User:Zander

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Pressing Issues

Hello!

I have so much work to do! Gotta get all of Thermionic Studios' equipment up on this wiki and explained!

"There is no endorsement or approval from any manufacturer and this information is for education and comparison only."

Testing Gear

Custom Wah-Wahs

Amps and manuals! (and Schematics!)

Effects and manuals!

Instruments

Microphones

Recording Gear...

Mixing Gear...

Aspirationals (Pedals and Amps...)

DON'T LOSE THIS LINK! https://forum.metropoulos.net/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=23420

Traynor

More stuff to follow: http://www.pedalhaven.com/history-earth-sound-research-amplifiers/

  • EarthSound Research Bass amp vs Peavey 400 Bass amp - total clone.

Harmony H415 Amplifier

Optoisolator Link: http://denethor.wlu.ca/pc300/optoisolators/analogoptoisolatorintroduction.pdf

  • already downloaded the optoisolator pdf document in case it disappears.

Pedal Building and Troubleshooting Tools

  • Transistor/Resistor/Capacitor/Diode tester with ZIF sockets
  • KLIQ Metropitch Digital Tuner/Metronome
  • Centech 61593 Digital Multimeter w/continuity tester
  • GGG Breakout Box: Universal Connector


The Audition Box

This is a second box meant to make sure that once something is wired up, that it actually works in a new context. A practice amp would work just as well, but sometimes that's not always available in the middle of the night when other members of the household are sleeping. Unit consists of a 1590BB enclosure with both Cab Sim and Headphone Amp PCBs inside. Function requires a signal in to feed into the cab sim, after which it would go to the headphone amp for volume and then to signal out jack for listening. 1/4" and 1/8" jacks to accommodate both plugs for whichever headphone and associated plug is available.

The Audition Box parts
Function Type Name Source
Cab Sim PCB Marshall Cab Sim GGG
Headphone Amp PCB Headphone Amp GGG
Housing Enclosure 1590BB Hammond MFG
In/Out 1/4" phone/unbalanced line jacks Insulated Jacks Neutrik
Out 1/8" headphone jack Jack Tayda has these.
  • 1 x 1590BB


The Breaker Box

500mA:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJ92THVV?ref_=ppx_hzod_title_dt_b_fed_asin_title_0_0&th=1

1A:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJ94QY3N?ref_=ppx_hzod_title_dt_b_fed_asin_title_0_0&th=1

2A:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJ9347WK?ref_=ppx_hzod_title_dt_b_fed_asin_title_0_0&th=1

3A:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJ937NQK?ref_=ppx_hzod_title_dt_b_fed_asin_title_0_0&th=1

4A:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJ9347WL?ref_=ppx_hzod_title_dt_b_fed_asin_title_0_0&th=1


The Cutting Board

So the purpose of this tool is to make the "Rock it before you box it" step of pedal assembly and troubleshooting much easier. We're trying to do a couple of things here:

  1. Make sure that every kind of power (different voltages, positive & negative voltage) is available for testing, when appropriate
  2. Make sure that it's possible to not only probe for signal on the PCB being that can be listened to, but also have another probe that makes it possible to inject signal on the PCB. This is because we may not have all parts soldered into the board, or we may want to isolate listing to specific active components instead of the entire circuit. We want to be able to get power and signal into the PCB before it's boxed, and for that signal either to be a test signal, or an instrument. Also want to be able to listen through headphones for late-night efforts, in addition to using a practice amp.
  3. Ideally, once a PCB has been through troubleshooting with The Cutting Board, any problems with assembly will necessarily be with any off-board components mounted inside the pedal enclosure, making final assembly and testing much quicker and easier.

Features

  • "Cutting Board" (1590BBFL + 1590BFL + Board)
    • Actual old plastic kitchen cutting board with cut-out handle
    • First Enclosure (1590BBFL) Flanged to attach to the cutting board
      • Assembled Testing Rig PCB (JMK PCBs)
      • Road Rage multi-voltage PCB (Madbean)
      • Multiple AC Adapter connector cords for all possible power jacks
      • Rotary Switch Voltage Select (-9v, +9v unfiltered, +9v filtered, +15v, +18v)
      • Polarity Select Toggle
      • Colored LED polarity indicator and LED voltage display
      • Headphone Out
      • Multiple Probes for Pedal Building: Power In, Signal In, Power Out, Signal Out,
      • Toggled instrument / Signal generated test tone
      • Signal Listen Probe (to capture listenable test signal anywhere on the PCB that's being assembled)
    • Second Enclosure (1590BFL) Flanged to attach to the cutting board
      • Assembled Tiny Tester PCB (JMK PCBs)
      • Signal Send Probe (to inject test signal anywhere on the PCB that's being assembled)
      • Road Rage multi-voltage PCB (Madbean)
      • Multiple Jacks Voltage Select (-9v, +9v unfiltered, +9v filtered, +12 v, +18v)

Cutting Board parts

Box 1
1590BBFL

Features

  • Test Signal Generator
  • Power for PCB
  • Hookups (Alligator clips) for signal and power
  • On/Off
  • Multi-select and indicator for +voltage supply
  • Safety to include On/Off failsafe and indicator for -voltage
Function Type Name Source
RoadRage PCB Selectable Voltage Power Supply Madbean
Headphone Amp PCB Headphone Amp GGG
Housing Flanged Enclosure 1590BBFL Hammond MFG
In/Out 1/4" phone/unbalanced line jacks Insulated Jacks Neutrik
Out 1/8" headphone jack Jack Tayda has these.

1 x 1590BBFL - flanged to screw box to board

Box 2
1590BFL

Features

  • Multiple Power Jacks
    • +9 unfiltered, +9 filtered, +12 filtered, +15 filtered, -9 filtered
  • 1 pluggable alligator clip for power
  • On/Off
Function Type Name Source
RoadRage PCB Selectable Voltage Power Supply Madbean
Housing Flanged Enclosure 1590BFL Hammond MFG
Power Out Multiple Labeled Voltages Jack Tayda has these.

1 x 1590BFL - flanged to screw box to board


The Giants' Shoulders

This particular item has been through a number of names. We believe this is the result of multiple brilliant people and as such has been renamed accordingly.

This breadboarding apparatus has been renamed to "The Giants Shoulders" because that is what it is. The first giant is Orville I. Thompson who was working for DeVry Institute, invented the spring-loaded breadboard that is familiar to those who dabble in electronics prototyping. He patented it in 1960. Thompson essentially democratized the ability of people to dabble in Electronics. Heathkit leveraged the invention to democratize the building of electronic projects to the masses. These contributions cannot be overstated.

The additional form-factor was inspired by a similar board we saw worked up by Brian Wampler in his circuit prototyping YouTube videos. He'd shared his apparatus in his videos where he dissects different circuits to show you how they work. His contribution was to be able to wire in toggle switches and potentiometers into the circuits he'd build on this breadboard. Huge leap forward in the conceptualization of effects and pedals and bringing them to the public. Our version is very similar, just a piece of 1/2" plywood scrap that we had, cut down to approximately 13" x 19", then filled the cracks with wallboard compound, sanded, and then painted white. We've drilled out some joist brackets with the proper holes. When this entry becomes its own wiki article the full set of parts will be itemized if you wish to recreate yourself. The final giant, is Brian "Madbean" Aldridge, who developed the ProtoRig, the ProtoRigJr, the Strober, and the RoadRage. Reliable power along with the ability to insert a signal into the circuit being built, in our minds, completes the package. This platform, this "Shoulders of Giants" should now be capable of turning raw electronic components into something that a guitar or other instrument can be plugged into, and performed with.

We combined all three to make circuit assembly, pedal assembly (pots and switches) and power access immediately available and convenient. We don't presume that this is the final expression of what a complete breadboarding platform looks like, but we hope that the combination of all three has resulted in a quality-of-life tool that that improves the experience of circuit prototyping, circuit inspection, and unfocused breadboarding. We hope this will result in the kind of activity that will help us troubleshoot and demonstrate certain electronics principles. Whether this is for ourselves primarily, or for the benefit of others remains to be seen. We hope its expression will result in the most generous possible outcome.

Across the top 1/2" edge, we mounted a couple of inexpensive folded sheet metal handles to serve as eyes so this could be hung, out of the way, from a couple of rafter hooks:

To protect the corners:

We purchased some inexpensive joist brackets, like the kind used in framing houses. We drilled out the existing holes to accommodate the ability to mount potentiometers and switches, and then drilled out some additional holes for the same purpose. Here are the brackets we purchased to create the structure on which the pots and switches could be mounted in conjunction with the breadboarded circuitry: To drill new holes and mount components:

Breadboard example: This is the same model of breadboard we obtained a number of years ago. Repurposed to serve as the heart of "The Giants' Shoulders" today. Seemed like a better idea than buying a new one. We had some difficulty drilling out the holes through the steel plate that the actual breadboards are mounted to. If you're going to drill out metal like we did, use blue painters tape (we did!) TO COVER OVER ALL THE HOLES before you drill so you don't accidentally get metal shavings into those holes.

The Power

Picked up two rope cleats for winding up and holding the 9-volt power supply and cord that is necessary to make the Giants' Shoulders work:

The Completing Pieces:

Here are the Madbean PCBs that bring everything together into the whole conceptual package (or "bit of kit" if you're a Limey).

The ProtoRigJr. enables you to put an instrument signal through whatever effect you're designing, and gives you the ability to probe, at different places through the circuit to see where there may have been a breakdown
The Strober allows one to troubleshoot through a stereo (which in reality is just a two-channel output) on an effect in the breadboard. I have mounted this on the bottom and upside down on the breadboard so all I need to do to test stereo effect, is to rotate the board 180' degrees and assemble and test just as if this were a normal breadboard.
The RoadrageBB is to enable multiple voltages for powering breadboard designs instead of just being "stuck" with 9 volts. I have two of these; I'll use one for +12 volts, another for +15 volts (in addition to the +9, -9, and +18 volts that the Madbean Roadrage units make possible. These units will be on the board and included in breadboarding activities as necessary.


This is a small silicone tray mounted to board with screws to provide a quick and easy holding area for electrical components. Silicone chosen as it electrically insulates components held within. This came in a two-pack from Temu. It was probably designed as a bathroom counter soap dish of some sort. Silicone is still electrically inert. Great for a parts tray.


The Staff of Ineluctable Power

This staff goes to 11.

The Staff of Ineluctable Power is an open, double-tined hook or fork that is used to fetch different cables from the various ceiling storage hooks that keep such cables out of the way. It prevents the inconvenient use of a stepladder or step-stool to fetch the cables that one may want for different kinds of activities.

It was made with 2 stainless "RB" storm door handles / drawer pulls from Lowe's

A 1-1/4" compression ring

A 4" replacement shovel handle (fiberglass sheath over a wood core).

Important to note that the storm door handles were reinforced by bending the metal edges 90' degrees to stiffen the ends of the handles where they screw into a door or drawer. We ground off that extra reinforcement on a friend's bench grinder so that the ends could then be gently bent to conform to the handle that they were then screwed into. The compression ring then serves to secure the handles and screws to prevent anything from coming loose.


The Measuring Stick

We wanted a quick-reference guide for the holes that need to be drilled into pedal enclosures to panel-mount various components.

A single piece of sheet, drilled out with the holes:


Speaker Polarity Tester

A repurposed Madbean Roadrage PCB inside a 1590A enclosure combined with a voltage divider and a momentary switch. This is to verify the tabs on the speaker and confirm which is negative, and which is positive. This is being built because using a 9-volt battery can pose a risk to smaller speakers. Guitar, Bass, and PA speakers can easily handle a 9-volt battery, but we may need this for building the Deacy.

Box
1590A

Features

  • Single "in" power jack to supply power to the internal Madbean Roadrage.
    • +9 filtered DC power
    • stepped down from 9 volts to 4.5 volts with interal voltage divider.
  • 2 terminal wires, one red for positive, the other black for negative with spade connectors for quick attachment to speaker leads.
    • Positive and negative banana jacks and plugs for connecting the positive and negative test leads from the speakers to the test unit.
  • Momentary On/Off footswitch for use with thumb.
Function Type Name Source
RoadRage PCB Selectable Voltage Power Supply, configured to +9 volts, filtered Madbean
Housing Hand-sized Enclosure 1590A Hammond MFG
Test Leads Red & black wire with strain relief and spade connectors Terminals Tayda has these.

1 x 1590A - Drilled and painted appropriately.


Pedal Articles not finished

1776 Effects

AionFX

AMT Electronics

Bogner

Boss/Roland

Breakfast Audio

BYOC

Catalinbread

Damage Control

Dead Astronaut FX

DeadEndFX

Delptronics

Digitech/DOD

THATS ENOUGH FOR NOW. GET TO WORK!

Dunlop/MXR

Effects Layouts

Electric Druid

Electric Roots

Electro-Harmonix

Fuzzdog

General Guitar Gadgets

God City Instruments

Grind CustomsFX

GuitarPCB

Ibanez

JedsPeds

JMK PCBs

Korg

Lectric-FX

Madbean

Mask Audio Electronics

Maxon

Moonn Electronics

Morpheus

MusicPCB

Nobels

OLCircuits

Parasit Studio

PCB Mania

PedalPalFX

Pedal PCB

Peterson

ProCo

Retro-Channel

Rullywow

Skreddy Pedals

Subdecay

SushiBoxFX

TH Custom

Throbak

Zoom

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