FAL - Treble booster from 1967  [schematic]

Discussion regarding early stompbox technology: 1960-1975 Please keep discussion focused and contribute what info you have...
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LucifersTrip
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Post by LucifersTrip »

since there's little interest in obscure vintage stuff on the other forum, I'll pot my built report here, too

original from pic above:
Image


just got done with a ton of experimentation...

I started with a low leak 80 hfe ge, 80uA leakage with 9.6V adapter. K = K from base to (-). All voltages below are (-)

The transistor turns on at around 2V (collector), which for me was 38K (250K pot subbed for the 68K). The V increases along with K. I actually got a decent tone all the way from 2.5V to to 8.6V (250K), but there is sweet spot in the 5 - 6.5V range (~60 - 90K). The 68K gave me 5.2V. If you raise the V into the 6's, 7's, etc there's some treble loss...which might be better if you think it's too harsh at lower V.

With a lower gain transistor, you'll get a higher voltage on the collector, so you have to lower the K to get that 5 - 6.5V range. The lower gain ones (< 50 hfe) in the circuit are totally predictable...less volume, less sharpness, etc, but still sound decent. ...and it's the opposite with higher gain. In the end, I went with a 2N398A with gain 110 and leakage 100uA. It was a little louder & brighter.

Don't use anything with higher leakage. Just like with the Rangemaster, it adds hiss.

I tried silicon with hfe ~ 130 and the collector voltage was higher than with ge with the same K. So, you have to lower the K to hit the 5 - 6.5V range. For that transistor, I was in the 50 - 55K range for the sweet spot. It really wasn't as bad or harsh as I expected, but I didn't like it nearly as much as the ge transistor.

The silicon turned on around 20K (2.5V), so I can't see any way that 6.8K can be correct if the other values are accurate.

I tried a 3V supply with the 110 hfe ge and it worked right off. The K value for the sweet spot was the same as with 9V supply (~60 - 90K) and the voltage sweet spot was around 2V. Similar to using a low gain transistor, it simply wasn't as loud, sharp or bright...but still decent.

Final version:
Image

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Post by pinkjimiphoton »

awesome bro. thanks!!! :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

it's a nice sounding hen's tooth, surprised nobody on the other forum found it worth checking out.

it lives again...right on. ;)
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Post by pinkjimiphoton »

found this surfin around... apparently more like 1974 than 67 ;)

http://www.studio250.fr/docs/divers%20e ... acat74.pdf
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Post by tube-exorcist »

pinkjimiphoton wrote:found this surfin around... apparently more like 1974 than 67 ;)

http://www.studio250.fr/docs/divers%20e ... acat74.pdf
Only because someone wrote 74 in the filename ?

In 1974:

- Goya didn´t sell a Panther Fuzz
- A new "Arbiter" Fuzz Face didn´t exist (it was already "Dallas Music Industries" - after having been "Dallas-Arbiter" for years)
- ....

So....
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Post by pinkjimiphoton »

perhaps someone wrote 74 on the front of the catalog the person scanned just to be a dick 40 years later. beats me. first non EDB thing i've seen mention the FAL since i got the one this thread was about. so troll on, dude, troll on. :horsey:

you would be absolutely surprised to see some of the stuff offered in catalogs to music vendors, in some cases years or even decades after the units were no longer produced. suppliers (pre internet) would often have stuff for sale years after the manufacturers discontinued production.

one of the local supply houses here was still offering kay fuzztones (in their lovely little orange plastic wah shells) when i was still doing woodwind and brass repairs in the early NINETIES.,.. a good 20 years after they'd been produced. when you factor in some other aspects, it's entirely possible that this is indeed from 1974, just as it's possible someone wrote 1974 on the file name. shit, i used to be able to drive the next town over to the music people and buy shit direct (now on-stage , rather than the music people) and used to buy vintage nos schaller guitar pickups and all kindsa stuff....effects, speakers, hardware etc.... that had been discontinued years before. i bought possibly the last kay fuzztone from gale's music in willimantic ct around 1987 for i think 20 bux new. when were they produced? you must know, as you know everything. ;)

once the internet became widely used, most of this ended as people put stuff online instead of hoarding it. why hang on to a crate of fuzztones you can't sell for a normal price when you can put 'em online and someone will pay 5 or 6 x as much for them? no brainer.

for someone who's so sure i'm an attention whore, ya sure seem to spend some time trolling. feel better now? kisses. lol
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Post by graemey »

Here's mine if it helps...
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Post by pinkjimiphoton »

thanks graemy, perfect!! first shot of the trace side i've seen, thank you so much man!!
kinda answers the questions of what connects where. awesome. will download and do another layout based on this.

thanks again man!! :applause: :applause:
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Post by pinkjimiphoton »

hey graemy,
could you please verify the value of the caps and the transistor?
thanks bud!
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Post by Manfred »

graemey wrote:Here's mine if it helps...
Hi greamy,

thanks for sharing.
How are the dimensions of the PCB.

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Post by graemey »

Transistor is an NKT 216.
Board measures about 60mm x 75mm.

I dug out some old notes I made a few years ago when I built copy for a freind, Hope you can read my hand writing...
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Post by pinkjimiphoton »

thank graemey, this is awesome... worked up a vero, gonna go knock it up in my basement

fwiw, the specs on the tranny:

NKT216 Transistor Datasheet. Parameters and Characteristics.

Type Designator: NKT216

Material of transistor: Ge

Polarity: PNP

Maximum collector power dissipation (Pc), W: 0.2

Maximum collector-base voltage |Ucb|, V: 32

Maximum collector-emitter voltage |Uce|, V: 18

Maximum emitter-base voltage |Ueb|, V: 10

Maximum collector current |Ic max|, A: 0.25

Maksimalna temperatura (Tj), °C: 90

Transition frequency (ft), MHz: 0.5

Collector capacitance (Cc), pF: 60

Forward current transfer ratio (hFE), min: 50

Noise Figure, dB: -

Package of NKT216 transistor: TO1

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Post by graemey »

Quick work PinkJimi, I'm impressed!

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Post by pinkjimiphoton »

i think i can do veros in my sleep at this point.
not much to this one! ;)

maybe will try and build tonite, i got a bunch of repairs on my bench at the moment... there's a quilt over all the electronic stuff
cuz i had to do some guitar stuff.

would love to hear a clip of the original if you can post one, that would be most awesome as well!! :mrgreen:
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Post by Manfred »

Sorry, the links do not work.
FAL_PCB_Layout.JPG
FAL_PCB.JPG
FAL_Components.JPG

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Post by Manfred »

Please find attached the Sprint-Layout6 file for the FAL.
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Post by Manfred »

Layout Update, added few texts.
FAL-Layout2.JPG
Ready to print PDF-files:
FAL-ComponentSide.pdf
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FAL-SolderSide.pdf
(4.76 KiB) Downloaded 176 times
SprintLayout6.0-file:
FAL_2.zip
(8.22 KiB) Downloaded 171 times

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Post by pinkjimiphoton »

thanks to David Fraser for these pics of inside of his fal treble booster....

hey johan, i can't post pics?
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Post by pinkjimiphoton »

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Post by nightraven »

Here's my early FAL, c.1964/65 (estimated by the dates of the various ads). I've only ever come across one other in the white case, and it had a NKT transistor of some sort (presumably like the later black models). My white one has a black glass OC44.

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