Does anyone know of a AE store that can provide switching 3.5mm jacks that will fit this footprint? (PM if you’d prefer that). I think these are the Thonk type jacks but, obviously, getting them from Thonk is not an option due to postage/customs fees.
Incidentally, I also got some 3.5mm jacks from a local shop (pictured below), thinking that they are of the switching contact type but, to my surprise, I found that the extra contact is a switch contact for the sleeve instead of the tip. I see that some sellers in AE specify identical looking ones to have a switching tip contact, but how confident can I be that the product description is correct?
I am building a couple of Eurorack modules for a friend and I am not very familiar with the peculiarities of the Eurorack type jacks so I am at loss here. Any help will be appreciated!
i recently used these (famous online shop) for a project… i didn’t even think about two types of switching, it was hard enpugh to find them at all as “standing component”. hmmm…
Are you sure that it switches the sleeve? The photo looks pretty much identical to the sockets I use on my Eurorack modules and they have the switch contact to the tip. A switch to the sleeve would be pretty pointless as the sockets are not insulated and the sleeve will probably be grounded to the panel.
you made a better pic from the bottom of the jack than i did, mine look similar. the latch (top in pic) gets pushed away from the second contact by the tip. the latch rests in the groove (slightly slimmer part) of the tip and stays connected to the tip. it does not touch the ring or sleve…
As @Willi359 pointed out, the contact really switches the sleeve as it gets pushed away when it comes in contact with the bottom part of the jack. I confirmed this with the multimeter as well.
On the sockets I have, the switch terminal contacts the tip terminal when no plug is inserted, allowing a normalled signal to be passed in the absence of a plug. When the plug is inserted, the tip of the plug contacts the tip contact in the socket and pushes it away from the switched terminal, which is not connected to anything whe the plug is inserted. The sleeve terminal contacts nothing in the absence of a plug, and the sleeve of the plug when inserted.
That’s not the jack that I have. I tried again with the multimeter. The two contacts are definitely connected with the sleeve. Only one touches the tip when the jack is inserted. I hope the pictures give a bit more insight and make this clear.
Search for “PJ341” and you will see a mix of sockets in the search results, you want the ones labelled as 3pole 4pin I believe. I have not needed or ordered these myself so can’t guarantee anything, so please use your own judgement.
Sleeve switch is more peculair to guitar pedels where the battery only connects when a cable is plugged in. So no need for a power switch or pulling the battery. Clever, that one!
Usually no switch: the -ve from the battery is connected to ring of a stereo jack socket, so inserting a mono jack shorts sleeve and ring to make the circuit.
Sadly, Roland/Boss didn’t follow the same logic when they added 9V power jacks which open a switch to isolate battery when connected - the switch works on the outer sleeve and they decided to make that +ve rather than -ve. Now all power adaptors are either +ve or -ve on the exposed outside so you always have to check exactly what you’ve got.
about two types of switching, it was hard enpugh to find them at all as “standing component”. hmmm…
