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Hello, sorry to bug you with another CJ troubleshooting thread, but I'm at my wit's end here. This is my first BYOC pedal, I'm coming into this with a basic understanding of electronics, good soldering skills, and good tools to work with.

The overdrive section seems to work perfectly after basic testing, but the problem is that the signal will totally cut out when the boost footswitch is pressed. The LED lights up, but no signal at all. The first/last toggle and the boost knob have no effect on it. I've reflowed all solder joints, double-checked clearance of the pots from the PCB, reseated all ICs. I double-checked the values of all resistors before installing them, paid careful attention to orientation of caps and diodes, even when noted that they should be installed backwards of the print. I do get signal when I use a wire to jump the I and O connections together on the boost module pins. I also noticed that the voltage values on the boost module pins seem to be about 3/4 of what they should be:

+18: +13.12
+4.5: +3.72
+9: +7.46
-9: -7.41

Big thanks to anyone with recommendations of where to go from here!

4148 diodes on the MOSFET module is most likely your issue. Take a look at the instruction file one more time. Fix that, and let us know what happens.

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The tone is in my hands?!
Email: nick@buildyourownclone.com

Thanks for the good catch. I switched the 4148 diodes to their correct orientation, I think I hear a very faint signal coming through when the boost is on, but barely audible.

leave the boost module out and jumper the I and O sockets. The boost channel should be working passively now. You cannot get a "boost", but with the boost level knob all the way up, you should have unity gain. Is it doing this?

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*patience is a virtue*

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

Yes, when I jumper the I and O sockets, signal passes through. The boost pot affects the signal passively.

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Then the problem is with the MOSFET module itself. I'd start by doing this: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=52188 Be sure to inspect the module very closely on both sides, using magnification if possible, to look for problem joints, solder bridges, etc. If that doesn't turn up anything, I'd replace the MOSFET as the next step, since they are fairly delicate and easily damaged, especially by static discharge.

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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

Will do. I've ordered a replacement mosfet and a different boost module entirely as well. I find it strange that the voltages being supplied to the module and lower than listed. Is that normal?

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Some voltage drop is normal due to the forward voltage thresholds of the D3, D4 and D5 diodes. But even accounting for those, your voltages are still a bit low. I'd expect the +18V rail to be over +15V and the +9V rail to be over +8V. What's the voltage coming straight out of your power source? You can measure that on the + tab of the DC jack.

On my own CJ, I have +9.2V coming into the pedal, +8.4V on the +9 post of the boost module and +15.2V on the +18 post. Assuming the same proportional voltage drops on yours, that would correspond to an incoming voltage level of about +8.0 to +8.2V.

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

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

Hey guys, I got my order in. I replaced the mosfet to no avail, so I'm going to table that module for now. I ordered the 27v boost module as well. I put that together and it's working great! The pedal is totally functional and sounds amazing. Thanks for everyone's help walking me through this.

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