Finally, pictures of my pedals.

[Wheeman]

At long last, I have gotten off my rear and taken some pictures of my finished DIY pedal efforts.

My DIY Pedals on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/23668446@N05/sets/72157603893795715/)

There is pictures of two different DOD 250's. The one boxed up is my first one and it has caused me more then enough grief (...damn switch...). I etched the PCB with the wrong orientation so I had to dead-bug the IC into place ><. The second one has that corrected and was much nicer to put together but is missing a switch.

The fuzz face is my favourite at the moment. Its an easier build, with most of the parts found at the local Crappy-Shack (err...'The Source'). It has a wide range of sounds depending on whats ahead of it, after it, in it, beside it, etc. It too is missing a stomp-switch (I have this habit of building the effect and getting a switch weeks later).

Theres also a JFET Mini-booster, built from the schematic on AMZ. I've got the box ready for it as well, just no switch. Its a wee bit treble-y but is really nice for that extra kick in the gain-nads. I might run another switch to de-castrate it and give it a lower voicing (ie. more bass).

That audio probe, the do-hickey with two wires, one with a cap on the end, has saved me so much aggravation and helped de-bug things in minutes.

I want to try to build a phasor or a flanger next or mod my Cry-baby so it stops sucking its thumb.

-Whee

[Ti-Ron]

nice work ! Why don't you build a multieffects enclosure with all you effects? By the way, where did you get you copper paint?

[mhammer]

Ah. takes me back to the old days.....

If I might make a few suggestions. First, get yourself into using either press-n-peel or glossy photo paper for toner transfer of PCB layouts. It makes PCB production ridiculously easy and cheap. Clearly you have worked hard on hand-drawing those layouts, but it cold be so much easier for you. If you don't have a laser printer yourself, it is no big deal to print out a bunch of PCB patterns to scale, cut them out, arrange them on a letter-sized piece of paper and tape them in place, and bring the thing to Staples or wherever and ask them to print it out on a piece of glossy photo paper. It shouldn't cost you more than a buck and tax. You can probably fit 12-18 patterns on an 8.5 x 11 sheet. I do it all the time. The nice thing is that you can have duplicate patterns, so that if the first transfer and etch doesn't go so well, you can just scrap it and iron another copy onto another piece of copper board.

The second suggestion I would make is to get yourself a small bottle of liquid flux. It'll set you back maybe $10, but will last for years and years. How do you use it? Once you've etched and drilled your board, buff it up nice with some fine steel wool. While it's shiny, and before any tarnish has started to set in, give it a wipe with a bit of liquid flux on the end of a Q-tip (you can buy those from any dollar store). That will permit you to stick a drop of solder on the surface and tin the entire board just by moving your solder tip around. You'd be amazed at how the solder just spreads out to provide a nice non-tarnishing, easily solderable surface for components. The other thing it can do is provide much easier identification of bad traces . I see from your pix that some of the traces can get thin in places. Having a nice coat of solder over top can either bridge those small gaps, or better show off where they exist. To remove the excess flux and have a nice smooth shiny and nonsticky surface, get yourself a small bottle of methyl hydrate (paint thinner) and dab another q-tip in some and wipe. The methyl hydrate easily dissolves and removes the flux.

Finally, some etching tips. The secret to a great etch is a fast etch. For homebrew folks, I find the following help to make the etch superfast.

1) Keep a good distance between the used etchant and the fresh stuff so that what is in the vicinity of the board is good and reactive. In this spirit, a slender and deep container is preferred over wide and shallow. The used stuff will sink to the very bottom.

2) If you keep the board a distance away from the used stuff the etch will proceed faster too. One trick I like to use is to drill a small hole in each corner and insert a toothpick so that the board sits in the etchant like a little coffee table, with the copper side down. That way, he board won't sink to the bottom, amidst the sludge.

3) Warm etchant works faster. However, the only point where it truly matters is in the vicinity of the board where the chemical reaction takes place. So, you can either warm up the etchant bath itself, or you can do what I do and warm up the board so that nearby etchant is also warmed. You can do that by means of something like a hair dryer or heat gun set to low, or if you don't feel like standing there holding something, a small goose-neck desk lamp can be used to position a bulb just above the board, and the radiant heat will warm the board. What's nice is that the warmed board will cause the etchant to gently circulate underneath. A warmed board/bath can easily cut down your etch time by 30% or more.

4) Make absolutely sure that the board you stick in the etchant is sparkly clean with NO FINGER JUICE on it. Finger residue has a way of tarnishing the surface and preventing the etchant from reacting efficiently. The result will be "crop circles" on your board where everything seems to be etched but this one area. So, before you etch, buff with fine steel wool, and handle the board only along the edges or with your fingers covered in some manner. A pair of latex gloves (dollar store again) isn't such a bad idea.

Live etchant is not something you want to just flush away since it is not so great for the environment and wreaks havoc with any metal plumbing encountered along the way (you should see what it does to aluminum!). You can deactivate used ferric chloride with simple household baking soda. Just keep in mind that when you add the soda to the etchant, it produces a foam that increases rapidly to around 8x the volume. So the container you deactivate it in needs to be big (like a large plastic salad/mixing bowl from, hmmm, maybe the dollar store), or else you risk having stuff flow over the top onto the counter and your clothes. And trust me, you DON'T want that.

[Wheeman]

Excellent suggestions. I did the etching at school with ferric chloride (nasty stuff) so I disposed of it through my chemistry teacher. The board is double-sided, so it makes the etching a bit longer. I might try this method next time. (http://www.instructables.com/id/Stop-using-Ferric-Chloride-etchant!--A-better-etc/)

I'll need to get some of that transfer paper next time. Doing it by hand with a sharpie (thats why it looks like copper paint, Ti-ron) is a pain.

[mhammer]

There are certainly other chemicals to be used for etching with fewer environmental (or staining!) considerations. FeCl is something I can buy readily so that's what I use. If you're in the GTA, I imagine there are other substances equally available.

The toner-transfer method is so easy it ought to be illegal. You simply print the pattern out, iron it onto the copper side, wait until it's cool, peel it off, and etch.

In principle, anything that consists of a backing that can withstand heat and a smooth emulsion layer that holds toner can be used for the toner transfer method. The optimum material is what is referred to as press-and-peel blue, but that costs some $2 a sheet. I have safely and successfully used 10/$1 photo paper bought at the dollar store. I would offer the following caveats regarding use of the one or the other:

1) PnP is higher resolution than photo paper, so if the pattern itself needs for traces to run between IC pins (e.g., for a digital delay), spring the $2@ and use PnP plastic sheets. Otherwise, for just about any fuzzbox, etc., photo paper is just fine. generally speaking, the shinier the photo paper the higher the resolution and the neater the edges of any traces and pads.

2) Some glossy photo paper is shiny on both sides just to make it easy for morons to print out pictures. If you plan to press a clothes iron against a shiny layer (instead of the dull paper layer), expect for the shiny stuff to melt and coat the iron. You want photo paper that is shiny on only ONE side.

3) The distinction between inkjet and laser photo paper is one based on how well it holds or bleeds liquid ink droplets, and NOT a matter of what printer you use. You can use either type in either printer; you just won't get best quality for colour pictures if you use laser paper in an inkjet printer. For etching purposes you will be printing it in a laser printer or photocopier (also laser) because toner is critical to the process. Either paper type will do for that.

4) Once you get started on toner transfer method, one of the hardest things to master will be deciding when the pattern has been successfully transferred. You will undoubtedly face some early failures. For that reason, I would recommend printing 2 or 3 copies of your first few patterns, just so you can get used to the required ironing. Typically, when you can see every part of the layout in slightly raised relief, you have transferred the whole pattern.

5) Be absolutely sure to let the board cool off properly before attempting to remove the PnP or paper. Since it's winter, an easy method is to take the board and simply press it up against a window so that the glass sinks all the heat away.

6) If you get 95% of the pattern transferred with the odd gap here or there, you can "repair" the remainder of the pattern with a permanent marker. I highly recommend Superfine tip Staedtler Lumocolor pens, which can be bought at any art store. I know Sharpies are the "tradition" but the tips are way too big for touchups. I've been using the Staedtler for over 25 years with great success.

[Spikezone]

I love your use of electrical boxes for pedal housings! Very practical AND cool!
-Mikey

[Wheeman]

I love your use of electrical boxes for pedal housings! Very practical AND cool!
-Mikey

And they are built to last and dirt cheap. I should be able to throw the box against the wall (I haven't yet) and everything should still work.

Hammer, you should write a book on this stuff... I want to run out and etch another fuzz face right now. :rockon: