Xotic EP-Booster  [traced]

General documentation, gut shot, schematic links, ongoing circuit tracing, deep thoughts ... all about boutique stompboxes.
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jsrfo
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Post by jsrfo »

I hand wired mine on a generic PCB from radioshack. It originally did the same thing as yours. I had a couple issues. I found a couple cold solder joints and also a grounding issue where the board was grounding out against the case. Fixed those up and it really is a nice box now. Probably my favorite effect.

I would first try to insulate the board edges. You can buy liquid insulation at Lowe's etc, and you brush or dip to insulate. You may want to try it with the board pulled from the box and see if it is working well. I use a piece of foam on the box interiors and on the bottom of the board. You can get adhesive backed foam sheets at craft stores for about a dollar per sheet. After I did all these little things the EP booster clone works just great... Good luck.

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cielonublao
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Post by cielonublao »

would this vero layout work on 9v too as the xotic pedal? :roll:

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ct88
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Post by ct88 »

that's my first VERO layout, i hope i did it correctly. Still not verified :)
EP VERO layout
EP VERO layout
missed Q1 and Q2, didn't understood which one is better for both works :)

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sinner
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Post by sinner »

:secret:

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jcat5503
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Post by jcat5503 »

Anyone had success with the Xotic ep build?

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Greg
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Post by Greg »

jcat5503 wrote:Anyone had success with the Xotic ep build?
Yes.. all in the thread if you read it.
culturejam wrote: We are equal opportunity exposure artists.

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sebaslangostino
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Post by sebaslangostino »

Hi
I am new here!
Is the greg's schematic of the first page fixed?
Because two post later, there´s some changes but i dont know if they appear on the schem.
Which is the best JFET for this project?
Can i use the millenium for true by pass and led as always?
Thanks,
Cheers from argentine

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AlexCover
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Post by AlexCover »

ct88 wrote:that's my first VERO layout, i hope i did it correctly. Still not verified :)
XEP.gif
missed Q1 and Q2, didn't understood which one is better for both works :)
It's working fine, but watch out for that cut under C7 cap it's quite visible.

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sinner
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Post by sinner »

My good buddy build it from the files provided in this tread, but I had no chance to compare with the original I have. I'll try to hang out with him this weekend, and I'll report back

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muhd85
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Post by muhd85 »

hi does anyone built ct88 vero layout? just asking.. :)

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Shiny_Beast
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Post by Shiny_Beast »

MullisMan wrote:Sure thing.

I checked the voltages, and i'm getting 9 volts up until the 2N5088 transistor. I'm getting in the millivolt to nothing at all there. Like I said before, with the sound coming through at first and then slowly fading out the two transistors were the first thing I thought of. I'm fairly proficient at soldering though and I've done other builds with J201's just fine. Are the 2N5088's known to be very sensitive to heat? I checked each pin on the 2N5088 and i'm getting that same millivolt reading which keeps varying. I'll post a picture of the Eagle layout I did. I just tried to make it a little smaller with the resistor placement. Q2 is the 2N5088 transistor in the layout.

Image

I checked the datasheet for the 2N5088 and the orientation I used in the layout is correct. I guess I could take the 2N5088 out and flip it around just for kicks.
I was playing around with a 5088 that wouldn't work in a circui last night. I don't think these like having a grounding resistor on the base depending on the other resistor values. they probably aren't a drop in for a jfet designed circuit.

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Barcode
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Post by Barcode »

They are functionally completely different. A 5088 will not work in place of a fet.

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junkemail86
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Post by junkemail86 »

I built a quick EP Booster by Theo's PCB layout (thanks!) with the corrected R6=1K. While I could have messed up my build, my circuit does sound like it is clipping a bit as GregG suggested. I don't love it, but others might dig it.

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Harold
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Post by Harold »

I've also made a vero/stripboard layout for the EP Booster if someone's interested...

Image
Xotic EP Booster

I built it myself yesterday and I'm quite impressed! I didn't really notice a big difference in the low boost switch though...
DIY-Layout.com: Online stripboard layouts

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audiophile777
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Post by audiophile777 »

Harold wrote:I've also made a vero/stripboard layout for the EP Booster if someone's interested...

Image
Xotic EP Booster

I built it myself yesterday and I'm quite impressed! I didn't really notice a big difference in the low boost switch though...

I tried this circuit out after building the LPB-1 his site.

I put this on a strip board and it isn't working...

I trace the signal from Rail9-1 to Rail7-4 and for some reason, it wasn't passing through to the rest of the circuit. I've swapped out 3 different 33k resistors, which all test at almost exactly 33k outside of the circuit... so I know the resistors aren't bad.

I tried a jumper instead of the resistor but it was doing this weird oscillating-type thing, so I put a 1k in there and now signal passes through.

The problem I'm facing is that the pot/dips have no affect over the sound/volume/anything, so I'm at an impasse.

I've checked all the traces and cuts and they are all clean.

Voltages at Q1: G=3.72, S=2.99, D=3.0
Voltages at Q2: E=2.61, C=8.93, B=3.3 (when testing slowly drops to 3.03)

Hoping someone can shed some light on the circuit or something that might be happening.

Thanks...? :D
-M
When everyone is against you, it means that you are absolutely wrong-- or absolutely right.

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audiophile777
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Post by audiophile777 »

Never mind. I'm dumb. I fixed it. :slap: :D
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Barcode
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Post by Barcode »

audiophile777 wrote:Never mind. I'm dumb. I fixed it. :slap: :D
Come now, you need to share what you did to fix it. No person has ever been the only person to make any mistake, and you never know when someone else will build this and run into the same issue.

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audiophile777
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Post by audiophile777 »

Barcode wrote:
Come now, you need to share what you did to fix it. No person has ever been the only person to make any mistake, and you never know when someone else will build this and run into the same issue.
I had Q1 flipped around the wrong way. Note to self, dyslexia isn't just for words... :)
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geiristudio
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Post by geiristudio »

Can I use the borabora ep vero above ? What are the Q1 and Q2 ?

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Post by Barcode »

geiristudio wrote:Can I use the borabora ep vero above ? What are the Q1 and Q2 ?
REEEAAADDDD....

The layout is at his website, which contains the bill of materials and such. Click the "EP Booster link quoted below.
Harold wrote:I've also made a vero/stripboard layout for the EP Booster if someone's interested...

Image
Xotic EP Booster

I built it myself yesterday and I'm quite impressed! I didn't really notice a big difference in the low boost switch though...

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