Colorsound - Power Boost beginners attempt

Ok, you got your soldering iron and nothing is going to hold you back, but you have no clue where to start or what to build. There were others before you with the same questions... read them first.
User avatar
registracii
Information
Posts: 45
Joined: 08 May 2012, 10:13
Location: Ireland
Has thanked: 5 times

Post by registracii »

I've decided to try building a Colorsound Power Boost for myself after reading this thread:

https://www.freestompboxes.org/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=1153

using this as a reference
Image

So far I have ordered some parts that I think are the needed for the build. Here is the list.
If anyone spots something that is not usable or the wrong type of... it will be appreciated.



Code: Select all

pieces	Products:
6 x	2N5088
2 x	FKP2 220pF 630V
10 x	22uF/63V radial
6 x	Panasonic FC 4,7uF/100V
2 x	MKT 10nF
2 x	MPP 10nF
4 x	ECQ-V 0,1uF 50V
2 x	SMF 0,22uF 50V
2 x	MKT 0,22uF
5 x	33k metal film 1%
5 x	5k6 metal film 1%
10 x	39k metal film 1%
5 x	180k metal film 1%
4 x	3k9 metal film 1%
5 x	12k metal film 1%
5 x	470R metal film 1%
5 x	150k metal film 1%
5 x	1k2 metal film 1%
5 x	4k7 metal film 1%
5 x	120k metal film 1%
1 x	stripboard 100x160mm
2 x	Alpha Potentiometer 16mm 10k rev log
4 x	Alpha Potentiometer 16mm 100k lin
2 x	Alpha Potentiometer 16mm 100k audio

User avatar
guitarmongot
Breadboard Brother
Information
Posts: 106
Joined: 09 Jun 2009, 21:44
Location: Sweden
Has thanked: 15 times
Been thanked: 10 times

Post by guitarmongot »

Hi there.
I buildt a CSPB Later version : sounds great :)
Used 3 x BC 182L ( 280-340 hfe) pinout BCE ....
it fits nicely into the vero layout .
To set up BIAS I used a 100K trimpot instead of 120K (Vcc-Q1 col).
With 56K I got 7.5 V Q1 . On Q2 I went with stock value (1.8K) and Q3 I went with 5.6 K .
I use 18V power supply. Good luck with your build.
/cheers M

User avatar
registracii
Information
Posts: 45
Joined: 08 May 2012, 10:13
Location: Ireland
Has thanked: 5 times

Post by registracii »

thanks for the info guitarmongot,
just to be sure - that is where the 100k trimpot goes?
Last edited by registracii on 24 May 2012, 18:53, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
guitarmongot
Breadboard Brother
Information
Posts: 106
Joined: 09 Jun 2009, 21:44
Location: Sweden
Has thanked: 15 times
Been thanked: 10 times

Post by guitarmongot »

No : it´s instead of 120K resistor : the far left resistor in your picture: it connects Q1 C(collektor) with
power rail 18 V at the bottom of the vero layout.
/cheers M

User avatar
registracii
Information
Posts: 45
Joined: 08 May 2012, 10:13
Location: Ireland
Has thanked: 5 times

Post by registracii »

thanks, I removed the wrong picture so no one gets fooled by it

Image

User avatar
guitarmongot
Breadboard Brother
Information
Posts: 106
Joined: 09 Jun 2009, 21:44
Location: Sweden
Has thanked: 15 times
Been thanked: 10 times

Post by guitarmongot »

there ya go :D
/cheers m

User avatar
registracii
Information
Posts: 45
Joined: 08 May 2012, 10:13
Location: Ireland
Has thanked: 5 times

Post by registracii »

guitarmongot wrote:there ya go :D
/cheers m
where do I wire the 3rd leg on the trimpot? :scratch:

User avatar
guitarmongot
Breadboard Brother
Information
Posts: 106
Joined: 09 Jun 2009, 21:44
Location: Sweden
Has thanked: 15 times
Been thanked: 10 times

Post by guitarmongot »

Trimpot pin 3 goes to +18V
pin 2 goes to Q1 collector
pin 1 no connenction( or connect to pin 2).
Dial in right voltage and take a reading between
pin3 and pin2 with a OHM meter : and you can then replace
trimpot with a fixed resistor value.
You could also use a regular pot (100K LIN).
On Q3 you kan use a 10K trim to get right bias :
same setup with pin 3 to +18v and pin 2 to Q3 col.
/cheers m
Attachments
images.jpeg
images.jpeg (4.83 KiB) Viewed 3659 times
Last edited by guitarmongot on 25 May 2012, 19:04, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
CHEEZOR
Diode Debunker
Information
Posts: 831
Joined: 10 Jul 2009, 18:19
Location: California
Has thanked: 42 times
Been thanked: 50 times

Post by CHEEZOR »

You connect 2 of the lugs. There should be 2 "side" lugs and one "middle" lug. Connect either side lug to the middle lug. Now you only have 2 connections to the trimpot. You now have a variable resistor. This is illustrated on this page here: https://www.diystompboxes.com/cnews/mods.html. Its the first hand-drawn image on the page. They show it using a pot, but you can do the same with a trimpot. Hope that helps. :)

Note: that page is an awesome reference to start you making your own mods to circuits. I would suggest reading through it a couple times. It helped me a lot.

Edit: guitarmongot beat me to the answer, but my info might help too.

User avatar
registracii
Information
Posts: 45
Joined: 08 May 2012, 10:13
Location: Ireland
Has thanked: 5 times

Post by registracii »

10x guys... the more help - the better chances of a success.
It is sometimes hard to find the info you need when lacking the fundamental knowledge.

User avatar
registracii
Information
Posts: 45
Joined: 08 May 2012, 10:13
Location: Ireland
Has thanked: 5 times

Post by registracii »

status update :

the vboard is small smaalll ....
I was thinking I can make the cuts on the fly - 3 attempts later I gave up and flipped the image, made the cut points huge red dots and finally made it through ...
soldering on tricky for a beginner - I got some leakage to the neighboring strips I tried vacuuming off the excess solder and running exactoknife between the strips- no idea if that helped as my multimeter is broken.

also I skipped 1 resistor from my order ... so yeah this is going to wait.
if it works it's gonna b a miracle :)

Image

User avatar
guitarmongot
Breadboard Brother
Information
Posts: 106
Joined: 09 Jun 2009, 21:44
Location: Sweden
Has thanked: 15 times
Been thanked: 10 times

Post by guitarmongot »

Just hang in there : it´s a great pedal with lots of MOJO vibes in it ....
Think Jeff Beck;David Guilmor and a hole lotta others early 70´s great players... :D
And a small tip : often you can buy a hole sets of common resistors :
http://www.smallbearelec.com/servlet/Detail?no=1027
you´re gonna need them for your next bulidt:and your next, and your next,..... :D
/cheers M

User avatar
registracii
Information
Posts: 45
Joined: 08 May 2012, 10:13
Location: Ireland
Has thanked: 5 times

Post by registracii »

thanks I was looking into that.

User avatar
bato001
Resistor Ronker
Information
Posts: 322
Joined: 19 Feb 2009, 21:31
Location: NJ
Has thanked: 31 times
Been thanked: 38 times

Post by bato001 »

registracii wrote:status update :

the vboard is small smaalll ....
I was thinking I can make the cuts on the fly - 3 attempts later I gave up and flipped the image, made the cut points huge red dots and finally made it through ...
soldering on tricky for a beginner - I got some leakage to the neighboring strips I tried vacuuming off the excess solder and running exactoknife between the strips- no idea if that helped as my multimeter is broken.

also I skipped 1 resistor from my order ... so yeah this is going to wait.
if it works it's gonna b a miracle :)
Strip Board (Vero) is a harsh mistress my friend. I only use Vero when I am building one off pedals or when I am tweaking a circuit before committing it to a PCB. Best thing to do is go REALLLLLY SLOOOWW when soldering and clean between the tracks after EVERY solder joint. I find that when I slow down and really pay attention to being super neat with my solder joints the Vero builds work the first time, but if I hurry---I am trouble shooting the board for hours to days LOL.
"Ever wondered how some of your favourite guitar players got their tone? Me too. Probably a good amp and lots of practice." Little Lord Electronics Homepage

User avatar
registracii
Information
Posts: 45
Joined: 08 May 2012, 10:13
Location: Ireland
Has thanked: 5 times

Post by registracii »

what is the best way to clean the between tracks? I've been using exactoknife ...

Also the solder tends to stick to the soldering iron instead of running on the strips - is that a heat problem?

User avatar
guitarmongot
Breadboard Brother
Information
Posts: 106
Joined: 09 Jun 2009, 21:44
Location: Sweden
Has thanked: 15 times
Been thanked: 10 times

Post by guitarmongot »

I always take a superfine sandpaper and goes over the copper rails side and then use cleaning liqour or
a cotton cloth. Also put the top of your soldering iron tip direct to the rails and heat it up for 2-3 sec.
then applay just a little soldering and let it float out nicely (2 sec)..
Take a close look and if you need more soldering : just repeat the process. :D
Best to clean between rails IMHO is a : http://www.smallbearelec.com/servlet/Detail?no=383
use a very small size 2-3mm ...
And as mentioned erlier : take your time : debugging takes 10x times than soldering.... :D
/cheers M

User avatar
bato001
Resistor Ronker
Information
Posts: 322
Joined: 19 Feb 2009, 21:31
Location: NJ
Has thanked: 31 times
Been thanked: 38 times

Post by bato001 »

If it is a blobby, sloppy mess--use the desoldering braid and remove all the solder and start over on that joint. I use a box cutter (razor) to clean between the tracks.
"Ever wondered how some of your favourite guitar players got their tone? Me too. Probably a good amp and lots of practice." Little Lord Electronics Homepage

User avatar
registracii
Information
Posts: 45
Joined: 08 May 2012, 10:13
Location: Ireland
Has thanked: 5 times

Post by registracii »

the board is getting slowly populated ...
In fact I spend lot of time identifying the parts
Image

User avatar
registracii
Information
Posts: 45
Joined: 08 May 2012, 10:13
Location: Ireland
Has thanked: 5 times

Post by registracii »

Image

thanks all for the advice - if anyone spots something that should not be there please let me know as there is a lot of guessing on the parts going on

User avatar
sinner
Old Solderhand
Information
Posts: 4709
Joined: 06 Nov 2008, 17:16
Location: ...no more
Has thanked: 1031 times
Been thanked: 909 times

Post by sinner »

registracii wrote:status update :

the vboard is small smaalll ....

Actually I draw it with .15" pitch vero, so it's big, big biiig ;)

How's your build going?

Thanks guys for biasing info, I didn't know it's important in this unit, I'll put some info about it on my website?

How about other collectors? And what's about 9v PB/OD's?

Cheers

Post Reply