Eighteen Marshall 18W stompbox at runoffgroove.com questions

[Zappacat]

I'm building the "Eighteen" Marshall 18W stompbox at runoffgroove.com http://runoffgroove.com/eighteen.html

I'm puzzled about the following :

-  In both the schematic and perfboard layout I don't see what the ground connector from the battery connects to on the perfboard.  It just shows the +9V connection in both instances.  Where does the negative terminal of the battery connect to the circuit?

-  When connecting the circuit to a guitar there are two connections for the guitar cable.  I see the connection labeled IN on both schematic and layout but where does the other connector go?

-  Which connector on the guitar cable is the IN connection?  Is it the Tip or the Sleeve?

-  I'd like to use some real POTs instead of the plastic little boxes with the small plastic screws inside so I can mount it in an enclosure and easily turn the parameters from the outside once it's built.  Any suggestions on POT brands and ideal impedance levels?  Any better than others?  Under the tweaking notes it suggests trying different spec POTs.  Just wondering if any of you have built this before and had recommendations.

- BOM is there a parts list for this thing anywhere?  I don't see it on their site.  From a beginners standpoint it's difficult to source the right parts.  Sometimes there are so many options I get lost trying to order parts because there are so many options and I'm not sure what some of them mean.

Thanks in advance.

[rowdy_riemer]

'm building the "Eighteen" Marshall 18W stompbox at runoffgroove.com http://runoffgroove.com/eighteen.html

I'm puzzled about the following :

-  In both the schematic and perfboard layout I don't see what the ground connector from the battery connects to on the perfboard.  It just shows the +9V connection in both instances.  Where does the negative terminal of the battery connect to the circuit?

On the lower left of the perf board layout you can see the GND(ground) connection point. On the schematic, anywhere you see the ground symbol is connected to the "-" terminal on the battery with negligible resistance in between(the resistance of wire/solder,etc.)

-  When connecting the circuit to a guitar there are two connections for the guitar cable.  I see the connection labeled IN on both schematic and layout but where does the other connector go?

"OUT" is the wiper terminal(middle lug) of the volume pot. The layout only shows where to connect lug 3. Lug 1 is connected to any grounded point. If you want to solder  a wire to any point on the perf board that's grounded, that's ok. Lug 2 will go to your output jack (or switch for bypassing).

-  Which connector on the guitar cable is the IN connection?  Is it the Tip or the Sleeve?

The tip is signal. The sleeve should be connected to ground.

-  I'd like to use some real POTs instead of the plastic little boxes with the small plastic screws inside so I can mount it in an enclosure and easily turn the parameters from the outside once it's built.  Any suggestions on POT brands and ideal impedance levels?  Any better than others?  Under the tweaking notes it suggests trying different spec POTs.  Just wondering if any of you have built this before and had recommendations.

The plastic little boxes with screws are trimpots used for biasing. Once you set the bias for each stage, you really want to leave it alone. These are not the pots for volume and tone control mentioned under "Possible Mods". I've not built this, so no suggestions on values. I like 16mm Alpha pots, but I haven't really tried any other brand. Alpha pots should be good to go, though.

- BOM is there a parts list for this thing anywhere?  I don't see it on their site.  From a beginners standpoint it's difficult to source the right parts.  Sometimes there are so many options I get lost trying to order parts because there are so many options and I'm not sure what some of them mean.

Thanks in advance.

It should be fairly easy to make your own bom, but send an email to their contact email address (holler@runoffgroove.com) and see if they can help you out with one. There might also be a bom somewhere out there on the net. 1/4 watt resistors should work for all resistors. Get metal film caps, except where on the schematic there are caps with a + sign. For those use electrolytics. As cheap as j201's are, just order several. That way, you've got plenty for future projects.

If you haven't ever built a stompbox, you might checkout the wiki at diystompboxes.com. I've honestly not built a circuit as a stompbox yet, though I've put some circuits in metal enclosures (basically a preamp without a stomp switch). Maybe if I ever get over being a cheap bastard(I really need to with this hobby), I'll order a proper stompbox enclosure and stop switch.

Good luck. Please post sound clips and stuff when you get it built. 

[Zappacat]

Thanks Rowdy,
  I have a lot more questions about the answers you just gave me.  I'm having problems with the quote mechanism in the forum.  Have a nice evening/day.