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Zeppelin Design Labs VPM-1 Assembly Manual

Volume pedal mod for ernie ball vp jr
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VPM-1
VOLUME PEDAL MOD

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Summary of Contents for Zeppelin Design Labs VPM-1

  • Page 1 VPM-1 VOLUME PEDAL MOD...

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    FOR THE SUCCESS OF YOUR KIT. © 2020 ZEPPELIN DESIGN LABS. NO PART OF THIS DOCUMENT MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHOR. ZEPPELIN DESIGN LABS TAKES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE OR HARM THAT MAY COME TO ANYONE OR ANYTHING THROUGH THEIR PRODUCTS.

  • Page 3: Introduction

    INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE ERNIE BALL VOLUME PEDAL The Ernie Ball volume pedal has been around since 1975. The chassis of these early volume pedals was originally made from two pieces of angle iron welded together, which earned them a reputation of being extremely robust. Later, the chassis was replaced with a solid aluminum extrusion that greatly reduced the weight while retaining the structural integrity of the original.

  • Page 4: How The Vpm-1 Works

    Mostly these mods just incorporate a buffer or boost circuit into the pedal to counteract the “tone suck” effects of the passive potentiometer. Here at Zeppelin Design Labs, we have been fans of the Ernie Ball VP Jr for years, and have developed our own mod. Born out of a frustration with its limitations and a passion for its potential, we have created what we think is the “mother of all volume pedal mods.”...
  • Page 5 For a complete discussion of the VPM-1’s features and controls, please see the VPM-1 Owner’s Guide, available from www.zeppelindesignlabs.com. If you ordered the Stereo upgrade or Expression upgrade with your VPM-1 kit, you will find their parts in their own labeled packages. This assembly manual describes the assembly of these upgrade boards right along side the main board.

  • Page 6: What's In The Box

    WHAT’S IN THE BOX Table 1: VPM-1 Standard Kit Bill Of Materials (BOM) is a complete parts list of everything that should be present in your kit, followed by photos of each part. Print the BOM and carefully go through the kit, identifying every part.
  • Page 7 Table 1: VPM-1 Standard Kit Bill Of Materials ZDL Part # Description Notes CB-01-42 Hookup Wire, 2.5" (7cm) x 2 wires CB-90-13 Heat Shrink Tube, 3/16" x 1-1/2" (5x40mm) For Optocouplers Ribbon Cable, 4 wire x 10cm CB-06-10 CH-10-32 Steel Chassis...
  • Page 8 CB-01-42 CB-90-13 CB-06-10 CH-10-32 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 PC-11-01 PC-11-02 PL-10-11 PL-10-90 PT-35-10 SN-30-10 SN-50-01 ST-60-59 SW-30-25 SW-60-23 TP-30-21 DC-20-21...
  • Page 9 Figure 3: VPM-1 Stereo Upgrade Contents Table 2: VPM-1 Stereo Upgrade Bill of Materials ZDL Part # Description Notes CB-90-13 Heat Shrink Tube, 3/16" x 1-1/2" (5x40mm) For Optocouplers CP-12-10 Electrolytic Cap, Radial 5x11mm 1uF Bipolar CP-20-16 Film Capacitor 100nF...
  • Page 10 Figure 4: VPM-1 Expression Upgrade Contents Table 3: VPM-1 Expression Upgrade Bill of Materials ZDL Part # Description Notes CP-30-18 Ceramic Capacitor 100nF DI-90-01 Zener Diode, 5.1V HE-20-01 Male Header Pins HE-20-14 Female Header, 4 Pin HE-20-15 Female Header, 5 Pin...

  • Page 11: What You Will Need

    WHAT YOU WILL NEED Here’s everything you will need to build the VPM-1 kit. TOOLS #2 Philips screw driver Flat head screw driver Needle nose pliers 1/2” (12mm) and 9/16” (15mm) sockets and driver (for audio jack nuts and DC jack nuts) Soldering iron* (not a soldering gun, or a “cold heat”...
  • Page 12 The square chip in the middle of the board has been pre-programed with the software your VPM-1 needs to run. If you are interested in changing the way your VPM-1 operates then you may want to look into modifying this software and...
  • Page 13 Figure 5: Main Board Component Values and Locations Main Board Bottom: Main Board Top:...

  • Page 14: Main Board

    PCB, one type at a time. a. Film Capacitors: There are 3 film capacitors in the VPM-1 (C1A,C2A,C3A). They are100nF (.1uF) in value and labeled “104J”. These caps are not polarized, meaning the leads can go into either hole.
  • Page 15 b. Electrolytic Capacitors: We will use 3 different electrolytic caps on the main board. There is one 220uF cap (C6), two 100uF caps (C19, C20), and two non-polarized (bipolar) 1uF caps (C4A, C5). You can read their values on their casings. Caps C6, C19 and C20 ARE POLARIZED: there is a right way and a wrong way to install them.
  • Page 16 ISP header: By installing a 2x3 header array, you create an ISP (in-system programming) port. This is a little socket that enables you to plug a cable into your VPM-1 and upload (or “flash”) new software onto the control chip (aka the microcontroller unit, or MCU). The...
  • Page 17 Tack one pin down with solder while you hold the header in from the top (15,16). Once each row has been tacked on, you can solder the other pins in place (17). b. Q1 Header: This header uses a 4-pin ribbon cable to connect to the sensor board. Carefully break off 4 pins from the row of header pins.
  • Page 18 c. J4 (TUNER JMP): This header is used in conjunction with a pin jumper to connect the audio signal to the tuner out jack. Carefully break off 2 pins from the row of header pins and install it in like manner (21-23). If you are NOT installing the Expression upgrade then place the jumper on the header;...
  • Page 19 e. Expression upgrade female headers: If you are installing the Expression upgrade, dig out the two female headers 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.
  • Page 20 Stereo upgrade female headers: If you are installing the Stereo upgrade then dig out the three female headers from the stereo kit bag. There are two 4-pin headers and one 7-pin header. Once again, there are no markings on the board for these parts so use the pictures as reference.
  • Page 21 Solder one leg at a time and let the chip cool off before proceeding to the next leg. ICs have a specific orientation. If you install them wrong, your VPM-1 will not work and you could damage or destroy the IC. Please pay close attention to the pictures and instructions so as not to install them backwards.
  • Page 22 b. Charge Pump (U4): The charge pump (also known as a boost converter) takes the +9 volts from the power supply and turns it into -9 volts. This way, the opamps in the signal path can operate between -9V and +9V, giving the signal a total of 18V to work with. This IC is labeled 7660S, has 8 pins and is polarized.
  • Page 23 6. Optocouplers: The optocoupler is the link between the digital control side of the circuit and the analog signal path. There are two optocouplers for each signal: the standard kit is a mono device and uses one pair of optocouplers; the stereo upgrade adds an additional pair. Each optocoupler consists of a light dependent resistor (LDR) and a light emitting diode (LED), sealed together inside a piece of heat-shrink tube.
  • Page 24 c. As you hold the LED in this position from the outside of the tube, carefully heat up the end of the tube with your soldering iron until it closes around the 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).
  • Page 25 e. Hold the head of the LDR from the outside of the heat-shrink. It is important that the LDR and LED are in direct contact with each other. Carefully heat this end of the tube until it closes around the LDR leads (60,61). While it is still very hot, use your pliers to pinch the end closed around the LDR leads (62a,b).
  • Page 26 h. Now we’ll install the optocouplers on the main board. The leads need to be bent 90 degrees, but it matters which way you bend them for them to fit in the proper orientation. If you put the opto in backwards your volume pedal will not work. Note the PCB graphics indicate where the LDR and LED are intended to go.
  • Page 27 7. Potentiometer (VR1) and Knob: a. Install the stereo potentiometer (aka “pot”) on the main PCB (69). Make sure the bottom of the pot is flush with the top of the board, and the shaft is perpendicular to the PCB (70). Solder the leads on the back.
  • Page 28 8. Jacks (J1,J2,J3): The 1/4” jacks can only be installed in one orientation on the PCB (74). They can be soldered in much the same way as the headers: hold them in with one finger while you tack a pin down with solder on the other side of the board (75). It is very important for the jacks to be perfectly perpendicular to the board, so make sure they are sitting flush against the board before you solder the rest of the pins;...
  • Page 29 9. RGB LED: The LED has 4 leads and it is polarized. The standoff is used to hold the LED at the proper height above the board. Only one hole on the standoff is used. See how the leads are short-short-long-short? Place the open end of the standoff over the single short lead next to the long lead (77).
  • Page 30 10. Tact Switch (S1), Revisited: You glued the cap to the tact switch back in Step 1. Now that the glue is nicely cured, install the tact switch on the main PCB (83,84). 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).

  • Page 31: Sensor Board

    SENSOR BOARD 1. Hall Effect Sensor (IC1): The Hall effect sensor is a special device that is sensitive to magnetic flux. The sensor gives a DC voltage on one of its pins in proportion to the amount of magnetic flux it senses. Because the magnetic flux of a magnet is proportional to distance from the magnet, these devices are often used as distance sensors in industrial applications.
  • Page 32 2. Ceramic Capacitor (C1): Install the 100nF (.1uF) yellow ceramic cap on the bottom of the board (92). Solder the leads on the top of the board (93), and then clip them flush (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 4. Rubber Foot: Peel the paper backing off the rubber foot and place it on the top of the board, in the square marked “VPM-1 SENSOR BD” (97). Line it up carefully and keep it out of the printed circle directly below the square (98).

  • Page 34: Stereo Upgrade Board

    STEREO UPGRADE BOARD If you opted 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 solder and clip (102-105).
  • Page 35 2. Male headers: Break the male header row into 3 sections: two 4 pin sections and one 7 pin section. These male headers on the stereo board eventually get plugged into the female headers on the main board, so we will use the female headers as a jig to help us install the male headers. Back on the main board, press the male headers into the female headers (106).
  • Page 36 4. Electrolytic Capacitor (C4B): This last electrolytic cap is installed laying on its side, so bend the leads to 90 degrees before you insert it into its holes (112,113). This cap is bi-polar so it doesn’t matter which way it is installed, and therefore it doesn’t matter which way you bend the leads. Keep the body of the cap a few millimeters off the surface of the board.

  • Page 37: Expression Upgrade Board

    EXPRESSION UPGRADE BOARD Make sure there is no pin jumper installed on the main board at TUNER JMP. Now let’s assemble the expression board. 1. Ceramic Capacitor (C25): Install the 100nf (.1uF) ceramic cap in its place on the face of the board (117);...
  • Page 38 3. Digital Potentiometer (U3): The expression upgrade comes with two different digital potentiometer ICs. One is labeled MCP41050, which is a 50K ohm pot. The other IC is labeled MCP41010, which is a 10K ohm pot. We suggest using the 50K digital pot (MCP41050) in most cases, but we provide the optional 10K pot because some newer pedals will perform better with this value (most Line6 pedals perform better with this 10K pot, for example).
  • Page 39 The expression board is now complete. Keep it installed on the main board. For guidance on how to configure this board to work with your particular expression pedal, see the VPM-1 Owner’s Guide. Now we’ll move on to modifying the VP Jr.

  • Page 40: Preparing The Ernie Ball Vp Jr

    1. JACK MODULE: With your #2 Philips screwdriver, remove the two jack module screws from the bottom of the VP Jr (127). Now, use your flush cutters to snip off the wires on the potentiometer (128). Hang on to the screws; we will use them to install the VPM-1 main board module. 2. POTENTIOMETER BLOCK: a.
  • Page 41 c. At this point the strings and spring should be loose in the pedal. You can pull the strings 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 potentiometer block (136,137).

  • Page 42: Putting It All Together

    PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER CHASSIS 1. Labels a. Use some isopropyl alcohol and a rag to clean the chassis of grease and dust. b. Remove the backing paper from the label and very carefully align it to the holes in the chassis (139,140).
  • Page 43 Place the Zeppelin Design Labs serial number label on the top of the chassis (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, apply the second after the first,...
  • Page 44 b. Split the 22awg wire pair about 1/2” (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 of the DC jack (148,149).

  • Page 45: Potentiometer Block

    POTENTIOMETER BLOCK 1. Unscrew the rubber foot from on top of the potentiometer block (150). Once the foot is off, remove the screw because we’ll use it next to attach the sensor board (151). 2. Bend the ribbon cable on the sensor board upward, 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).
  • Page 46 3. Align the sensor board with the top of the potentiometer block and add a drop of super glue to the back, top edge of the block (156). This should affix the sensor board to the block to keep it from rotating as the pedal gets hauled around from gig to gig.

  • Page 47: Magnet

    MAGNET 1. The magnet will be held on with the double-sided adhesive disc (TP-30-21). You’ll notice the magnet has a black marking on one side . This marking indicates the side that the adhesive (161) disc should be stuck to. Line the disc up to the magnet and press it firmly into place. 2.
  • Page 48 4. With the treadle wide open, place the end of the screwdriver (with the magnet still attached) on top of the circular part of the sensor board. The circular part of the board serves as a template for placement of the magnet. Make sure the Hall effect sensor is lined up to the center of the magnet. The magnet may need to be hanging off of the end of the screwdriver to be lined up properly (166).

  • Page 49: Main Board & Chassis

    “+9V” pads on the main PCB (169,170). The red wire goes to the square pad and the black wire goes to the round pad. Don’t mix them up or your VPM-1 won’t work!! 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 line up to their holes with some tweezers or other small tool (171).
  • Page 50 Make sure it is not reversed. 5. Slide the main board chassis into the VP Jr chassis and screw it in place with the short screws. That’s it! You are almost ready to go. Skip down to “CALIBRATING THE VPM-1” on page 53.

  • Page 51: Setting Up Stereo Configuration

    SETTING UP STEREO CONFIGURATION The stereo configuration setup is an automatic process handled by the VPM-1 microcontroller. During this process the microcontroller tests the two sets of optocouplers (for the left and right channels) and internally populates two tables of LDR resistance values for given LED brightness levels. The microcontroller then compares the two tables and adjusts the values of one to match the other.
  • Page 52 3. Re-set jumpers. Remove all 6 calibration jumpers and 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. 4. Now go back up to “MAIN BOARD & CHASSIS” Step 4 on page 50 to complete putting it all together.

  • Page 53: Calibrating The Vpm-1

    VPM-1 playlist. One of the things that makes the VPM-1 very versatile is the ability to set the active range (or sweep) of the treadle to a position that is most comfortable for you. This means that you can set the minimum volume position and maximum volume position anywhere along the pedal’s range of movement.
  • Page 54 (186). Now tape the card in position. While holding down the TAPER button, plug the power into the VPM-1 (187). The LED should start flashing, indicating that the VPM-1 is in calibration mode. Release the button.
  • Page 55 (192). Your VPM-1 is now ready to use! For more information on how to use this volume pedal mod, including its many features and options, please see the VPM-1 Owner’s Guide available on our web site, www.zeppelindesignlabs.com.

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