Quick question about some 1/4" jacks I regretfully ordered.

[SmoothAction]

I got my order from tayda and boo boo'd my jack order. These come with plastic bolts and are pretty f'n big too. Bummer. Im confident, with y'alls help of course, I can still squeeze these into my 1590a builds (simple boost for me and my bud). I've never worked with insulated jacks before, just the open mono tip/sleeve style jacks. After google and a forum search I couldn't quite find what I was looking for.

Here they are : http://www.taydaelectronics.com/hardware/6-35mm-1-4-plugs-jacks/6-35mm-1-4-stereo-insulated-unswitched-socket-jack.html

1. I assume from the insert point to the opposite side, its sleeve -> ring -> tip?

2. These come with 6 pins, 3 on each side (TRS x 2). Is there any reason I need to jumper each side when Im making my in/out connections? I'd like to just use 1 side if possible.

Supremely noob questions...I know. BTW all the turkey day builds are way macho. Check 'em!

[Seljer]

1. yep

2. they're switching jacks, if you don't need to switching capabilites (i.e. to reroute signals somewhere else if a cable isn't plugged in...or to mute an unused input by connecting it to ground) you can just leave with normally connected terminal alone.

[slacker]

The pins you need to use are the ones connected to the angled sections on the top of the jack, the ones you can see on the one on the left in picture you linked to.

The easiest way to figure these sort of sockets out is to insert a plug then you'll see exactly what connects to what.

[armdnrdy]

The TRS switched jacks are similar in size to other well known brands. If anyone needs a smaller, more low profile jack with tip, ring and sleeve switches, this is a good candidate.


Jack
http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=NRJ6HFvirtualkey56810000virtualkey550-20311

Be advised that these are sold without the plastic nut. No....I'm serious!  (parts sold seperately and some assembley required!)


Plastic nut
http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=NRJ-NUT-Bvirtualkey56810000virtualkey550-1005

[Mark Hammer]

Actually, those are great jacks for noobs.  Every year, we see threads here from someone who can't for the life of them figure out why the battery dies so quickly even after they pull the input plug out.  And inevitably, they/we find out that they misread which solder lug connects to which contact on a stereo TRS jack of the open all-metal type.  And unfortunately, there appears to be NO standardization on such jacks.  Imagine what havoc would be created if the middle lug on a pot MIGHT be the wiper, or might not.

Happily, on the jacks you bought, the location of the solder lug corresponds exactly to the contact in question.  The one at the end is the tip, the ne in the middle is the ring, and the one closest to the point of entry is the ground/shaft.

The one shortcoming with such jacks (though sometimes an advantage) is that they do not ground out to the chassis because they are plastic.  What I do is simply solder a small piece of solder-core wire to the ground lug and wrap it around the threaded part so that when you tighten the nut a ground connection with the chassis is made.

[davent]

With those plastic jacks you can always carve off some of the excess plastic to help get them to fit. They have a blob of plastic at the south end that's easily removed and the ridged plastic back can be cut down to buy some more space.

[SmoothAction]

Seljer: Thanks man! Those were some hefty noob questions I was embarrassed to ask. Much appreciated.

Slacker: Thanks for the angled side point out. Should've just thrown em' on the BB huh?

Mr. Hammer: Excellent info as always. I plan using the solid core bolt wrap trick while I have these jacks. Uber tip. Love it.

Davent: Excellent tip also, although I'm probably going to be sticking to simple one knobbers for my 1590's. If I get daring, Im def cutting those ends off.

With your help I made my own drill templates (easy as F with some graph paper), drilled and fitted everything. Y'all come through again, thanks!