Yes I get lazy! Anyone make PCB for 3TDP switches?

[PurpleStrat]

well, if you have the DC input jack on the side, next to the switch, you could also include a spot to run power from the jack to the limiting resistor for the led.
While you're at it, why not put a spot for V+ in from the DC jack that then splits.  One leg for the LED resistor and one for board power.  That would eliminate the need to try to hook two wires into the DC jack.

-chris

I like this idea better then the pull downs!

[soggybag]

I have been thinking about making a new version of my board. Adding a spot for pull down resistors next to the switch is a good idea. I had also been thinking about adding some pads where the jacks sit, that could be used with regular jacks. If you didn't want to use PCB mounted jacks you run wires to the extra pads. You could do this now, but the holes for the PCB mounted jacks are pretty large.

[railhead]

The DC jack is a nice idea. Since mine will be double-sided, I can get that on there. I don't know if I'll have a chance to work on it tomorrow, so stay tuned!

[sjaltenb]

i have been working on this design for a while now, becuase im going to use interconnects on my Cornish board so i will have 14 switches that I can easily "plug and play" different effects into, and also, by using plugs for the signal, i will be able to change out the effects order by simply plugging in different orders.


Mine is going to include a lot of ground pads for shielded cable grounding. Also, Im thinking about having a S/R IN the FX Send for a buffer so i can either jumper it or add a buffer circuit in between the send on the switch and the actual FX in. that way the buffer is only in the chian when the fX is on.

[PurpleStrat]

I have been thinking about making a new version of my board. Adding a spot for pull down resistors next to the switch is a good idea. I had also been thinking about adding some pads where the jacks sit, that could be used with regular jacks. If you didn't want to use PCB mounted jacks you run wires to the extra pads. You could do this now, but the holes for the PCB mounted jacks are pretty large.

Do you take Pay Pal? I'd like try one of them PCB's!

[sjaltenb]

Here is a VERY crude drawing of what I want. Since I will be using all shielded cable, each input,power,etc has an extra link to ground for the shielded cable tap. The FX in, Out, Send,Return, LED, DC in, LEDpower all are going to be connected using PCB interconnects, so thats what the dots represent, a 3 position header.

The buffer S/R is there incase i would like to include a Send buffer when the FX is on, so the signal is not going through a whole bunch of buffers. If i dont want to include it, I will simply jumper it with premade PCB interconnect buffers.

Finally, the board ground, all the shielded cable tap grounds all come together and lead to a single point at the bottom corner where they will all be sent to a star ground near the main power source of hte board.

I like it. See what ya'll think, i did steal the pulldown resistor idea from here...thanks for that!! maybe this will give you some ideas too....

My only question is, with this increase the possibility of noise having the 9v run through the board like this...should i keep them seperate and create a bunch of tiny 9v distribution boards for FX and LED.....?

[railhead]

I just realized that one of my images has the pulldowns inline, not shunted -- but I've fixed that in my current version.

Anyway, I'll try and have a new image tomorrow sometime -- I just wanted to point out the mistake.

[railhead]

...and I couldn't resist finishing this revision:




I added +9v and -9v traced from the DC jack to the top of the switch board. I opted to remove the pull downs as most boards already include them as part of the circuit -- and the same for LED resistors. I'm really liking the simplicity, small footprint, and how versatile it is with pretty much the vast majority of designs anyone would have -- as far as simple switch hookup is concerned.

Anything else?

Anyone see any errors?

[nelson]

By the time you have 8 wires to strip and solder to the board, it kind of defeats the purpose of using a PCB to mount the footswitch. You might aswell just solder them directly to the switch!


I have started using 4 way 2.54mm pitch IDE cable that comes already stripped and this PCB.

Since I mainly design all my own boards it is the fastest and easiest way I can think of doing it.



Single sided, runs up to the effect PCB in a 1590B/BB style enclosure and includes an LED. V+ connection is always on the effect board as I like to mount my DC socket at the back of the enclosure.

[railhead]

Not necessarily -- what I'm doing is universal for the way I build my effects. I already have a fab house producing boards, and my boards are designed with LED and power traces. But, to each his own.

What I like about this, though, is that I don't have to worry about running the dadgum power airwires -- I can just jump thm right from the DC jack tot he switch board.

[nelson]

Not necessarily -- what I'm doing is universal for the way I build my effects. I already have a fab house producing boards, and my boards are designed with LED and power traces. But, to each his own.

What I like about this, though, is that I don't have to worry about running the dadgum power airwires -- I can just jump thm right from the DC jack tot he switch board.

Mine is still better, neh neh neh neh neh 

[cheeb]

I have been thinking about making a new version of my board. Adding a spot for pull down resistors next to the switch is a good idea. I had also been thinking about adding some pads where the jacks sit, that could be used with regular jacks. If you didn't want to use PCB mounted jacks you run wires to the extra pads. You could do this now, but the holes for the PCB mounted jacks are pretty large.

I've already done the wires to regular jacks thing a couple times. It worked fine for me. Plus I've been photoshopping pcb layouts into the perf area and drawing traces to them so that there are no wire hookups necessary. I've found that by creating traces and stuff then pull down resistors can be added with minimal effort. My LED even mounts in the perf area between the jacks, just above the switch. With a little modification for each pedal I do, or when I want to perf something up and still leave it clean, these boards are amazing.

[earthtonesaudio]

By the time you have 8 wires to strip and solder to the board, it kind of defeats the purpose of using a PCB to mount the footswitch. You might aswell just solder them directly to the switch!


I have started using 4 way 2.54mm pitch IDE cable that comes already stripped and this PCB.

Since I mainly design all my own boards it is the fastest and easiest way I can think of doing it.

Single sided, runs up to the effect PCB in a 1590B/BB style enclosure and includes an LED. V+ connection is always on the effect board as I like to mount my DC socket at the back of the enclosure.

That's pretty close to how the "pros" do it (Boss, Ibanez, etc), they just use little Molex connectors and have the headers soldered directly to the board.

[soggybag]

Speaking of Molex connectors, this is the thing I have been trying to work out lately. I'd like the use connectors from the pots to the board. This way once the pots are mounted in the enclosure the connectors can just be connected to the board ad the whole thing is assembled.

I need to find some smaller connectors. I got some from Futurlec. They were cheap and would work with a small layout. But in a tight layout I need a smaller connector. I'd like to find something that would fit in one .1" row. Like these Mil-Max headers at Smallbear:

These might even work if I had a connector to match.

[analogmike]

ours has a place to mount the LED resistor too, they work well and are better than soldering to the switch IMHO. Sorry I cant find a picture to post.

[earthtonesaudio]

Not to hijack the thread entirely, but I would like to see pics of a circuit that has everything mounted on the circuit board.  Pots, jacks, footswitch, LED, DC jack, the whole shebang.

[soggybag]

Here's a few pictures. Everything is mounted on the PCB except pots. I run wires to the pots because I'm not so great with the layouts. This is my next challenge. I'd like to get everything on the board. In a few you will see the LED mounted to the Board also.

[earthtonesaudio]

Soggybag, that's awesome.  You just need these:
http://www.smallbearelec.com/Detail.bok?no=710
...and you'd have it all on-board!  ...Don't know if they're tall enough to match up with the footswitch though.

[PurpleStrat]

...and I couldn't resist finishing this revision:




I added +9v and -9v traced from the DC jack to the top of the switch board. I opted to remove the pull downs as most boards already include them as part of the circuit -- and the same for LED resistors. I'm really liking the simplicity, small footprint, and how versatile it is with pretty much the vast majority of designs anyone would have -- as far as simple switch hookup is concerned.

Anything else?

Anyone see any errors?

I would tie in the the effect input. People on here have said it helps continuity. Thats's the main reason I asked about a board since I uses Dragonfly/Dave Barber's way it takes a little more time to strip the wire and thread it. Also if you still have room why not leave a hole to add the input cap on the board? Could save space when doing a tight layout!

[soggybag]

Soggybag, that's awesome.  You just need these:
http://www.smallbearelec.com/Detail.bok?no=710
...and you'd have it all on-board!  ...Don't know if they're tall enough to match up with the footswitch though.

Wow that's a great idea I had not seen these before I will have to order a few and try them out. Thanks for pointing these out.