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PROJECT NAME
RADIAN
BASED ON
Dallas Rangemaster
EFFECT TYPE
Germanium treble booster
PROJECT SUMMARY
A single-transistor germanium circuit designed to add treble and boost the signal into dark amplifiers to
improve the amp's drive tone.
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.
RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST
9V
RANGE
RADIAN
GERMANIUM BOOST
IMPORTANT NOTE
of the documentation instead. The circuit is the same, but the instructions
BUILD DIFFICULTY
Easy
DOCUMENT VERSION
1.0.2 (2024-03-22)
BOOST
FULL
TREBLE
MID
1
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Table of Contents
Related Manuals for aion RADIAN
Summary of Contents for aion RADIAN
- 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. RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST...
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Page 2: Table Of Contents
23 Enclosure Layout: Main & Footswitch PCBs 24 Enclosure Layout: Input/Output PCB 25 Final Assembly & Biasing 26 Final Assembly (Cont.) 27 Schematic 28 Full Parts List 29 Troubleshooting Information 30 Support & Resale Terms 31 Legal Information & Document Revisions RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST... -
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 4k7 resistor instead of 10k for LEDR. NAME 10uF 47uF NAME 100uF TC1044SCPA or LT1054CP 8-pin socket MLCC Capacitors Transistor NAME 100n (marked “104”) NAME Transistor, germanium, selected for Diodes Rangemaster NAME Trimmer 1N5817 NAME 1N4742A 5k trimmer RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST...
- Page 5 4-strand wire assembly, 108mm Input/output jack 3-pin wire assembly header Mounting nut, jack, 0.54" 4-pin wire assembly header Outer washer, jack, 0.6" Lock washer, jack, 0.5" (thin) Enclosure Enclosure screws PCB, main circuit PCB, footswitch PCB, input/output/DC RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST...
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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). RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST... -
Page 7: Component Identification
“multi-layer ceramic capacitor.” is marked. OP-AMP / IC IC SOCKET TRANSISTOR OR JFET TRANSFORMER Charge pumps and delay chips also look like this. They may have more than 8 legs. WIRE ASSEMBLY WIRE ASSEMBLY HEADER DC JACK LED BEZEL RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST... -
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 RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST... -
Page 9: Pcb Assembly Overview
Generally speaking, you should populate the components in this order: 1. Resistors 2. Diodes 3. IC sockets 4. Trimmers 5. MLCC capacitors 6. Film capacitors 7. Electrolytic capacitors 8. Transistors (germanium) RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST... -
Page 10: Resistors
You’ll use this same technique for most of the other components as well. 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! RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST... -
Page 11: Diodes
1N4742A is orange with a black stripe. Diodes are polarized, so make sure to identify the polarity band (which indicates the “cathode”, or negative side) and match the band to the footprint on the PCB. RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST... -
Page 12: Socket & Ic
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). RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST... -
Page 13: Trimmer
The bias trimmer comes next. It can be soldered like any other component, by bending the legs outward as shown: This trimmer is used to bias the germanium transistor. We will adjust it at the end once the pedal is fully assembled. RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST... -
Page 14: Capacitors (Non-Polarized)
Note: The blue box film capacitors (C1, C2 and sometimes C5) have the value printed on the top, while the red capacitors have the value on the side. The text on the side of the blue capacitors is not related to the value and can be ignored. RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST... -
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. RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST... -
Page 16: Capacitors (Polarized)
The longer leg is positive and fits in the square pad. At this point, we only have the transistors left to do, so now is a good time to go back and insert the IC into the socket (page 12). RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST... -
Page 17: Germanium Transistors: Introduction
If you notice any corrosion on the leads, use medium- grit sandpaper or a fine metal file to remove it, and ensure the leads are shiny before soldering. RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST... -
Page 18: Germanium Transistor
Keep it raised about 3/8” (9.5mm) above the PCB, then bend the legs on the bottom side to keep it attached. Turn the PCB over and let it hang down while you solder it in place. Be quick and make sure the transistor casing doesn’t get too hot or the transistor could be damaged. RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST... -
Page 19: 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. RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST... -
Page 20: 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) RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST... -
Page 21: 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. RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST... -
Page 22: 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 RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST... -
Page 23: 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 24: 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 RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST... -
Page 25: Final Assembly & Biasing
Plug in a 9-volt supply and test it out with a guitar and an amplifier. Test the bypass switch a few times, then start turning the controls and see if everything sounds OK. If it works, great! If not, don’t be discouraged. See page 29 for troubleshooting info. RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST... -
Page 26: Final Assembly (Cont.)
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! RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST... -
Page 27: Schematic
SCHEMATIC 1N5817 100uF 100n 10uF TC1044SCPA PWR_GND 100n 47uF PWR_GND PWR_GND RANGE 47uF RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST... -
Page 28: Full Parts List
10n (0.01) 100n MLCC Transistors Diodes PART VALUE PART VALUE PART VALUE Germanium 1N4742A TC1044SCPA or LT1054CP 1N5817 IC1-S DIP-8 socket Potentiometers Switches Trimmer PART VALUE PART PART VALUE Boost 10kA SPDT on-off-on BIAS 5k trimmer 3PDT stomp RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST... -
Page 29: Troubleshooting Information
Is the collector voltage correct? The other voltages are given as rough guidelines, but they may be slightly different depending on the properties of the transistor. The collector voltage is the one we’re concerned with. If it’s right, then the others should be OK. RADIAN GERMANIUM BOOST... - Page 30 “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 31 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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