Author Topic: BYOC Mighty Mouse Build- a newbs journey with pictures/vid! (Read 17109 times)

sgmypod · « **Reply #60 on:** May 24, 2008, 10:51:36 PM »

think so

_tom_ · « **Reply #61 on:** May 25, 2008, 12:08:58 AM »

According to the BYOC forum its probably still a cold solder joint and not extremely likely that I've broken any components :( So I'll have to go over it again. Now that I'm a bit better at soldering (I actually managed to heat all the wires and tags evenly earlier so I didnt get one cracked/loose join!), I should be able to just desolder everything with some braid and redo each connection properly :)

All I can say is I'm glad I didnt get an Amp Maker kit to try :lol:

sgmypod · « **Reply #62 on:** May 25, 2008, 10:00:57 AM »

To be honest there easier

badgermark · « **Reply #63 on:** May 25, 2008, 12:33:11 PM »

Good to see you haven't given up tom! keep at it, the tubescreamer sounds great from clips. If things are still quiet and distant have a look at your pots, namely the volume and gain. That was a problem i had when modding a ds-1.

_tom_ · « **Reply #64 on:** May 25, 2008, 05:14:35 PM »

The pots still seem to function as normal, surely they're fine. This is a pic of the inside now, I got the wiring much neater though its still far from perfect. there are some bare wires near the switch which need sorting out but I'm sure they arent shorting on each other. As you can see my soldering seems to have got a little better though still kinda messy.

I'm gonna wait til I get some desoldering braid then redo each one on the pcb. Gonna be a long task but hopefully it'll work after that..

LazyNinja · « **Reply #65 on:** May 25, 2008, 07:25:07 PM »

I assume youve already done this but double check that you don't have any shorts particularly on the back of the switch. On the back of the pcb trim any excess wires that stick out after you solder them.

BTW does anyone know a good way to stop wire coating from melting and peeling back (like on the white wires in Tom's pic) I had a lot of problem with this. I just made sure I did everything neatly and qickly, tinning all the parts beforehand etc. Just wondering if there was a better way.

sgmypod · « **Reply #66 on:** May 25, 2008, 07:34:45 PM »

Tin the wires before soldering in place helps....or can buy wire that plastic dosn't melt on *L*

Ted · « **Reply #67 on:** May 25, 2008, 09:23:57 PM »

Quote from: sgmypod

Tin the wires before soldering in place helps....or can buy wire that plastic dosn't melt on *L*

That would be teflon coated wire.

Its coming on better dude, much neater than before.

Have you read all the guides written by Stephen on BYOC. These are invaluable for beginners.

sgmypod · « **Reply #68 on:** May 25, 2008, 09:27:49 PM »

yup thats the stuff...

_tom_ · « **Reply #69 on:** May 25, 2008, 09:35:13 PM »

Yep I have, that and some videos on youtube about soldering helped a lot and theres been a vast improvement in my soldering though its still not amazing :)

I wish the desoldering braid I ordered wasnt out of stock on maplin, I could've had it done by now :( B&Q etc dont seem to sell any either and there isnt a maplin near me.

badgermark · « **Reply #70 on:** May 25, 2008, 09:56:06 PM »

I only really mentioned the pots due to my first 'build' (a ds-1 mod) sounded shoddy due to a dry joint at a pot.

While you're waiting for braid, have you tried reflowing all the current joints on the pcb? Unsoldering everything just to re-do it might be hella-tricky, trying to fit the fiddly little ends back in the holes is a nightmare...

_tom_ · « **Reply #71 on:** May 25, 2008, 10:19:41 PM »

Yeah thats what I did but they didnt all seem to work very well. Plus theres a lot of excess solder on some of them so its still a mess. I was planning on only desoldering one leg of each component at a time, so the other joint was still holding the component in place.

badgermark · « **Reply #72 on:** May 25, 2008, 11:11:40 PM »

Cool cool, keep us updated. I think i was lucky with my build, i have a cr@ppy iron as well but seemed to get into the flow of things pretty easily. Actually itching to do another one, dunno what effect i want next though, maybe the wah...

FELINEGUITARS · « **Reply #73 on:** May 26, 2008, 01:47:25 PM »

Quote from: badgermark

i have a cr@ppy iron as well but seemed to get into the flow of things pretty easily.

Maplins do a not bad temperature control one on offer at £9.99 at the moment - not quite up to being used all day, every day (as I have found out - had to upgrade when mine went wrong through overuse) but a good hobby iron all the same and it comes with a pointy tip that is good for pedal projects