# Recent Builds



## twebb6778 (Oct 5, 2019)

Just wanted to show of some of my recent builds. This is the first time I've tried waterslide decals and I feel like they turned out really well!

They all sound fantastic too, definitely making it on to my board.

For this round I did the Oasis (Dunes), Carcass (Carcosa) and Promethium (HM-2).


----------



## Mourguitars (Oct 5, 2019)

Those look great ! Great job on the decals..

I re watched Lords of Chaos last night..the Red one reminded me of that !

again they look awesome 

Mike


----------



## twebb6778 (Oct 5, 2019)

I still haven't seen it, but really need to get around to it.

And thanks! There's definitely room for improvement, but I'm pretty happy with them for a first attempt.


----------



## Barry (Oct 5, 2019)

they all look great!


----------



## Mourguitars (Oct 5, 2019)

I like that Dune Buggy decal...reminds me working on them and old VW's in the 70's ...lol


----------



## Chuck D. Bones (Oct 5, 2019)

WOW!  Nice job on the front panel art!  How about a shot of the insides?  Show us the robot porn!


----------



## twebb6778 (Oct 9, 2019)

Bit late, but here are the gut shots. Not super tidy, but i think I've managed to keep them fairly clean.

A few candid shots on the board too. The all sound so good!


----------



## Rybutor89 (Jul 8, 2020)

Question on the promethium. Did you use a 1.5u electrolytic cap, or a 15u. This is my second build and I'm still looking for parts, much appreciated.


----------



## twebb6778 (Jul 8, 2020)

Rybutor89 said:


> Question on the promethium. Did you use a 1.5u electrolytic cap, or a 15u. This is my second build and I'm still looking for parts, much appreciated.


I used 1.5uF as per the build docs. They're an odd value and a little tricky to find. 

I managed to get some from a local electronics chain in Australia called Jaycar and got a few spares, but they're also available at Mouser.


----------



## adamantiumpimp (Oct 5, 2020)

Back to that cap question. I notice a few of your caps are not the standard ceramic disc, and over on the right is a large grey deal covering some of your caps that I do not recognize. Is there a different type of cap that you would recommend if I can't find the disc version of a specific cap?

The Promethium will be my first pedal build, though I have some hobbyist experience in small electronics already.


----------



## Chuck D. Bones (Oct 5, 2020)

Most of the caps on that board (all of the square boxes) are film.
The question of which caps to use has been discussed on these forums so many times... but seeing as you are new around here, I'll cut you a little slack.
*MY *preferred caps are:
up to 470pF: MLCC, silver-mica, monolithic ceramic.  I try to avoid disk ceramics because they tend to be microphonic and have low reliability
470pF to 1uF: film
1uF to 47uF: tantalum
22uF on up: aluminum
These are guidelines, not hard and fast rules.  Some boards call for 1uF MLCC caps.
Silver mica is as close as we'll get to a "perfect" capacitor.  The downside is they are relatively expensive and above 22nF, the size becomes an issue.  Even the lower value ones are a tight squeeze on these boards.
Film caps are low leakage, reliable and transparent.  Some brands are expensive.
Tantalum caps are low leakage, transparent, smaller, higher reliability and more expensive than aluminum. Some people call them "harsh," but that's the transparency revealing the harshness elsewhere in the circuit.
Aluminum caps can be leaky, which is acceptable for power supply filters but bad for the audio path.  They also exhibit dielectric absorption that can muddy the sound.
Vintage pedals used what was cheap and available at the time.  Some _Boutique _builders use the same (crappy) parts because they are replicating an old design or because the perceived _mojo _helps sell pedals.
Whatever caps you buy, their outline and lead spacing has to be compatible with the board.  There are many examples on the Build Reports forum of failing to follow this guideline, including some of my own builds.
These are _my _opinions and observations, YMMV.


----------



## adamantiumpimp (Oct 5, 2020)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> Most of the caps on that board (all of the square boxes) are film.
> The question of which caps to use has been discussed on these forums so many times... but seeing as you are new around here, I'll cut you a little slack.
> *MY *preferred caps are:
> up to 470pF: MLCC, silver-mica, monolithic ceramic.  I try to avoid disk ceramics because they tend to be microphonic and have low reliability
> ...


Damn that was concise. Thank you! Really hating having to use Mouser and the like to shop for these things. Wish I could just go into a local spot and fill a basket.

Thanks again.


----------



## Chuck D. Bones (Oct 5, 2020)

You're welcome.
Once you get the filters set right, it's pretty easy to find the right caps on Mouser or DigiKey.  Most of the film caps on PedalPCB boards have radial leads with 0.2" (5mm) spacing, and are 0.1" (2.5mm) x 0.3" (7.2mm to 7.5mm).  

Small Bear & Tayda have film caps in the desired sizes.  Some (most?) of SB's film caps are dipped and are wider then 0.1"  They can be squeezed in some places.


----------

