# Hydra is Niiice



## jubal81 (Jun 26, 2020)

Belle Epoch going on Reverb. Love the Hydra. 
A few notes: squeezed in film caps and used PPCB relay switch. 'Pro' momentary switches from LMS feel great.


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## Bret608 (Jun 29, 2020)

Super classy Jason! This looks like a fun one to try out.


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## Boba7 (Jun 29, 2020)

Love it, really nice selection of parts, with those smd caps and ICs that look great. Too bad the eeprom wasn't smd too 
Looks stunning anyways. It is a really cool circuit.


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## Gordo (Jun 29, 2020)

What are those cool looking caps?


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## jubal81 (Jun 29, 2020)

Gordo said:


> What are those cool looking caps?



The films are mostly WIMA (red). The aluminum cans are organic polymer, which I use in place of electrolytic. No liquid inside and very low ESR. Pricey, though.


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## cooder (Jun 30, 2020)

Looking awesome! Might have to put this on the list too, yehaaw. Hope the shipping woes subside at some point... sigh... still waiting for stuff I ordered elsewhere from yonks ago...


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## thedip (Jul 7, 2020)

Looks super nice! How did you mount the intelligent relay board on the footswitch?


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## jubal81 (Jul 7, 2020)

thedip said:


> Looks super nice! How did you mount the intelligent relay board on the footswitch?



It's not attached to the switch at all. 
I soldered a header on the effect PCB and installed everything in the enclosure. Then I put in the momentary switch and bolted it down. Relay board went in last and soldered to headers so I would be sure it was clear over the switch.


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## shaunos (Jul 7, 2020)

I can't wait for the FV-1 to be back in stock so I can try to mess up assembling one of these!


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## thedip (Jul 7, 2020)

jubal81 said:


> It's not attached to the switch at all.
> I soldered a header on the effect PCB and installed everything in the enclosure. Then I put in the momentary switch and bolted it down. Relay board went in last and soldered to headers so I would be sure it was clear over the switch.


Awesome I'll have to try that out.


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## Chuck D. Bones (Jul 8, 2020)

One sweet build!  Very very clean.


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## Elijah-Baley (Jul 8, 2020)

It looks nice, indeed!
I built a simple PT2399 delay, but I'd like something more modern like that, with the FV-1.
I just afraid to solder it on the PCB. Is it hard to solder it?


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## jubal81 (Jul 8, 2020)

Elijah-Baley said:


> It looks nice, indeed!
> I built a simple PT2399 delay, but I'd like something more modern like that, with the FV-1.
> I just afraid to solder it on the PCB. Is it hard to solder it?



Fortunately, when Bugg has them in stock, you can select the option for him to do it for you. I'd really recommend that if you're not experienced with SMD. With the right tools, it's not hard at all, but better to practice with parts that don't cost so much.

Also, this thing sounds so great, I set my PedalPCB relay bypass to default ON. Best relay switching solution I've ever used and it's not even close.


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## Elijah-Baley (Jul 9, 2020)

I used to buy some PedalPCB's PCBs from an European shop, they sold them in kit with the components you need, but not with the FV-1 soldered.
Unfortunately, to buy directly from PedalPCB I got higher delivery cost and fee.


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## jubal81 (Jul 17, 2020)

Updating with a mod that's working really well for me.
I didn't have any use for the mix knob being higher than 1-2ish, so clipped pin 3 of the mix pot, leaving the clean-though at 100% at all times.


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