Getting Started with Building Pedals

[JohnH]

Are their prices in $USD ? Lots of cool stuff on their site

Yeah, USD. I've made a few of their pedals too, which have all worked fine and their instructions are easy to follow.

[DrNomis_44]

Great idea for a thread, before I had money to buy new components from Dick Smith Electronics, Altronics, Tandy Electronics (remember that one?), and Jaycar, I used to rat defunct TVs for components for use in building circuits, it's surprising how many useful parts you can salvage from broken TVs, and other pieces of electronic equipment, way better than letting it go into landfill.

[jugglindan]

Great idea for a thread, before I had money to buy new components from Dick Smith Electronics, Altronics, Tandy Electronics (remember that one?), and Jaycar, I used to rat defunct TVs for components for use in building circuits, it's surprising how many useful parts you can salvage from broken TVs, and other pieces of electronic equipment, way better than letting it go into landfill.

I am about to try using a small butane torch for bulk desoldering of components. The plan is to melt a bunch of joins at once, then sharply tap the side of the board to dislodge the solder before it hardens. I don't like the tapping method on a board I need to fix because the solder can cause a bridge somewhere, but on a board that's getting stripped it might work. I hope this makes getting things like PCB mounted pots desoldered easier.

[Bakersdozen]

I am about to try using a small butane torch for bulk desoldering of components. The plan is to melt a bunch of joins at once, then sharply tap the side of the board to dislodge the solder before it hardens. I don't like the tapping method on a board I need to fix because the solder can cause a bridge somewhere, but on a board that's getting stripped it might work. I hope this makes getting things like PCB mounted pots desoldered easier.

Oh oh fire! What could possibly go wrong

Hey DC, what are those little white riser things you mounted the board in to keep the circuit off the metal?

[jugglindan]

Some more sites worth a look.
http://www.runoffgroove.com/index.html
http://beavisaudio.com/
https://www.diyaudio.com/

Thanks Cliff. To that list I will add:
Jack Orman's site http://www.muzique.com/
R G Keen's site: http://www.geofex.com/
https://sound-au.com/. The articles page is particularly good.
Electrosmash.

I learnt a lot from following the Electrosmash breakdown of the Rat circuit while building the circuit on a breadboard. This sort of thing is helpful for moving beyond the assemble-by-numbers stage of pedal building. Although, to be honest, assemble-by-numbers does work, but it can be hard to diagnose issues or make decisions on parts substitutions when the circuit is a complete mystery.

[jugglindan]

Oh oh fire! What could possibly go wrong

Hey DC, what are those little white riser things you mounted the board in to keep the circuit off the metal?

That would be these.

I don't normally use them on my own pedals, but I thought they are a good idea for something that has to go through the post. I will use a couple in the FS-808 as well. Maybe. I also have an idea involving insulation tape and a hot glue gun...

[jugglindan]

I buy mine from Tayda electronics. When the conversion rate was better they worked out quite economically. They've gone up with the dollar being crap, but their service is still excellent, and they're still cheaper than most places.

https://www.taydaelectronics.com/

Enclosures are listed under the 'hardware' category in the list to the left hand side.

I also buy most of my components from them, so it's easy to add enclosures to the order

Tayda, I always forget about them. I just looked at their 125b enclosures. $5.49 US, which is 8AUD today. So cheaper than PPA at 11AUD for the same enclosure. So it all comes down to postage rates. Adding that in, a single 125B from Tayda will cost me $12.50, and from PPA it would be $19.

So yup, definitely cheaper. Thanks. Shame they are out of stock of plain 125B until August But I do need a bunch of pots, so maybe ...

[JohnH]

Tayda, I always forget about them. I just looked at their 125b enclosures. $5.49 US, which is 8AUD today. So cheaper than PPA at 11AUD for the same enclosure. So it all comes down to postage rates. Adding that in, a single 125B from Tayda will cost me $12.50, and from PPA it would be $19.

So yup, definitely cheaper. Thanks. Shame they are out of stock of plain 125B until August But I do need a bunch of pots, so maybe ...

And when the exchange rate is better they are very cheap indeed! What I like most is how fast they get things to my door. My last two orders have taken a week, but usually it's 2-3 days (which is honestly insane)

[jugglindan]

Keep your stripboard offcuts:

They are handy for making adapters for PCB-mounted pots, allowing them to be used off the main board:


Also handy for making little boards for the power indicator LED and current limiting resistor if you don't like wiring it point to point:

[Bakersdozen]

I was wondering about this also. Can't you just solder to the pins on the PCB pots as per normal pots?