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  • Speaker Switching Jack hookup

    For some reason I can't seem to work out how to hook up cliff type switching jacks.

    I have two speaker out jacks with with normally closed switches that open when 1/4" connector is inserted. (Cliff type)

    I want to wire them so that if no plugs are inserted the jacks short the output. If either plug is inserted the short opens. I can wire that. But I can not also make it so that both jacks get power if two plugs are inserted.

    It seems like a very basic problem to solve. It also seems like there are enough switches to make it happen.
    Yet... I can't seem to work out the connection scheme.

    Is this possible? If so someone surely knows what the connection scheme is.

    I can produce a drawing but It seems so basic as to not need one.

  • #2
    You can only have one jack shorting the output. If both are shorting jacks, inserting one speaker plug still leaves the short on the other jack. Look at the "speaker"/"external speaker" configuration on a Fender amp. That is how you'll want to wire it.

    And, not to be Mr. Obvious, but let's make sure we're talking about a tube amp. You wouldn't, in any way, want to short the speaker outputs of a solid state amp.
    "I took a photo of my ohm meter... It didn't help." Enzo 8/20/22

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    • #3
      This should work if I got enough sleep last night
      Attached Files
      WARNING! Musical Instrument amplifiers contain lethal voltages and can retain them even when unplugged. Refer service to qualified personnel.
      REMEMBER: Everybody knows that smokin' ain't allowed in school !

      Comment


      • #4
        Speaker Jacks

        Yes this is a tube amp

        Fender Amps mostly seem to designate a main speaker and an extension speaker. Is that what is needed?
        It is not perfectly clear the connections in the Fender schematics.

        And Yes only one Jack would be shorted on the switched side. In that case, if you connect the switched side of the upstream jack to the unswitched side of the down stream jack with the latter jack's switched side shorted a plug inserted in either jack breaks the shorted connection. But, then if two plugs for two speaker cabinets are used then only the upstream jack will be connected.

        I'll see if I can make a drawing by tomorrow.

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        • #5
          Thank you LT. Let me redraw that and analyze it to see if that meets my needs but I can see that it uses two switches in series. Something that I had not considered.

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          • #6
            On the old Fenders, the main speaker jack connects hot to ground when no plug is inserted. That is why if you plug into the extension speaker jack with nothing in the main speaker jack, you get little/no sound. The main speaker jack is still shorting out the OT secondary. The main speaker jack must be used first.

            The extension speaker jack is a very simple 2 contact tip/sleeve jack. Nothing fancy at all about it.
            "I took a photo of my ohm meter... It didn't help." Enzo 8/20/22

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            • #7
              I redrew the jack symbol to look more like the terminal configuration of an actual Cliff jack. You can use two different transformer taps, but you can't use both jacks at once unless you use double the marked impedance. One warning. I had a jack catch on fire and burn when a cliplead nearby overheated. The jack may have been a counterfeit obtained on ebay. Probably best to limit power to 50 or 100 Watts.
              Attached Files
              WARNING! Musical Instrument amplifiers contain lethal voltages and can retain them even when unplugged. Refer service to qualified personnel.
              REMEMBER: Everybody knows that smokin' ain't allowed in school !

              Comment


              • #8
                I never liked the way Fender did their outputs. I suppose they dumbed it down for crazed musician types, but I like impedance selectors for maximum versatility.

                Thank you LT. That arrangement works exactly the way I want. Elegant really the way opposite switches from each jack have to be closed to short the output. Slightly embarrassed that I couldn't figure it out on my own. I also redrew the diagram to make it conform to the way cliff jacks are oriented so I could visualize the operation.
                Attached Files

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