# “DNL” resistor value?



## Diynot (May 25, 2022)

Deadendfx The Thing build. What does DNL stand for at r45? Don’t see any notations in the build doc.


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## spi (May 25, 2022)

Weird.  Maybe it means "do not". DLP usually means "do not populate".

Can you email deadendfx?


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## Diynot (May 25, 2022)

spi said:


> Weird.  Maybe it means "do not". DLP usually means "do not populate".
> 
> Can you email deadendfx?


Just did. I know at least a few have built this on here. Looks to be part of a voltage divider, but if I need to adjust the value to reach a bias point, why not a trimmer? There is one already one on the board for that


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## Diynot (May 25, 2022)

For the reference of the group, DNL= do not load= omit


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## Barry (May 25, 2022)

Why put it on the schematic only to omit it? Strange indeed!


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## Diynot (May 25, 2022)

Barry said:


> Why put it on the schematic only to omit it? Strange indeed!


Not just on the schem, but the board itself has a spot for it. Meh.


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## Barry (May 25, 2022)

Diynot said:


> Not just on the schem, but the board itself has a spot for it. Meh.


Well, I could understand that if it's a board used for similar builds it would be logical to note on the schematic not to populate


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## HamishR (May 26, 2022)

It must be a huge pedal if R44 is one metre long.


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## Diynot (May 26, 2022)

HamishR said:


> It must be a huge pedal if R44 is one metre long.


It is a deadend fx project so there’s that.


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## HamishR (May 26, 2022)

Maybe that's why they bend it into a squiggly line - to make it fit.


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## vigilante398 (May 26, 2022)

I've always used "DNI" for Do Not Install, but potato potato.

Generally I only have them on untested designs as "just in case" things that I may want to try if something goes wrong or something doesn't work. Most recently I had a power regulator that I wasn't sure if it would work, so I had a DNI 0Ω resistor so I could jumper and bypass the regulator if it didn't work. I did it again on the same design for the output buffer, I wanted to be able to try it without the output buffer, so I put in a DNI 0Ω resistor that I could add in to bypass the output buffer. Also if there's an option I'm thinking about adding but afraid I won't like sometimes I'll connect it with 0Ω resistor (I use SMD) and if I don't like it I'll list the resistor as DNI on the BOM for assembly afterward.

Anyway, I'll leave you guys alone now.


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## xefned (Jul 10, 2022)

Diynot said:


> For the reference of the group, DNL= do not load= omit



Thanks for taking the time to post this. I'm gathering parts for “The Thing” now.

Googl search for this “DNL resistor” brings up this thread first.


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## Diynot (Jul 10, 2022)

xefned said:


> Thanks for taking the time to post this. I'm gathering parts for “The Thing” now.
> 
> Googl search for this “DNL resistor” brings up this thread first.


Ha. Leaving my mark on the interwebs. Def worse ways to do it I guess. Good luck on the build, it’s a beast for sure. I think I got the bulk of the parts from Tayda, but I had to get the giant radial electros from mouser as well as a few of the ICs. One “gotcha”, the 6 LEDs on the board aren’t really a bypass indicator, but do let you know when you are triggering the envelope. That’s how the original gets the butterfly to light up. Mine are not visible from the outside


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## xefned (Jul 10, 2022)

Diynot said:


> …the 6 LEDs on the board aren’t really a bypass indicator, but do let you know when you are triggering the envelope.



Ah, cool. Thanks for the tip!
I'll arrange the LEDs to be visible from the outside somehow.

Let us know how yours turns out!


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## Diynot (Jul 10, 2022)

xefned said:


> Ah, cool. Thanks for the tip!
> I'll arrange the LEDs to be visible from the outside somehow.
> 
> Let us know how yours turns out!


I did post up a build report out there a while ago. I will say I need to track down some “oddities”. Mainly 2 things, I get a lot of whine/noise out of mine in bypass, it changes timbre based on the position of the morph switch. Kind of annoying, might be related to the expression jack. Secondly, my envelope does not seem to be super reactive. I have attempted to bias based on the build doc, but I cannot get my voltage to go below 6.36v. Not terribly off the 6.18-6.2v recommended starting point and considering you further turn the trimmer based on strumming to get the LEDs to react (which mine do) I guess it’s working as expected, but doesn’t sound quite the same as the demos and there is very little change from morph on or off. I used a vtl5c9, but might try switching for the NSL32sr3 since an nsl was in the original.


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## xefned (Jul 10, 2022)

I like your purple with sparkle finish thingee! It's inspiring me to push forward with a build that, frankly, I have a bad feeling about.
(Build report link for future travelers.)

I just placed a Mouser order for all those oddball resistor values (2Ω, 390k, 910Ω, 11k5, etc.) That's the stuff that makes me a little nervous. It's weird that it calls for both a 22k resistor and a 22k1 resistor.  So I ordered all the values at 1% tolerance just in case there's something necessary about this extreme level of specificity.

Masochistically, I'm considering doing off-board pots to mimic the original: 3 large pots in the top row and 3 small pots in the 2nd row. 

I predict yours will be fixed with a proper NSL32-r3. Those reissue Xvive vactrols have dorked-up a number of builds by being notoriously out-of-spec.


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## Diynot (Jul 10, 2022)

xefned said:


> I like your purple with sparkle finish thingee! It's inspiring me to push forward with a build that, frankly, I have a bad feeling about.
> (Build report link for future travelers.)
> 
> I just placed a Mouser order for all those oddball resistor values (2Ω, 390k, 910Ω, 11k5, etc.) That's the stuff that makes me a little nervous. It's weird that it calls for both a 22k resistor and a 22k1 resistor.  So I ordered all the values at 1% tolerance just in case there's something necessary about this extreme level of specificity.
> ...


Didn’t sweat the odd resistor values too much that 1ohm difference in conventional pedal building doesn’t equate to a huge difference in functionality (that said I am not an EE so depending on what that resistor is dictating I suppose it could theoretically make a difference, meh). For all we know, that may have been an oddity in tolerance to the specimen that was traced. To be honest, I would stick with the pot position as advertised since you WILL have to use that size box. Note that the PCB absolutely fills the enclosure corner to corner
Edit: since the board sits on the pots you could change the Arrangement, but with all that space it might look a little unbalanced. You do you though
Edit: that’s a 100ohm difference, not 1ohm


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## xefned (Jul 12, 2022)

I feel that too. Probably won't make a difference. 

It's dumb that I ordered both 22k and 22k1. Because later I discovered a bag of 22k. And 3 of them measure at 22k1 anyway. So thats's 20 resistors I might never use on order. 

Even those 2Ω resistors. Initially, I was glad I ordered them at 1% tolerance, because whoever heard of a 2Ω being specified in a stompbox? Must be some magic voodoo. Looking at the schem, they sit between 9v power and the power pins on each IC. WTF. Probably the same effect as just using a wire jumper.

All that said, I'm glad when PCB designers like Robert and DeadEndFX stick with the original design and leave the modding up to the builder. At least one PCB provider routinely changes input value caps to what he thinks makes more sense. And I don't believe you can just make changes by looking at the schematic without hearing the result first. Maybe that's just me.


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## Diynot (Jul 12, 2022)

xefned said:


> I feel that too. Probably won't make a difference.
> 
> It's dumb that I ordered both 22k and 22k1. Because later I discovered a bag of 22k. And 3 of them measure at 22k1 anyway. So thats's 20 resistors I might never use on order.
> 
> ...


I think some PCB makers probably do that to try and avoid conflicts concerning direct cloning. sort of in the same way you would use an interchangeable dual opamp instead of the original one. Again, not being an EE, there MAY be a cumulative effect of that 2ohm in addition to other resistance down the line, but does seem like an insignificant value.


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## giovanni (Jul 12, 2022)

Definitely insignificant. Sometimes engineers use tiny resistor values as circuit protection: if too much current flows, the resistor fails and it should protect the IC. It probably depends on the circuit tho and I’m not entirely convinced that it works.


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## vigilante398 (Jul 13, 2022)

giovanni said:


> Definitely insignificant. Sometimes engineers use tiny resistor values as circuit protection: if too much current flows, the resistor fails and it should protect the IC. It probably depends on the circuit tho and I’m not entirely convinced that it works.


Current is pulled, not pushed. If too much current is getting through the resistor, it would be because the IC is pulling the current, which means it's already in trouble. My guess on the in-line resistors with the IC power pins would be an extra LPF for the power rail of each IC, in which case the exact value of the resistor isn't super important as long as you're getting close to the right corner frequency on the filter.


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## Diynot (Jul 13, 2022)

vigilante398 said:


> My guess on the in-line resistors with the IC power pins would be an extra LPF for the power rail of each IC, in which case the exact value of the resistor isn't super important as long as you're getting close to the right corner frequency on the filter.


So is this to mitigate high frequency power noise/oscillation (I thought the caps did that)?


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## vigilante398 (Jul 13, 2022)

Diynot said:


> So is this to mitigate high frequency power noise/oscillation (I thought the caps did that)?


Not necessarily high frequency, but any ripple/noise that could be in the lines. It's not as common in audio as the ICs aren't that sensitive and the bulk filtering on the input is generally sufficient, so in something like a pedal it's overkill in my opinion. In more sensitive circuits it's common to have a ferrite bead (or resistor) for each IC for an "isolated" filtered power rail.


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## giovanni (Jul 13, 2022)

vigilante398 said:


> Current is pulled, not pushed. If too much current is getting through the resistor, it would be because the IC is pulling the current, which means it's already in trouble. My guess on the in-line resistors with the IC power pins would be an extra LPF for the power rail of each IC, in which case the exact value of the resistor isn't super important as long as you're getting close to the right corner frequency on the filter.


I knew that didn’t make sense


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## Diynot (Jul 13, 2022)

Thanks for the lesson @vigilante398


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