BAJA Sagittarian Charger (mini KLON)

Rocket Roll · Post by **Rocket Roll** » 18 Jun 2008, 09:48

bajaman wrote:Hi Rocket Roll
You could always build the Klon Centaur - the full size board layout is on the forum - use the search function...

Aha, thanks a lot! I've thought that the only PCBs available are yours & those in "K.L.O.N.E.D. Project" thread, and a larger PCB was promised in that thread, but - nothing so far. And I'm getting restless...

"Bitten by a bug".

Silent Fly wrote:Why don't you use a big blank PCB and etch the circuit in the middle of it?

Big blank PCB it is, then. If a "proper" Centaur PCB calls for a much larger box than a 1590BB... Thanks again!

Rocket Roll · Post by **Rocket Roll** » 22 Jun 2008, 17:42

I had a friend PhotoShop me a slightly larger Saggitarian PCB which can be mounted using nylon spacers, so here it is. I hope it will be of use!

Post by **audioguy** » 23 Jun 2008, 20:12

I just finished the project... I didnt have any dual 100k pots, but I had some dual 50k, which worked fine. I'm sure its missing something due to the substitution, but no big deal for now.

At first glance, its more work than its worth. Yeah its smooth and sounds good... but is it THAT much better than a mod'ed TS, Zen, or OCD type circuit???

I'll play with it more when my wifes hot friend leaves and I can crank it up and suck at full volume without feeling like a dork!

guiltyspark · Post by **guiltyspark** » 25 Jun 2008, 14:07

audioguy wrote: I'll play with it more when my wifes hot friend leaves and I can crank it up and suck at full volume without feeling like a dork!

Guiltyspark

Post by **audioguy** » 07 Jul 2008, 22:53

Is there anyway to adjust the tone sweep? I find that its got too much treble. I cant turn it past 9:00 with out it just being overpowering.

Rocket Roll · Post by **Rocket Roll** » 09 Jul 2008, 20:32

Here's my Saggitarian Charger PCB:

Extremely tight build. Had a lot of problems with, say, tacking a 15K to the solder side of 68nF cap. No idea for which caps this PCB is constructed for, but no way you can make it a all-WIMA build. Which is bad, because WIMAs are all I can find here.

(But I'm sure it will sound great, and that's all that's important.)

Has anyone made a layout (footswitch wiring, etc)? It would be extremely helpful!

Can anyone help me with overlay - what does "SW" and "E" stand for - "Switch"? "Earth"? I've circled "SW" and "E" here:

Post by **audioguy** » 09 Jul 2008, 21:06

I found the SW did NOTHING, no need to wire it to anything... E is ground

bajaman · Post by **bajaman** » 09 Jul 2008, 22:05

I found the SW did NOTHING, no need to wire it to anything... E is ground

On the contrary - the sw pin is for shorting the diodes to GROUND (EARTH, E) when the unit is in bypass condition.
you are correct in assuming that E is Earth or Ground for you Europeans

O1 is the #1 pin on the OUTPUT pot - check the schematic link below - all will become clear.
PS: You may notice that many of the capacitors are circular with plus signs next to them - that is because they are electrolytic capacitors NOT WIMA film types. However I cannot see any problem using WIMAS here although the sound may be slightly better - who knows

Cheers
bajaman

Rocket Roll · Post by **Rocket Roll** » 09 Jul 2008, 22:11

Aha, thanks a lot!

So, where do I wire "SW" output, please? Directly to "E"?

Which is to say, might I ask for help with wiring / layout? I'd like to use Klon's buffer and a LED via a DPDT footswitch - in other words, "standard" wiring and layout - and all I've got to work from (so far) is this one pic Soulsonic's build.

Some more pics and/or an explanation would be greatly appreciated! Saggitarian Charger might be a little bit "over my head", but I'd really love to build myself one - and I'll post some soundclips, so you might be the judge about WIMA sound.

Post by **audioguy** » 09 Jul 2008, 22:46

bajaman wrote: the sw pin is for shorting the diodes to GROUND

hmm maybe I'll re-visit it then...

soulsonic · Post by **soulsonic** » 10 Jul 2008, 06:55

Okay, I did up this basic wiring diagram. This is EXACTLY how to wire the bypass switch as it's originally intended for the buffered bypass setup.

Rocket Roll · Post by **Rocket Roll** » 10 Jul 2008, 08:35

Yes, I would most definitely have made a mistake - I've got the resistors right from looking at Soulsonic's build, but I worried about everything else... Thanks a million!

bajaman · Post by **bajaman** » 10 Jul 2008, 09:23

Thank you Martin

bajaman

Post by **audioguy** » 10 Jul 2008, 10:46

Coool... I'll take another stab at this one with the correct switch wiring.

thanks!

95strat · Post by **95strat** » 10 Jul 2008, 15:35

Martin, you are the man. Thanks!

Rocket Roll · Post by **Rocket Roll** » 11 Jul 2008, 22:08

Aaaand it's working... partially.

1) As promised, I've made some soundclips of my Saggitarian Charger build.
2) But there's also a problem - it needs a little bit of debugging.

1) First, the clips (using my Strat):
First clip is recorded directly into computer while using the AmpliTube 2 Twin Reverb emulation & then AmpliTube Jimi Hendrix Plexi emulation. In the second part of this clip you can hear the Charger giving just a little bit of "extra something":

http://www.box.net/shared/tpe2bztskc

Second clip is a Strat through Hughes&Kettner "Thirty" (the only amp I currently have, sorry...), miked with a Shure SM58 clone. I daresay that the Charger can give "a tube quality" to a solidstate amplifier in a very special way:

http://www.box.net/shared/lqh649qg44

As for my impressions, it's a worthy build. It gives presence before all, and has that incredibly "sweet" sound (which I personaly love). WIMAs (as always) help with possible "noise issues". They cannot develop their famous "insane bass response" in the Charger, though - Charger's no Big Muff, for sure.

(I'll get to "The Debugging - Please Help Me, What Have I Done Wrong?" tomorrow. In short, as a preview - "Gain" pot fails to increase gain but actually decreases it, and when the "Gain" pot is turned fully counter-clockwise I hear strange noises, they sound a bit like RF.)

Rocket Roll · Post by **Rocket Roll** » 12 Jul 2008, 07:59

2) Second, the problem - here's how it sounds:

http://www.box.net/shared/qm6jhb2f40

You can hear that "RF-like" noise when the "Gain" pot is turned all the way counter-clockwise (0%). That noise can be heard in the bypass state, as well!

Then I'm turning the "Gain" knob slowly to the right and you can hear the gain dropping (less and less clipping in the signal). I reach 100% gain, pause and start turning it to the left.

Anyone care to advise? The most important changes that I've made are that I've built this one using NE5532 instead of TL072. (CMOS is ICL7660SCPA.) I've had to substitute the diodes, as well, according to what's available here:

Instead of 1N4742 -> ZY12
Instead of 1N4001 -> 1N4007
Instead of 1N34A -> 1N60

Any suggestions, please?

bajaman · Post by **bajaman** » 12 Jul 2008, 08:51

Check once check twice and then check again your gain pot wiring

bajaman

bajaman · Post by **bajaman** » 12 Jul 2008, 08:53

Check the wiring diagram 7 posts back

bajaman

Rocket Roll · Post by **Rocket Roll** » 13 Jul 2008, 16:47

Checked. I've wired the "Gain" pot like this:

No obvious solder flaws (e.g. solder bridges). Was I wrong? Is that how I was supposed to wire the "Gain" pot?

(Thanks in advance and - hey, "Chager" has sound in spades. It's like my guitar is twice as present as it was! I really hope I'll debug it and use it happily ever after!)

BAJA Sagittarian Charger (mini KLON) [documentation]