This project was given to me almost by chance as I was browsing the web one night.   A fellow named Mike wanted an electronics do-it-yourself project which he found on the web. He had no electronics experience to build it with, so he put an online ad in Craigslist looking for someone.   "It probably won't take long", I figured, firing him off an email.  After getting together and agreeing on a price, the fun began.

 

The project info was available online, so I followed a fairly straight-forward process to etch the circuit pattern on to a piece of copper plated circuit board that I cut out with a hacksaw.

For some reason the paper was very difficult to remove after ironing the pattern, without damaging the traces.  I had to remove the pattern with an alcohol scrub brush rinse three times before I was able to get satisfactory toner traces on the board.

After etching, I drilled all of the tiny holes needed for the parts, using a 1/32 inch drill bit.  Rona is the only store in all of Vancouver that carries these bits, as I found out.  I was happy with the final outcome,even if the process wasn't as easy as I wanted it to be.  Finally it was time to buy some parts to put in the board, and find some kind of enclosure to put the whole project into.

 


                              

 

Parts were a lot more expensive than I first figured.  The online estimate of $120 skyrocketed to about $160 once the dials and switches were figured in.   When putting the parts in, I soldered about 5 parts at a time, trimming the leads and fluxing to ensure good solder flow.  Afterward I tinned the remaining traces to prevent oxidation, and then cleaned the entire board with alcohol to remove the flux residues.

Installing the board into the enclosure was a little tricky.  There were four posts to screw the board down to, but the board I had made was slightly too small to fit on them, so I had to use some metal spacers.   Afterwards, though, the fit was perfect with plenty of room around the outside edges to fit the wiring, battery, and output panel connections, which was lucky.

 

       

 


Next I used cardboard from an old beer case to mock up the front panel while the graphic was being designed.  The location of all the pots and switches had to be confirmed for the enclosure we had picked out, because it was a lot smaller than the case.   It sure was a tight fit, but all of the controls fit on the smaller front panel.

Once Mike had finished designing the panel (he has awesome illustrator skills), I printed it out at 600 dpi on my inkjet printer with photo paper.  After a coat or two of laquer, I carefully epoxied it to the aluminium panel which I had drilled to receive the pots and switches.

Final steps were installing the battery clips in the case, wiring it in, drilling the input panel holes, and wiring in the 1/4 inch jacks.  Time for completion of project - Saturday Feb. 11/06 to Friday Mar. 31/06 - 7 weeks.   (Hey, it was only on weekends!)

 

 

 

 

Additional Images!