Patchbox to add a pedal to a chain now and again.

markblack

Would this be the right way to make a patch box? using switching jacks?

Sorry if I'm way off, it's all a bit a new to me, but as they say if you don't ask you don't learn. Any advice gratefully received.

Cheers

steamabacus

Kind of, except the switching sockets have 2 connections for the switch and tip - an 'in' and an 'out' if you like, which is broken when you insert a plug.

Like this ...


or like this....



The 'direct through' goes via these connections and is broken when you plug in, which then sends the signal to the pedal.

[edit] I've found what I was looking for now - this is the diagram you need, 'single-normalled' should be fine...

 Note: this diagram shows 'balanced' trs sockets ('stereo' sockets). You'll only need mono sockets for your patchbox.




Full article on patchbays here.

markblack

@steamabacus thanks for the reply. So a bit more like this? the switching jacks are two 'paths' within one jack. jack inserted / no jack inserted? Jack inserted sends signal through the extra pedal?

(sorry I know this is all very basic stuff)

steamabacus

No, that's not it.

First of all, lose the direct tip-tip connection between in and out - it goes via the 'normalled' switch.

Secondly, only the 'normalled' connections of the send-return are connected together. This is the connection that is broken when you insert a plug.

I can't find a diagram online and I'm unable to draw one for you at the moment. I'll have time to draw one out later if you haven't sussed it by then.

I always think of this stuff like plumbing - think of the electrical connections as the flow of water. You need two separate paths - the 'signal' and the 'ground' or 'earth'.

markblack

@steamabacus the plumbing tip is very handy... wish I remembered more for GCSE tech classes!

Don't put yourself to any trouble, but the advice is very useful.

steamabacus

No problem, Mark.

I've grabbed 10 minutes with a pencil and paper and scanned a diagram. Hopefully, this will make sense to you ...



I've always had a kind of 'electronics dyslexia' myself. Although I was pretty good at physyics at school, I always had a problem with electronics - Ohm's law got me every time, even though I understood it I'd always make stupid mistakes! To this day, I get in and out, positive and negative muddled for no good reason. I have to double-, even triple-check every time I solder something up. Something's obviously not quite 'wired up' right in my brain.

ICBM

That's still way too much switching - which introduces failure points.

You only need *one* switch, which should normally be the tip connection in the Return jack.

Simply connect all four grounds together, connect the In tip to both the Send tip and the Return switch, and the Return tip to the Out. That's it.

steamabacus

ICBM said:

That's still way too much switching - which introduces failure points.

You only need *one* switch, which should normally be the tip connection in the Return jack.

Simply connect all four grounds together, connect the In tip to both the Send tip and the Return switch, and the Return tip to the Out. That's it.

Yes, good point and I think that's actually what I did with the insert box on my board. It also allows the send to be used as a (admittedly unbuffered) tuner out while allowing the signal still to pass through.

The other thing I did with mine (in order to save space) was to omit the in/out jacks and have hard-wired cables instead, direct to the send/return jacks.

@markblack ; In regard to the diagram above, that would mean connecting the red wire at the send socket direct to the unswitched lug. And the same with the ground wire on both send and return sockets - bothe wires to the unswitched lug.

markblack

@steamabacus - thanks - very kind.

@ICBM like this?