Taking nut off foot switch (for more height) bad practise?

Started by MrStab, July 02, 2014, 09:13:01 AM

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MrStab

i'm looking to mount it wherever possible, Larry, but preferably in the same location (or a variation thereof), with the components facing you when the backplate is unscrewed (for easy trimpot/IC socket access). if by "top" you mean literally on top, then i suppose it could be used as a distortion AND a permanent killswitch!

i've just looked inside the only pedal with the low-profile switch, and there's definitely some leeway, with the board horizontal (ie. not slanted as a compromise). shorter electro caps wouldn't go amiss, though. not sure i can find brackets with the right dimensions, it might be a bit of an obscure measurement.
Recovered guitar player.
Electronics manufacturer.

armdnrdy

You're talking about a bracket....what is the bracket going to secure?
I just designed a new fuzz circuit! It almost sounds a little different than the last fifty fuzz circuits I designed! ;)

MrStab

it'd secure the PCB. the pots (& PCB traces) are stopping me from using a regular standoff in the middle or round the edges. no compromising the knob/LED layout to place a standoff, and it could double as the ground point.

trouble is, all the brackets i'm finding seem to be equal on both sides. i need one that's probably 5-7cm on one side and 2-3 on the other. i'd probably also need one with just a long hole instead of individual holes (whatever you call that). just an idea until i prove or disprove it by testing later in the week, though.
Recovered guitar player.
Electronics manufacturer.

armdnrdy

I was going to say that if you can find the room...I've secured boards with 4/40 aluminum standoffs with a nylon spacer between the trace side and the standoff. The hole through the board is just large enough to accept a 4/40 machine screw.

The standoffs get attached to the top of the enclosure with JB weld.
I just designed a new fuzz circuit! It almost sounds a little different than the last fifty fuzz circuits I designed! ;)

MrStab

good thinking - i had something similar in mind (a short nylon bolt+nylon nut into aluminium standoff or bolt epoxied to enclosure) but the issue is in the pots. i could just maybe get a standoff in there if i had the lugs facing towards the battery and switch etc., but i need em as close together as possible to make up for the already-compromised clearance between switch and knobs, so the lugs all face inwards. and bang in the centre of those 4 pots is an LED bezel. even in ideal circumstances, i could predict difficulties with epoxy being so close to the pots (unless i settled on bolting the standoff through the top).

i'm not usually this difficult. honest.
Recovered guitar player.
Electronics manufacturer.

Tall Steve

Shot in the dark :).  If there's vertical space for it, you could try using an old-school x-wing DPDT lowered far enough into the enclosure so that the lugs stick out over the board and the battery.

MrStab

hi guys,

just wanna say that as a result of this thread, i decided to bite the bullet. mounted pots + a non-intrusive bolt hole right through the centre. yay! no more convoluted mounting methods! just hope the rest of the board works...


Recovered guitar player.
Electronics manufacturer.