Can I Ask For Help With J. Rockett Blue Note (NOT DIY)?

[debrad]

Hi everyone,

A friend has asked me to fix an issue he's having with his Blue Note Overdrive and I *THINK* I've isolated it at the power jack but, since it's NOT a DIY pedal, I wondered if it was OK for me to ask for help here?  If not, I will gladly delete...

[GibsonGM]

Sure it is! 

What makes you suspect the power jack?

[debrad]

Well...the effect does NOT work without a plug in the input when running on battery power but I know that is how there stereo input jack is SUPPOSED to work.  What seems odd to me is that if I switch the effect OFF while running on the adaptor and then unplug the guitar cable, the effect will NOT turn back on under battery power when the guitar cable is plugged back in; however, if I plug the adaptor in again, turn the effect on and off, unplug he adaptor, and leave the guitar cable plugged in, it WILL function normally under battery power (i.e. it will turn on and off, even if I remove the guitar cable and plug it back in!).  It's almost like the battery function is being controlled by the "state" that the adaptor leaves the power jack in rather than the shorting of the stereo input jack...

[GibsonGM]

Is there a schematic available, Brad?  Very strange.

I can't believe they'd build anything like that in there; it has to be some kind of glitch.   

Now, input jack probably controls the ground ("on/off"), and the power jack should disconnect the internal battery if a plug is inserted - so those are the 2 things you can look at pretty easily.   I'd check 'em out with my meter continuity function just to see if they seem to operate normally. 

Could the the tab in the power jack be developing 'memory', and taking time to spring over to battery or something? That's what I'd look at!

[duck_arse]

tarnish?

[EBK]

If you have a battery hooked up and a power plug plugged into the power jack, but do not have the AC adapter plugged I to the wall, what happens?

[thermionix]

I think Mike and Steve-O are onto it.  The switching function in the power jack has gone intermittant.  Either it's "sprung" or there is oxidization, but either way probably best to just replace it.

[GibsonGM]

I think Mike and Steve-O are onto it.  The switching function in the power jack has gone intermittant.  Either it's "sprung" or there is oxidization, but either way probably best to just replace it.

I'd do it just because it's there (given these symptoms), if I had a like one handy.

[debrad]

EBK...with the adaptor plugged into the pedal but unplugged from the wall, the pedal will NOT power on - which confirms that the DC jack switch is doing what it's supposed to do, correct?

Oddly enough, I have done anything with the pedal for a couple of days now.  I looked closely at the "spring" portion of the jack today and didn't see anything obvious in there; however, when I just ran through all the similar scenarios I mentioned earlier, it seems to be working just fine under battery power (i.e. turning off the effect with adoptor plugged in and then pulling the adaptor but leaving the guitar cable plugged in, doing the same thing AND unplugging the guitar cable, etc., etc).

Perhaps it IS just tarnish on/in the DC jack...or maybe it's something internal (or maybe I'm losing my mind???).  Regardless, the jack should probably be replaced.  My ONLY concern is that the PCB seems locked in place by something I can't see - most likely the LED stuck in the bezel or maybe the DC jack hung up in the rectangular hole in the enclosure - and I don't want to force anything to roughly for fear of damaging something that's not broken.  Does anyone have any experience getting one of these J. Rockett boards out?  Is there any chance that the little allen screws on the front are connected to the PCB?

[nocentelli]

Is there any chance that the little allen screws on the front are connected to the PCB?

http://bit.ly/2lUYu4I

It looks like the pcb ends at the (pcb mounted) jack sockets.

[debrad]

Thanks nocentelli...I opened up the pedal via the allen screws about an hour ago, definitely helpful in terms of getting better access to the insides!

- brad -