Little help? - DC Jack content

[cat]

Hey guys,

I have one of these jacks:



I want to hook up my pedal with JUST a dc jack NO battery. Can I wire this jack as below without having to insulate it from the chassis?



Cat

[Hides-His-Eyes]

Only if you use insulated jacks, and even then it's a bad idea- what if it touches another enclosure and shorts out?

[deadastronaut]

when i first started building i bought those..maplins...and they are nasty..only good on plastic boxes..

...get plastic insulated dc sockets.....i do now ..no problems at all...

[cat]

Damn, thats unfortunate. I already have the enclosure drilled and painted, gonna be a bitch to bore out for a plastic one now. The metal ones are just so pretty Only got myself to blame, should have checked before I drilled.

Thanks for the help guys, I appreciate you saving me the trouble.

Cat

[deadastronaut]

Damn, thats unfortunate. I already have the enclosure drilled and painted, gonna be a bitch to bore out for a plastic one now. The metal ones are just so pretty Only got myself to blame, should have checked before I drilled.

Thanks for the help guys, I appreciate you saving me the trouble.

Cat

are you in the uk?....bitsbox do some good ones...8mm hole.......

[KazooMan]

I fell your pain.  I also recently wasted a lot of time trying to use one of those jacks.  The plastic style I usually use was out of stock so I bought these.  I agree that they look nice, have a great build quality, are more compact, and the plug fits in nice and snug.  I tested the contacts with a DMM before using the jack, thin king I had a lug that connected to the shell of the plug without grounding, but I guess I blew it.  I was chasing rainbows trying to get the pedal to work until I realized the jack was the problem.  Pulled it, enlarged the hole, installed a plastic jack and the pedal was just fine. 

I think you could use the jack if you use a wire with a plug connected the opposite of what you normally have (neg on the shell, not the pin).  You would need to be pretty careful about what else you used that lead for.  I have a couple of these leads made up that cross over the shell and center pin to power a couple of test instruments I have that have a positive ground.  They are well marked to prevent an accident.

[sundgist]

I had a batch of these from Maplin's.
I don't fit battery snaps so I just used these wired as tip positive. Made up special power leads for them.
Polarity protection becomes a good idea if you also use other pedals.

Not the best for reliablity. I had intermittant connection problems with quite a few. They ended up in the bin.
Having to remember which pedal was wired which way round wound me up. (say that after a few pints). Rewired my most used fx with the plastic sockets.

Used them all up now on various other projects and won't be buying anymore.

The plastic sockets don't extend much further into the enclosure and opening the hole with a stepped drill is easy enough. Shouldn't damage any paintwork if done carefully.

[Hides-His-Eyes]

Tapered Reamers are also extremely effective for enlarging holes.

[deadastronaut]

Tapered Reamers are also extremely effective for enlarging holes.

yep got one of those...well handy...saves getting the drill out again...

[Hides-His-Eyes]

Tapered Reamers are also extremely effective for enlarging holes.

yep got one of those...well handy...saves getting the drill out again...

Only way I've found of making an 11mm hole when your drill has a 10mm chuck

[davent]

A step bit is invaluable, will fit your small chuck and step through hole sizes from 1/8" to 1/2" (for example) and then you fine tune with a reamer for the perfect fit between the steps.

dave

[Hides-His-Eyes]

A step bit is invaluable, will fit your small chuck and step through hole sizes from 1/8" to 1/2" (for example) and then you fine tune with a reamer for the perfect fit between the steps.

dave

Yeah, I have one I use for the 12mm footswitch holes. However I find I get better centring using sequential bits as opposed to stepped ones; ymmv, possibly down to user error.

[defaced]

I use these to isolate the inputs/output jacks on my amps.  Worth their weight in gold:
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Keystone-Electronics/3069/?qs=l8Mz4RVwyflRu0gEeXTRvw%3d%3d

You can get them in different sizes, just check the catalog page.  Nice way around buying new jacks.