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First BYOC Build


bluesguitar65

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Just finished building my first BYOC build, the classic overdrive, an Ibanez TS808 clone. Finished it in about two hours. Man, it is so much easier building a pedal with a PC board instead of point to point terminals, and not to mention it is so much faster to build.

 

img0437qb.jpg

By bluesguitar65 at 2012-04-09

 

img0439ir.jpg

By bluesguitar65 at 2012-04-09

 

img0440ph.jpg

By bluesguitar65 at 2012-04-09

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Cool! Did you mod it at all or is it to the original TS-808 specs?

Haven't modded it yet. Its all original TS808 specs. After finishing this, I went ahead and ordered three pedals from General Guitar Gadgets, BSIAB, PT80 delay, and the MBB (marshall blues breaker clone). Can't wait to build those when they arrive.

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Very nice job, man. Maybe next time try using a tiny bit less solder on the PCB but that looks great and the soldering on the switch is perfect.

 

What's BSIAB? Brown sound in a box? I've never really looked into GGG's stuff so I'm not familiar with it but that sounds rad and it will be great practice for you.

 

Let me know how the delay turns out.. I'm building an Echo Base Delay and I have a Malekko 616 coming in the mail so I'm gonna have more delay than I know what to do with but you know how it is lol

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Very nice job, man. Maybe next time try using a tiny bit less solder on the PCB but that looks great and the soldering on the switch is perfect.

 

What's BSIAB? Brown sound in a box? I've never really looked into GGG's stuff so I'm not familiar with it but that sounds rad and it will be great practice for you.

 

Let me know how the delay turns out.. I'm building an Echo Base Delay and I have a Malekko 616 coming in the mail so I'm gonna have more delay than I know what to do with but you know how it is lol

Hey Dubs [thumbup] Yea, I went overboard on the solder and I did burn a couple of wires there. You think a 40 watt weller soldering iron was too much or should I go for a lesser wattage? I also think I need a smaller diameter solder. Which do you use?

 

Yes, BSIAB is indeed "Brown Sound in a Box". Its suppose to be a plexi marshall distortion box. After I'm done with these kits, I think I'm ready to venture in making pedals from the ground up.

 

Dubs, would you post some great links for DIY infos?

 

 

LOL!! Yea, I know exactly what you mean.....you can never get enough delay pedals.....same goes for dirt boxes IMHO. [flapper] [flapper]

Thanks man [thumbup]

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Looks pretty complicated. How was the build?

Actually the build and time went much smoother and faster building pedals using PC boards. Building pedals point to point using terminal strips was much more difficult and much more time consuming. Alot of due to cutting wires, tinning them and getting around all those wires, making sure you have wired and soldered them to the correct terminals.

 

Check it out:

 

Point to Point: without any circuit board. Time consuming and more difficult.

 

img0400jd.jpg

By bluesguitar65 at 2012-03-29

 

No point to point wiring and with a circuit board: Less time consuming and much easier.

 

img0439ir.jpg

By bluesguitar65 at 2012-04-09

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Yeah 40 watts may be too much. How hot does it get? I think the ideal temperature is about 750 degrees. I use a 25 watt Weller which cost me $15 at Fry's. It's perfect for building pedals. I use 22 gauge (.032" diameter) Sn63/Pb37 solder. The thinner gauge melts quickly and gives you good control over how much solder you're using.

 

This link might be helpful to you. You don't have to listen to everything this guy suggests, some of the insulation and stuff is a bit overboard IMO, but it's good info nonetheless.

http://www.buildyourownclone.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=6401

 

If you use a regular PCB without board mounted pots and LED and convenient lug placement and everything I think you'll find it's just as much wiring as point to point haha. The upside of point to point is that it's much easier to make repairs and modifications on. You also usually only make relatively simple circuits with point to point methods. I wouldn't say it's any more difficult or time consuming it's just different.

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Yeah 40 watts may be too much. How hot does it get? I think the ideal temperature is about 750 degrees. I use a 25 watt Weller which cost me $15 at Fry's. It's perfect for building pedals. I use 22 gauge (.032" diameter) Sn63/Pb37 solder. The thinner gauge melts quickly and gives you good control over how much solder you're using.

 

This link might be helpful to you. You don't have to listen to everything this guy suggests, some of the insulation and stuff is a bit overboard IMO, but it's good info nonetheless.

http://www.buildyourownclone.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=6401

 

If you use a regular PCB without board mounted pots and LED and convenient lug placement and everything I think you'll find it's just as much wiring as point to point haha. The upside of point to point is that it's much easier to make repairs and modifications on. You also usually only make relatively simple circuits with point to point methods. I wouldn't say it's any more difficult or time consuming it's just different.

You use 63/37? I thought 60/40 were the ideal solder for small electronics.

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Looking good! You're hooked aren't you? [thumbup] How's it sound?

 

The BYOC boards are drilled with pretty large holes, so the solder tends to melt through to the component side. You need enough to fill the hole but not overdo it (I know... That's what she said :rolleyes: ). One trick I've learned is to use less solder and then hold the whole PCB up to a bright light source. If you see light shining through a hole, you need to reflow it and add more solder. If you see no light, it's tight.

 

As for soldering irons, I did a lot of PCB work with a cheap Radio Shack 15 watt iron, but it was a bit cool for some jobs. Next I put a pointy tip in a 25 watt iron and that worked well. Finally I got one of these variable temps jobs. While worth it! (about $80 I think). You won't regret it. I roll at about 625 degrees normally.

 

DSC_0001-2.jpg

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Eh either will work fine but the 63/37 works for me. I should probably use RoHS solder since I just solder in my room but whatever..

Ok....so 63/37 will work just fine.... Great so I can use that solder also instead of going just for the 60/40 that are often sold out.

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Looking good! You're hooked aren't you? [thumbup] How's it sound?

 

The BYOC boards are drilled with pretty large holes, so the solder tends to melt through to the component side. You need enough to fill the hole but not overdo it (I know... That's what she said :rolleyes: ). One trick I've learned is to use less solder and then hold the whole PCB up to a bright light source. If you see light shining through a hole, you need to reflow it and add more solder. If you see no light, it's tight.

 

As for soldering irons, I did a lot of PCB work with a cheap Radio Shack 15 watt iron, but it was a bit cool for some jobs. Next I put a pointy tip in a 25 watt iron and that worked well. Finally I got one of these variable temps jobs. While worth it! (about $80 I think). You won't regret it. I roll at about 625 degrees normally.

 

DSC_0001-2.jpg

LOL...yes, I'm hooked on the DIY pedal bug. Next will be building a tube amp. [flapper] [flapper] [flapper]

 

Yes, the BYOC boards do have larger holes. I was wondering... you do all the main soldering from under, not the area where you populate the components correct, or you solder on both sides?

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I was wondering... you do all the main soldering from under, not the area where you populate the components correct, or you solder on both sides?

 

Yes, all soldering from underneath - on the side where you can see the traces not on the side with components.... except during assembly. Once the circuit is in the box it is sometimes easier to do the final wiring (to the switch for example) from the component side rather the remove the board again. This will lead to some melted wire insulation usually! [biggrin] The alternative is to pre-solder all of you "off board" wires into place from underneath, making them longer than you probably need and then trimming them and soldering them to the jacks and switch once you fit the circuit board inside the enclosure.

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