Aion PHOBOS Manuel utilisateur

PHOBOS GERMANIUM FUZZ 1

PROJECT NAME

PHOBOS

BASED ON

EFFECT TYPE

PROJECT SUMMARY

DOCUMENT VERSION

Tone Bender Mk. III (3-knob)

A reproduction of the third version of the Tone Bender germanium fuzz sold by Macaris in London in the

late 1960s.

Germanium fuzz 1.0.1 (2022-07-01)

BUILD DIFFICULTY

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.

IMPORTANT NOTE

Intermediate

LEVEL

GERMANIUM FUZZ

FUZZ

TONE

PHOBOS

PHOBOS GERMANIUM FUZZ 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1Project Overview

2Table of Contents

3Introduction

4Packing List

5Packing List (Cont.)

6Tools Needed

7Component Identification

8Hardware Identification

9PCB Assembly Overview

10 Resistors

11 Diodes

12 Socket & IC

13 Trimmers

14 Capacitors (Non-Polarized)

15 Wire Headers

16 Capacitors (Polarized)

17 Germanium Transistors: Introduction

18 Germanium Transistors (Q1 and Q2)

19 Germanium Transistors (Q3)

20 Footswitch PCB

21 Input/Output PCB

22 Enclosure Layout: Panel Mounts

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

PHOBOS GERMANIUM FUZZ 3

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

an enjoyable one.

Aion FX kits are designed to empower anyone to build a high-quality pedal, no matter the skill level.

The pedalbuilding hobby has traditionally had a steep learning curve, but don’t be overwhelmed—we’ve

done all the hard work for you. All you need to do is follow these instructions and you’ll be on your way

to transforming your tone.

There are a few things to go over before you get started.

• You’re going to have to get your hands dirty—there’s no way around it. Nothing here comes

preassembled, and you’ll have to learn the skills to put it all together. This document will walk you

through everything you need, but be prepared to learn a few things along the way.

• This will take time. Plan on about two hours start to finish. It may take even longer if it’s your first

time building. Don’t rush it. If you find yourself getting frustrated or overwhelmed, take a break

and come back in a couple of hours or the next day.

• No direct technical support is offered. There are several DIY forums and Facebook groups with

thousands of members who enjoy troubleshooting and teaching. But please be sensitive to the

fact that the staff at Aion FX is minimal, and every minute spent helping individuals in private is

time that can’t be spent on new project development.

• There is no implied guarantee of a final product. Aion FX provides the ingredients and the recipe,

but you are responsible for putting everything together to make it work. We’ve tried to make the

process as clear and accessible as possible, but it must be expressly stated that purchasing the kit

is not a guarantee that you will end up with a working pedal.

It’s recommended to read through all of the instructions before you start, particularly if you’ve never

built a pedal before. If you familiarize yourself with the entire process ahead of time and you know what

the goal looks like, each step will make more sense.

Now, on to the fun stuff!

PHOBOS GERMANIUM FUZZ 4

PACKING LIST

This is a list of all the parts that are included with the kit, grouped by value. For a list of all the parts

based on their PCB part numbers, please see page 28.

If you find that any parts are missing or damaged, please fill out the Missing Parts form.

Film Capacitors

NAME QTY

2n2 (0.0022) 1

100n (0.1) 2

220n (0.22) 1

Electrolytic Capacitors

NAME QTY

10uF 2

47uF 1

100uF 1

MLCC Capacitors

NAME QTY

220pF (marked “221”) 1

100n (marked “104”) 1

470n (marked “474”) 1

Diodes

NAME QTY

1N5817 1

1N4742A 1

1N34A (germanium) 1

Resistors

NAME QTY

1k 2

3k3 1

4k7 1

10k 3

18k or 18.2k 1

47k 1

220k 2

2M2 1

ICs

NAME QTY

TC1044SCPA or LT1054CP 1

8-pin socket 1

Transistors

NAME QTY

Transistors, germanium, matched for

Tone Bender Mk. III

Trimmers

NAME QTY

10k trimmer 2

PHOBOS GERMANIUM FUZZ 5

PACKING LIST (CONT.)

Potentiometers

NAME QTY

100kB 2

100kA 1

Dust cover 3

Knob 3

Mounting nut, potentiometer, 0.44" 3

Lock washer, potentiometer, 0.5" 3

Outer washer, potentiometer, 0.475" 3

Other

NAME QTY

LED bezel 1

LED, blue 1

9V battery snap 1

DC jack 1

Input/output jack 2

Mounting nut, jack, 0.54" 4

Outer washer, jack, 0.6" 2

Lock washer, jack, 0.5" (thin) 2

Enclosure 1

Enclosure screws 4

PCB, main circuit 1

PCB, footswitch 1

PCB, input/output/DC 1

Switches

NAME QTY

Stomp switch, 3PDT 1

Mounting nut, stomp switch, 0.6" 2

Lock washer, stomp switch, 0.6" 1

Dress nut, stomp switch, 0.77" 1

Wiring

NAME QTY

3-strand wire assembly, 70mm 2

4-strand wire assembly, 108mm 1

3-pin wire assembly header 2

4-pin wire assembly header 1

PHOBOS GERMANIUM FUZZ 6

TOOLS NEEDED

SOLDERING IRON

Temperature-adjustable is

recommended. The optimum

soldering temperature is 700-725º

F (371-385º C) for leaded solder, or

750º F (400º C) for lead-free.

WIRE SNIPPERS

Also called nippers or wire cutters.

The Hakko CHP-170 is the best you

can get for less than $10.

SCREWDRIVER (PHILLIPS)

Used for the enclosure screws. Get a

powered driver if you’ll be building a

lot of pedals!

SOLDER

Preferably 63/37 or 60/40 leaded

solder. Lead-free is more difficult to

use, so if that’s the only type you can

get, it’s best to watch tutorials that

are specific to lead-free solder.

NEEDLE-NOSE PLIERS

These are used for bending leads on

components and other general uses.

Use the smaller type with a tip that’s

approximately 0.05” (1.25mm) wide.

FLAT SCREWDRIVER (SMALL)

This is used for tightening the set

screws on the knobs. The tip should

be no more than 0.1” (2.5mm) wide.

DIGITAL MULTIMETER (DMM)

Most cheap ones in the $10-30 range

are fine for what we’re doing. Make

sure it has audible continuity testing

(i.e. it beeps at the lowest resistance)

and transistor hFE measurement.

FLAT-NOSE PLIERS

Many general-purpose uses, but par-

ticularly tightening the nuts of pots,

switches and jacks. Quicker than

changing out sockets on a ratchet.

RUBBER BAND

Yes, a plain old rubber band. This is

used to tighten the dress nut to avoid

scratching or denting it (which can

happen with metal tools).

PHOBOS GERMANIUM FUZZ 7

COMPONENT IDENTIFICATION

If you’ve never built a pedal before, you’ll need to know what all the components are. These are shown

actual size. (Not all of these types of components may be part of this kit.)

RESISTOR TRIMMER POTENTIOMETER

FILM CAPACITOR

SILICON DIODE

ZENER DIODE

LED

DC JACKWIRE ASSEMBLY HEADER

LED BEZEL

WIRE ASSEMBLY

ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITOR

GERMANIUM DIODE

OP-AMP / IC

TANTALUM CAPACITOR

SCHOTTKY DIODE

IC SOCKET TRANSFORMER

MLCC

RECTIFIER DIODE

TRANSISTOR OR JFET

Not polarized. Color may

vary by brand and type.

Not polarized. MLCC stands for

“multi-layer ceramic capacitor.”

Some Schottky diodes

also look like this.

These are very fragile, so be

careful when handling them.

Polarized. The positive side

is marked.

Polarized. The negative side

is marked.

Charge pumps and delay chips

also look like this. They may

have more than 8 legs.

PHOBOS GERMANIUM FUZZ 8

HARDWARE IDENTIFICATION

The hardware comes unassembled, so you’ll need to sort & identify each of the pieces. The diagrams

below are actual size, so you can set them against the printed page to identify them if needed.

I/O JACK

TOGGLE SWITCH

POTENTIOMETER

(SINGLE)

FOOTSWITCH

POTENTIOMETER

(DUAL)

MOUNTING NUT

DRESS NUT

OUTER WASHER

DRESS NUT

OUTER WASHER KNOB

LOCK WASHER

DIAMETER: 0.54” / 13.7mm

DIAMETER: 0.36” / 9.1mm

DIAMETER: 0.44” / 11.2mm DIAMETER: 0.5” / 12.7mm

DIAMETER: 0.6” / 15.2mm

DIAMETER: 0.375” / 9.5mm

DIAMETER: 0.475” / 12mm

DIAMETER: 0.5” / 12.7mm

DIAMETER: 0.4” / 10.1mm

DIAMETER: 0.6” / 15.2mmDIAMETER: 0.77” / 19.6mmDIAMETER: 0.6” / 15.2mm

PHOBOS GERMANIUM FUZZ 9

PCB ASSEMBLY OVERVIEW

Now it’s time to start building!

The first thing you need to do is snap apart the PCBs

into 3 separate boards (if needed) and break off the

tabs from each using needle-nose or flat-head pliers.

You should be left with the PCBs shown to the right.

The general principle for PCB population is that you

want to work in layers from shortest components

(i.e. lowest-profile) to tallest so that when the PCB is

upside-down, everything is making contact with the

work surface and is held in place.

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. Germanium transistors

PHOBOS GERMANIUM FUZZ 10

RESISTORS

PART VALUE

R1 47k

R2 220k

R3 1k

R4 10k

PART VALUE

R5 3k3

R6 18k or 18.2k

R7 1k

R8 10k

PART VALUE

R9 10k

R10 220k

RPD 2M2

LEDR 4k7

Using the parts list above, populate the resistors by pushing them through the holes and bending the

leads outward at an angle to hold them in place. Resistors are not polarized, so they will work in any

direction. Turn the board upside-down to keep the components held in place while you solder.

You’ll use this same technique for most of the other components as well.

If it gets too crowded, just flip the board and solder everything you’ve done so far, then cut the leads

using the wire snippers to make room for more.

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!

Note: R6 may be either a red 18k resistor or a brown 18.2k resistor depending on availability. In this

position, the 1% difference in value won’t have any impact on the circuit.

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