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REFRACTOR PROFESSIONAL OVERDRIVE

1

PROJECT NAME

REFRACTOR

BASED ON

EFFECT TYPE

PROJECT SUMMARY

DOCUMENT VERSION

Klon Centaur / KTR

A part-for-part replica of a mythical overdrive effect noted for its high-end tone and price. The Klon 
Centaur and its successor, the KTR, remain highly original designs in an industry full of clones and 
tweaks to existing circuits.

Overdrive

1.0.3 (2018-11-22)

BUILD DIFFICULTY

Intermediate

This documentation is for the 

kit

 version of the project. If you purchased the PCB by itself, please 

use the 

PCB-only version

 of the documentation instead. The circuit is the same, but the instructions 

are completely different due to the specialized parts and assembly methods used in the kit.

IMPORTANT NOTE

Summary of Contents for REFRACTOR

Page 1: ...e KTR remain highly original designs in an industry full of clones and tweaks to existing circuits Overdrive 1 0 3 2018 11 22 BUILD DIFFICULTY Intermediate This documentation is for the kit version of...

Page 2: ...istors 12 Main PCB Diodes 13 Main PCB Sockets ICs 14 Main PCB Capacitors Non Polarized 15 Main PCB Wire Headers 16 Main PCB Capacitors Polarized 17 Footswitch PCB 18 Input Output PCB 19 Enclosure Layo...

Page 3: ...ared to learn a few things along the way This will take time Plan on about two hours start to finish It may take even longer if it s your first time building Don t rush it If you find yourself getting...

Page 4: ...ut the Missing Parts form Film Capacitors NAME QTY 2n2 1 3n9 1 27n 1 68n 2 82n 1 100n 2 390n 1 1uF 2 Electrolytic Capacitors NAME QTY 4 7uF 2 10uF 4 47uF 1 100uF 1 Tantalum Capacitors NAME QTY 1uF 1 M...

Page 5: ...snap 1 DC jack 1 Input output jack 2 Mounting nut jack 0 54 4 Outer washer jack 0 6 2 Lock washer jack 0 5 thin 2 Enclosure 1 Enclosure screws 4 PCB main circuit 1 PCB footswitch 1 PCB input output DC...

Page 6: ...free solder NEEDLE NOSE PLIERS These are used for bending leads on components and other general uses Use the smaller type with a tip that s approximately 0 05 1 25mm wide FLAT SCREWDRIVER SMALL This...

Page 7: ...ALUM CAPACITOR SCHOTTKY DIODE IC SOCKET SNAP APART SOCKET RECTIFIER DIODE TRANSISTOR OR JFET Not polarized Color may vary by brand and type Not polarized MLCC stands for multi layer ceramic capacitor...

Page 8: ...OGGLE SWITCH POTENTIOMETER SINGLE FOOTSWITCH POTENTIOMETER DUAL MOUNTING NUT MOUNTING NUT MOUNTING NUT MOUNTING NUT DRESS NUT OUTER WASHER DRESS NUT OUTER WASHER KNOB LOCK WASHER LOCK WASHER LOCK WASH...

Page 9: ...iers You should be left with this The general principle for PCB population is that you work in layers from shortest components i e lowest profile to tallest so that when the PCB is upside down everyth...

Page 10: ...e Resistors are not polarized so they will work in any direction Turn the board upside down to keep the components held in place while you solder You ll use this same technique for most of the other c...

Page 11: ...le nose pliers or tweezers to clamp the lead as close to the body as possible while you bend it down The bend should be about 0 05 0 08 from the body of the diode so make sure to use pliers that are n...

Page 12: ...s the polarized capacitors This information is just listed here for reference The legs of each IC are bent outward slightly during manufacturing so they ll need to be bent back inward before they can...

Page 13: ...there aren t as many so just do them all at once Bend the leads at an angle to hold them in place MLCCs and box capacitors are not polarized so they will work in any direction but to keep things neat...

Page 14: ...ire connectors as shown above These have a polarity pin so as long as they are pressed all the way down there s only one possible way to install them They do fit pretty tightly in the holes though so...

Page 15: ...apacitor C16 Be very careful with this unlike electrolytic capacitors tantalum capacitors have the positive side marked instead of the negative Since tantalum capacitors aren t commonplace in guitar p...

Page 16: ...en be soldered to the footswitch board as shown Once all three wire assemblies are soldered set the footswitch PCB aside We ll solder the actual footswitch and LED in a later step PARTS Slide switch 4...

Page 17: ...short against anything on accident Next we ll hook up the 9V battery connector This is optional The first versions of the Centaur had battery snaps but it was removed early on because the effect eats...

Page 18: ...er the top of the mounting nut and is for aesthetic purposes only Wrap a rubber band around it to use as a grip when tightening Do not use metal tools on it or you run the risk of scratching or dentin...

Page 19: ...ctually much easier to box it before you rock it If you ve read the documentation carefully and followed all the instructions there s a good chance you will get it right the first time 125B After all...

Page 20: ...nel of the enclosure as shown Note the use of two mounting nuts on each of the jacks one inside and one outside The inner nut acts as a spacer to set the DC jack flush with the outside of the enclosur...

Page 21: ...al assembly Turn the shafts all fully counter clockwise then put on the knob and rotate until the indicator line is aligned with the dot on the enclosure that shows the zero point Affix the knobs to e...

Page 22: ...PWR_GND GND PWR_GND PWR_GND VR 1uF VA 2M GND 100uF 47uF 4u7 4u7 10uF 10uF 10uF 10uF A2 A3 A1 FSA C2 C3 C1 FSC 1B 1 D SW IN EFFECT OUT BUFFER OUT 2 3 1 IC1A 6 5 7 IC1B 8 4 2 3 1 IC2A 6 5 7 IC2B 8 4 IC3...

Page 23: ...k R15 22k R16 47k R17 27k PART VALUE C9 1uF film C10 1uF film C11 2n2 film C12 27n film C13 820pF MLCC C14 3n9 film C15 4 7uF electro C16 1uF tantalum PART VALUE R18 12k R19 15k R20 392k R21 1k8 R22 1...

Page 24: ...first course of action is to measure the voltages on each pin of the ICs using a digital multimeter Set the multimeter to DC mode with a range of 20V or higher To start touch the black lead to a groun...

Page 25: ...he website There is no guarantee that we will be able to join the discussion and help solve your problem but this improves the chances It benefits the whole community if the troubleshooting process is...

Page 26: ...s are intended to be built by the customer Aion FX is not responsible for language that may be used by the customer in the marketing or resale of the finished product All content and graphics in this...

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