist & tin the ends and then just press them onto the solder joints at each end while applying heat. Make sure you have good adherence at both ends, then repeat your continuity test.

While you have the pedal out of the enclosure and are working on the solder side, I would recommend that you inspect for solder "splash" and clean up any of that you find. There appears to be a bit lying between the eyelets of the lower of the two BS170 MOSFETs adjacent to the relay. Gently scrape it loose with the blade of a small screwdriver and remove it. Use this same method to remove any other solder splash you find. An old toothbrush is good for getting the loosened solder bits off of the PCB.

Also, be very careful with the boost level pot eyelet closest to the edge of the PCB; the interior of the through-eyelet looks partially torn, which is easy to do when desoldering & removing a component with 3 or more solder connections. I don't think the solder pads are compromised, but make sure that you have solder contact between the pads and pot leg on both sides of the PCB when you re-install it.

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

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

YEAHHHH IT WORKS!!!

Thank you for all the help!!

Any idea how the PCB trace got compromised?

They eyelets are the only thing on PCBs that aren't solder masked. This means that there is potential for them to lift if there is too much tugging, heating, desoldering, etc. It happens, but as you learned here, is usually simple to fix. They aren't masked because the solder needs to adhere to it, sort of a 'nature of the beast' type situation.

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Email: nick@buildyourownclone.com

EXCELLENT!! I knew we could get this fixed! Sorry it took 2 months to sort out.


You're most welcome. That's why we're here.


Any chance that you desoldered/removed R3 at any point? That's probably the most common cause of a lifted pad.

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

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

Something seems wrong with the toggle switches

I'd expect them to be consistent. E.g. with the first last switch with boost off: first doesn't always have the same volume. If fluctuates. Just like last. But without boost engaged one would expect same sound at both directions?
Same goes for e.g. the Q toggle switch, it's not consistent.
As if sognal weakens sometimes.
Any idea how to solve this?

Seems when I gently drop the cj on the table it works better. Loose contact somewhere????