Cobalt Drive Power Issues

[A2K]

Hi everyone,

I've built the Cobalt Drive and when it works, it works well. But there's one problem - the DC jack is super finicky. Sometimes the power will shut off or the output volume will decrease dramatically unless I wiggle the power cable around to get it fully working.

I'm 100% sure it's not a bad cable or power supply issue. I also do not see anything moving to maybe create a bad contact when the cable is pushed into the DC jack.

Not really sure what the problem is here. It could be a bad jack but I had the same issue on my subsequent Super 64 build (until a tantalum capacitor blew up on me, ending my initial test within a few seconds).

Any ideas?

 

[A2K]

I'm using these jacks - https://www.taydaelectronics.com/hardware/dc-power/dc-power-jack-2-1mm-round-type-panel-mount-1.html

 

[A2K]

And here's a link to a picture I took of the internal wiring.

20210720-094317 hosted at ImgBB

Image 20210720-094317 hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

 

[Robert]

A few people have had problems with those jacks. I use them on most of my builds, but my builds are typically light-duty prototypes that generally end up in the salvage pile.

The Lumberg equivalent is supposed to be much more reliable.

Thinline Lumberg DC Power Jack - 2.1mm

When you need reliability and space-saving design for tight guitar pedal builds, get the Thinline Lumberg DC Power Jack. 1614-23

lovemyswitches.com

 

[A2K]

A few people have had problems with those jacks. I use them on most of my builds, but my builds are typically light-duty prototypes that generally end up in the salvage pile.

The Lumberg equivalent is supposed to be much more reliable.

Thinline Lumberg DC Power Jack - 2.1mm

When you need reliability and space-saving design for tight guitar pedal builds, get the Thinline Lumberg DC Power Jack. 1614-23

lovemyswitches.com

Yeah, could be the case of a bad jack. Just seems weird that this happened twice with brand new jacks. It's not like it worked fine initially and then failed after some usage. I also used the same bag of jacks for some older vero builds I did and those all worked fine.

I could try to replace it with one of these (provided it will fit) - https://lovemyswitches.com/outtie-switched-2-1mm-dc-power-jack/

 

[manfesto]

Like @PedalPCB said, I've had a very high failure rate with those thinline Tayda jacks, both out of the box and over time.

I use these whenever possible (bonus, having the nut on the outside means you can disassemble the whole pedal without having to unsolder anything):

DC Power Jack 2.1mm Switched - "Outie"

Top Quality Parts for Guitar Effects Pedals and DIY Music Devices. Knobs, Pots, Switches, Kits, LEDs, Enclosures, Jacks, Wire, Resistors, Capacitors, Semiconductors

stompboxparts.com

 

[A2K]

Like @PedalPCB said, I've had a very high failure rate with those thinline Tayda jacks, both out of the box and over time.

I use these whenever possible (bonus, having the nut on the outside means you can disassemble the whole pedal without having to unsolder anything):

DC Power Jack 2.1mm Switched - "Outie"

Top Quality Parts for Guitar Effects Pedals and DIY Music Devices. Knobs, Pots, Switches, Kits, LEDs, Enclosures, Jacks, Wire, Resistors, Capacitors, Semiconductors

stompboxparts.com

Fair enough. I've built around 13 previous pedals with those thinline Tayda jacks, but maybe I was just lucky that I didn't have any failures with those. Either way, I'll switch the jack to one of my outies and see what happens.

P.S. I totally get the benefit of having the nut on the outside!

 

[A2K]

Well, I replaced the DC jack using one of the outies and it's working fine now. Now I know I guess. Thanks for the replies, sorry for the dumb question.

 

[Feral Feline]

Tweren't a dumb question at all.

 

[fig]

Well, I replaced the DC jack using one of the outies and it's working fine now. Now I know I guess. Thanks for the replies, sorry for the dumb question.

We crave questions, just ask anyone.

My experience with this gang is, ignorance is welcomed and nurtured into understanding. Stupidity is left standing at the door.

 

[A2K]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the supportive words. I guess I just felt silly because I could have just swapped the DC jack and solved my problem without posting anything. Ah well...hopefully someone else can learn from this thread at least!

 

[Feral Feline]

That's kind of the point, somebody else will be helped by this thread!