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PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 2018 12:35 pm 
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I’m a first time builder and running through my troubleshooting.

When I first plugged in, bypass, tone, volume, and all switches seemed to be working. Sustain only worked when set to full - which is how I was able to test the other settings. I reflowed all soldering joints and now when I switch on I don’t get the fuzz even with sustain set to full. I’ve attached photos. I removed the volume pot so you could see the solder underneath.

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81CA0D5A-23B0-4951-8E57-30437103BA62.jpeg [ 169.39 KiB | Viewed 5072 times ]

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7D5E4745-0632-4415-AB47-69F8F6955AFD.jpeg [ 136.37 KiB | Viewed 5072 times ]

That circled spot worries me. I’ve tried removing the solder but seem to be just burning the board.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

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PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 2018 12:55 pm 
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Well...You may very well have a problem in that circled area. You have some crispy spots on your PCB. Are you using a pistol type soldering gun? Anyhow...

Based on your description, I would look first at the 120R and 10k resistors. Their stripes are mirror images of each other, so they are extremely difficult to differentiate. And if you mixed up those two, it would cause low output from the first gain stage, which is what you seem to be having. There are 3 10k resistors on the PCB. It could be mixed up with any one of those. I can't tell from the pics. You'd have to measure them with a meter.

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PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 2018 1:01 pm 
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Not using a pistol style gun (I haven’t seen one of those since the 80s...).

I am colorblind so the first thing i did was label all of my resisters using a multimeter.

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PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 2018 2:02 pm 
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It looks like the soldering iron temperature might be too hot, and/or you aren't tinning and cleaning your tip often enough. If you're not getting appropriate heat transfer for either reason, reflowing your joints is likely to make the problem worse, as it seems to have done.

How much experience do you have soldering electronics? I ask not to be insulting, but so I/we can make useful recommendations for how to improve. Some details about your iron and the temperature you're operating it at (if variable) might help, too.

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PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 2018 2:34 pm 
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Hi Scott. Not insulted at all. This is my first time with a PCB. In the past I have built cables and attenuators so that’s been most of my soldering skills. I found this message board and tips after I had assembled my board sadly as it def would have helped. My iron does have variable temp and I had it set about half way. Maybe too high. I have the Tabiger 60 watt iron with adjustable temperature (about 15 bucks, nothing fancy). I clean and tin regularly so I wouldn’t think that and issue. This is something I would do again so if you have suggestions I’m all ears. If this turns out a bust (which I was prepared for), I’d be willing to try again. At least I already have the enclosure. :?

Oh, and I snipped the leads after I soldered. I think next time I’d snip first. Had a hard time snipping close to the board.

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PostPosted: Wed Sep 12, 2018 4:24 pm 
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Based on what you've told us so far, I would have to assume the problem is in the first transistor gain stage. Do you notice that scratch that goes through to the ground plane just below the the yellow circle you drew? I would test for a short there. You should also take voltage readings of all the transistors.

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PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 11:10 am 
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Hi all. Thought I’d update you...

I decided the PCB just looked like toast. So, I bought a new kit and tried again. I also decided to invest in a Hakko soldering station and ditch the $15 iron as I’d like to do more of this in the future. So, I built the new kit taking my time and paying close attention to the soldering and...

SUCCESS! New kit worked and sounds excellent! Got to use it out last Saturday. Couldn’t be happier!

Now I have the Mimosa Jr. on the way. I’m addicted.

PS - I cannot believe the difference the new iron made...

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PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 11:17 am 
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Here is my pedal complete with Dymo labels :lol: ...


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59B1E586-F863-4353-9CED-E5DB7E0C50CC.jpeg
59B1E586-F863-4353-9CED-E5DB7E0C50CC.jpeg [ 98.97 KiB | Viewed 4899 times ]

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PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 11:17 am 
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jajoyner wrote:
SUCCESS! New kit worked and sounds excellent! Got to use it out last Saturday. Couldn’t be happier!

Now I have the Mimosa Jr. on the way. I’m addicted.

Congrats & welcome to your new addiction, as we often say around here!

jajoyner wrote:
PS - I cannot believe the difference the new iron made...

Amazing, isn't it? I've had a Hakko station for nearly 9 years now and have used it on a couple of hundred pedals and a bunch of amp builds....and it's still got the original tip! Great station and S-O-O-O-O worth the modest investment.

BTW, it's customary here to post a "gut shot" of a new build, as well as a top shot. That'll keep any of the wisea$$es around here from accusing you of rehousing a $20 Behringer pedal! :wink: :mrgreen:

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PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 9:09 pm 
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gut shots. bwahahahaha.... fair enough. here they are (before the pots & switches were soldered):


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E764D0B6-6D4D-4B40-BEB0-1599296A9E7F.jpeg
E764D0B6-6D4D-4B40-BEB0-1599296A9E7F.jpeg [ 201.76 KiB | Viewed 4890 times ]
075576E9-45F6-40E3-BADC-2592B89EA030.jpeg
075576E9-45F6-40E3-BADC-2592B89EA030.jpeg [ 190.89 KiB | Viewed 4890 times ]

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PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 11:34 pm 
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We’ll allow it… this time!

Much improved work, looks great!

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PostPosted: Wed Nov 07, 2018 11:10 am 
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Nice tidy PCB! Image

Frag Magnet wrote:
We’ll allow it… this time!

For future reference, a "gut shot" is the inside of the fully assembled pedal with the back plate removed. For example:

Image

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