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PROJECT NAME
STRATUS
BASED ON
Ibanez TS-808 Tube Screamer
EFFECT TYPE
Overdrive
PROJECT SUMMARY
The quintessential mid-hump overdrive pedal made famous by Stevie Ray Vaughan, and the source cir-
cuit behind dozens of high-dollar boutique pedals.
This documentation is for the kit version of the project. If you purchased the PCB by itself, please
use the
PCB-only version
are completely different due to the specialized parts and assembly methods used in the kit.
STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE
LEVEL
BASS
CL A SSIC OVERDRIVE
IMPORTANT NOTE
of the documentation instead. The circuit is the same, but the instructions
BUILD DIFFICULTY
Easy
DOCUMENT VERSION
1.0.1 (2020-06-11)
9V
TONE
DRIVE
CLIP
1
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Table of Contents
Related Manuals for aion STRATUS
Summary of Contents for aion STRATUS
- Page 1 This documentation is for the kit version of the project. If you purchased the PCB by itself, please use the PCB-only version of the documentation instead. The circuit is the same, but the instructions are completely different due to the specialized parts and assembly methods used in the kit. STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE...
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Page 2: Table Of Contents
21 Enclosure Layout: Main & Footswitch PCBs 22 Enclosure Layout: Input/Output PCB 23 Final Testing & Assembly 24 Schematic 25 Full Parts List 26 Troubleshooting Information 27 Support & Resale Terms 28 Legal Information & Document Revisions STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE... -
Page 3: Introduction
INTRODUCTION If this is your first pedal, welcome to the hobby and thank you for choosing Aion FX. You’ve just joined a community of over 40,000 people around the world with a passion for building homemade noise machines using obsolete electronics technologies, and we’re glad to have you! If you’ve done this before, it’s great to see you again and we’re confident you’ll find this build experience... - Page 4 Film Capacitors Diodes NAME NAME 1N5817 1N914 LED, red 100n 220n NAME JRC4558D Electrolytic Capacitors 8-pin socket NAME Transistors 47uF NAME 100uF 2N5088 MLCC Capacitors NAME 47pF (marked “470”) 100n (marked “104”) Resistors NAME 100R 220R 510k STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE...
- Page 5 9V battery snap 3-pin wire assembly header DC jack 4-pin wire assembly header Input/output jack Mounting nut, jack, 0.54" Outer washer, jack, 0.6" Lock washer, jack, 0.5" (thin) Enclosure Enclosure screws PCB, main circuit PCB, footswitch PCB, input/output/DC STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE...
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Page 6: Tools Needed
The tip should used to tighten the dress nut to avoid lot of pedals! be no more than 0.1” (2.5mm) wide. scratching or denting it (which can happen with metal tools). STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE... -
Page 7: Component Identification
Some voltage regulators It’s recommended to use a also look like this. They may also look like this. razor blade to separate have more than 8 legs. these cleanly. WIRE ASSEMBLY WIRE ASSEMBLY HEADER DC JACK LED BEZEL STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE... -
Page 8: Hardware Identification
MOUNTING NUT DRESS NUT LOCK WASHER DIAMETER: 0.36” / 9.1mm DIAMETER: 0.375” / 9.5mm DIAMETER: 0.4” / 10.1mm FOOTSWITCH MOUNTING NUT DRESS NUT LOCK WASHER DIAMETER: 0.6” / 15.2mm DIAMETER: 0.77” / 19.6mm DIAMETER: 0.6” / 15.2mm STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE... -
Page 9: Pcb Assembly Overview
PCB is upside-down, everything is making contact with the work surface and is held in place. So, you will start by populating the resistors (the lowest-profile components), followed by the diodes, sockets, film capacitors, and finally the electrolytic capacitors. STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE... -
Page 10: Resistors
15 to 20 resistors at a time or the bottom of the board will get too crowded. If this is your first time soldering, watch tutorial videos on YouTube and make sure you get it down before you begin. You don’t want to practice or experiment on this board! STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE... -
Page 11: Diodes
For LEDs, the flat edge indicates the cathode. Line this up with the PCB footprint on the top side of the PCB and solder them flush with the PCB. (These LEDs are used as clipping diodes. The indicator LED will be done in a later step.) STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE... -
Page 12: Sockets & Ics
ICs may have two different orientation marks: either a dot in the upper-left or a half-circle notch in the middle of the top side. Some ICs have both marks. This shows which way the IC should be rotated when inserting it into a socket (the socket also has a half-circle notch). STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE... -
Page 13: Transistors
Since these are just used as buffers and don’t need to be selected for gain, sockets are not necessary. You can just solder them directly to the board. Bend the outer leads to hold it in place on the board. Then, solder them and clip the leads. STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE... -
Page 14: Capacitors (Non-Polarized) & Trimmer
Bend the leads at an angle to hold them in place. MLCCs and box capacitors are not polarized and will work in any direction. To keep things neat, though, it’s recommended to put them all facing the same way. STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE... -
Page 15: Wire Headers
They do fit pretty tightly in the holes, though, so press firmly. There’s also a 4-pin header on the I/O board that we will do in a later step. STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE... -
Page 16: Capacitors (Polarized)
The longer leg is positive and fits in the square pad. These are the last of the on-board components. Now is the time to go back to page 13 and insert the ICs into the sockets. STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE... -
Page 17: Footswitch Pcb
BLUE MARKING Once all three wire assemblies are soldered, set the footswitch PCB aside. We’ll solder the actual footswitch and LED in a later step. STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE... -
Page 18: Input/Output Pcb
Red is positive (+), black is negative (-). After soldering, pull it tight. For even more strain relief, you can thread the snap through the loop to form a knot. (not shown) STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE... -
Page 19: Enclosure Layout: Panel Mounts
You’ll need to hold the bezel in place when OUTER WASHER tightening the nut. The top of the bezel is fairly MOUNTING NUT sharp, so try using a rubber band for grip instead of pressing your finger against the bottom. STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE... -
Page 20: Enclosure Layout: Panel Mounts (Cont.)
MOUNTING NUT LOCK WASHER BEZEL MOUNTING NUT & LED The dress nut acts as a mounting nut, unlike the footswitch dress nut. Use flat- nose pliers on the flat sides of the nut to tighten securely. FOOTSWITCH 125B STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE... -
Page 21: Enclosure Layout: Main & Footswitch Pcbs
However, Aion FX projects are designed to be extremely easy to remove from the enclosure for troubleshooting, with no desoldering required—so with these kits, it’s actually much easier to “box it before you rock it”. -
Page 22: Enclosure Layout: Input/Output Pcb
Note the use of two mounting nuts on each of the jacks, one inside and one outside. The inner nut acts as a spacer to set the DC jack flush with the outside of the enclosure. The inner nuts should be threaded as far down as they can go. MOUNTING NUT OUTER WASHER LOCK WASHER MOUNTING NUT 125B STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE... -
Page 23: Final Testing & Assembly
Last, just close the panel on the back using the four screws. Before that, though, grab a permanent marker and write your name and the completion date on the inside of the back panel. This is an accomplishment! STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE... -
Page 24: Schematic
SCHEMATIC 1N5817 100uF 47uF 100n Shown with TS-808 values. For TS-9, change R14 to 470R and R15 to 100k. 2N5088 IC1A IC1B JRC4558D JRC4558D TONE 2N5088 20kW 47pF 100R 220n 220n CLIP 500kB DRIVE STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE... -
Page 25: Full Parts List
220n film 22n film 1N4742A 220n film 68n film 1uF film 100n film Transistors Potentiometers Switches PART VALUE PART VALUE PART VALUE PART 2N5088 JRC4558D Volume 100kA SPDT on-off-on (2) 2N5088 Drive 500kB 3PDT stomp Tone 20kW STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE... -
Page 26: Troubleshooting Information
0.5V higher or lower than these listed voltages, it’s a good indicator of an issue and the voltages can help you or someone else narrow it down. VOLTAGE VOLTAGE VOLTAGE 3.76V 3.84V 4.80V 4.17V 4.26V 4.87V 9.62V 9.62V 4.80V 4.80V 4.80V 4.80V 9.62V STRATUS CLASSIC OVERDRIVE... - Page 27 “goop” the PCB or otherwise obscure the source. In other words: you don’t have to go out of your way to advertise the fact that you use Aion FX kits, but please don’t go out of your way to hide it.
- Page 28 These kits are intended to be built by the customer. Aion FX is not responsible for language that may be used by the customer in the marketing or resale of the finished product.
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