[Solved] Help needed with noise on HardOne

  • I just finished the HardOne (https://www.musikding.de/The-HardOne-Booster-kit) and I'm having noise issues, I hope someone out there can help me out.

    The build is simple and went straight as it is such a simple pedal and I really liked the sound of it.

    A couple of differences from the original wiring thou:
    - I used the 3PDT wiring board, so I moved R5 (LED resistor) from the main board to the wiring board and pushed 9V from where the R5 was supposed to be connected.
    - From the 4 points of ground on the main board only 2 (coming from the the 9V mains supply and out to the wiring board) are connected. The other 2 from/to the signal chain are wired through the wiring board.
    - Removed the battery connection, I have no plans on using it.

    I got together in the same order a brand new 200mA RockPower supply and got here years old Caline CP-05 Pedal Power that usually powers my whole setup.

    Issues:
    With the RockPower supply I got a pretty loud high pitched noise, with the old CP-05 the noise is gone (I would assume with battery is also gone).
    I also noticed a lot extra general "amp" noise (not the high pitched, but just that hum from the speaker) when the pedal is just connected and the pedal is off, in bypass.

    Attached are photos of the build and a few sound clips for demo.
    Sounds clips are all a few seconds of silence and a couple of chords from the guitar.
    The sounds clips were all recorded using direct USB input with amp emulation from line6, so the "amp" noise is less prominent than on the real amp. On the real valve-amp is a bit worse =/

    Questions:
    Is the RockPower supply really that of bad, or is there something wrong on my build?
    Maybe I missed some ground on my lil modifications?
    Even if the RockPower is not so great, can I do something to the HardOne? I tried on the Double Shot the same supply and there was no high pitched hum.
    I did a lot of measurements with the multi-meter and couldn't find any missing connections, of course I could check more stuff, just let me know if there's anything.

    Anyone can help here?


    hardone-noise.zip
    - guitar-direct-input.mp3: just the guitar to the USB input, just to hear in comparison

    - guitar-pedal-off-bad-supply-input.mp3: pedal off, you can hear the increased "amp" hum-noise

    - guitar-pegal-on-bad-supply-input-move-gain.mp3: pedal on, using the RockPower supply, that annoying high pitch noise is there. I move the dial up and down after the guitar chords.

    - guitar-pegal-on-good-supply-input.mp3: pedal on, using the CP-05 the amp hum is louder too, but there's zero high pitch noise.

  • Hi,
    Your solder points seem to be looking OK. Still you could resolder the Filter cap c3 to make sure.

    I would try the following :
    Solder a 100nf foil cap onto D1.
    Solder a 330 Ohms R into the +9V supply line to the pcb to build a rc filter with c3.
    Good luck Christof

  • Hi,

    I'm a late replier, but I read it and I'm working on it.

    I re-did the solder on C3 (and a bunch of other stuff), also moved the ground to the board (I don't know, just trying stuff).
    The general "amp" hum-noise and the high pitched noise seem to be a lil better but still not great.

    I was also in contact with Klaus on the support and he suggested it's probably the RockPower not being super clean and to try a similar RC filterUnfortunately I don't have any of the parts you or Klaus mentioned (I really only have some left overs from other kits).
    So it will take me a bit to get them. I'll won't pay 5 euros delivery on a 10 cent component and with COVID-19 running wild I won't go to Conrad.
    That means, I'll wait until order another pedal kit and add those to the order. Prolly next month.
    But I'll be sure to come back to the forums and report how it goes.

    I'll try to find this time this weekend to give a test using a 9V battery just to remove the power supply out of the equation.

    Thanks a lot for your time and reply, and I'll be back here when there's updates.

    \m/

    Your solder points seem to be looking OK. Still you could resolder the Filter cap c3 to make sure.

    I would try the following :
    Solder a 100nf foil cap onto D1.
    Solder a 330 Ohms R into the +9V supply line to the pcb to build a rc filter with c3.

  • Hi,
    330 Ohms is only a direction. If you have anything between 100 and 2k Ohms you can give it a try. A bigger value will give better suppression but will give more loss of Voltage. It is seeking for an acceptable compromise. And you can try without the 100nF.
    (I have bought assortment sets of Resistors.)
    Good luck Christof

  • Status update.
    I tested with a battery and there's zero zero zero noise from it. So confirmed it's all from the RockPower supply.

    I'm still a bit annoyed about the extra general hum-amp noise it adds from just being in-line, even when in bypass.
    Maybe it's just some placebo from after the bad experience with the high-pitch noise, but I can swear that guitar direct to amp, or in bypass there's quite some difference.

    But today I decided to tidy all up with the rest of the pedals and for my surprise it was surprisingly noise free all around.
    I wonder if some of those Boss pedals have some very sweet filters that helps.

    I'll still look into adding the RC when I buy more stuff, and I'll report back when I do, but for now that's it.

  • Parts arrived and I gave a try.
    It works great with the 330Ohm directly on the 9V+
    I just finished soldering and closing the box.

    (the extra 100nF on top of D1 didn't change anything thou)

    Thanks @cebersp

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