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Does anyone else here havea morley power wah fuzz. Need Your help

Discussion in 'Effects [BG]' started by rickybocker, Jul 25, 2009.

  1. Jul 25, 2009 #1
    rickybocker

    rickybocker

    Dec 14, 2008
    So I just got my PWF and when I kicked it on it wasnt as powerful as I expected. The Fuzz is a little weak and the wah was too... but mainly the fuzz. I opened it up saw that might light bulb seemed a little dim and put a flashlight to it and it kicked in hard... So a new bulb is a definite to replace the the 20 year old bulb from the previous owner... but my question is.... can anyone send me a pic of the inside of thiers or tell me what the two light dependant reisitors look like. I have one big LDR for the wah per the schematic and one little LDR for the Fuzz and was wondering if this has been worked on and they replaced the fuzz LDR with a smaller inadequete one... and that's why the fuzz isnt as strong as when it is when I kick the wah on with it..
     
  2. Jul 26, 2009 #2
    niftydog

    niftydog

    Jun 23, 2005
    Canberra, Australia
    I have no specifics for you, but I can confirm that different LDR's make the world of difference. From what I've seen, the smaller one's are actually superior (greater resistance range), but size is really not a reliable indicator of performance.

    Different production runs had different parts in them, seeing the guts of someone else's PWF isn't really going to tell you much.

    What you could do is try a new bulb and also try repositioning the LDR's and the cowling to fine tune the effect.
     
  3. Jul 28, 2009 #3
    rickybocker

    rickybocker

    Dec 14, 2008
    is there any way to test the value of the LDR? the scehmatics dont have values marked either so i'm not sure how to make sure they are getting maximum power. I have repostioned the cowling and the LDRs to face the light more or should they be facing the reflective plate more...???and wouldnt an ldr with a smaller face not detect as much light?? thanks for your help....
     
  4. Jul 28, 2009 #4
    niftydog

    niftydog

    Jun 23, 2005
    Canberra, Australia
    You could only compare one LDR with the other. You would have to remove them from the circuit and connect them to a multimeter set on resistance, and then alternately shade them or expose them to a flashlight. Measuring the extremes of the resistance values will give you an idea of how they perform. In tests that I have done I have found the LDR's with the highest range from dark to light tend to work best, but this was only for wah circuits, not fuzz circuits.

    Again, the size of the LDR doesn't directly correlate to it's sensitivity. It's more to do with the construction and the materials used. As I've said, I found the smaller ones to be superior, but I suspect this is purely coincidental.

    The most intense light comes directly from the lamp filament, so point them straight at the lamp for best effect.
     
  5. Jul 29, 2009 #5
    rickybocker

    rickybocker

    Dec 14, 2008
    Finally got in touch with the morley tech guy... his name is Bill and was very helpful.. He said overtime the lightbulb if not broken will decrease its light output. But also after awhile the the photocells on the LDRs will lose there effectiveness. Which would explain why the wah might not be as effective as I want and the fuzz will be lacking inthe balls/volume area. And like you said the size of the LDR doesnt matter (thats what she said) but that back in the 70's they had to get different ldrs from differnet manufatures that had different values. But now they have them custom made and they are the same size and value. So at the end of our conversation he said he would send me new bulbs and to my amazement... new LDRs. WOW... what great customer service.