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Drillbit City resharpened carbides are a good deal: http://drillcity.stores.yahoo.net/restool.html

I've updated the BOM and re-uploaded the doc. Thanks for the heads-up.

Thanks Jon, I was thinking that would be a good idea.

I have also made changes to the following project docs to remove the Macrons listed in their respective BOM:
Afterlife, DigDug2, NaughtyFish and 4:1.

[To be clear: at this point I would avoid using the Macrons for any of the MBP projects unless we can get more concrete info / evidence they are working.]

Cross-posted from this thread: http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=22611.0

It seems that there was some kind of change in the manufacturing of the Macron at some point (as far as I can tell). I have used them successfully on many different builds but all those were purchased more than a year or two ago. I've noticed a couple times that people posting issues on the forum have Macrons with a blue dot instead of the yellow dot they used to have, so I am wondering if that signifies some sort of change from the manufacturer.

Interestingly, we have been using a couple of recently purchased Macrons in FFX stuff without problem so I kinda held off on saying anything for a while. But, I think it's probably safest at this point to change the BOM and recommend the VTL5C3 only.

Jon had mentioned some issues a while ago and based on his findings and the discussion above I'd recommend staying away from the Macrons until more is known. Certainly in the Naughty Fish and perhaps in other projects calling for a VTL5Cx. Smallbear no longer carries the original Vactec version but they do have a new Xvive work-alike here:
http://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/photocoupler-xvive-vtl5c3-work-alike/

I have not personally used these but this thread linked above seems to indicate they are working in the Naughty Fish. Also, remember that you can sub for a vactrol simply by using an LED and photocell. I generally use 5mm red diffused for the LED and the 9203 for a photocell: http://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/photocells-cds-5mm-diameter/
You can also use water clear LEDs.

In many cases you can also use an NSL-32 as a sub for a VTL5C3 however there are some caveats. The NSL has an extremely low on resistance so using them may involve adjusting resistor values in circuits like tremolos, etc. If you know what to look for then go for it. But, a more plug and play is to use the work-alike or LED/Photocell combos mentioned above. To be clear: at this point I would avoid using the Macrons for any of the MBP projects unless we can get more concrete info / evidence they are working.

It seems that there was some kind of change in the manufacturing of the Macron at some point (as far as I can tell). I have used them successfully on many different builds but all those were purchased more than a year or two ago. I've noticed a couple times that people posting issues on the forum have Macrons with a blue dot instead of the yellow dot they used to have, so I am wondering if that signifies some sort of change from the manufacturer.

Interestingly, we have been using a couple of recently purchased Macrons in FFX stuff without problem so I kinda held off on saying anything for a while. But, I think it's probably safest at this point to change the BOM and recommend the VTL5C3 only.

I will order another Macron on my next smallbear order and see what I can find out.

Respectfully, let's not do this thread right now. Maybe later.

A couple people have thought they got defective boards over the last year because of the back of the PCB. It's actually not a defect, but an image of Arnie as he 'bug eyes' during the Martian atmosphere scene. Not something I typically do but seemed appropriate in this case.

Fun fact - your entire body would not explosively decompress if exposed to the atmosphere of Mars (or in space for that matter). But, your lungs would explode if you forgot to expel the air out of them.

Wire acting as an antenna for LFO ticking is a very common problem. What you did is exactly what I would have suggested- move it out of the way or re-route it away from the IC.

The motorboating can be a problem with PT2399 when it is pushed over 500ms (remembering that these chips are only spec'd for 300ms of delay). A common mod for the Dirtbaby is to increase the filter cap at the delay output from 4n7 to 47n (C13). This will darken the delay some but it should quiet down the motoring quite a bit.

On the next order of DB boards I'm going to add an additional filter at that spot to make it more of a permanent mod.

[EgoDriver]

EgoDriver
- Based on the Fulltone OCD

[Trumpkin]

Trumpkin
- Based on the Ibanez SD-9

What transistors are those? Are they BC10x? You might have them backwards.

Hard to tell but your switch wiring seems incorrect.

My board is currently a mess and disassembled waiting on one final element (building a looper). I finally sold my Timeline and got the Alter Ego (and still came out $200+ ahead). I really like the Alter Ego so far...it's warm and musical and is so much more straight forward to use even though it is a larger footprint. But, who knows my Timelapse might trump it once it's finally done.

Current DIY pedals on this board are noise gate, Clusterfuzz JR, Bear Hug, mini Klon, Bloviator and Mysterioso Sr. I'd like to add in maybe the Freekout because it is fun to play. (I have another board that is all DIY)

Still working on using up old enclosures. This one got a Fat Pants and EggHead. The Fatpants is vanilla. The Egghead was modded quite a bit. I like the Gainster just fine but I wanted to do something different with this one. So, I did a bunch of mods to make it more like the ZenDrive but with no Tone control. Just Vol, Gain and Contour (Presence).

Mods:
C3 100n
Pres 10kB
D1 Bat46
D2, D3 2n7000
Vol 100kA

The FP runs at 24v, so I tapped off the 18v rail on it to supply the Egghead.

Overall it sounds very cool. At this highest Pres settings it gets a bit trebly but that goes away with a slight turn. Running the FP with just the boost 1/4 up to slam the EggHead makes for quite a thick overdrive!

Sure that would work.

I love that disclaimer Alan.

I would try and run them all at 12v. Of course, it's not a big deal to use a 12v supply on a 9v regulator (+3v usually being the minimum) but once you get into delays and reverbs that means you will be running a second 5v regulator off your 9v regulator. For that reason, a single 7809 is probably the better choice than multiple 78L09 and then just share the non-isolated 9v power between the effect circuits and the unregulated 12v to your Ruby.