Messages

Ah, okay I downloaded it and got it playing.

Sounds like a transistor out of wonk. It's got that buzzing/misbiased thing happening. But, I can't tell where it is coming from in the circuit just by the audio clip. You may have to temporarily disconnect the phaser portion from the dry audio and probe just the dry audio first. This would help narrow down where the distortion is occurring.

But, re-check those resistors first. If you need help on the second part let me know and I will write out some instructions.

Here is a handy little Excel spreadsheet I use all the time. Here's what it does:
Calculates the end result of two resistors in parallel.
Calculates the corner frequency of a single pole HP/LP filter.

It's easy to use!

Thanks so much, guys! Of course, it goes without saying that I owe my continued success to all of you. The MBP community keeps me moving forward!

Can't get the file to play, but distortion in the audio path could be caused by an incorrect resistor in the dry through portion. I had the same problem on one of my builds (used a wrong value).

Is it distorting in both the Modern and Vintage modes? Have a second look at R1 - R14, and esp. R4, R9 and R10.

You should be able to make some volume adjustments by altering the values of R11, R12 and R13. Leave R14 at 220k. I would try halving each of those to increase the total output of the effect. Socket first, though....it may take experimentation.

Nothing obvious. A voltage check and audio probe of IC1C and D is probably in order. It's a little odd to get LP and not the other two. It does make me a bad connection on the switching.

What sort of LDR are you using? Stock transistors, or subs?

Any kits I do would not be like BYOC/GGG, etc. It would be components only...basically everything you need to build the board and test it. So, no hardware or enclosures (except for pots, I guess).

Anyway, I have not committed to it in any way. It's just been on my mind for the last two years so I am exploring the financial and time commitment required to do such a thing.

CJ - Of course...you know how to reach me!
micromegas - The subscription idea has been suggested a few times in the past. It is not the right model for MBP. I would not be able to keep up with the demand of satisfying a subscription-based service. But, thank you for the suggestion. MBP is in good financial health. Like I said, I made a few choices this year which had an impact (spent a lot of money on overstocking some PCBs that I did not need to, did not re-stock others quickly enough, spent too much time on project development without following through). Everything will be fine; I just need to make a few tweaks on how I do things.

Seems to be a grounding issue. Are all the grounds connected together properly?

For unlocking I always found just grounding each pin on my testing rig seemed to do the trick. You probably don't even need to do that---just pins 1 - 8.

Like I do every year, here is a brief wrap-up and forecast for MBP.

2014
The good: Several long-standing projects got finished and released! Contests (though many fewer) were successful and the entries were mind-blowing. Many, many project ideas were prototyped and of these nearly all are near completion (or discarded) and ready for release. I must have prototyped at least 35 designs in 2014. A lot of existing projects got revisited and updated to "2014" standards. The DIY Hub area has been a good addition to the forum. We added three new Hosted Forums here (or was it two?) Well, shit, it was more than one. And, I love all these guys!

The less good: Maintaining stock on all the projects has proven very difficult. Sales were sluggish about 1/3 of the year which had some impact on releases, but much of it was due to poor planning on my part. I could have budgeted better and released more new projects if I had stayed on top of things more judiciously.

2015 forecast:
- I'm going to do much less project development and many more product releases. I have more than enough designs to flesh out into PCB releases without needing to spend lots of time or money on further product development. New ideas make take hold now and again but I am going to keep myself in check and make sure I finish things I've already started (one of my many short-comings).
- A small handful of projects will get updated to "2015" versions like the Lowrider and possibly the Sharkfin. There might be one or two other updates but I am pretty happy with the designs as they are now and I do not see a need to continually re-evaluate them.
- The new website and DIY layouts will be worked on and completed in the first half of 2015. For sure. I hope to update the store to include an account database with order history, etc. Like, you know...a real e-commerce store.
- We will work on having a few more contests this coming year. I think seasonal contests are the best approach - having at least a full two months to accept entries would be great. I said the same thing last year but this coming year we'll make it work.
- I have been toying with the idea of offering a limited number of "component kits" for some of the projects. I'm still fleshing this out. If it does happen, it probably would not be until Fall of 2015. Much of it depends on how the financials look and also how busy I get with FF(x). But, it is on my mind at least.
- I am also considering implementing some kind of voting system to allow members a chance to pick which new projects get released and old projects get re-stocked most quickly. I think this could be a great way to elevate the customer experience here. And, it would help me spend money where it counts the most.


Thanks to all members here for making it another great MBP year! I've seen quite a few long-standing members "step up their game" in terms of build quality and also participation on the forums. And, many new members here too! It's all very re-assuring and rewarding to see that we are doing this forum right (as a collective). I hope everyone has a nice relaxing holiday coming up...a chance to spend time with loved ones and just enjoy themselves.

well i just quadrupled checked everything- got a new LED confirmed positive and negative legs.  confirmed pin 4 goes to ground.  put positive of the LED to pin 7 and negative to pin 4.  (both pin 3 and 4 connected to each other) 

and i fried another pt2399... that's 4 good pt2399's gone

I don't understand how this is possible. I don't doubt it, but are you sure they are fried and not temporarily locked up somehow? Have you tried grounding all the pins and re-checking it? What are the exact voltage measurements you get on pins 7, 3 and 4?

Obviously, this is ridiculously overdue. It's embarrassing, even. But, this whole year has been pretty intense (my buddies pickdropper and Culturejam know all too well). Once I get over this "hump" of getting the store replenished over the next several weeks, I am going to buckle down on the layouts. It's a big project because it also involves re-doing the website...which is probably why I have procrastinated on it so much. But, I have not forgotten!

Well it works now but I have to crank my amp to get volume from it.  It sounds amazing when I can hear it. A little "buzzy" and "crackly" when I am adjusting the pots but it is not fully enclosed in the box at the moment and wires are being wriggled as I adjust the effect levels so maybe that is the issue there. Any suggestions on the low volume when effect is engaged?. Jumps way up when I turn off the effect. Happy it works (sort of) and have to say it is one awesome sounding delay.

Sorry to ask this, but can you give us one more pic of the top? One with all the resistors in view. I can read off the resistors for you to see if you have a wrong value somewhere. That would be a likely cause of low output.