Aion Electronics Refractor Overdrive Manual de usuario

1KLON CENTAUR / REFRACTOR OVERDRIVE

Refractor Overdrive

Klon Centaur Professional Overdrive

Controls & Usage

Standard overdrive controls on this one.

• Treble control allows for EQ adjustment of the top end.

• Output is the overall effect volume.

• Gain simultaneously increases the gain and blends from clean signal to dirty using a dual pot.

Modications&Experimentation

No built-in mods for this one, but there are a few part substitutions you can experiment with.

Tonecapacitormod: A very common and well-regarded modication is to change C14 to either 6n8 or 8n2. It

xes a complaint of Centaur clones that the treble is a little thin, and nearly everyone who’s done it says it’s a

huge improvement.

Socket the diodes. The original uses germanium diodes with a forward voltage of around 0.35v, but others

have reported good sounds from BAT41, OA126 or even the plain old 1N914.

Sockettheopampsaswell. The original uses TL072s, but many people have reported good things from

mixing these up, such as an LF353 or JRC4558D for IC1 and a NE5532 for IC2.

Bassguitarmod: Use a 390n lm capacitor for C1 if you’re going to use it as an overdrive for bass.

The Refractor is a part-for-part replica of the legendary Klon

Centaur Professional Overdrive. The Centaur is a really

unique overdrive pedal, an original design not based on a

Tube Screamer or Big Muff like a lot of other “innovations”

in the past 20 years. This project was designed to t into a

1590B, so it’s a great deal smaller even than the KTR (the

“miniaturized” reissue of the Centaur).

The Centaur’s switch wiring is pretty cumbersome. Check out

the Refractor Bypass PCB for an easy solution.

Newversion2: The Refractor has been redesigned for a

more optimized layout. Power and signal ground have been

separated (see new wiring diagram on page 7) which should

theoretically cut down on noise. The diodes have been

given more space, and best of all, there are no more 1/8w or

standing resistors!

The part numbering is identical, and the drilling template is

the same except that the LED moved up about an eighth of

an inch and the Gain and Tone knobs swapped places.

Refractor Project LinkOverview

2KLON CENTAUR / REFRACTOR OVERDRIVE

Parts

Resistors

R1 10k

R2 1M

R3 100k

R4 560R

R5 5k1

R6 10k

R7 1k5

R8 1k5

R9 1k

R10 2k

R11 15k

R12 422k

R13 1k

R15 22k

R16 47k

R17 27k

R18 12k

R19 15k

R20 392k

R21 1k8

R22 100k

R23 4k7

R24 100k

R25 560R

R26 68k 1

R27 68k 1

R28 100k 1

R29 27k

R30 27k

LEDR 4k7

Semiconductors

IC1 TL072

IC2 TL072

IC3 TC1044SCPA 2

D1, D2 Ge 3

D3, D4 1N4002

Z1 1N4742 2

LED 5MM

Potentiometers

Treble 10kB

Output 10kB 4

Gain 100kB dual

Capacitors

C1 100n

C2 4u7 electro

C3 100n

C4 68n

C5 68n

C6 390n

C7 82n

C8 390pF MLCC

C9 1uF lm

C10 1uF lm

C11 2n2

C12 27n

C13 820pF MLCC

C14 3n9

C15 4u7 electro

C16 1uF tantalum

C17 47uF electro

C18 47uF electro

C19 1uF electro

C20 1uF electro

C21 1uF electro

C22 1uF electro

See next page for footnotes and part notes.

3KLON CENTAUR / REFRACTOR OVERDRIVE

Build Notes

1 These resistors are wired off-board and are not found on the PCB itself. See wiring diagram further down.

Note that these three resistors are not shown in the schematic.

2 Can use a MAX1044 as well, but I recommend the TC due to the higher maximum voltage. If using a

MAX1044, use a 1N4739 for Z1 to keep the voltage below the MAX1044’s max voltage.

3The original uses germaniums of an unknown type. But germanium diodes have such wild ranges that even

if the part number was known, it wouldn’t necessarily mean that another of the same name would sound the

same. What is known is that the Centaur’s diodes have been measured at around 0.35v forward voltage. I’ve

had pretty good luck getting this value with the 1N270 from Tayda Electronics, but you may want to order 5 or

10 and then measure them to nd the ones that are closest to 0.35v.

Keith Vonderhulls from Build Your Own Clone did some extensive testing of different diodes and found that

Russian D9E diodes were an exact sonic match. (D9B, D9D, D9J, D9K and D9L are equivalents and can

usually be found cheaper.) Many people have tried this diode since then and agreed that it’s very, very good.

It’s unlikely that the real Centaur unit uses this exact diode, but it’s the closest that the DIY scene has gotten.

However, a lot of people have used other types of diodes and found that they preferred them over standard

germaniums. One good one that is often tried is the BAT41. Others have reported really good results with the

OA1160, which are pretty much impossible to nd as of recently, but if you can nd some then grab them!

4 The original uses linear taper (B), but lots of people prefer audio taper (A) for the Output control for ner

control over the volume. The maximum available volume wouldn’t change.

Silver Pony specs

In July 2014, Build Your Own Clone reverse-engineered a silver Centaur, serial S2207, and found a number

of discrepancies. No one’s quite sure what to make of this. It is not representative of standard-production

Centaurs but many people have tried these specs and liked the result. The “Silver Pony” values are as follows:

Part Original Silver Pony Effect

R10 2k 47R More gain

R17 27k 10k Increased volume & treble for the dry signal

R18 12k 4k7 (along with R17 change) Better wet/dry ratio

R21, R23 1k8 / 4k7 4k7 / 1k8 Slight shift in range of Tone knob

C13 820pF 560pF Slight increase in overall brightness

Additional Part Notes

• Capacitors are shown in nanofarads (n or nF) where appropriate. 1000n = 1uF. Many online suppliers do

not use nanofarads, so you’ll often have to look for 0.047uF instead of 47n, 0.0056uF instead of 5n6, etc.

• The PCB layout assumes the use of lm capacitors with 5mm lead spacing for all values 1nF through

470nF. I prefer EPCOS box lm or Panasonic ECQ-B/V-series.

• Potentiometers are Alpha 16mm right-angle PCB mount.

• Switches are Taiway (Small Bear) or Mountain Switch (Mouser) brand with solder lugs. I prefer the short-

toggle variety, but that’s just a matter of aesthetics.

• I recommend using these dust covers / insulators from Small Bear to insulate the back of the pots from

the board and prevent shorts. If you don’t use these, use some electrical tape or cardboard to act as

insulation. The right-angle pots will make direct contact with the solder pads otherwise.

4KLON CENTAUR / REFRACTOR OVERDRIVE

Schematic

5KLON CENTAUR / REFRACTOR OVERDRIVE

General Build Instructions

These are general guidelines and explanations for all Aion Electronics DIY projects, so be aware that not

everything described below may apply to this particular project.

Build Order

When putting together the PCB, it’s recommended that you do not yet solder any of the enclosure-mounted

control components (pots and switches) to the board. Instead, follow this build order:

1. Attach the audio jacks, DC jack and footswitch to the enclosure.

2. Firmly attach the pots and switches to the enclosure, taking care that they are aligned and straight.

3. Push the LED1 into the hole in the enclosure with the leads sticking straight up, ensuring that the at side

is oriented according to the silkscreen on the PCB.

4. Fit the PCB onto all the control components, including the leads of the LED. If it doesn’t t, or if you need

to bend things more than you think you should, double-check the alignment of the pots and switches.

5. Once you feel good about everything, solderthemfromthetop2as the last step before wiring. This way

there is no stress on the solder joints from slight misalignments that do not t the drilled holes. You can

still take it out easily if the build needs to be debugged, but now the PCB is “custom-t” to that particular

enclosure.

6. Wire everything according to the wiring diagram on the last page.

1FortheLED: You can use a bezel if you’d like, but generally it’s easier just to drill the proper size of hole

and push the LED through so it ts snugly. If you solder it directly to the PCB, it’ll stay put even if the hole is

slightly too big. Make absolutely sure the LED is oriented correctly (the at side matches the silk screen) before

soldering, as it’ll be a pain to x later! After it’s soldered, clip off the excess length of the leads.

2Noteonsolderingthetoggleswitch(es): It will require a good amount of solder to ll the pads. Try to be as

quick as possible to avoid melting the lugs, and be prepared to feed a lot of solder as soon as the solder starts

to melt. I recommend waiting 20-30 seconds between soldering each lug to give it time to cool down.

“RPD”and“LEDR”resistors

The resistors marked “RPD” and “LEDR” are generally not original to the circuit and can be adjusted to

preference. “RPD” is the pulldown resistor to help tame true-bypass popping, while “LEDR” controls the

brightness of the LED. I generally use 2.2M for the pulldown resistor and 4.7k for the LED resistor.

Sockets

Since double-sided boards can be very frustrating to desolder, especially components with more than 2 leads,

it is recommended to use sockets for all transistors and ICs. It may save you a lot of headaches later on.

6KLON CENTAUR / REFRACTOR OVERDRIVE

Drilling&Placement

Print this page and have an adult cut out the drilling template below for you. Tape it to the enclosure to secure

it while drilling. Note that the holes are shown slightly smaller than they need to be, so drill out the holes as

shown and then step up until they are the correct size for the components.

Parts Used

• Switchcraft #111 enclosed jacks

• Kobiconn-style DC jack with internal nut

Hammond1590B

(bottom/inside view)

7KLON CENTAUR / REFRACTOR OVERDRIVE

AdditionalNotes&WiringDiagram

The wiring for this project is very non-standard since the circuit uses buffered bypass rather than true bypass.

Though it is most likely possible to make this circuit true bypass, that version is not supported or covered in this

build document. The original circuit was designed around the buffer, so I’d recommend trying that rst and only

attempt a true bypass version if you absolutely need to.

The wiring diagram makes use of star grounding principles where all of the grounds connect to a single

ground point (in this case the sleeve of the input jack). This is best practice to avoid added noise caused by

improper grounding. The sleeve of the output jack is unconnected.

If using a painted or powdercoated enclosure, makesurebothjackshavesolidcontactwithbare

aluminum for grounding purposes. You may need to sand off some of the paint or powdercoat on the inside in

order to make this happen.

I’ve tried to make the diagram big enough that it’s easy to read, but if you’re having trouble then try zooming

the PDF document. The diagram is in vector format so it will scale with the zoom.

Note the positions of R26 and R27, the 68k

resistors. These will get pretty tight, especially

the middle lug which has four leads crammed

into one eyelet. I’ve found that it helps to

make a loop with one of the resistor leads

in the center lug and use it for the wire. I

recommendusingtheRefractor Bypass

PCB instead of doing it as shown, but if you

you don’t, denitely use 1/8W resistors here

instead of 1/4W—they’re much easier to t!

R28 is a 100k resistor from output to ground.

You do not need to put it here, and in fact it

may be easier to run it from the output jack’s

lug to the star ground on the input jack. As

long as it’s connected to ground you’ll be ne.

A 3PDT footswitch is shown below with only

the outer two poles being used. You can use

a DPDT here as well—depending on the type

of switch, it may even allow a little more room

for the resistors. My only advice is to avoid the

Alpha “X-wing” style switches, as those are

reported to have reliability issues.

IN GND 1.1

+9V

1.3 2.1 2.3

PGND

SLEEVE

TIP

R26

R27

R28

8KLON CENTAUR / REFRACTOR OVERDRIVE

License / Usage

NodirectsupportisofferedforthesePCBsbeyondtheprovideddocumentation.It is assumed that you

have at least some experience building pedals before starting one of these. Replacements and refunds will not

be offered unless it can be shown that the circuit or documentation are in error. I have in good faith tested all of

these circuits. However, I have not necessarily tested every listed modication or variation. These are offered

only as suggestions based on the experience and opinions of others.

No bulk pricing or discounting is offered. No attribution is necessary, though a link back is always greatly

appreciated. The only usage restrictions are that (1)youcannotresellthePCBaspartofakit, and (2)you

cannot“goop”thecircuit,scratchoffthescreenprint,orotherwiseobfuscatethecircuittodisguiseits

source. (In other words: you don’t have to go out of your way to advertise that you use these PCBs, but please

don’t go out of your way to hide it. The guitar effects pedal industry needs more transparency, not less!)

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