Lithium Grim Concrete Distortion Instruction Manual

Concrete Distortion
Building instructions
V1.0

Concrete Distortion Building Instructions v1.0
2
Table of contents
Components ............................................................................................................................................ 3
General guideline for components.......................................................................................................... 4
General building tips ............................................................................................................................... 4
The finished board................................................................................................................................... 5
Offboard wiring ....................................................................................................................................... 6
Troubleshooting ...................................................................................................................................... 7
Inside Layout ........................................................................................................................................... 7
Drilling template...................................................................................................................................... 8
Schematic ................................................................................................................................................ 9

Concrete Distortion Building Instructions v1.0
3
Components
C1
47n
Q1
2N3819
C2
47n
Q2
2N3819
C3
100p
R1
4k7
C4
100p
R2
14k7
C5
100p
R3
470k
C6
15p
R4
470k
C7
2n2
R5
200k
C8
100n
R6
1M
C9
10n
R7
1M
C10
100u
R8
1M
C11
4,7u
R9
1M
C12
22n
R10
100R
D1
1N4004
R11
10k
IC1
CD4069UBE
VR1
A1M
Distortion
IC2
TL051
VR2
A50k
Tone
VR3
A50K
Volume

Concrete Distortion Building Instructions v1.0
4
General guideline for components
Capacitors: All values under 1nF should be ceramic disks. From 1nF up to 1uF should be MKT
(foil/metalfilm capacitors) and over 1uF use electrolyte caps (or tantalum) 16V+ rated and
watch out for polarity!
Resistors: use 1% metalfilm for the best results.
Socket all IC’s and transistors. This way you can easily mod them or replace them if they
break.
Orientation of the transistors: the white stripe on the PCB indicates where the flat side of the
transistor should be.
General building tips
Soldering this board can be complicated for some people since the solder pads can be very close
together. Use a magnifying glass to make the job easier.
Start by soldering the resistors. It is best to solder diode D1 in an upright position (remember the
polarity) so do not solder it yet. Next, solder the sockets for the IC’s and transistors. For the
transistors you can buy a 20 pin SIL socket and cut of the pins you need. IC1 requires a 14 pin DIL
socket and IC2 requires an 8 pin DIL socket. Now solder the ceramic capacitors, then you can solder
the MKT capacitors and finish by soldering the electrolyte capacitors and Diode D1. Now you can
place the IC’s and transistors. The white triangle on the IC’s point to where pin 1 of the IC should be
inserted.
Besides the components mentioned in the table on the first page, you will need:
2 input jacks. 2 mono jacks if you are not going to use a battery but only the 9V adapter. 1
mono (for output) and 1 stereo jack (for input) if you will be using both a 9V battery and the
9V adapter.
3PDT footswitch (9 pins). I also carry an easy off board circuit for this.
2,1mm DC jack (isolated).
9v battery clip (optional).
22 gage stranded hook-up wire.
Hammond 1590B case (or similar) in your favourite colour. A 1590BB will give you more
room to experiment with.

Concrete Distortion Building Instructions v1.0
5
The finished board
VR: Blue = pin1, White = pin2, Yellow = pin3
IN: Green = hot, Black is ground
OUT: Blue = hot, Black is ground
Adapter: Red = 9V+, Black is ground

Concrete Distortion Building Instructions v1.0
6
Modifications
You could try to substitute the TL051 for another single opamp like NE5534,
TL061,TL071,TL081,LM741. Feel free to experiment!
Offboard wiring
M
Tip
Tip
Ring
Ring
Output Jack
Input Jack
Cathode (short leg)
Anode (long leg)
Footswitch
S
Sleeve
R led
Notice that in the “off” position the effect input is connected to ground to prevent possible
oscillation.
The LED requires a resistor (R led in the diagram) depending on the type of LED you are using. An
ultra-bright red or blue LED requires a 3k3 resistor.

Concrete Distortion Building Instructions v1.0
7
Troubleshooting
All PCB’s have been e-tested 100% in the factory, so there should not be a connection problem on
the PCB itself.
The board is not working (at all), what now?
Check if your 9V is plugged in correctly (and/or soldered correctly on the board).
Check that you oriented the capacitors, IC’s ,transistors and diodes the right way. MKT
capacitors and resistors do not need to be oriented.
Check if you used the correct values of the components. For resistors you can look here:
http://www.diyaudioandvideo.com/Electronics/Color/
Double and triple check your soldering! A lose or cold solder can be really bad for your board.
Replace the IC’s and transistors, one might be defective. Before doing that first unplug the 9V
and wait 5 seconds.
Check that you have good/high grade components. A lot of Chinese sourced parts are fakes
(especially high end opamps) so be careful that you source your parts from reliable suppliers.
Inside Layout

Concrete Distortion Building Instructions v1.0
8
Drilling template

Concrete Distortion Building Instructions v1.0
9
Schematic