What DC Jacks and AC to DC Wall Plugs to Use?

[Mole_Oy]

Hey all,

Been spending a lot of time sourcing parts for the Muffler Noise Gate and have the DC jack and the I/O jacks left to find. I have been having a tough time figuring out what I need. Been looking at getting a 12VDC Jack for the pedal, I assume this is a standard voltage, seems to be common in a lot of other electronics too.

Here's the Build Document for the Noise Gate: https://docs.pedalpcb.com/project/PedalPCB-Muffler.pdf

While I think I know what Voltage would be acceptable for the pedal, I do not know what the DC Jack should be rated for in Amps. I also do not know what the most inner diameter and outer diameter size is. Perhaps that can provide me with a bigger selection to choose from.

Next concern of mine is the AC to DC converters. I have seen many of these: https://www.taydaelectronics.com/dc-power-plug-2-1mm-x-5-5mm-x-9-5mm.html with the picture giving no hints of there being a cord connecting them to a power supply for a wall outlet. I'd love an explanation on how they work and if this is what I should buy (Not this specific model). If you have any suggestions as to what I should look for instead, let me know!

Finally, The I/O Jacks for the 1/4 inch Guitar Cables. Any preferable jacks for a 125B case?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Stickman393]

I'll take a stab at this:

Typical operating voltage of a standard guitar pedal is 9V...mostly because they were designed around the idea of using a 9V battery to power the thing.

Which plays into amp draw rating as well...your average pedal will draw well below 50ma, with quite a few only requiring a few ma.

2.1mm DC jacks and plugs are standard for many pieces of equipment, and can be used with a variety of voltages. Personally, I like to either use the "outie" or the "mini" varieties in my builds for the sake of taking up less space.

input and output jacks...it depends. I'll use switched jacks only if necessary, as they're quite large. Lumberg style low profile jacks are great, although the fully sheathed plastic body jacks along the lines of what neutrik offers tend to take up the least amount of horizontal space, at the expense of being longer.

Switchcraft is what I'll default to if I have enough space. They just seem to be the best built out of the group to me.

 

[Paradox916]

DC jack: https://www.taydaelectronics.com/hardware/dc-power/dc-power-jack-2-1mm-round-type-panel-mount-1.html

I/O jacks: https://www.taydaelectronics.com/hardware/6-35mm-1-4-plugs-jacks/6-35mm-1-4-stereo-phone-jack.html

This is where I started, and still have a stock of this Stuff, the switched stereo jacks can be a little confusing at first if you are new to this but they aren’t hard to figure out. These are decent and won’t break the bank if you are doing a big Tayda order. or you can always spring for the top shelf stuff which is the way to go if can but at around $2 a jack building 3 or 4 pedals everything adds up pretty quick.

 

[Mole_Oy]

DC jack: https://www.taydaelectronics.com/hardware/dc-power/dc-power-jack-2-1mm-round-type-panel-mount-1.html

I/O jacks: https://www.taydaelectronics.com/hardware/6-35mm-1-4-plugs-jacks/6-35mm-1-4-stereo-phone-jack.html

This is where I started, and still have a stock of this Stuff, the switched stereo jacks can be a little confusing at first if you are new to this but they aren’t hard to figure out. These are decent and won’t break the bank if you are doing a big Tayda order. or you can always spring for the top shelf stuff which is the way to go if can but at around $2 a jack building 3 or 4 pedals everything adds up pretty quick.

Thanks for the help! About the DC Jack you linked, it doesn't say what voltage its rated for on the description or data sheet. Does that not really matter for pedals?

 

[Mole_Oy]

Typical operating voltage of a standard guitar pedal is 9V...mostly because they were designed around the idea of using a 9V battery to power the thing.

Thanks for the clarification. I have the intention of plugging in my pedal into a AC to DC converter from the wall, considering this is my first pedal. Been looking through digikey and tayda. Digi doesn't even provide 9V outputs and I could only find 9V battery powered cords on Tayda. So unless I missed something, I'm not able to find much about 9V.

 

[Mole_Oy]

Thanks for the clarification. I have the intention of plugging in my pedal into a AC to DC converter from the wall, considering this is my first pedal. Been looking through digikey and tayda. Digi doesn't even provide 9V outputs and I could only find 9V battery powered cords on Tayda. So unless I missed something, I'm not able to find much about 9V.

Scratch that... didn't do enough digging on digikey, found what should be appropriate

 

[Paradox916]

I believe those jacks at least the ones on amazon are rated at 12vdc 3A.... if you have that much draw on a pedal there is a good chance you messed up an you and are now letting all the smoke out of the various components on the board long before that jack gives up the ghost....

 

[Stickman393]

Voltage rating is a ceiling...anything rated for above 9 volts is sufficient. Honestly, most any connector will work in this application.

Voltage rating is related to the dialectric strength of the insulators. Think of it as being like the pressure rating of a hose...go over and you could arc and create a short. Stay under and you're in the clear.

 

[Mole_Oy]

I believe those jacks at least the ones on amazon are rated at 12vdc 3A.... if you have that much draw on a pedal there is a good chance you messed up an you and are now letting all the smoke out of the various components on the board long before that jack gives up the ghost....

lol. Thanks again!

 

[Mole_Oy]

Voltage rating is a ceiling...anything rated for above 9 volts is sufficient. Honestly, most any connector will work in this application.

Voltage rating is related to the dialectric strength of the insulators. Think of it as being like the pressure rating of a hose...go over and you could arc and create a short. Stay under and you're in the clear.

Thanks a lot! I can narrow my search down for appropriate measurements now.

 

[Stickman393]

Thanks a lot! I can narrow my search down for appropriate measurements now.

One last thing...

Honestly, there is a potential disadvantage to matching 1:1 with voltage ratings when working in the 9vdc range: you could end up with something kinda...underbuilt. Flimsy.

Thats not to say that would absolutely be the case...but just something to be aware of.