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Translate stripboard layout to schematic diagram

FredF

Sep 16, 2014
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Saw this diagram on the instructables website. No other info was given. Anybody familiar with this method that could translate it to a conventional schematic? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Harrymatic-Stutter-Distortion.png
 

KrisBlueNZ

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I've fixed the thread title. That's stripboard. This is tagboard:

Tag Board.JPG
That image is pretty small. Is there a larger version?

Perhaps you could post a link to the article on instructables.com?
 

KrisBlueNZ

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OK, thanks for the link. There is a proper sized image. Do you have some schematic drawing software? Start by placing the ICs (555, LM386) then the smaller parts.
Harrymatic-Stutter-Distortion.png
Yes, I noticed that the instructables article has disappeared.
 

FredF

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O.K. I downloaded tinycad schematic drawing software,then went to work trying to decipher the stripboard diagram. There are some loose ends which I marked with "?". I have no idea where the should connect. As far as the switches go, I believe the DPDT turns the stutter effect on and off, and there should be another switch, probably something like a 3PDT to bypass the whole thing. I don't know where to place them in the circuit, or how they should be wired. I would appreciate some feedback on my first effort on drawing this schematic, and any help completing it. I am attaching a pic of my schematic. Happy Holidays to all EP members all over the world. Take care, be safe.
FredHARRYMATIC_SCHEMATIC_2.png
 

KrisBlueNZ

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Yikes! What a horrible design. Not your schematic - I mean the design itself.

There are a few errors in your schematic. I suggest you start by hand-drawing a diagram that follows the physical layout but shows resistors as resistor symbols, capacitors as capacitor symbols, etc, and shows the used parts of the tracks as wires. Sort of half way between a stripboard layout and a schematic diagram. Then convert that to a schematic.

Your schematic should have the 0V rail (pin 1 of the 555) running straight from left to right along the bottom, and the positive supply rail (pin 8 of the 555) running straight from left to right along the top. This makes it a lot easier to follow the diagram - it may not help you much yet, but it will help us, and it will help you when you become more fluent in reading schematics.

Once you've done that, I will try to add the off-board components to your schematic.
 

FredF

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Thanks Kris. I've got a few days off for the holidays, so I can spend some more time on this. When I re-draw it, I'll re-post it. Thanks again. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
 

FredF

Sep 16, 2014
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O.K. I took another shot at re-drawing the circuit, using your suggestions Kris. Does it now look like something we can work with?:). I attached both my hand-drawn sketch,plus my Tinycad drawing, to which I added the symbols for the four off-board components that I believe will be needed.
FredDISTwithSTUTTER_3.jpg DISTORTION PEDAL WITH STUTTER EFFECT_2.jpg
 

KrisBlueNZ

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That hand-drawn schematic is a lot easier to read. There are still some errors though.

Pin 4 of the 555 is not connected to pin 7. It's connected to the main positive rail via a link right next to the two 10 µF electrolytics.

Pin 6 of the LM386 is not connected to the LED. It is actually the positive supply rail into the LM386 and it should have a decoupling capacitor to the 0V rail. The RLED resistor goes to the second-to-top track and from there, to the LED.

Once you've fixed those errors, can you draw al of the external components in on your hand-drawn schematic. Once we have that correct, it will be time to create a TinyCAD version.
 

FredF

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I think part of my problem is I'm not identifying the rails on the stripboard properly.I re-drew my schematic,with the changes highlighted in red.I then numbered the rails on the stripboard image so we can be sure we're talking about the same thing.You said that pin 4 on the 555 should be connected to the main rail. Is that rail #8 where the LED+ comes in ( where I have my 9v power coming in )? Or is it rail #9? Secondly, when you refer to the 0V rail, is that rail #1, or rail #2? I was thinking of rails #8 & #2 as a positive and negative busses,and the links ending on #1 & #9 as connections for the off-board components. I'll get this figured out eventually. :) Thanks. Fred
SCHEMATIC_2.jpg SCHEMATIC.jpg
 

KrisBlueNZ

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OK, that's a good idea. But you need to name the horizontal positions as well because there are many track cuts.
271919 stripboard layout.png
The 0V rail is on track 3 from A~ P. It is also linked at G to track 7 from A~G, and at P to track 2 from N~U.

There are two positive supply rails and I can't tell for sure how they're used until you draw in the off-board components. They are track 9 for the 555's positive supply rail, and track 4 from Q~U for the LM386's positive supply.

The 555's positive supply on track 9 is linked (on column D) to track 4 from A~F. This connects to pin 4 of the 555, the 470Ω resistor, and off-board SW5.
 

FredF

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Alright,one more time! I'm placing a personal moratorium on all stripboard,tagboard,veroboard,etc. projects no matter how interesting they look. Only good old schematics for me until I am proficient at those.:) Please take a look at my latest drawing and let me know if am any closer.Thanks for your time and patience.
FredSCHEMATIC.jpg
 

davenn

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you are still in error with your pin 4 and pin 8

they both go direct to +9V NOT via the 470 Ω resistor

pin 4 goes to Rate 2 line via the 470 Ω resistor
pin 7 also goes to the Rate 2 line ... you are showing it as disconnected

there may still be others .... I don't have time to check at the moment

Dave
 

KrisBlueNZ

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What Dave said, and there's a connection missing to pin 6 of the LM386. Again, that may not be all the errors.

Where did you get the information you used to draw up the off-board components? Can you post a link, so we can check that as well.
 

FredF

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Yeah, there seems to be a lot more going on with this circuit than I'm capable of deciphering at this point. I did some more poking around on the internet and found this circuit which I referenced on my last drawing. http://www.instructables.com/files/orig/F6Y/ODX1/GWF65G6U/F6YODX1GWF65G6U.png. Then I also found this conversation on a diy stompbox forum, which makes me think this may not even work. http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?action=printpage;topic=95291.0. What do you guys think? Is it worth pursuing? As a guitar player, this seemed like a pretty cool effects pedal to try.
 

davenn

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instructables are notorious for poor circuits .... they should be banned LOL :)

Kris would be able to give a better idea of the way to go :)

D
 

KrisBlueNZ

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Yeah, that schematic seems to match the stripboard layout you posted. And I agree with the criticisms on that stompbox forum.

The biggest problem I see with it is the huge DC swings at the output when you use the stutter effect. If you use it with an amplifier with decent bass response, you may be able to see your speaker cone slamming against its suspension limits in time with the stuttering!

I also agree with the comment about avoiding the LM386 in guitar pedals. I've successfully avoided the LM386 completely, and have been glad that I did! It will introduce its own distortion, which may be considered desirable by some people, but that method of producing the stutter (which is just a tremolo with a square wave for amplitude modulation instead of a sinewave) is not a good one.

BTW there's a similar design, also on instructables.com, which you should also avoid, presented as a tremolo (which it isn't). Avoid http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-Your-Own-Tremolo-Effects-Pedal/

There's a collection of schematics of existing effects pedals at http://www.diystompboxes.com/pedals/schematics.html.

If you want to get into experimenting with amplitude effects for your guitar, I recommend the LM13700 IC. It's effectively a dual amplitude modulator - each half takes a signal and either amplifies or attenuates it according to a control voltage, which you can generate with an oscillator.

Google that part number along with some keywords like effects pedal and you may find some complete designs. Also try the LM13600, which is the slightly older version, and "OTA" (operational transconductance amplifier), which describes its function.

You can get the data sheet at http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/lm13700.pdf. The data sheet includes some designs you may find useful. It's not hard to do the 100% amplitude modulation with a square wave oscillator to make the stutter effect. It does use a split power supply (positive and negative supply rails) but can be biased for single-supply operation.

Check out this related thread: https://www.electronicspoint.com/threads/4047-4066-audio-slicer-help.254416/
 

FredF

Sep 16, 2014
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Kris,Dave, thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience on this project. Although it didn't work out, I did learn a lot. I took a look at the 13700 data sheet. I must say, it looks pretty intimidating to me. 16 pins? Oy! :eek: I am familiar with the diystompbox site. Lots of cool stuff. I'll take your suggestion on using the 13700.I just need to take some time and find the right project for what I was attempting to achieve, i.e. distortion with stutter. Thanks again for all your help. I'll check back in when I get something going again. Later.
Fred
 
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