[sdiy] minijacks, 3.5mm, and 1/8" jacks questions

[Ken Stone]

One major problem with 3.5mm jacks is quality. So much hobbyist garbage has
got onto the market. Frequently with these, the insulating band near the tip
is so fat it fouls the socket. Also the internal connections within the
plugs are pretty poor, and can be open circuit sometimes. Either use a top
quality plug, or go to 6.5mm.

I do use 3.5 myself, and a Roland system 100M is part of the setup. There is
no real rhyme or reason to plugs fitting or not, apart from the sloppy
construction of these second rate plugs they now sell. The same applies to
RCA plugs out in Australia. All the hobby shops sell cheap and nasty trash.

Ken


>Hello,
>
>I recently built a 4 channel analog sequencer (based on the superseq
>design) and i've found that the jacks i'm using don't seem to work
>consistantly with cables - plugs won't quite grip in some of the jacks
>even though they're the same model.  Sometimes the shaft of the plug seems
>to short.  Also, some plugs seem just a tad bit too fat for the jacks.
>
>I'm wondering - what is "standard" or common among synth manufacturers for
>minijacks?  Is 3.5mm the standard now, and is that used on old arp's,
>roland system 100, and kenton?
>
>Also, is there any tips to buying plugs and jacks?  stick to switchcraft?
>anyone have any luck getting consistant results, or have a mouser part
>number for jacks and plugs that seems to work well and interfaces with
>other old analogs?
>
>thanks a bunch,
>Phil
>
>
>
_______________________________________________________________________
Ken Stone   sasami at blaze.net.au  
Modular Synth <http://www.blaze.net.au/~sasami/synth/>
Catgirl Paradise <http://www.anime.net/~kens/>
Australian Miniature Horses & Ponies <http://www.blaze.net.au/~sasami/>