I am new to the whole BYOC thing. A little help with soldering please.

[wesc]

I am considering getting a BYOC OD2 kit, but I have never soldered anything to a pcb before, so I need to know a few things. Do you solder on the top or bottom of the PCB, or does it matter. Are these BYOC kits very tricky? They seem pretty simple, but I don't want to blow 90 buck for nothing. I have done solder work on guitars, but never pedals, so a little help is much appreciated. Also, how long do these usually take to build. I plan to hand paint the enclosure, but once that is done how long should it take to build?

[Gtowngearhead]

Well, it doesn't matter. Just a connection has to be made from wire to hole in pcb, like connection has to be made from pup wire to pot. I'd suggest soldering on top so gravity helps you keep components in place.
I've never done a BYOC kit. I imagine it wouldn't take horribly long if you can read the wiring diagram. I've done DIY stuff, but it always takes forever, mostly trying to find the right parts in a pile of stuff and figuring out my own way to wire up a DPDT switch and getting things soldered right on the pot. Probably take 2 hours your first time.

[EJW]

The BYOC kits are easy as pie. I've done 3. Build times vary depending on the kit, but I would guess that the OD will take you maybe 5 hours as a first time build. You get faster with practice, but the main thing is to take your time and double check parts as you place them.

There's lots of info, help, and all around good people on the BYOC forum. Spend some time exploring it before you start, and carefully read the instructions for the kit. As far as soldering PCB goes, you drop in a part, flip the board over, and then solder it from the back.

[Tiny Montgomery]

There are some great tips over on BYOC's site and forum.

Don't use too much solder, and trim the excess component leads neatly. Long as you do that, and follow the instructions step by step, you can't go wrong. I've built a few of them, and have a couple more kits I'm going to be building, soon. I've never had one not fire up the first time (unless you count the couple of minutes it took me to realize I hadn't put a chip in my TS clone. doh.), including my first build; a tri-boost that is a permanent fixture on my board.

Also, don't use too hot of a soldering iron. Around 15 watts is probably plenty. BYOC's boards are pretty nice, and heavily masked, but it's still possible to burn them, if you're not careful.

[ThunderTomate]

The traditional solder with lead (not the RoHS lead free solder) is easier to melt, so you will apply less heat to the PCB. Fortunately, your clone don't need to be RoHS compliant.

[ThunderTomate]

Originally Posted by VintageToneGuy

WARNING: BYOC Kits are addictive!

Soldering takes practice and you'll see and learn alot with your first kit. The BYOC Kits and instructions are fairly easy just make sure to properly identify the transistors with the color bands. Some of the colors look the same but aren't. I've done several kits and enjoyed doing them all.

vtg

Did you mean resistors? good point, a multimeter to measure the resistor value is very usefull in that case, even a cheap one will do the work.

[champster]

The BYOC overdrive2 kit is really a nice kit and works great. One thing though is it's a kit with a lot packed in. Check out the instructions first. If this is going to be your first kit I would suggest maybe something else with less going on inside. The instructions and layouts are very good so if you do take your time, check everything as you go along, then the OD2 kit will work for you.

[Stormbringer]

Originally Posted by VintageToneGuy

WARNING: BYOC Kits are addictive!

Boy, is he right about that.....

[Stormbringer]

To the OP, since you don't have a lot of soldering experience, I think you should probably start with an easier kit like a fuzz or the confidence booster, just to get used to the little details involved in soldering to a PCB, soldering a TB switch, jacks and mounting a pedal.

It's not really hard or anything - and the BYOC kits are really simple and easy to put together - but as someone mentioned before the OD2 is not a beginner's build per se. I think some time spent in practicing the basic skills in an easier and/or more expendable pedal would mean less time and more chances of not having to troubleshoot too much afterwards.

BTW, i am just like you and, until recently, had only soldered pickups but over the past few months I have modded several pedals and built a few.

[rybass]

The components go through the top and you def need to solder to the bottom as that is where the metal contact pad is.

Go to the BYOC forum and read "Stephens tips for a successful build", it's a sticky. Then read the thread pertaining to your particular build and you'll see comments from people who have built, their success and failures. Ask question if you have them; those guys are top notch and more than willing to help.

Be ready to spend more money on more kits. Enjoy!

[phazersonstun]

Agreed. You must read "Stephens tips for a successful build"
I had only very basic soldering skills before building the byoc kits.
The instructions thoughtfully include pictures of each stage of assembly.
They are not hard to do, but take time.

I can't stress enough how important being patient & taking your time is.
Most of the problems people post w/ their builds on the byoc forums is simply a part put in backwards, a bad solder joint etc.

Go slow & you'll be rocking a boutique quality pedal for chump change.
The fact that you built it yourself is immensely pleasing & they are addictive.

[cugel]

i love the byoc kits
i have the mkII, dd, screamer, comp, and the triboost.
all sound fantastic when assembled with care and some degree of precision
the byoc forum are a bunch of friendly helpful people (just post pics so they can help!)
my screammer is modded to the hilt and is essentially a cjod/landgraff w/bass swtich to give more low end.

[wesc]

I plan on doing the confidence booster first since it is free with my first order. Should I get any more tools other than a soldering iron, screwdriver for the enclosure, and multimeter. What is the best paint to use on enclosures. I have heard auto paint is what many people use, is this true? I plan to paint the enclosure and put this pic on it with a decal print page from micromark.com. Obviously the image will need some adjusting since it isn't the right proportion to the enclosure. I am also planning on using a 1590NS enlosure from pedalpartsplus to put it in.


Boba Fet(t) drive has been done before by someone on the BYOC forum, but I like the idea and I'm a starwars nerd.

[cvansickle]

Just my usual advice for using a soldering iron:

If you drop your soldering iron while using it, do not try to catch it - let it fall to the floor on its own. It's much easier to put out a small fire when your hands are not already in pain!

[wesc]

Also, is there a better way to solder than just to hold the iron in one hand and the coil of solder in the other. I always find myself running out of hands when soldering.