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Rangemaster


moojiefulagin

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Hi! Ive started work on my rangemaster copy that I will build into a guitar as an active circuit. This is the schematic Im using:

rangeblasterschem.gif

Im wondering how the stereo input is supposed to work. Are you supposed to use a stereo cord or something? Does a guitar need some sort of stereo output to work? Would a regular mono cord work?

Also, will a 9-volt battery work as the power supply?

Thanks a lot!

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The stereo jack works as a battery switch, disconnecting the battery ground when there's no cord plugged in - it won't work correctly with a stereo cord. And, yes the original Rangemaster used a 9 volt battery. This link should tell you all you ever wanted to know about the Rangemaster and its clones. Check the GeoFex site for all kinds of FX info.

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  • 2 weeks later...

HI! I completed the test circuit for the Rangemaster, and it worked! I decided it was a little messy, so I rebuilt it, and it stopped working. I tried bypassing some of the components with test leads while the battery was hooked up, but this didn't work. So I built it again, and the guitar made a faint sound when the pot was fully clockwise, and no sound when it was fully counterclockwise. There was also a soft hiss (not the usual ground-problem hiss) when I rotated the pot. My question is this: When I was using the test leads to connect different components directly, could I have caused too much battery power to be supplied directly to one of my components, and ruined the part? Are germanium transistors or some caps notorious for being power-sensitive? Thanks a lot!

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Did you use a PNP transistor? A lot of beginners wire th battery backwards, and germaniums don't tolerate that particularly well. Double-check your schematic, and make sure the battery and transistor are both oriented correctly.

Try this page for more ideas:

Geofex Guitar Effects Debugging Page

Hope that helps. It's always harder when it has worked, and stops.

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Could I have damaged any components by making random connections with my test leads when the entire circuit was hooked up and powered and my guitar was plugged in?

Yes. Germanium transistors aren't very forgiving, so you might have fried it. Try another transistor (any PNP - a silicon GP like 2N3906 will work fine) - if the circuit works, your original transistor is kaput.

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You can do a junction test on your transistor by checking with your multimeter(use analogue one) set to ohms between the base and the emitter and the base and the collecter. You should get conduction one way and not the other ie like two diodes. This will generally tell you if the transistor is OK.

Keith

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