AVE MOD V2.

2 Build Guide
 I. Enhancer
A. Resistors:
R1: 91R (White, Brown, Black) R9: 5K6 (Green, Blue, Red)
R2: 18K (Brown, Grey, Orange) R10: 220R (Red, Red, Brown)
R3: 5K6 (Green, Blue, Red) R11: 7R5 (Purple, Green, Gold)
R4: 330R (Orange, Orange, Brown) R12: 75R (Purple, Green, Black)
R5: 680R (Blue, Grey, Brown) R13: 82R (Grey, Red, Black)
R6: 330R (Orange, Orange, Brown)
R7: 680R (Blue, Grey, Brown) R12’: 10K (Brown, Black, Orange)
R8: 5K6 (Green, Blue, Red) R13’: 10K (Brown, Black, Orange)

Notes:

- Mind that there’s components references with an apostrophe “ ‘ “, it is for the audio part.
So don’t mix R12/R12’ and R13/R13’ as their value are different. We only put R12’ and R13’
now for convenience, it will be easier that when those two resistors will be stuck between S4
and VR1.
B. Capacitors:
Electrolytics: Ceramic:

C1: 47uF C2: 1nF (marked 102)

- Electrolytic capacitors are polarized (which mean they fit only one way), check the pcb, the
square pad is the positive (+) side of the capacitor, and on the capacitor, the grey/white
band symbolize the negative (-).
Also, mind to bend the electrolytic capacitor 90° degrees (parallel to the board), it will be
easier to fit it in the enclosure after.
- Ceramic capacitors are non-polarized, you can fit them either way.
C. Semiconductors

D1: 1N4148
Q1: 2N3904
Q2: 2N3906
Q3: 2N3904

Notes:

- D1 is polarized, the black band on the diode should match the white band on the pcb.
- Mind that there is 2 different type of transistor: 2N3904 NPN and 2N3906 PNP, and that
the flat side of the transistor should match the straight line on the pcb.
D. Hardware:
J1: Power connector 5.1mm x 2.1mm
J2: RCA socket
J3: RCA socket

S4: SPDT Switch ON-ON

- Be sure that parts like J2, J3, S4 and VR1 are straight both horizontally and vertically, it will
be easier for fitting the pcb into an enclosure.

- There is two type of switches: ON-ON (2 positions) and ON-OFF-ON (3 positions), for S4 use
a ON-ON (2 positions) switch
- There’s 3 type of potentiometer, check under the body of each for the good value.

- If you intend to use panel mount parts, check the dedicated section at the end of this
document.

- At this stage, the enhancer should work. Plug a video source into J2, a monitor into J3, plug
the 9V battery/PSU into J1, and be sure that S4 is up. If everything work, you should have an
image which brightness vary according to VR1 position. If you have no signal or distorted
image, check that every components is in the right spot with the right orientation, that
everything is soldered well without cold solder spots or solder bridges. If everything is okay,
remember to unplug the power and RCA cables before going to the next step.
 II. Modifications
A. Capacitor/Diode:
Electrolytic: Ceramic:

C7: 10uF C6 : 1nF (marked 102)

Diode:

D2: 1N4148 (mind the orientation)

Notes:

- Electrolytic capacitors are polarized, however in this section it doesn’t matter much. Bend them
90° degrees like in the first part.
- Ceramic capacitors are not polarized, fit them either way.
- Those value affect the effects done by the modifications, you can try different value to have a
result that differs a bit.
B. Hardware:
VR2: 100k linear center identified (marked B104) S1: SPDT ON-ON
VR3: 10k linear (marked B103) S2: SPDT ON-ON
VR4: 10k linear (marked B103) S3: SPDT ON-ON
VR5: 100k linear center identified (marked B104)

Notes:

- There is two type of switches: ON-ON (2 positions) and ON-OFF-ON (3 positions), for S1, S2 and S3,
use a ON-ON (2 positions) switch.
- There is two types of potentiometer left, check for the right value.

- Now the mods are done, plug the power, video source and monitor again. To start, set VR2 and VR5
halfway (center) and VR3 and VR4 fully ccw (counterclockwise). There should be no effect.
*Turn VR2 fully ccw, the image should be affected, switching S2 should result in a different effect. If
you turn VR2 fully cw (clockwise), you should have another effect, switching S1 should result in a
slightly different effect. Put VR2 back to the center.
*Turn VR3 fully cw, the image sould be affected, switching S3 should result in a different effect. Put
VR3 back to minimum (fully ccw)
*Turn VR4 fully cw, the image should be affected. Put VR4 back to minimum (fully ccw)
*Turn VR5 fully cw, the image should be affected, if you turn it fully ccw, the effect should be
different.
If everything have an effect on the image, it’s most likely that the mods work. Unplug everything and
go to the next step. If not, check that every components is solder well and at the right spot.
 III. AUDIO
A. Resistors:
R1’: 4K7 (Yellow, Purple, Red) R7’: 10K (Brown, Black, Orange)
R2’: 22K (Red, Red, Orange) R8’: 68K (Blue, Grey, Orange)
R3’: 10K (Brown, Black, Orange) R9’: 10K (Brown, Black, Orange)
R4’: 22K (Red, Red, Orange) R10’: 10K (Brown, Black, Orange)

R5’: 10K (Brown, Black, Orange) R11’: 1K (Brown, Black, Red)

D3’/LDR: Vactrol (four leg, blue/black component)

Notes:

- R12’ and R13’ have been fitted during the I. Enhancer part.
- Don’t mind if R8 ‘and R7’ pads are solder together, they should be in contact, same for
R9’/R10’
- D3’/LDR is an optoisolator, made from a LED and a Light Dependent Resistor. D3’ is
polarized, check the orientation of the led, flat side/square pad on the pcb should match flat
side/shorter leg of the LED. The other side, the LDR, doesn’t have an orientation.
 B. Capacitors:
Electrolytics: Ceramic:

C1’: 2.2uF C3’: 100nF (marked 104)

Notes:

- Electrolytic capacitors are polarized, check for their good orientation. Bend them 90°
degrees as before.
C. Semiconductors:

U1: TL074

Q1’: 2N3904

D1’: 1N4148
D2’: 1N4148

Notes:

- U1/TL074 should come with an IC socket, solder the socket to the pcb and then put the
TL074 chip into the socket, it will make things easier in the case there is something wrong
with the circuit. Make sure the little notch on the IC and IC sockets matches with pcb
marking.
- Q1’ is a 2N3904, make sure the flat side of the transistor match the straight line on the pcb.
- Mind the orientation for the two diodes, D1’ and D2’, the black band on the diode body
should match the white line on the pcb.
D. Hardware:
VR1’: 100k potentiometer center identified (marked B104)

S1’: SPDT ON-OFF-ON

J1’: PJ301BM 3.5mm mono jack

Notes:

- Check that each part sits straight on the pcb.

- Now that everything is soldered in place, it’s time to test the audio part. Plug the power supply,
video source and monitor as before, and also plug an audio source to J1’.
*When S1’ is at its center position, audio doesn’t affect the video.
*When S1’ is up, the audio modulate the video. You can act on modulation depth by turning VR1’
from fully ccw to center.
*When S1’ is down, the audio modulate the video but inverted this time. You can act on modulation
depth by turning VR1’ from cw to center.

- The LED (D3’) contained in the vactrol should light up when audio is plugged in J1’, if it doesn’t light
up, check that S1’ is up or down, and that VR1’ is set around center. If it still doesn’t light up, check
that very components is at the right spot with the right orientation. Also keep in mind that the circuit
is an envelope follower, which means it will work best with stuff that has a good dynamic like drums
for exemple. Also check the volume from the audio source, while testing with my phone, I need to be
around max volume, no problem with a mixing desk however.
 IV. Enclosure assembly

Parts needed:

- Laser cut enclosure (front panel, back panel, 1 short side board, 1 short side board with
hole for power supply connector, and 2 long side board)
- Rubber feet x4
- 30mm F/F spacer x4
- M3 screws x8

First remove all the nuts from the switches and just leave the tooth washers (the one
with the little tooth), don’t mix the ON-ON and ON-OFF-ON nuts/washers as the size is a
bit different.

Next, put the front panel, and secure it by putting the washer + nut of each switch. Also
put a nut on J1’, mono jack. Tighten them well. You’ll notice that the jack is a bit taller
than other parts, so the enclosure might bend a bit there but it’s not an issue.

Then, using 4 M3 screws, fit the 4 spacers on the pcb side of the front panel. Then put
the 4 side boards, the short one with a hole goes on the power connector side, opposite
side is the short one without a hole, and the 2 longer ones on the right and left side.

Put the back panel, and screw it to the spacers using the 4 M3 screws left.
 Using panel mount parts:
Power connector:

- Red is +9V and brown is GND, the drawing under shows how the connector should be
wired using a 9VDC center positive power supply. In doubt, before soldering the
connector, plug your power supply to the connector and check with a multimeter to
determined which pin is which. The third pin on the connector and pcb are not used.

- If you plan to house multiple AVE MOD under one enclosure, you can use only one
power supply to power all of them, just remember that each AVE MOD need 100mA
minimum.
To do that, just wire the +9V (red) to the +9V of the second board and same for GND
(brown), etc…
RCA connectors:

- Yellow pad is the one for the signal and brown pads are for GND. You just need to use one
of the 2 GND pads. Wire them according to the connector you’ll use, both panel mount RCA
and panel mount BNC should work.
Potentiometers:
- Pots should be wired this way, note that the two bigger pads are not used here as they are
used to attach the pcb mount pot to the pcb.

Audio jack:
- Red is the audio signal pin, yellow is the jack switch pin and is tied to ground, and brown is
GND pin. The wiring will depend of the connector type you’ll use, a RCA socket will not have
a switch so you don’t need to wire it. Check the pinout of the connector you use and wire it
accordingly.