Zeppelin Design Labs VPM-1, Assembly Manual

Page 1: ...VPM 1 VOLUME PEDAL MOD...

Page 2: ...ES 11 POPULATING THE PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS 11 MAIN BOARD 14 SENSOR BOARD 31 STEREO UPGRADE BOARD 34 EXPRESSION UPGRADE BOARD 37 PREPARING THE ERNIE BALL VP JR 40 PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER 42 CHASSIS 42...

Page 3: ...n sides to this pedal Since the audio signal is sent straight through the potentiometer any problems with the potentiometer are directly translated to the audio signal This means that if the potentiom...

Page 4: ...characteristics that make it the most popular volume pedal of all time HOW THE VPM 1 WORKS Our first goal with this mod was to eliminate the string We replaced it with a magnetic distance sensor call...

Page 5: ...audio channel gets louder as the other gets quieter Pan mode enables the user to pan between two different signals Another add on upgrade board gives the VPM 1 the ability to be used as an expression...

Page 6: ...as soon as possible If you lose or damage anything we will be glad to sell you replacements The unusual or custom components can be ordered directly from us contact info zeppelindesignlabs com For mo...

Page 7: ...ack Vertical Mount J1 J2 J3 3 HD 40 12 DC Power Jack Panel Mount 1 HD 10 11 Rubber Foot Square 1 HE 60 02 Jumper Female 2 pin For Tuner Jumper 1 HE 20 01 Male Header Pins 16 IC 81 76 Voltage Boost Con...

Page 8: ...6 C1 C19 C20 C4A C5 C1A C2A C3A DI 30 51 DI 30 52 FA 93 35 FA 12 15 HD 32 21 HD 40 01 HD 40 12 HD 10 11 HE 60 02 HE 20 01 U4 U5 PC 11 01 PC 11 02 PL 10 11 PL 10 90 PT 35 10 SN 30 10 SN 50 01 ST 60 59...

Page 9: ...dial 5x11mm 1uF Bipolar C4B 1 CP 20 16 Film Capacitor 100nF C1B C2B C3B 3 DI 30 52 LED 5mm Green For Optocouplers 2 HE 20 01 Male Header Pins 33 HE 20 14 Female Header 4 Pin 2 HE 20 17 Female Header 7...

Page 10: ...1V D2 1 HE 20 01 Male Header Pins 9 HE 20 14 Female Header 4 Pin 1 HE 20 15 Female Header 5 Pin 1 HE 25 08 IC Socket Dip 8 1 IC 48 01 IC Digital Potentiometer MCP41050 U3 50K ohms 1 IC 48 02 IC Digit...

Page 11: ...1 Solder 60 40 rosin core the smaller diameter the better we prefer 032 diameter Make sure it s good quality we prefer Kester brand but most brands will work fine 2 Isopropyl alcohol and cleaning rag...

Page 12: ...nce the board has silk screen outlines indicating where the components should be placed along with text indicating the part number and the component value 2 Hold the component in place with your finge...

Page 13: ...13 Figure 5 Main Board Component Values and Locations Main Board Top Main Board Bottom...

Page 14: ...ellow ceramic cap will be installed on the sensor board later For now we will install the red film caps and cylindrical electrolytic caps on the main PCB one type at a time a Film Capacitors There are...

Page 15: ...r negative lead The longer lead is positive The longer positive lead goes into the hole with a square pad the shorter negative white stripe lead goes into the hole with the round pad 7 STRIPE NEGATIVE...

Page 16: ...end up with a few pieces of one pin header This would be annoying We ll start with the 3 male headers that go on the main board common to all VPM 1 versions a ISP header By installing a 2x3 header ar...

Page 17: ...Once each row has been tacked on you can solder the other pins in place 17 15 16 17 b Q1 Header This header uses a 4 pin ribbon cable to connect to the sensor board Carefully break off 4 pins from th...

Page 18: ...sion upgrade then place the jumper on the header if you ARE installing the Expression upgrade leave the jumper off 21 22 23 d If you are NOT installing the Stereo upgrade then at this time use a coupl...

Page 19: ...aders from the expression kit bag One of them will have 4 pins and one will have 5 pins There are no locations printed on the board for these so just use the pictures as reference Make sure the bottom...

Page 20: ...cular to the PCB Also make sure the bottom of the headers are flush with the surface of the PCB 34 35 36 g Stereo upgrade male headers If you are installing the Stereo upgrade you need to install nine...

Page 21: ...filing cabinet In our lab we wear conductive anti static bracelets that are connected to the electrical main s ground When soldering ICs try to prevent the IC from getting too hot As a rule of thumb...

Page 22: ...on the PCB The holes for U4 are very close to some of the solder pads of J2 when soldering this IC it helps to keep the soldering iron away from the pads of J2 by only touching the iron to the inside...

Page 23: ...e LDR in each pair has a black mark 50 This LDR goes in OPTO1A When you seal this LDR inside its tubing mark the optocoupler so you know where to install it later NOTE If you are making the Stereo upg...

Page 24: ...LED leads 54 55 Once it has stopped shrinking but while it is still very hot use your pliers to pinch the shrunken tubing closed around the leads to seal the opening 56 57 54 55 56 57 d Slide the LDR...

Page 25: ...d closed around the LDR leads 62a b 60 61 62a 62b f MARK THIS OPTOCOUPLER CONTAINING THE MARKED LDR with a scrap of tape or a dot of ink 63 63 g Repeat this process to make the second optocoupler If y...

Page 26: ...hole with the square pad Note which side of the optocoupler needs to face up as you bend the leads down in order for it to fit into the holes properly Grip the leads with your pliers as shown 64 and...

Page 27: ...and the shaft is perpendicular to the PCB 70 Solder the leads on the back 69 70 b Turn the shaft of the pot all the way counter clock wise Place the knob on the shaft with the line on the knob at abo...

Page 28: ...endicular to the board so make sure they are sitting flush against the board before you solder the rest of the pins otherwise the assembly may not fit into the chassis properly Solder in J1 J2 and J3...

Page 29: ...ut through one of the holes in the standoff 78 77 78 The open end of the standoff should be up against the bottom of the LED body 79 Place the LED in its position on the board The longest lead goes in...

Page 30: ...4 It doesn t matter which direction it is installed The pins should snap into place Once again make sure the bottom of the switch is flush with the top of the board 85 Solder all the pins on the other...

Page 31: ...ized so be mindful of how you install it Push the component into its holes with the smaller face of the sensor closest to the letters IC1 printed on the board 88 Push down until the body of the sensor...

Page 32: ...f the board 92 Solder the leads on the top of the board 93 and then clip them flush 94 92 93 94 3 Cable Header Install the 4 pin male header on the bottom of the board the same side as the ceramic cap...

Page 33: ...ble Place the ribbon cable on the header 100 Do you see the little white dot on the PCB at one end of the header Let s call that Pin 1 Now notice that all four wires of the ribbon cable are marked wit...

Page 34: ...d for the Stereo upgrade we will now assemble the stereo board 1 Film Capacitors C1B C2B C3B Install the three red film caps in the same way that you did on the main board Install bend leads then sold...

Page 35: ...the male headers Press it into place If you installed the female headers onto the main board properly you should have no trouble setting the stereo board onto the male headers Solder the male headers...

Page 36: ...which way you bend the leads Keep the body of the cap a few millimeters off the surface of the board Bend the leads on the back 114 and solder them in place 115 Clip the leads 112 113 114 115 The ster...

Page 37: ...ot shouldn t have much more than 5 volts on its pins so any voltage on the expression jack over 5 1V will be shunted to ground via this Zener diode This diode is polarized The black stripe indicates t...

Page 38: ...socket first This IC is polarized so make sure to install these parts in the proper orientation Align the little divot on the socket with the divot shape printed on the board The divot should be faci...

Page 39: ...female headers 125 Align the expression board with the top ends of the male headers and press it into place If you installed the female headers onto the main board correctly the expression board shou...

Page 40: ...wires on the potentiometer 128 Hang on to the screws we will use them to install the VPM 1 main board module 127 128 129 2 POTENTIOMETER BLOCK a Using your 2 Philips screwdriver remove the two screws...

Page 41: ...ngs out though their eyelets and the spring should just fall out 133 134 You can set the strings spring and jack module aside because we won t be using these again 135 but hang on to the screws and po...

Page 42: ...it to the holes in the chassis 139 140 Don t let it touch the chassis until you are ready to stick it in place Once it s aligned properly press one edge of the label down firmly and work your way to...

Page 43: ...abel on the top of the chassis 142 142 2 DC Jack a Attach the DC jack to the chassis with the provided nut Tighten the nut down with a 9 16 15mm socket or some pliers If your kit contains two nuts app...

Page 44: ...2 12mm on both ends Strip about 1 8 3mm off of each wire on both ends 146 Twist the fine strands of wire together and tin 147 Solder the black wire to the center lug and the red wire to the ring lug...

Page 45: ...pward so it will not conflict with the pulley 152 Place the two lock washers part FA 93 35 on the rubber foot screw 153 and use the screw to fasten the sensor board to the potentiometer block 154 Make...

Page 46: ...ard is laying on the surface of the block Once the glue cures you can tighten up the screw a bit more if needed 156 157 4 With the sensor board screwed and glued in place you can now re install the po...

Page 47: ...stuck to Line the disc up to the magnet and press it firmly into place 161 162 2 Now we need to attach the magnet to the bottom of the treadle With your rag and isopropyl alcohol clean the area on the...

Page 48: ...the magnet The magnet may need to be hanging off of the end of the screwdriver to be lined up properly 166 When the magnet is in the correct position bring the treadle down on top of the magnet and sc...

Page 49: ...re goes to the round pad Don t mix them up or your VPM 1 won t work 169 170 2 Line up the jacks knob switch and LED to their holes in the chassis You may have to gently prod the LED and tact switch to...

Page 50: ...e to the main board header Remember earlier when you noted the pattern on the cable wire near the dot on the sensor board It is important that the pin by the dot on the sensor board is attached to the...

Page 51: ...his setup process is only required one time for the life of the pedal All you need to do is set up some header jumpers on the main board and plug in the power the rest of the process is automatic Howe...

Page 52: ...nd add jumpers to JMP5 and JMP6 the headers outlined in red in picture 182 not labeled This re routes the audio signal through the pedal to the output jack 181 4 4 Now go back up to MAIN BOARD CHASSIS...

Page 53: ...ty The microcontroller will then manipulate these five points in different ways to create the four other available tapers To help with this calibration procedure we have included a calibration card Th...

Page 54: ...top dot on the red line is flush with the bottom of the treadle 186 Now tape the card in position 185 186 3 While holding down the TAPER button plug the power into the VPM 1 187 The LED should start f...

Page 55: ...190 After the last point is recorded press the button one more time to exit calibration mode 191 You should see the LED cycle through all the colors indicating the calibration process is done 192 190...

Page 56: ......