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PROJECT NAME
RIFT
BASED ON
Univox
®
Superfuzz
EFFECT TYPE
Octave Fuzz
PROJECT SUMMARY
A classic untamed fuzz from the 1970s that adds an octave-up overtone, famous for its use by Pete
Townshend of The Who.
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.
RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ
BALANCE
OCTAVE FUZZ
IMPORTANT NOTE
of the documentation instead. The circuit is the same, but the instructions
BUILD DIFFICULTY
Intermediate
DOCUMENT VERSION
1.0.2 (2021-07-07)
9V
TONE
EXPANDER
1
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Table of Contents
Related Manuals for aion RIFT
Summary of Contents for aion RIFT
- 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. RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ...
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Page 2: Table Of Contents
20 Enclosure Layout: Main & Footswitch PCBs 21 Enclosure Layout: Input/Output PCB 22 Final Testing & Assembly 23 Schematic 24 Full Parts List 25 Troubleshooting Information 26 Support & Resale Terms 27 Legal Information & Document Revisions RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ... -
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 Resistors NAME NAME 470R 100n Electrolytic Capacitors NAME 10uF 100uF 100k MLCC Capacitors 150k NAME 220k 100n (marked “104”) 470k Diodes Transistors NAME NAME 1N5817 2N3904 Germanium (glass case, no marking) 2N3903 (matched) 2N3903 (unmatched) RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ...
- Page 5 LED bezel 4-pin wire assembly header LED, blue 9V battery snap DC jack 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 RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ...
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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). RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ... -
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 RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ... -
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 RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ... -
Page 9: Pcb Assembly Overview
6. Transistors 7. Electrolytic capacitors Not all of these component types are included in each kit, so skip them if they aren’t applicable. Some types of film capacitors are taller than electrolytics, so those can be done last. RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ... -
Page 10: Resistors
10 or 15 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! RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ... -
Page 11: Diodes
The germanium diodes included with this kit have been individually tested and verified as working. Unless they arrive damaged, free replacements will not be offered, so please be careful! RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ... -
Page 12: Trimmer
Since the Q4 and Q5 transistors are closely matched in this kit already, the trimmer likely will not need further adjusting from the 12:00 position, but it’s there so you can make tweaks if needed. You may find you prefer the octave to be slightly less pronounced. RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ... -
Page 13: Transistors
If the legs are not already bent into 0.1” spacing, use your needle-nose pliers to bend the outer two legs as shown. Bend the outer leads to hold it in place on the board. Then, solder them and clip the leads. RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ... -
Page 14: Capacitors (Non-Polarized)
C2 and C12 are blue and the value is printed on the top. C4 and C13 are red and the value is printed on the side. MLCCs and box capacitors are not polarized and will work in any direction. To keep things neat, though, it’s best to put them all facing the same way. RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ... -
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. RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ... -
Page 16: Capacitors (Polarized)
(in other words, they will only work in one direction), so note the vertical mark that indicates the negative side. The longer leg is positive and fits in the square pad. These are the last of the on-board components. RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ... -
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. RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ... -
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) RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ... -
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. RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ... -
Page 20: 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 21: 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 RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ... -
Page 22: 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! RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ... -
Page 23: Schematic
SCHEMATIC 1N5817 100uF 100n TONE Q4 Q5 2N3903 470R 2N3904 2N3904 2N3903 100n 10uF 10uF GND GND OCTAVE 100n RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ... -
Page 24: Full Parts List
100n MLCC 10uF electro Potentiometers Switches Transistors PART VALUE PART PART VALUE Expander 50kB 3PDT stomp 2N3904 Balance 50kB 2N3904 Tone 50kB 2N3904 Octave 10k trim 2N3903* Q4 and Q5 are supplied as a matched set. 2N3903* 2N3903 RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ... -
Page 25: Troubleshooting Information
VOLTAGE VOLTAGE VOLTAGE 0.13V 5.21V 3.02V 0.73V 5.86V 3.64V 5.86V 9.48V 6.48V VOLTAGE VOLTAGE VOLTAGE 1.33V 1.33V 0.54V 1.98V 1.96V 1.18V 2.00V 2.00V 4.10V RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ... - Page 26 “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 27 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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