installation of Neutrik panel mount jacks

[7slinger]

I got a TT pedalboard that has some "prewired" 1/4" jacks,
but I'm wondering how to finish the job...there doesn't
seem to be installation instructions on Neutrik's website.

One thing in particular I'm wondering about is grounding.
There are a couple Neutrik 1/4" jacks that came preinstalled
on my pedalboard, though they aren't wired to anything.
Those jacks look like they have one of the 3 pins (they are
TRS jacks that will be wired for TS) wired to one of the bolts
that hold the panel mount to the panel. I read elsewhere that
you should wire the ground and one of the other pins (can't
remember which) to the same lead in the cable...if this doesn't
make sense I can provide pics.

Neutrik - Audio - Locking 1/4" Phone Jacks - NJ3FP6C-B is the 1/4"
panel mount in question

Neutrik - Audio - DL Series - NC7FD-L-B-1 I also have a couple of
these I need to install and have the same questions
as with the 1/4" panel mounts. I haven't seen one of these installed
so I
don't have anything to go on.

I'm also wondering if there are specific screws/nuts/bolts that people
like to use with these, as none of them included mounting hardware,
which I think sucks.

Thanks for any help guys.

 

[jet66]

Pics would be nice, I'm not sure about the wire going to ground, but I would assume it was going to the S ('sleeve') terminal, that is the ground in a cable, be it TS or TRS. To attach the panel mounts, I used #4-40 countersunk bolts and compatible nut, with small locking 'star' washers. Perfect fit. I used 3/8" long bolts, but you can probably get away with 1/4" with no problem.

If your board hasn't been drilled for the panel mounts, the hole size is a tad under an inch in diameter. (My step bit is a 7/8", so I had to do some artful filing...) The trick is keeping them all even vertically and horizontally. Once you have the right sized holes, you can line everything up and mark for the mounting holes. I used a small speed square along the bottom edge of the board to line up the panel mounts vertically. Patience is a virtue with this project, but it's very 'do-able' for the DIY-er.

 

[7slinger]

Pics would be nice, I'm not sure about the wire going to ground, but I would assume it was going to the S ('sleeve') terminal, that is the ground in a cable, be it TS or TRS. To attach the panel mounts, I used #4-40 countersunk bolts and compatible nut, with small locking 'star' washers. Perfect fit. I used 3/8" long bolts, but you can probably get away with 1/4" with no problem.

If your board hasn't been drilled for the panel mounts, the hole size is a tad under an inch in diameter. (My step bit is a 7/8", so I had to do some artful filing...) The trick is keeping them all even vertically and horizontally. Once you have the right sized holes, you can line everything up and mark for the mounting holes. I used a small speed square along the bottom edge of the board to line up the panel mounts vertically. Patience is a virtue with this project, but it's very 'do-able' for the DIY-er.

Thanks for the response. I'll post up a pic when I get a couple minutes to find the camera.

The board has 2 cutouts already, but I need to add one more for a panel mount for my MIDI board, so I guess I'll be drilling and artfully filing as well.

Did you do all of your panel mounts yourself? Or did the board come with them preinstalled? I'm interested to see how you have them wired.

 

[jet66]

I did them all myself. There were small holes in there already, for the basic 1/4" jack, with little black plugs installed. I didn't ground my cables to the frame, I wasn't sure if doing so would cause ground loops.

 

[7slinger]

I didn't ground my cables to the frame, I wasn't sure if doing so would cause ground loops.

ya it's the pin you left empty on yours that is connected with a wire down to the bolt that holds the panel mount in

yours are working great I take it?

 

[jet66]

Yep, it works great. That extra pin would be the contact for the R/ring of a TRS plug. Grounding it to the chassis would only bond it to the frame when a TS plug was inserted. If you wanted to bond the jack to the chassis, all you have to do is remove the screw that goes in to the little red spacer, remove the red spacer, and reinsert the screw. That ties the S/sleeve to the outher housing of the panel mount connector and the chassis full-time, whether a plug is inserted or not.

 

[7slinger]

Yep, it works great. That extra pin would be the contact for the R/ring of a TRS plug. Grounding it to the chassis would only bond it to the frame when a TS plug was inserted. If you wanted to bond the jack to the chassis, all you have to do is remove the screw that goes in to the little red spacer, remove the red spacer, and reinsert the screw. That ties the S/sleeve to the outher housing of the panel mount connector and the chassis full-time, whether a plug is inserted or not.

now that's some good info right there

I'm hopefully gonna start on this project this weekend, but I don't have much free time, so I'm going to have to do it in steps.

 

[jet66]

Oh, one more thing about taking out that red spacer: The contact/leg may fall out of the connector after you remove the screw. It slides back in and the screw goes back in, no problem. The first one I ever did, I was like 'whoops, I broked it.' Just didn't want you to be surprised if it happened.

 

[7slinger]

so jet66, you didn't remove the screws and ground the jacks to the chassis? you just left them as is? I think you said that before I just want to clarify.

I suppose I can try both ways easy enough too.

By the way, I see MIDI jack on your board. I'm adding one as well, but I'm adding a D series 7 pin XLR jack, so it will be locking as well

 

[jet66]

I left the red spacers in on the TT board, to isolate the jacks. In the past I've used the locking jacks on other projects where I needed to bond the jack to the chassis.

Mine isn't a MIDI connection, it's for my (non-MIDI) Rivera footswitch. The cable was hardwired to the unit, so I put a jack in the housing of the switch, added an 8-pin DIN to the cable, and made that little interconnect from the side of the board to the top where the switch sits. That way if I need to use the switch off-board, I can just connect it straight to the cable. I would have liked a locking unit, but I had a hard enough time just finding an 8-pin panwel mount DIN jack as it was.