Slowing down BF fender tremolo?

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Bombacaototal
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Re: Slowing down BF fender tremolo?

Post by Bombacaototal »

Firestorm wrote:Ceramics are also compact in 1KV or 2KV ratings. This may help minimize leakage which can hurt the oscillator's performance.
Perfect! Thanks
JD0x0
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Re: Slowing down BF fender tremolo?

Post by JD0x0 »

I recently did my amp with 22n, 22n, 15n polyesters (they were small enough to fit fine)
Trem works at all speeds and sounds better than stock, IMO.
It's true i've lost my marbles and i cant remember where i put them
Bombacaototal
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Re: Slowing down BF fender tremolo?

Post by Bombacaototal »

beasleybodyshop wrote: Wed Oct 22, 2014 3:03 am
sluckey wrote:The oscillator triode. Cathode is 2.7K/25µF.
Oh. Well dang. I picked the other one. It sounds great. Swapping in the .02s and installing the cathode LED really sounds great. Thanks everyone!
I just wanted to report back on this. I had reduced the LFO speed with 3x .02uF and a red led on the cathode. The tremolo was too fast (I mean super fast like you couldn't hear the effect at all), because of the LED.

I brought back to stock and then had no issues. Anyone else experienced the same?
sluckey
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Re: Slowing down BF fender tremolo?

Post by sluckey »

I have 4 slightly different tremolo circuits with a LED in them. They all work fine. I installed a LED backwards once. It glowed steady at about half brightness and no trem. When I installed it correctly still had no trem. Replacing with a fresh LED fixed the problem. Maybe you had the LED installed backwards?
Bombacaototal
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Re: Slowing down BF fender tremolo?

Post by Bombacaototal »

sluckey wrote: Fri Dec 21, 2018 5:26 pm I have 4 slightly different tremolo circuits with a LED in them. They all work fine. I installed a LED backwards once. It glowed steady at about half brightness and no trem. When I installed it correctly still had no trem. Replacing with a fresh LED fixed the problem. Maybe you had the LED installed backwards?
Thanks for the reply. Below was mine before I removed it. Is there any marking on the LED to indicate the side. Adding a 22uF (+) cap across the led helped to tame the speed a fair bit, but I ended up with the resistor as a stock Blackface
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sluckey
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Re: Slowing down BF fender tremolo?

Post by sluckey »

Is there any marking on the LED to indicate the side. Adding a 22uF (+) cap across the led helped to tame the speed a fair bit, but I ended up with the resistor as a stock Blackface
Looks like your LED was installed backwards. The flat side of the LED is the cathode and must be connected to ground. Don't use a cap across the LED!

That LED is probably destroyed now, so if you want to use a LED, get a new one and observe polarity when you solder it in. When installed correctly you will see the LED flash at the speed of the tremolo. I usually mount the LED in a bezel and install on the front panel just for eye candy.
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Bombacaototal
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Re: Slowing down BF fender tremolo?

Post by Bombacaototal »

sluckey wrote: Sat Dec 22, 2018 11:50 am
Is there any marking on the LED to indicate the side. Adding a 22uF (+) cap across the led helped to tame the speed a fair bit, but I ended up with the resistor as a stock Blackface
Looks like your LED was installed backwards. The flat side of the LED is the cathode and must be connected to ground. Don't use a cap across the LED!

That LED is probably destroyed now, so if you want to use a LED, get a new one and observe polarity when you solder it in. When installed correctly you will see the LED flash at the speed of the tremolo. I usually mount the LED in a bezel and install on the front panel just for eye candy.
Ah that explains it! Complete oversight at my end. Do you have any brand preference for the LED as I will have to get a new one anyway

It is a cool idea to have it at the front panel too
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Reeltarded
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Re: Slowing down BF fender tremolo?

Post by Reeltarded »

Bombacaototal wrote: Sat Dec 22, 2018 4:30 pm
sluckey wrote: Sat Dec 22, 2018 11:50 am
Is there any marking on the LED to indicate the side. Adding a 22uF (+) cap across the led helped to tame the speed a fair bit, but I ended up with the resistor as a stock Blackface
Looks like your LED was installed backwards. The flat side of the LED is the cathode and must be connected to ground. Don't use a cap across the LED!

That LED is probably destroyed now, so if you want to use a LED, get a new one and observe polarity when you solder it in. When installed correctly you will see the LED flash at the speed of the tremolo. I usually mount the LED in a bezel and install on the front panel just for eye candy.
Ah that explains it! Complete oversight at my end. Do you have any brand preference for the LED as I will have to get a new one anyway

It is a cool idea to have it at the front panel too

Just buy a pack of anything. A red one is a red one. :)
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Bombacaototal
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Re: Slowing down BF fender tremolo?

Post by Bombacaototal »

Haha ok!
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martin manning
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Re: Slowing down BF fender tremolo?

Post by martin manning »

Reeltarded wrote: Sat Dec 22, 2018 5:03 pmJust buy a pack of anything. A red one is a red one. :)
IMO, some types have a great deal of clarity, while others are more diffused.
Bombacaototal
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Re: Slowing down BF fender tremolo?

Post by Bombacaototal »

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Reeltarded
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Re: Slowing down BF fender tremolo?

Post by Reeltarded »

martin manning wrote: Sat Dec 22, 2018 5:59 pm
Reeltarded wrote: Sat Dec 22, 2018 5:03 pmJust buy a pack of anything. A red one is a red one. :)
IMO, some types have a great deal of clarity, while others are more diffused.
Because you are superman.
Signatures have a 255 character limit that I could abuse, but I am not Cecil B. DeMille.
Bombacaototal
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Re: Slowing down BF fender tremolo?

Post by Bombacaototal »

I added the new RED LED and it works like a charm. I also removed the polirized cap. Thanks everyone for the help

One thing I still need to check a bit better (with more time) is a weird ticking sound. I have the .02uF cap accross the opto (roach) to ground as indicated here to prevent it, but seems not to have been enough: https://robrobinette.com/AB763_Modifications.htm
Bombacaototal
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Re: Slowing down BF fender tremolo?

Post by Bombacaototal »

Ok, so back at the ticking issue.

The issue:
Overall the trem works fine. There is no ticking when I am not playing. There is a bit of ticking which replicates the speed pot on some notes only, usually more towards the higher registry than lower.

This is how my circuit is structured:
1) LFO with .02uF as the 3 caps
2) red led at the cathode on the triode of the speed
3) .02uF from the 10M to ground next to the roach

Troubleshooting:
1) I’ve tried replacing the .02uF from the 10M to .05uF and made the ticking worst
2) I’ve tried adding a .02uF across the 100K plate (in parallel) like Dumble did in one of his ultraphonix bandmaster and it made it worst

Not really sure what to do next. Any ideas?
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