H11F1 Optocoupler in TC Spark?

[poojalooba_cow]

So I got a couple new pedals today and promptly took them apart to look at them. It's a disease I have. I'm sure many of you can relate. 

Anyway, so I pull apart this TC Electronics Spark Booster that I got, and there's an H11F1 FET Optocoupler sitting there on the board. This is a boost pedal, mind you, without any sort of envelope or phase or wah capabilities. So I'm scratching my head wondering what the deal is and why it's on the board.

Here's an image for reference:



Does anybody have any idea what it's for? The only thing I can think of is from other TC pedals - all the other TC pedals I've had use a spring-loaded stomp switch that doesn't have a click action - it just presses a button on the board that activates a relay. So it's noiseless click-less switching and still true bypass because it uses relay switching. And that way they can use digital stuff in the switching circuit, like holding down the button and letting go of it in the Mini Boost pedal, while keeping the effect circuit completely analog. The TC spark has an actual DPDT stomp switch and doesn't have any relay on the board. The pedal is advertised as "true bypass" as well so they must be using some sort of Millenium-Bypass-Style switching or something. So are they using the optocoupler as some sort of relay to turn on the effect circuit while keeping the switching circuitry out of it? I can't think of anything else that you'd use the optocoupler for but I can't imagine how they're implementing it in that way.

I don't have a schematic for y'all to peruse. Sorry. Don't wanna trace little teeny SMD boards.

P.S. the Spark is an interesting design - all the parts are SMD except the capacitors. All the various capacitors are through-hole while everything else like resistors, diodes, op-amps is SMD. Kinda cool.

[mth5044]

I would have guessed switching, like the Opto-tron optical bypass from 1776 that uses a DPDT, but isn't technically true bypass.

http://1776effects.com/?product=opto-tron-optical-bypass

[armdnrdy]

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=98512.0

[poojalooba_cow]

Spent some reading on Geofex about the Clinton bypass. Now I'm really interested in tracing the schem out to see if it's really "true" bypass like they advertise on the enclosure, or if it's just using a really high resistance through the optocoupler to isolate the effect from the input.

I guess I might trace the schem this Saturday or something. Curse you, diystompboxes, for constantly taking away my free time on weekends!

This is the article I found, for reference.
http://www.geofex.com/article_folders/bypass/bypass.htm

[dan.schumaker]

I would think bypass too.  On the tagboard layout, there is no opto...

http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/2014/03/tc-electronic-spark-booster.html