Messages

1

Open Discussion / Re: Favorite New Tools of 2020!?!?!?!?

« on: December 22, 2020, 08:15:52 PM »

The solder sucker has been a life changer for me.  Before I got this, desoldering often involved burning the heck out of things while using copper braid.  Not fun.  This is simple.  Heat the solder, push the button, and the solder is gone. 

I just got this recently also and completely agree - its a game changer

2

Open Discussion / Re: Flush cutter recommendations needed

« on: November 25, 2020, 07:21:07 AM »

I use the micro cutters from Hakko.  I don’t build nearly as much as the rest of you but these have held up well so far.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FZPDG1K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1

3

Build Reports / Re: Honey Dripper and Glitchee

« on: November 17, 2020, 07:10:42 PM »

Thanks for posting - love the enclosures!

4

Tech Help - Projects Page / Re: Harbinger 1.5 Questions

« on: November 17, 2020, 09:44:08 AM »

These are the hi dark ones from SB

Thanks very much!

5

Tech Help - Projects Page / Harbinger 1.5 Questions

« on: November 16, 2020, 07:32:26 PM »

Greetings all,
First, apologies in advance if I should have found this information elsewhere...
I'm working on a build of the Harbinger 1.5 and have a couple questions:

First, here's a link to the build doc: https://www.madbeanpedals.com/projects/_folders/FilterMod/pdf/HarbingerOneFive.pdf

1. 18V Operation:  I'm building the Harbinger to run on 18V.  I'm sure this is a dumb question, but I don't want to mess this up: I assume that the input power is supposed to connect to the pads marked 18V near the bottom of the PCB?  I checked against the schematic, and this seems right, but the pads are in an unusual spot which makes me wonder if I'm looking at this wrong.

2. LDRs:  I bought the NSL-7532 "high dark" LDRs from Small Bear - the same as those linked in the build document.  The problem is, I also bought - in the same order - four of the 'regular' NSL-7532 LDRs for another project.   I love Small Bear, but they don't mark their packaging, so I'm not sure which LDR is which.  I want to make sure to use the "High Dark" LDRs in the Harbinger.

I tried to measure the dark resistance of each LDR type, but am not sure I'm doing it right.  My DMM only goes to 60M ohm, so I measured the LDR in parallel with 40M resistance.  Both LDRs measure about 500M ohm 5 seconds after light removal.  One of the LDR types, though, seems to increase in resistance after light removal much faster than the other.  It also has a lower resistance when illuminated (~  500 ohm vs. 1k ohm)  Also, this LDR has a much tighter trace of Cad Sulphide material (that is, more 'loops') than the other type.

Any suggestions on how to tell the LDRs apart is appreciated.

Thanks in advance for the help!

6

Open Discussion / Re: New website!! aionfx.com

« on: October 27, 2020, 07:15:08 PM »

Looks great Kevin! Congrats!

7

General Questions / Re: Aion Corona (OD1)

« on: October 23, 2020, 10:43:33 AM »

This might not answer your question, depending on what you think of as "worked well as an alternative", but I built the Corona with the "Tubescreamer" diodes in the second position.  I had done some reading on the history of Tubescreamers and the OD-1 and thought it would be interesting to compare them (sort of) in the same pedal. 
Honestly, I haven't done too much playing around with it, but that was the theory anyway 
 

8

General Questions / Re: Tips For Desoldering Components

« on: April 29, 2020, 01:23:42 PM »

Does anybody want tricks and tips on better using these methods more effectively? Especially on double-sided PCBs?

Appreciate any suggestions.  And thanks to those who've posted already. I find de-soldering quite tricky

9

How Do I? Beginner's Paradise. / Re: Jumper wires for PCBs?

« on: April 19, 2020, 10:50:22 AM »

Search for "PCB test points", and you should find some things like these that may suit your purpose:
 

Thanks very much!

10

How Do I? Beginner's Paradise. / Jumper wires for PCBs?

« on: April 19, 2020, 08:14:19 AM »

I'm building a KoT project from a PCB.  The project has trim pots and DIP switches that I think could be useful to have as external controls.  It seems that it would be really useful, though, to be able to populate the board and evaluate these controls before deciding. 

This got me wondering: are there jumper wires suitable for making temporary connection to PCBs, so I could insert jumper wires and connect the controls before soldering anything in place?

Maybe a totally dumb question given the variability in PCB hole characteristics, but figured I'd ask to see if anyone has done this sort of thing already.

Thanks!

11

General Questions / Re: PCB Layout Check

« on: April 16, 2020, 11:22:51 AM »

The IC on the layout looks 'mirrored' - like the view is from the bottom rather the top of the IC. I think the connections look right based on the location of Pin 1.

12

How Do I? Beginner's Paradise. / Re: Damaged cap?

« on: March 31, 2020, 03:45:38 PM »

Congrats!  Maybe it could have been a bad ground connection at your input jack.  It looks like you sanded the paint off, but maybe it wasn't making good contact.  When you disassembled/reassembled you might have fixed the problem.

Thanks for the help Bio!

13

How Do I? Beginner's Paradise. / Re: Damaged cap?

« on: March 31, 2020, 11:07:26 AM »

I figured I’d give an update on this....
After getting nothing out of the pedal, I put this build aside back in December.  I did a few other builds, including making a test Rig, but this past weekend figured I’d procrastinated long enough. I had disconnected the DC jack and unboxed the PCB. I connected the PCB to my test rig (built from the JMK PCB).  I got sound, but it was really lousy. My test rig is generating a lot of noise, which is another issue.  Figuring I couldn’t quite trust the test rig, I threw it back in the box.  And it fired up straight away.

So maybe it really was a bad connection at the jack, even though I had touched up the joints before and it all looked good.

14

Build Reports / Re: Coda Effects Black Hole

« on: March 29, 2020, 08:09:52 AM »

Awesome - really beautiful!

15

Build Reports / Re: PedalPCB Super Heterodyne Receiver

« on: March 27, 2020, 12:06:17 PM »

Looks awesome - really professional looking!