Topics

I don't know if I ever posted this, but someone asked me through email how to do the same type of diode switching on the Runt as it appears in the Slow Loris. Here's how.

My favorite kind of email to get. That's all...carry on.

I'm going to start putting some stuff up on the somewhat new MBP Facebook page. So, please feel free to check in there from time to time. You may find things on there that are not here on the forum.

Also, I'd like to put up pics of some of the contest winners. If any winners have an objection, please let me know. I say this because you own the copyright to your own photos, so I don't want to ASSUME it is okay for me to use them. Actually, maybe it would just be easier to have past winners affirm in this thread whether or not they want their photo posted. Do not feel obliged in any way. I'm just searching for cool content for the page.

Thanks to everyone for making the Fall Sale a big success! My fingers are worn from packing plastic bags, and it's a great thing. You can expect to see more sales in the future...maybe as a quarterly thing. And, there will be something at least for Dec, as I do every year.

Anyway, the success of the sale will translate directly into more projects/PCBs getting made and sooner. I expect to finalize the next batch this week, making the next release in the first half of Nov.

There will be a store-wide sale on PCBs once the latest PCB re-stocks arrive. I don't have an exact date on when the sale will start, but it will probably be in about 10 days and the sale will run for a few days after. Unfortunately, there are no new projects in the upcoming batch, but believe me there are plenty near completion. I have about 10 new projects that I'm in the process of finishing...all prototyped, being debugged, revised, etc. So, you can expect those to start dropping in November.

Someone pointed out to me that the Kingslayer doc seemed to link to the SMD version of the TLC274 rather than the through hole. On the original link, it pictures an SMD now but the specification lists it as PDIP and through hole.

So, I've updated the link to another variety of the TLC274 on Mouser which should be fine for the build.
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Texas-Instruments/TLC274BCNE4/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtCHixnSjNA6Dh9CQmOfcFckc%2foEj30LNU%3d

We have a new forum area for Thomas_His terrific PCB projects. Please check it out in the Member's Area!

All things forum related should now be working correctly. Please post here if you run into any trouble.

You can now choose from several different forum themes. If you want to stick with the one we've been using, it's called "Black Rain". I'm trying out "Dark Modern" right now.

On Friday, 08.23, I will be doing some maintenance to the forum and website. This will be mostly backend stuff, and will require several hours to complete. You should expect the MBP website to be unavailable for 12-24 hours while this is taking place.

Once complete, the forum will be fully upgraded (which should prevent any further downtime) and the site will be on a new server.

I'm pleased to announce the formation of a new pedal company, Function F(x), with myself and MBP regulars and DIY aficionados culturejam (Forrest) and pickdropper (Dave). We've been working behind the scenes for a few months to get this going...developing a business plan, doing product development, filing paperwork, etc. Things are coming together quickly and we plan to launch our first three products by Q4, or Q1 2014 at the latest.

Function F(x) also has two other developers/investors that are not members of the DIY pedal community. One is a software engineer and the other is a production manager with loads of tech experience. We've got a great group of minds and I believe we will be able to establish a lasting brand that has impact on the commercial pedal scene. We have big things planned, and I'm excited to see how this particular group of people works as a team over the next few months (and years)!

In the next few weeks, Function F(x) is going to start a small Kickstarter style fundraiser. We have put together a very decent amount of start-up capital on our own for the initial production runs, and we are looking to expand that for a targeted equipment purchase/lease: a laser engraver. The engraver will be the basis for a lot of the pedal artwork (if you've seen any of pickdropper's work then you already know just how awesome it will look!) The fundraiser will offer three brand new PCB projects, one each from Forrest, Dave and myself for a donation amount of about $30 (a pretty great deal, I think). It will run for a couple of weeks, and we will also be giving thanks to each contributor on the FFX website (www.function-fx.com). More details on that to follow soon.

As far as the impact on madbeanpedals...it will have some since I will be splitting my attention between two companies now. However, a lot of the project development for the remainder of this year is nearly complete. So, I do not expect it to have too much effect in terms of PCB releases in the immediate future. I'm still just as committed to MBP as ever, so this doesn't mean this place is going away or languishing by any measure.

Anyway, I'm really stoked about this new adventure, and I want to take the opportunity to thank all the members here for their continued involvement in MBP. Without that, I would never have reached this point...so thank you!

The best part of watching Sharknado the other night was the commentary from my wife and daughter.

Wife: Those poor sharks. They are just looking for food.
Daughter (7): Yeah, food made out of people!

Low Rider, Collosalus, Cherry Bomb, Pastyface, Rangemaster and Pork Barrel now in stock!

New projects are expected around the first week of August. I'll announce what they are in about another week.

In the year preceding the sale of our house in Austin, I had to store all my drum gear in our detached laundry room while we renovated. This room was also called the "Rust Zone" because anything metal was doomed. Sure enough, all my drums and hardware rusted over completely. We've been in TN for 3 years and I'm just now getting around to restoring everything to get it sold off.

Here's the tip: if you have any chrome plated hardware (not necessarily drums--anything) that's rusted out, put it in a bucket and soak in Coca Cola for a few hours. It removes the bad stuff and leaves the chrome untouched! It's pretty amazing for a no-labor approach.

Actually, let me tell you: removing every lug from three drums, soaking, polishing and then re-attaching them is hardly 'no labor'...it's a total PITA! But, it does give it new life.

Thanks to everyone for all the orders during "Free Shipping Week"! The extra income has enabled me to turn around an place another order from the manufacturer right away. So, by around July 8th all current projects will be back and fully stocked. This includes the Rangemaster, Pastyface, Collosalus, Pork Barrel, Low Rider and Cherry Bomb.

I decided to do the remaining restocks now to alleviate some of the pressure on finishing off new projects. So, come late July or the first week of August, you should expect to see 4-6 new projects become available. I am not saying what they are yet, but it could be anything listed on the "Also In Development" column on the Projects Page.

Lastly, I will do a sale or another free shipping thing in mid to late August (or both even). I will announce it a week ahead of time so it is not a surprise.

Q2 was drawn incorrectly on the schematic (collector and emitter were swapped). The schematic on pg.2 has been corrected to show the correct orientation. You should flip Q2 180° on the PCB (on both the fabbed and single sided versions). I have confirmed the filter works the same either way and appears to sound the same. Thanks for the catch, Scruffie!

http://www.madbeanpedals.com/projects/index.html

Free Shipping Week (06.11 - 06.18)! All domestic orders ship free. All international orders under $50 ship free (int'l orders $50 and over will be chraged the normal shipping rate).

New Projects: Kraken, Sharkfin and the Weener Wah II. Restocks: Afterlife, Kingslayer, Mudbunny, Road Rage, Double Flush, Chunk Chunk, and Current Lover.

Kraken and Weener Wah II project documents are online. Sharkfin project doc will be up later today.

With the release of the new projects/re-stocks this month I will have a free shipping week, well just because. The boards/free shipping will start on about June 12th (an approximate date) and go for seven days. I'm announcing now so it is not a surprise.

Free shipping will apply to all domestic orders and international orders under $50. Int'l over $50 will be the standard charges listed on the project page.

I will have documentation up for the new projects later this week. I had to scale back on the releases due to the number of other projects now out of stock. The new releases will be the Kraken (Mutron Micro V), Sharkfin (Maestro Sample and Hold) and the Weener Wah II. The Peacekeeper and Sparklehorn are pushed back to the next batch of releases.

Project development will slow down for the next two months while my daughter is off from school. I just don't have a lot of time to spend in the workshop until August. Some of you may have noticed I've been kinda absent here for the last week or two, as well: seven year olds are quite demanding, ha ha. I do have a ton of stuff "on the verge", though. You can expect to see some of the vintage EHX stuff start popping up, plus a few of the "also in development" from the projects page and at least one or two I haven't mentioned anything about.

But, I will try to keep things exciting around here through other means, like the free shipping week and maybe adding one or two new "Extra Projects" on the forum pretty soon.

Finally got around to ordering an Uno rev.3 board. Should be fun for some DIY projects. Anyone else playing with one?

This topic has been moved to Cadsoft Eagle Resource.

http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=1327.0