circuit board checker (1 Viewer)

[mark]

i just build a pedal from one of those kits you can get. while my soldering skills are not great, all the connections are made and it seems pretty solid. of course it doesn't work. i'm thinking the PCB might be faulty. is there such thing as a tool that will check the integrity of the circuit board?

ta.

 

[hanley]

Re: circut board checker

i just build a pedal from one of those kits you can get. while my soldering skills are not great, all the connections are made and it seems pretty solid. of course it doesn't work. i'm thinking the PCB might be faulty. is there such thing as a tool that will check the integrity of the circuit board?

ta.

yuo gan get a digital multimeter

it has a circuit continuity function where it makes a beep when a complete circuit is made between the probes
also you could kinda follow the circuit around and see where it stops by measuring voltage between points on the circuit and the ground

you could probably get a cheapo one in tescos

think transistors and IC's are succeptable to heat damage if your take too long in soldering things to the board


what kinda pedal is it?

 

[mark]

Re: circut board checker

think transistors and IC's are succeptable to heat damage if your take too long in soldering things to the board


what kinda pedal is it?

its a BTOC phaser. i could well have damaged some components. i'm not the quickest solderer.

cheers.

 

[GeneralMapache]

I've burnt a few chips and transistors in the past making pedals. I ended up always soldering in sockets and then plugging the chip or transistor into that so I couldn't burn the chip.
Resistors and Caps on the other hand should be fine if overheated.

Check for any dry solder joints, spottable as dull solder blobs, they look like they're joined but dont make a true connecion and can shake loose. All the solder joins should look shiny and slick.
Check that the connections to the mono jacks are good as they are sometimes hard to solder onto if they are the simple type.
Check and the battery leads are soldered on correctly.
Double check the wiring of the "true bypass" style foot switch if it has one, maybe you didn't wire up that switch correctly, an easy mistake to make.
Otherwise maybe try to get a replacement chip (if you know the type) in Maplins or Peats and hope for the best.

Good luck.

 

[mark]

thanks all.

 

[Goodbye]

Store bought, plug and play. Yer only man.