Lithium Grim L'ill Red Booster Instruction Manual

1
L’ill Red Booster
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
Adding the buffer ...................................................................................................................................7
Troubleshooting .....................................................................................................................................8
Schematic...............................................................................................................................................9

3
Components
Part
Value
Comment
Part
Value
Comment
R1
14k7
C1
47n
R2
1M
C2
100u
R3
2k
C3
1n
R4
2k61
C4
1n
R5
470R
C5
470n
R6
14k7
C6
22u
R7
14k7
C7
47n
R8
14k7
C8
1u
R9
14k7
C9
4n7
R10
470R
C10
100p
R11
14k7
C11
1n
R12
470k
C12
1u
R13
14k7
C13
22u
R14
1k5
C14
470n
R15
14k7
Q1
2N5952
matched
R16
14k7
Q2
2N5952
matched
R17
470R
Q3
2N5952
matched
R18
4k7
Q4
2N5952
matched
R19
1M
VR1
B50K
Treble
R20
1M
VR2
A50K
Master
D1
1N4007
VR3
A500K
Boost
* Parts marked in red are specialty parts

4
General guideline for components
Capacitors: All values under 1nF should be ceramic disks. From 1nF up to 1uF should be MKT
(foil/metal film capacitors) and over 1uF use electrolyte caps (or tantalum) 16V+ rated and
watch out for polarity!
Resistors: use 1% metal film for the best results.
Socket all transistors. This way you can easily mod them or replace them if they brake.
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 transistors. For the transistors you
can buy a 20 pin SIL socket and cut of the pins you need. Now solder the ceramic capacitors, the
diode D1, then you can solder the MKT capacitors (not the 1u ones!) and the electrolyte capacitors.
Now finish by soldering the 1u MKT capacitors. Place the transistors and you are almost ready to go.
Besides the components mentioned in the table on the previous 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.

5
The finished board
On the picture of the pot you can make out the pin sequence on the board.
Blue = pin 1
White = pin 2
Yellow = pin 3

6
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 4k7 resistor, Green requires 680R.

7
Adding the buffer
Build the buffer as mentioned in the separate building instructions. To add it to the booster, wire it
as follows:
M
Output Jack
Input Jack
S
Cathode (short leg)
Anode (long leg)
Cathode (short leg)
Anode (long leg)
Boost sw Buffer sw
Tip
Ring
Sleeve
Ring
Tip
When the buffer switch is DOWN, the buffer is ON when the boost is OFF.

8
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.

9
Schematic