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I've had a bit of back and forth discussion with Peter in the last couple of weeks about the dual switching mode in these projects. The way it is supposed to work is as described in the build doc - to switch to momentary mode you wait 5 sec, tap the switch twice and hold, then wait for the LED to blink to confirm momentary mode. This works perfectly. It's going back to latching mode where the problem arises. To switch back, the process should be the same. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be the case.

At first I thought I was just doing it wrong, but after making a video of it and sending it to Peter he confirmed this is an issue with the programming of the chips. So, for now to undo the momentary mode and go back to latching the power must be unplugged to reset the switching. I realize this is not terribly convenient and I am sorry that it is not working as it should be. Unfortunately, since I do not have access to the switching code it isn't a matter of me trying to re-program the micro-controllers to make them work correctly. These are programmed by a third party, and I purchase them directly from Peter as part of our agreement. So, we are stuck with this for the foreseeable future. It may be fixed in future batches but I have a substantial number of the micro-controllers on-hand so it is not likely to change in the next few months.

Again, I apologize for this glitch and I hope it doesn't cause too much disappointment for those of you who are building these projects.

Jimi has a second apartment just for his gear.

A user pointed out that I had left off the 1n914 from the Mouser cart for the Switching Board so it has been added.
If you do not have a supply of 1n914, I suggest getting 100 qty if you are ordering this BOM. It comes out to like $2

Time for a group shot.

Shoot it never occurred to me to make some kind of offset weight to hold SMD components in place. It would be pretty easy to DIY something for that. Then again, liquid flux does the job pretty well.

I'm very sorry to announce that the MBP forum has lost one of its own. Chuckbuick has passed away. This happened several months ago and while I have been aware of it for a while I was waiting to make an announcement for reasons not relevant to this thread. I regret not saying something sooner as some may have already been aware of it.

Mark was a long-time member who made his first appearance here in 2012. He posted often and did some really outstanding work (check out some of these surface mount builds: http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=22797.msg223660#msg223660 and http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=22594.msg221873#msg221873). He was also a genuinely nice and helpful person here on the forum. I wish I could say more about him and I am a little ashamed to not have known him better. Perhaps those of you who did know him personally can share your thoughts.

I only know scant details concerning how he passed so I don't really have any information other than I understand it was self-inflicted in some way. I hesitate to say even that because it is personal and private information to the family but I think it's important because we have a lot of members here in all walks of life. There have even been a couple of circumstances where (other) members have privately communicated with me about mental health issues they were experiencing. All I can offer is that anyone who feels that way should know there is always a better option. Seeking out help either from family, friends, or professionals who have experience dealing with mental health crises seems difficult but almost always has a positive outcome. I saw this happen everyday when I worked in a mental health care facility at a university.

People often say "suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem". Well, that's complete bullshit. For many people depression, health and mental health crises are on-going and sometimes lifelong. For some, it may seem like the only option for relief. But, it isn't. There's always someone out there that can help.

Anyway, please feel free to leave your comments, thoughts and stories about Mark if you have them.

You should have some gain just at the input so make sure you've got R3/R4 values correct. Lowering R5 will increase dry output but not wet. If you want to increase the wet output, you could lower R9 to 47k.

You need to audio probe the output of IC1A. Check for output on these locations:
Pin1 of IC1A
Lug3 of the Dry pot.
The junction of C5 and R7.

If you are losing signal at any of those points, that will indicate the problem area. If so, check for any solder bridges on your traces, whether or not the pot is bad and/or problems at the component level (caps, resistors, etc).

I just pre-ordered Bethesda's Prey which comes out tomorrow.
Hopefully it's as good as it looks

Is this one at all related to the Prey game from a few years ago? That one was decent (but kind of repetitive IIRC).

Currently sitting on my desktop waiting to play or finish. I'm glad I got most of these games super cheap cause it takes me forever to finish a game.

Will paypal still be a payment option in the new set up? Just curious.

Paypal will still be the method of payment. I just won't be using it to manage the cart or inventory.

Will the new store be open on Sundays?

Yes, but you won't be able to purchase alcohol.

Good news - pretty much all the vfe project orders have shipped. There are a couple left to drop off which are due to errors with shipping fees. These are all resolved now. I should be getting a small bundle of replacement pots I need to offer more for sale soon.

Bad news - the shipping fee issue persists with International orders despite "being fixed". So for now I have undone all the work I did to change the system over and restored the previous method (fee calculated by amount rather than weight). I believe this will fix the issue for now.

Good news - I've pretty much had it with using Paypal to manage the store. I could list a dozen things that frequently go wrong with it but no point in boring everyone. Just today I discovered that inventory is not being properly calculated on the PP site. So, MBP is going to finally grow up and get a proper store within the next week or so.

The new store should have several features that "enhance customer experience" and make it easier for me to manage. It'll be WooCommerce most likely. This is going to require all my attention for the next few days since it has to be done as quickly as possible. So, other planned things will be pushed back a week or so.

I'll still get video demos of the Alpha Dog and Pale Horse up this week, regardless. I've been working on making the videos more professional looking and sounding and so far it's turning out great. So, all in all MBP is stepping up its game

"The Chicken Choking"
by the madbeanpedals forum


"We should keep quiet."

Eric nodded silently. Alton was always the cautious one and Eric was in no mood to argue. The warehouse was deserted at night but they knew that around any corner Plucky von Pluckface, the killer mutant chicken/cyborg hybrid, might be waiting with her adamantium enclosed claws....ready to tear them limb from limb. This was supposed to be an easy job. The office safe full of the Chicken Choker gang's weekly haul. Probably $30k or more. But with Pluckface on their tail for the last two days anything could happen. Both men were armed but bullets don't do much to armor plated feathers.

"Let's keep moving," whispered Eric.

Eric and Alton moved through the darkness avoiding the soft pools of light from the overheads. Just another 20 meters to office door. Suddenly, there was a soft metal clang directly behind them. The pair whipped around and saw...

I decree this chicken shall be henceforth known as Plucky von Pluckface.

The BX2 looks like a good platform to make a multi-pedal project out of the G-boards.

Great idea! I might order one and make one up for myself. Could work well for 1590A projects, too.