Crate GT1200H won't switch to Solo channel.

[Duncandod]

Three. Solo, OD and reverb, I believe.

[Enzo]

One straight cord and one "insert Y" cord?

[Duncandod]

Nope. One mono for the reverb and a stereo cord for clean/od/solo. Two Jacks on pedal.

[Duncandod]

'Y' cord for hooking up effects loop to insert Jack.

[Jazz P Bass]

Here is the Rear Panel.

And the OM: http://www.crateamps.com/pdf/manuals/gt1200H_om.pdf

[Enzo]

Does the 3 button footswitch have 3 jacks on it, or just 2 ?

Three. Solo, OD and reverb, I believe.

Nope. One mono for the reverb and a stereo cord for clean/od/solo. Two Jacks on pedal.

OK, so we have to get three jacks connected to two.

'Y' cord for hooking up effects loop to insert Jack.

Um, isn;t that what I said?

One straight cord and one "insert Y" cord?

[Duncandod]

Yes, that's what you said. I misunderstood that you were talking about the footswitch still. I'm thinking of building a footswitch cord out of 5 pin DMX... enough shielding/gauge you think? 24AWG shielded...

[Duncandod]

I was wrong, Enzo. Two plugs on the pedal.

[Enzo]

OK then, two into two, so a TRS and a TS make sense, you just have to remember which hole gets which plug.

Your three functions are controlled by DC control voltages in the pedal, a transistor in each case is turned on or off to make a control voltage for the various JFETs. So no signal leads go down the footswitch cable, no shielding is necessary. The currents involved are maybe 10 milliamps each, so any small wire is sufficient. Heavier wire will last longer physically, but the thicker the wire, the stiffer the cable.


One thing to consider: Your stock pedal works with two common cords, cords replaceable at most any music store. Likewise all the jacks are common types usually in stock at any service shop. And in fact the pedals themselves are generic, lode/break yours and just about any one button and two button with TRS plug would plug into the amp and work. Just my personal opinion and preference, but I don;t usually like custom connections unless it is necesary, like a five button pedal maybe. Then the number of wires dictates a multipin connetor and cable. But if it ever has a problem, then you have to odd cable, the odd connectors.

As complex as it is, I like the fender system where the footswitch encodes all the functions with diodes and uses a plain old vanilla guitar cord to connect a five button pedal to the amp.

[Duncandod]

I'm with you on the fender one cord 5-switch pedals. I just hate having all those cords going all over the stage...like to keep my gear clean as much as possible. 5-pin dmx is $.38/foot at guitar center, our something like that. I figure I can make a pretty sweet two plug cable and use red shrink tube for the stereo one.

Thanks for the data. I knew the signal didn't go through the pedal, but wasn't sure if interference from radio mics would cause a buzz.

[Duncandod]

Okay. I received the parts and replaced the zener at D25 that failed, as well as Q29, Q28, Q22 and Q13. On OD setting I get no OD, just Solo channel, whereas before it was no Solo channel, just OD and Clean.

Schematic says for A, B C respectively (in VDC):
Solo: -10, 10, 0
OD: -10, 0, 10
Clean: 0, 10, 0 or 10


Here are the Switch Logic results:

A:
Solo -14V
OD -14V
Clean 0 V

B:
Solo .58V
OD .58V
Clean 11.8V

B2:

R15=
Solo .63V
OD .63V
Clean 13V

R106=
Solo .58V
OD .58V
Clean11.8V

C:
Q13 15.2 All settings
R113 13.76V All settings

C2
Q25 13.81V All settings
Q3 13.76 All Settings

[Duncandod]

OD light is not coming on, so OD tests are in Solo mode (solo light on)

[g1]

#1, recheck work for solder bridges or broken solder pads .
Q22 base voltage, OD and solo mode?

[Duncandod]

Thanks for suggesting the recheck of my work. It was fine, but while I had the ohm tester out, I found a bad trace to pin 7 on J21. Not visible without a magnifying glass, but no continuity. Jumped it with connector wire and she works! I'll do another logic test to verify no other issues. ..

Thanks for all the help. I learned a lot and have decided to take an electronics course. Fun stuff!