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VFE Mega Pedal

Started by fair.child, March 13, 2018, 06:55:01 AM

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VFEpedals

Quote from: fair.child on March 13, 2018, 06:55:01 AM
The question I do have. There is a buffer coming into the pedal and as well KNOWN issue with the PIC/switching programming. What are those known issues with the switching? I am guessing the programming should be similar to the Clickless True Bypass Relay by Coda on the PIC18F44K20. Also, my thought, the programming would be dedicated to controlling the patch bay.

The enclosure could be 1456WL3WHBU (15 deg slope) OR 1456WK4WHBU (30 deg slope)

The switching MCU used on the Megapedal builds (yes, there were two of them) used a slightly different pinout & program than what I've been using the past few years. The schematic/board file would need some updating to work with any MCUs sold on madbeanpedals. Here's a link to the current pinout:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rpd8u9bbyt7f4xy/MCUpinout.png

The original plan on the Megapedal was to create a programmable switching system, but we weren't able to get that part fully working. On the two builds I did, I simply omitted the massive PIC controller and wired the switches directly to the controllers.

I assume you have the Eagle schematic & board files for this build. You can always go in and modify the switching section to match the existing pinout. With the way the circuit is setup, you would want to connect the J175 (soft switching) and BS170 (LED switching) to LO. It's counterintuitive, but both are setup to turn "on" when that pin is at 0V.

As for the enclosure, you definitely want the 15-degree slope. That's what I used.
Peter Rutter
VFE Pedals
IDEA High School
peter@vfecustom.com

VFEpedals

Quote from: fair.child on April 10, 2018, 06:39:44 AM
Okay, folks, Nigel at Honey Bayes did a huge favor for me in terms recreating this $4k pedal (I didn't know it costs much).

He took one picture and bravely opened his VFE Mega Pedal.

Attached is the snippet of his VFE Mega Pedal. Now, what do you guys think? Plus, there is a TAP tempo.

This picture is definitely not the Megapedal I built for Nigel Honney-Bayes. That's my original Megapedal, which I started before VFE Pedals existed. I re-housed and modded several digital effects into one box, including a Roland MIDI foot controller.
Peter Rutter
VFE Pedals
IDEA High School
peter@vfecustom.com

zgrav

Thanks for adding those comments Peter!   And my continuing best wishes to you for the time and effort you spend training students at IDEA High School. 

fair.child

The master has spoken!  8) I am still struggling with the PIC. I might need to seek different path for the switching. Thanks, Peter for pointing things out. It definitely helps.

fair.child

#34
The journey continues...

Today, I got a chance to complete the drilling jig and drilled the enclosure.

The result..... the enclosure is a tight fight for 18 pedals


I am still waiting for my Focus board and parts from Smallbear before I can finalize the main board leftovers. The switching board is done and going to be installed soon.



I was so happy when the drilling finally finished. It was tedious.. very....


I had an idea to put together a jig. I use Poplar board from Home Depot and drilled it


Everything is a tight fight and there is only a small room for error.


I created the drawing template from Hammond STP file and used the MBP VFE template to figure out for 18 pedals


Also, I did a pre-layout the Hammond case first before I go and drill the enclosure.


I can't screw the pots using the Poplar board but I got a pretty decent measurement.


Like I said, it's a tight fit and some 9mm pots aren't lined up properly. I might wiggle the space a bit.

Zigcat


alanp

What is the reverb board?
"A man is not dead while his name is still spoken."
- Terry Pratchett
My OSHpark shared projects
My website

fair.child

It's the Yodeler. I do have one last Yodeler board left for sale. I put there as an extra for a measurement only while I am waiting for my Focus board from OSHPark to arrive.

fair.child

Quote from: Zigcat on April 29, 2018, 06:25:48 AM
Whaaaaa!?

Am I an overachiever? Lol! 18 boards fella, 18 boards!

Boba7

Man you're insane!!

Do all the boards work already?

fair.child

Quote from: Boba7 on April 29, 2018, 08:43:52 AM
Man you're insane!!

Do all the boards work already?

I have jumpered them. Alpha Dog, Merman, Pale Horse, Choral Reef are verified working. I am too tired to test the rest, so I assume they work if one of them needs debug then I'll isolate the problem.

Trust me, you won't believe what you'll see next for the switching. It's going to be exciting and I tend to slow down a bit to enjoy the build process.

gordo

That is WAY too much work.  Nicely done though, it looks like it's coming together very nicely.

If you use a tapered reamer you can open up the holes just enough to give you a bit more room to play with without screwing up either the finish or the hole size.  Use a handheld one and use light pressure and check as you go.  It's saved my butt more times than I can count.
Gordy Power
How loud is too loud?  What?

fair.child

I used the tapered reamer to clean up the holes. I still need to give a little room for 9mm pots. I am a true sucker at drilling 9mm. Fortunately, it come so together with my drill template/jig I created.

The only problem now is the artwork.

blearyeyes

You are verifiably insane my friend!
How are you going to power that beast?

fair.child

That is very excellent question. I'll add 5 separate D.C. Outputs for fx clusters. I know it's not the prettiest way to do it. Peter Mega Pedal only had one D.C. Out for all the chains. My approach is different. Each of the D.C. Output will have one regulated input.