Wow. This is harder than it looks.

So is posting all the time....

Between waiting on parts orders, family vacation, the job search, and various and sundry life occurrences,  I haven't worked on the fuzz build at all hardly.

'Craig', you say, with a note of sadness in your voice, 'I am extremely disappointed.'

I know, and excuses aren't going to cut it. But I have my reasons...in no particular order:

Family Spring Break trip to Chicago. Museums, parking, tales of action and adventure, and the (almost) $600 set of lost keys.

Job hunting.

Family stuff.

So, anyway, let's get caught up, shall we?

A while back, I had this fantastic idea. 'Self, ' I said to myself, 'it would make sense if you had some sort of test box for the effect circuits you are going to build. So that, if there's an issue, you don't have to rip apart an entire pedal to find the issue.'

'Why, that's a CAPITAL idea, self! I shall design and build one forthwith! I mean, how hard can it be? Why, I would bet that there are already existing plans out on the Internets.'

'There certainly are - and I would bet that you could whip together a simple box with a minimum of effort...'

I won't go into the details, but let's just say that there was an enormous amount of FAIL involved with that idea. The good news is that it helped me avoid some mistakes that really could have torpedoed my whole first effort.

So, fast forward to today. 'Self, you are GOING to get that circuit done.' I break out the soldering iron, the parts, the wire....A little soldering, some quick connections for testing, and a battery clip.

Quickly inspect the board for any cold joints, then break out the Strat and practice amp, fire it up, and....

Houston, we have fuzz. There is still the matter of wiring the switch, bypass board and led, but the circuit works. Lots of silicon fuzzy goodness. Yay.

Still waiting. And waiting. And...

...waiting. Enclosure and some other bits are still in transit, so I have held off on further assembly until they get here. What's left, you ask?

Wiring the stomp switch.
Offboard wiring for power.
Wiring control pots.
Wiring input/output jacks.

I can finish the stomp switch bypass board, but I've held off on doing any of the other wiring until the enclosure arrives, so I don't have a ton of extra/wasted wire. Also, since it's my first build, I want to make sure that there's enough support for the circuit board in the case, or that I can mount it without any wire length issues.

Once I get the enclosure in my hands, I can roughly measure wire lengths, test fit/position things - and then I will wire the circuit for testing. Until then, it's more waiting...

Thank you, US Post Office....

Parts is parts....

The cost of a build. And waiting...

...for parts. According to USPS, I have two packages set for delivery today and tomorrow. Lots of goodies for this (and upcoming) builds. I also found a drilled Red 1590B enclosure on eBay that will be a perfect match, but that won't be here until next week.

Tony (the guitarist I am building this for) - asked if I could get graphics onto the enclosure - like a decal or lettering. I've worked with waterslide decals before, so I need to order some inkjet decal paper and get to Photoshopping. I also pestered him for his choice in knobs so I can get those ordered (hopefully from the same place...), but those are the last bits I need for the build.

So, until everything I need arrives (AND I have time to solder and assemble...) - no build progress yesterday. However - I did add up the running cost of parts and stuff for this build so far.

Taking into effect bulk parts pricing, average shipping costs (including multiple shipments from multiple retailers)  - the total cost in components SO FAR comes to...(drum roll please)...$25.70!!! Tack on another 3-5 bucks for knobs and the waterslide decal paper, and we'll bump it to an even $30.

Compare that to the cost of what a used Lovepedal Fuzzmaster is going for on Reverb...

Unfortunately, mine won't come with the awesome cardboard box....

Soldering!

Took the kids to Ax-man today - I had promised Sophia and Ben a trip, and Sam decided to tag along...along with Ben's friend Tyler....and there was much 'ooh'-ing and 'aah'-ing. Things were purchased that did get the raised eyebrow upon arrival home - but they had fun. I scored a bunch of transistors I need for upcoming builds, along with a bunch of random fill-in values of other parts - and another storage case.

When we arrived home, I found that Mr. Postman had left me TWO packages...and after some sifting and sorting, I realized I had all the on-board components for the Fuzz build! So - after supper and the cleanup, the soldering station was brought forth, and...Ta-da!

Okay, THIS isn't pretty. But it's not bad for being out of practice on a pcb for over 30 years. I may go over it just to reflow some of the solder joints - most of them "look" solid, but I don't want a cold joint messing up my first attempt. Besides - I still have to hook up the power  and pot wires.

Sorting Parts is FUN....

...said in all seriousness. Yes, I *am* a nerd.

After dinner, I tore into my packages (don't even get me started) from Tayda and Mammoth, and started sorting and testing all the components. Even though I sprung for parts with high tolerances, I did find a couple that didn't quite make the cut. Not sure if they were from Ax-man or not (I'm guessing they were - since I pretty much dumped everything on the table like a kid at Christmas).

And - since my over-developed sense of OCD took over (thanks, Dad!) - I decided to list and sort EVERYTHING I have...which ended up being a good thing, actually.

In comparing and listing the parts, I found that a couple of the radial capacitors I purchased were only rated for 6.3 volts. Since I decided to undertake this hobby, I've had a crash-refresher-course in electronics - and I re-learned something about capacitors.

ALWAYS use a capacitor that is at least double the voltage the circuit will put through it. If you don't the capacitor goes 'pop'. Like the Weasel. Or like this:

Bored Kid Explodes Capacitors

I also found that I shorted myself on a few components, so before I put in yet another Tayda order, it's back to the Ax-man for more capacitors...

Really, USPS, you're hardly even trying.

A voicemail at 9:32 AM today:

"Craig this is ((REDACTED)) at the Eagan Post Office. Say, I talked to your carrier, and he said he found the packages and redelivered them yesterday afternoon. Blah blah blah..."

Funny, I checked my front steps before and AFTER I shoveled, and there was nothing. And the mailbox was empty last night.

BIG FAT LYING LIAR FACES.

Gr.

EDIT: Just received a text from the wife - the packages have arrived. Funny. Well, since I re-ordered everything, looks like I have enough parts for 2 sets of builds.