Boss - DC-2 Dimension C  [schematic]

All about modern commercial stompbox circuits from Electro Harmonix over MXR, Boss and Ibanez into the nineties.
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Saphyre
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Post by Saphyre »

Bump :wink:

Anyone here? I'd love to build a Dimension/Ensemble effect of some kind but want to hear from others who have succeeded first.

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Fender3D
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Post by Fender3D »

Saphyre wrote:...I've also been looking at various DIY alternatives.... I can't find any info about where to connect the switches etc. ?
Basically I'm looking for something which is easy and straight-forward to build....
Sorry Saph,
I guessed DIY meant do-it-yourself.
I mean, and I don't want to be rude, it looks like you're looking for someone who builds something, checks and debugs it for you and then design a PCB also?
If you're in hurry you'd better buy one or more Behringer's...
Building such a sensible circuit is not easy, and you should have had your hands dirty before
Saphyre wrote:...but the prototype was made on a breadboard and there's no PCB available so it looks a bit too complicated for me...
Sadly this is the most common way to get your hands dirty...

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Saphyre
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Post by Saphyre »

Fender3D wrote:
Saphyre wrote:...I've also been looking at various DIY alternatives.... I can't find any info about where to connect the switches etc. ?
Basically I'm looking for something which is easy and straight-forward to build....
Sorry Saph,
I guessed DIY meant do-it-yourself.
I mean, and I don't want to be rude, it looks like you're looking for someone who builds something, checks and debugs it for you and then design a PCB also?
If you're in hurry you'd better buy one or more Behringer's...
Building such a sensible circuit is not easy, and you should have had your hands dirty before
Not quite what I meant.
I'm actually getting help from someone to etch the PCB (I don't have the gear or room for that here) but have no problem soldering (I've built lots of stuff). It's just that some projects are "here's most of the information you need, then figure out the rest yourself", then there are "here's a complete project with all information included, now go and build it!" type of DIY projects.

Saphyre wrote:...but the prototype was made on a breadboard and there's no PCB available so it looks a bit too complicated for me...
Sadly this is the most common way to get your hands dirty...
Maybe, but there's also the way of using PCB design software (such as Eagle) where you can draw both the schematic and the PCB layout. It also makes it easier to share the project with other people so they don't have to reinvent the wheel so to speak :wink:

I'm looking into doing Andre's DC-2 clone (in this thread) and have dowloaded all the relevant files. Looks doable, but I'm puzzled about the PCB layout file which I'm about to print. It's only got a resolution of 72 DPI, yet I'm told that it'll occupy 19x36 cm which obviously isn't correct. Has anyone else done that project and can explain about the PCB file?

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Dirk_Hendrik
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Post by Dirk_Hendrik »

Saphyre wrote: but I'm puzzled about the PCB layout file which I'm about to print. It's only got a resolution of 72 DPI, yet I'm told that it'll occupy 19x36 cm which obviously isn't correct. Has anyone else done that project and can explain about the PCB file?
Without having done this project for what it's worth. Perhaps that a few individuals reading this will see the light while it keeps on being soooo hard for many.

The layout would be excellent. If it weren't for the size that is indeed a pretty low resolution. As usual, when making a layout like this, make it huge in size and let the printer do the resizing.
And even simpler, make it a B/W image. No use in grey values. It only blurs.


In this specific case I can imagine it was photobucket that did the resampling to a smaller format and added greyvalues.
Sorry. Plain out of planes.

http://www.dirk-hendrik.com

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bucksears
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Post by bucksears »

Resurrecting this one
I'm almost done with a reverse-engineered DC-2, minus the buffer/switching portions. I'm doing a basic build to get it working, and will then worry about tweaking/modding it.
But, my one and only question at this point is in regards to running it at a higher voltage, to increase headroom/decrease clipping distortion.

I found this by Jfromel on the Electro-Music forum:

1st UP: How to run the Dim-C at 15v for a MOTM power supply.
1. Change IC10 to a 7806 in a 220 case. (It will be a tight fit and you may need to file a hair off the leads). I am ordering some from a few different mfgs to see what will fit the best. you could also hard wire the 7806 in...
a. Pin 1 to 18v Rail
b. Pin 2 to D8
c. Pin 3 to 6v Rail
2. Change C1 to 100uF with a 25v or higher rating.
3. Change R3 and R4 to 2.21K
4. Make sure C3 is 47uF with at least 16v rating.


1a indicates that an 18V rail - does that mean the pedal is to be run on an 18V supply, and it will convert to 15V internally?
Or is that a typo and it should read Pin 1 to 15v rail?
Has anyone tried this?

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Post by Fender3D »

Depending on op-amps you maybe could run it at 18V.
Check datasheets just to be sure/safe.

570 should be capable to go up to 24V IIRW.

I dont know why you should change R3 and R4...

BTW
since the compressor on board, I don't know if you'll notice the tiny improvement of a couple of stages with higher headroom.....

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Laughing
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Post by Laughing »

I'm sorry for posting incredibly late on this thread, but I'm in a pickle.

I've etched out topopiccione's version of the DC-2, and unfortunately I didn't finish it fast enough before his Photobucket hosting ended or something. Does anyone have the PCB layout image that he has on his website? The link that's there goes to a dead photobucket image, and I'll have a mountain of work in front of me if I can't get it.

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Post by Popole92 »

I have these files :wink:
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Boss DC2.zip
(682.72 KiB) Downloaded 268 times

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aion
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Post by aion »

I don't think this has been mentioned yet in this thread, but here is a much easier way of building a DC-2:
https://aionelectronics.com/project/blu ... -c-chorus/

The Topopiccione ticking issue is entirely due to the layout. The Blueshift follows very good layout principles - the LFO and BBDs are on a completely separate PCB from the audio, star grounded to the jack, so about as isolated as you can get. I haven't had any reports of anyone experiencing LFO ticking so far.

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