Copper shielding tape

[Johnnygriever]

Hi all,
I am an absolute noob to this so please forgive what is probably a stupid question.
I am almost at the stage of installing the electronics for my mockingbird kit. During the ordering process I included copper shielding tape in my order. Once it arrived I realised I have absolutely no idea what to do with the shielding tape.
Would anyone in this awesome community be able to advise me as to the correct way to apply this tape and to what component I am to apply it?
Thanks in advance!

[Trevor Davies]

Hi and welcome Johnnygriever.

You will want to put the copper tape around the control cavity - like in the picture at https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...l=1#post227247. It will also want to go onto the back of the cover plate for the control cavity. You may want to put shielding around the pickup cavities as well.

The idea is to have a "metal box" (actually a Faraday's Cage) around the components to stop interference from outside electrical signals.

Notes:

I would go further onto the top lip of the control cavity than shown in the picture from XPrider. So that the cover plate copper touches the cavity copper when the cover is on.

The copper strips typically need to be soldered together (only a small solder dot is needed, not the whole join), and the whole lot needs to be grounded to the circuit.

Test the different strips to ground with a multimeter to ensure continuity.

It is a bit painful, but worth the effort.