Here are some assembly pix I took of BYOC’s latest release, the Color Booster (great pedal, LOVE the EQ section). They’re intended for new builders to give them an idea of what their soldering and wire dressing should look like. Some of my wiring methods are for advanced builders who are confident in their ability to have a functional PCB when they’re done. My assembly methods are intended for ruggedness and long term reliability of the build. They don’t really lend themself to easy disassembly (see adapter jack installation below) if you have a problem once you’ve assembled everything so keep that in mind it you use them.
These first 2 pix are of the assembled PCB. Notice on the solder side that there are no blobs or thorn shaped solder joints. Blobs and thorn shaped solder joints are due to poor heat transfer between the iron and what you are soldering. Also note that the entire solder pad is covered with solder. If you can still see the solder pad on your build you need to go back and solder it again. Something you won’t see in any of my builds is excess component lead sticking out of the top of the joint. You will never see this in any OEM soldering. Well… BOSS pedals do it but the lead is lying flat on the PCB and not sticking up towards the sky. These little pigtails of lead are short circuit risks and could prevent the pedal from working or possibly even damage it.
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These next photos show how I attach the pots. I like to insert the pots and spread apart the two outer solder pins so they can’t fall out of the PCB when installing it into the enclosure. I install the PCB by flipping it over and lowering it into the enclosure, aligning the pots, switches, LED or whatever as I go. Once again take note of the pot’s pin soldering. The joints are conical in shape, cover the entire solder pad and you cannot see down into the thru hole. I see this a lot in builds here.
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When it’s time to add the stomp switch I make all it’s connections with it installed in the enclosure. I also solder the connections from the top. Once I’m done I pull the switch/PCB assembly out as a unit and then clip off any excess lead on the other side of the PCB. If you’re wondering I use solid core 22 AWG wire for all my connections.
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My method of installing the adapter jack differs significantly from what I see others do. It can be a real PITA to do it my way if you don’t have a lot of patience. I like using this method to keep the leads as short and neat looking as possible. It requires a lot of bending, twisting and test fitting of the wire to get it all just right. If you don’t have a lot of confidence in your building skills you might want to think twice before trying this. It can be a real PITA to do it this way and then have to take it all back apart when you go to try the pedal and it doesn’t work. I start by soldering in the ground lead first. Then followed by the inner V+ and then outer V+ lugs of the adapter jack.
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The connection between the PCB and the IN/OUT jacks are where I see the most cold solder joints. Often times what I see looks like a blob of solder just resting on the surface of the solder lug. A quality solder joint should look smooth and almost as if it were part of the lug. It should not look like a little silver booger on the jack.
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The last things to get soldered are the LED & battery harness during final assembly. It’s better to save them for last to keep them out of the way as you make the other connections.
Hope a few of you can put this info to good use during your build.