Update #3

Build

Build Overview

Building this pedal has proved challenging but fun. So far, I’ve built much of the hardware based on the tutorial online. The one change I made was in the microfarads of the capacitors. The lab did not have the 10 microfarads capacitors I needed, so Evan from the Active Learning Labs told me that, since they are just being used for decoupling, that I can use 15 microfarad capacitors instead. The incremental tests throughout the build have worked, so it seems like the change will not effect the build. I plan on finishing by next Wednesday to give myself time to mess with the software components and address any issues I might have with the hardware.

Challenges

One of the biggest challenges I’ve had so far has been with soldering. Our first lab was the first time I had ever soldered, so I’m not particularly good at it. However, for the most part, I’ve done a fine job of making sure everything is in its right place. That being said, during my first session building the hardware, I made a mistake and placed a capacitor in the wrong space. I rushed the process, and soldered the capacitor without checking that I had placed it correctly. It took me about 20 minutes to figure out how to remove the capacitor and replace it, but afterwards, I did an incremental test on the voltage being produced by the circuit, and I was within the range the tutorial suggested. As it appears now, my mistake did not hurt the circuit, and I learned a valuable lesson to not rush myself while building.

Additionally, it has been difficult to actually place the pieces in the right space. This is less of a challenge and more of an annoyance, but I have large fingers, so making sure centimeter long wires are fitting in the small circuit board has been difficult. Overall, though, I’ve enjoyed building the pedal.

A new challenge that I’ve come across involved building the chassis. Sparkfun had their pre-made chassis on backorder, so I decided to buy a metal box with no holes drilled. I am not adept at drilling, so Maddie helped plan where the holes should be drilled and taught me how to do it. However, the holes I made were slightly off, so I wasn’t able to fit the circuit board into the chassis. It took me a few tries, but eventually I just sanded the hole through the box, and it fit. However, the whole I drilled for the power supply was off-center, so I have to use a battery. That’s not a problem, though, because batteries sound better than wall plugs!