# Modded Micro POG



## Hexjibber (Oct 5, 2020)

Quite proud of this one so thought I would share with you guys..

Its a modded Micro POG (mod here) which I thought I would give a new box job while I was in there!

The mod is really useful for me as I mainly use two settings on this pedal when playing live so the channel switch swaps between the two rows of pots, effectively giving you two presets. I'd seen the JHS mod and a few other similar ones so decided to see if it was DIY-able and turned out to be the case! I can't say I enjoyed the process all that much, lots of nerve wracking desoldering, wondering if I'd destroyed the thing and then a boat load of fiddly wiring for the actual mod. To say I was relieved when it worked first time is an understatement!

Etched with NaOH/Caustic Soda/Lye and painted, really happy with how it came out in the end.


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## Barry (Oct 5, 2020)

Box looks great


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## HamishR (Oct 5, 2020)

OMG! I can certainly understand your nerves.  Well done!


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## Hexjibber (Oct 5, 2020)

Barry said:


> Box looks great


Cheers Barry!


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## Hexjibber (Oct 5, 2020)

HamishR said:


> OMG! I can certainly understand your nerves.  Well done!


Thanks!


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## untamedfrontier (Oct 5, 2020)

I have a micro pog as well and have always been curious about this mod, I can definitely see how nerve wracking that would be. 

What guide did you follow for doing the mod? 

I wonder if this could be done also using the PPCB Relay channel switching mode...now that would be extra cool


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## Hexjibber (Oct 5, 2020)

untamedfrontier said:


> I have a micro pog as well and have always been curious about this mod, I can definitely see how nerve wracking that would be.
> 
> What guide did you follow for doing the mod?
> 
> I wonder if this could be done also using the PPCB Relay channel switching mode...now that would be extra cool


I used this layout;





						Micro POG Dual Control [modification]
					

Collection of vero (stripboard) & tagboard layouts for 100s of popular guitar effects, with over 500 verified designs. DIY your own boutique effects!




					tagboardeffects.blogspot.com
				




The diagram specs 10kC pots but if you read down the comments you can see people have had better results using linear taper. The value you need depends on the version of the POG you have, some have 5k pots in which case you need 10kB, or as was the case with mine it had 10k pots so I used 20kB and it works as expected.

In essence the mod itself is simple but for me the nervous part was monkeying around with that PCB in the knowledge that if I really messed it up it would be toast and I'd have no idea how to fix it, would have been an expensive mistake! I imagine people more adept than me wouldn't be fazed but SMD combined with DSP is all still a dark art to me!


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## Esben (May 10, 2021)

Hey @Hexjibber I am doing this mod inspired by you! Do you have a picture of the other side of the PCB? It would really help me and maybe others. I have it planned out, but I am not sure I have the best solution mapped out


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## Hexjibber (May 10, 2021)

Esben said:


> Hey @Hexjibber I am doing this mod inspired by you! Do you have a picture of the other side of the PCB? It would really help me and maybe others. I have it planned out, but I am not sure I have the best solution mapped out


Hey Esben, I just had a look through my phone but looks like I only took the one gut shot, sorry! If you follow the wiring instructions in the Tagboard Effects link above carefully then you should be ok, it's relatively simple. The hardest bit I found was desoldering things but that was back when I had a really cheap soldering iron, since buying a Hakko that sort of stuff is so much easier now!


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## JamieJ (May 10, 2021)

🤩


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## Feral Feline (May 10, 2021)

I missed the OP when it first dropped, but I'd like to say:

That's the best-looking Micro-POG I've ever seen. 

Always wanted one, this pushes the GAS pedal to the metal...


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## Esben (May 11, 2021)

Hexjibber said:


> Hey Esben, I just had a look through my phone but looks like I only took the one gut shot, sorry! If you follow the wiring instructions in the Tagboard Effects link above carefully then you should be ok, it's relatively simple. The hardest bit I found was desoldering things but that was back when I had a really cheap soldering iron, since buying a Hakko that sort of stuff is so much easier now!


Thanks for checking anyways! Can I just ask you. The dry A, sub A and up A pots are all soldered to the PCB right? So the wiring in the instructions are in addition to the dry A, sub A and up A pots being soldered to the PCB? And where did you solder to ground? On the DC jack? I am used to very detailed instructions when soldering, hehe. Cheers!


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## Hexjibber (May 11, 2021)

Feral Feline said:


> I missed the OP when it first dropped, but I'd like to say:
> 
> That's the best-looking Micro-POG I've ever seen.
> 
> Always wanted one, this pushes the GAS pedal to the metal...


Thanks!  I love this pedal tbh, it's never left my board so would definitely recommend it!


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## Hexjibber (May 11, 2021)

Esben said:


> So the wiring in the instructions are in addition to the dry A, sub A and up A pots being soldered to the PCB?


Yes that's right, to the corresponding pads listed on the diagram, I seem to remember being a bit confused by that as it wasn't shown in the actual diagram.


> And where did you solder to ground?


I can't quite remember tbh, sorry it's all a bit vague in my memory! I think it might have been the underside of the board on a ground pad that was left behind after I removed the old DC jack. If I remember correctly there are two ground pads for it so one went to the new DC jack and the other I used for the off board ground. I recall checking continuity with my DMM to make sure the pad was connected the ground so I think it was that.

EDIT: Just found an underside board shot from another POG and you can see the three pads for the DC jack so fairly certain I used one of them.


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## Esben (May 11, 2021)

Hexjibber said:


> Yes that's right, to the corresponding pads listed on the diagram, I seem to remember being a bit confused by that as it wasn't shown in the actual diagram.
> 
> I can't quite remember tbh, sorry it's all a bit vague in my memory! I think it might have been the underside of the board on a ground pad that was left behind after I removed the old DC jack. If I remember correctly there are two ground pads for it so one went to the new DC jack and the other I used for the off board ground. I recall checking continuity with my DMM to make sure the pad was connected the ground so I think it was that.


Thank you so much for answers! I am waiting for the last parts to ship now. Such a useful mod. Out of curiosity, why did you remove the old DC jack? Made it easier to work with when it is not mounted directly to the PCB perhaps?


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## Hexjibber (May 11, 2021)

Esben said:


> Thank you so much for answers! I am waiting for the last parts to ship now. Such a useful mod. Out of curiosity, why did you remove the old DC jack? Made it easier to work with when it is not mounted directly to the PCB perhaps?


No problem, happy to help if I can!   The main reason for me was that I was using and drilling a new box so I could do the etch (this is actually the second time I've rehoused it!) and I don't have anything like a Dremel to be able to cut square holes to fit the original DC jack so was just easier for me to replace it with the type I normally use.


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## Esben (May 11, 2021)

Hexjibber said:


> No problem, happy to help if I can!   The main reason for me was that I was using and drilling a new box so I could do the etch (this is actually the second time I've rehoused it!) and I don't have anything like a Dremel to be able to cut square holes to fit the original DC jack so was just easier for me to replace it with the type I normally use.


Ahh, i see. So you rehoused the whole thing. I was wondering where that footswitch hole went Sick artwork by the way, very impressive!


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## Hexjibber (May 11, 2021)

Esben said:


> Ahh, i see. So you rehoused the whole thing. I was wondering where that footswitch hole went Sick artwork by the way, very impressive!


Thanks!  Yeah my old rehouse job had started to get pretty battered so decided to treat it to a new box! It looked like this in a former life after I etched the original box;


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## Esben (May 11, 2021)

Hexjibber said:


> Thanks!  Yeah my old rehouse job had started to get pretty battered so decided to treat it to a new box! It looked like this in a former life after I etched the original box;


Nice, I really like those impossible triangles! I don't have the skills to do that so I might just paint the box in a plain colour. I have to figure out what to do with the big hole after I move the footswich though.


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## Hexjibber (May 11, 2021)

Esben said:


> Nice, I really like those impossible triangles! I don't have the skills to do that so I might just paint the box in a plain colour. I have to figure out what to do with the big hole after I move the footswich though.


You could get one of those 10mm LEDs or an amp jewel light which would fit there pretty well I reckon


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## Esben (May 11, 2021)

Hexjibber said:


> You could get one of those 10mm LEDs or an amp jewel light which would fit there pretty well I reckon


Yes, great idea! I just ordered a 5mm led inside a bezel. I might cover the hole. If it doesn't I can fit it with a washer. The bulb even had a built in resistor. I guess that means two fewer soldering points.


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## didierleclair (May 29, 2022)

Old thread but...
i finally decided to mod my micro pog for top jacks.
i doubt the preset mod and top jack mod can be combined for an ultimate space saving octave machine, but hey... still pretty happy.


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## Feral Feline (Jun 1, 2022)

didierleclair said:


> Old thread but...
> i finally decided to mod my micro pog for top jacks.
> i doubt the preset mod and top jack mod can be combined for an ultimate space saving octave machine, but hey... still pretty happy.


Gut-shot, SVP.

I still don't have one of these, but have mapped out (a number of times/ways) how I think I'd do it (also modded to have the dual-channels) if I ever snag one (I have the 1590A-sized Mooer clone).


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## johann.guitars (Dec 10, 2022)

Greetings friend, currently I will modify mine, the manual work will be done by an expert in smartphone boards from my city. (I just need to be clear in telling him what to do).

Question #1: At points 2-5-8 in the schematic they look empty, however in your initial photo I see cables, can you clarify me, What should go there? (I already have all the parts for the mod)

Question #2: On the original, unmodified pedal, point 1 of the potentiometers is naturally already connected to ground? (to know if just hitting a single point in one PCB potentiometer they can go in "chain" with the new added potentiometers)

SORRY IF THESE ARE MAYBE ABSURD QUESTIONS I AM A NOVICE, BUT AN INTELLIGENT GUY.

Thanks!


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## Hexjibber (Dec 20, 2022)

johann.guitars said:


> Greetings friend, currently I will modify mine, the manual work will be done by an expert in smartphone boards from my city. (I just need to be clear in telling him what to do).
> 
> Question #1: At points 2-5-8 in the schematic they look empty, however in your initial photo I see cables, can you clarify me, What should go there? (I already have all the parts for the mod)
> 
> ...


Hi Johann,

Had to refresh my memory a bit on this but to answer your questions;

1) If you check the picture/schematic, the wiring for points 2, 5 & 8 on the switch is listed there;
"Sw2 to Dry Pad 2, Sw5 to Sub Octave Pad 2, Sw8 to Octave Up Pad 2" which is referring to those points on the original board, hope that makes sense.

2) If I understand your question correctly then yes, you can chain the grounds of pin 1 on all of the pots together, then from there, be sure to connect at least one of the pots to either a ground on the PCB, or the DC jack.

Definitely not absurd questions  I found it quite confusing at the time, hope this helps!


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## johann.guitars (Yesterday at 10:05 PM)

Hexjibber said:


> Hi Johann,
> 
> Had to refresh my memory a bit on this but to answer your questions;
> 
> ...


*I have finally finished making the mod, with the help of a very skilled cell phone technician with soldering tools. Everything works fine without noise, (I spent a total of about 30 dollars on everything parts required + assembly and hole making costs) I used 3 additional, B10K potentiometers, just like the originals of the Nano Pog (B10K). (all parts purchased from AliExpress).

Thanks for your help!

Greetings from Colombia. (IG: @johann.guitars)*


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