KIT AVAILABLE !!! All In One v2.7 PCB Kit to sell !!!

[kimouette]

Thanks fabodrum for the very detailed explanation!

These Neutric you showed on the picture, they seemed like the most "robust" jacks I could get, but even if they are made in Switzerland (which is where I currently live), they are so completely out of price! Actually they're cheaper in the US then here!

And since my drum will stay put in my room, I'll be buying these very cheap "uncased jacks"

https://www.addison-electronique.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=10_10002&products_id=100517&language=en

[fabodrum]

if you´re in swizerland now, you might want to check http://www.pollin.de (the webshop is only available in german though.)
6.35mm phone jack, stereo, switch included : part number 450 127 :
0,25 EUR
-VAT(19%)
+ 0.85% of order value for packaging and handling
+ 4,50€ shipping
+ whatever taxes the swiss put on there on customs.

i know that in germany there´s a toll allowance of 25€ inkluding shipping so if one was to import those jacks from anywhere to germany, 20€ material + 4,50 s&h would go through customs unhindered and only VAT would be added (19% in germany). don´t know how it´s handled in swizerland though. you´re off fine if VAT is lower there
enough of this, we´re way off-topic allready :p
(maybe a mod could move these posts over to a thread "Phone jacks vs. XLR Jacks" or something)

[kimouette]

I know the switch is not necessary, but what about the "circuit"?

Megadrum prefers :

OPEN CIRCUIT NO SWITCH

Open.jpg

CLOSED CIRCUIT WITH SWITCH

Closed.jpg

???

[fabodrum]

the top picture looks like it´s a mono jack, it only has one contact tongue. then again, it has three isolated solder-fins, which would only be found on a stereo jack. maybe it´s just a unlucky angle of view.

the bottom picture appears to be of a stereo phone jack. on neither of those i can the parts needed for a switched jack.

as to "open circuit" or "closed circuit": you wrote in your pm that even the vendor of those parts has no clue, and so have i. i´ve never found an attribute like that applied to phone jacks. it could refer to the switch type: the switch of a switched jack could be closed while no jack is in, or it could close when the jack is put in. then again, the top jack is labele "without switch" so what the heck. you don´t need a switch anyway, so disregard.

summary: it is very likely that photos of small and cheap products on internet mailorder service sites do NOT actually show the sold item but only something similar. unless it´s pointed out to show the actual item, i´d not judge the thing by the looks of it. "phone jack, female, 6.3mm, stereo" or "phone jack, female, 6.25mm, stereo" will do it. deffinitely. wether or not it has a switch can be ignored. i would also just ignore this "open circuit/closed circuit" kaffuffle.



@synthex
have you made up your mind about your pcb layout? i can assure you it´s really no problem for me to make a doublesided pcb (i can even make threelayer pcbs if it comes to that ) and i´d be happy to use the nice and tidy layout you came up with.

[dmitri]

fabodrum, if you can make your own pcb why don't you just use my pcb design?

[kimouette]

Is there a maximum leight of Jack cable to respect to avoid loosing signal between the piezo and the Megadrum?

[dmitri]

Is there a maximum leight of Jack cable to respect to avoid loosing signal between the piezo and the Megadrum?

Certainly there is.

[Synthex]

Is there a maximum leight of Jack cable to respect to avoid loosing signal between the piezo and the Megadrum?

if the cable is well shielded, a few metres ...

[kimouette]

Is there a maximum leight of Jack cable to respect to avoid loosing signal between the piezo and the Megadrum?

if the cable is well shielded, a few metres ...

Believe it or not the cheapest cables I could find are 5 meters long. I guess I dont have any choice now but to cut them and make a new soldering for each cable. 5 meters is too long anyway, but I was hoping to keep at least 2 meters (preferably 3) so I can still move the drum freely and since it will have to be plugged into my computer, I didn't necessarely want to keep the Megadrum right next to the drum!

[fabodrum]

about cables:

i noticed that good connections between jacks are very important. a few dozend milliohms between piezo transducer and electronic can influence trigger quality allready. i have checked this out with a lcr bridge, phone and xlr jacks, symetrical stereo cables of various lenghts and roland TD-9 and TD-10.
i had to ditch a sack full of cheap 6.3mm phone jacks because they had up to a few ohms between the shield connector and the shield soldering fin (the connector was crimped on) and go for xlr connectors even for the cymbals. because the shield connector was some very wierd alloy i was not able to solder it to the fin.
i never had any issues with shielding. i ran a few days with a haywire setup (before my 50m of shielded cable arrived) and never had any ghost triggering, so shielding may not be that important.


about the pcb:

i´d allready pointed out that i´d like to build a very streamlined, small box. synthex layout would certainly allow for that. also, i´d like to avoid the ton of zs and having to make more than one board. making a twolayer board is far less fuzz than making two onelayered ones. and again: more streamlined goes better with the see-through-case idea.