Total Newbie question - debugging a Fuzz

Forum dedicated to helping people debug and troubleshoot non-functional pedals or builds. Please use an clear and informative title, indicating circuit and basic problem. Don't forget to mark the issue as fixed if this is the case.
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V8Reverb
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Post by V8Reverb »

So I found that my Fuzz pot isn't working properly - there's no change in resistance between the outer and middle terminals. Would this cause a non working board?

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V8Reverb
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Post by V8Reverb »

I'm at a loss and about to give up on this - If I was to chang R3 and R5 to give a higher voltage at the base and collector do you think that would fix it? I found a pair of wires that were soldered incorrectly to the Gate pot and now I get sound out and the volume works and the tone works but all I get is noise with or without the Bass being played. Rechecked voltages at Q1 and Q2 and I get Q1 - c=1.62 b=0.612 e=0 Q2 - c=1.02 b=1.62 e=1v

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V8Reverb
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Post by V8Reverb »

Thanks to the MOD who moved this - I'm tearing my hair out -hopefully this will reach a new audience. I'm at the stage where I'm going to remove everything and put it on a stripboard to see if it works as a circuit

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Lucifer
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Post by Lucifer »

If you managed to find a pair of wires (out of what, less than a dozen) soldered in the wrong place, I would suggest you check each and every wire, from the input jack through to the output.

It's dead easy to misplace wires, and just as easy to overlook them. So take a deep breath and start from the beginning, pretending you're trying to pick holes in someone else's work rather than your own.

It sounds (no pun intended . . . oh, I don't know though) like you're getting there, and that parts of the circuit are starting to come to life.

Keep going - if not for your sake, then for ours, as we're all holding our breath and starting to turn blue (which is NOT a good colour for a devil !).
”Sex is great - but you can’t beat the real thing !” - The Wanker’s Handbook

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V8Reverb
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Post by V8Reverb »

Checked everything again and it's all in the correct way now - wires are good and electrolytics are too. Going to unsolder R3 and R5 and then resolder them to see if it makes a difference or do you think that those voltages are good? Actually (insert expletive here) - I'm going to take it all apart and do it again.

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V8Reverb
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Post by V8Reverb »

So it turns out that it was two things - one solder pad had detached from the board - and the smaller capacitors were wrong by a factor of 10 - they were 102J's instead of 103J's - Thats two pairs of wrong capacitors I've been sent by small bear. Ah well - in the capacitor box they go for the future.

At least it works now and I can get it boxed up.

Thanks for your help everyone.

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Lucifer
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Post by Lucifer »

Congratulations - not only for finally getting it going, but also for your perserverence.

It can be really downheartening when things don't work yet nothing seems (at first) to be wrong.

But isn't it a great feeling when you solve the puzzle and get it going ?

Now you're a not-so-newbie with some real experience. You'll watch out for such things on future projects, and life will get a lot easier.

Once again, congratulations ! :thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup
”Sex is great - but you can’t beat the real thing !” - The Wanker’s Handbook

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V8Reverb
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Post by V8Reverb »

Thanks - I started doing a few projects to get my electronics skills back up to par - I did some during my degree many many years ago and wanted to brush up again. I've got that other tri-pedal on the go and hopefully it'll go a bit faster than this one lol

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biliousfrog
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Post by biliousfrog »

I've had several kits from PPP and only one of them has worked first time, I'm pleased to read that I'm not totally alone. Vero, perf and other, more complex, kits have been simple but his never go right for me...although he can be very helpful if he's inclined.

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