Connectors
In the UK, the terms jack plug and jack socket are commonly used for the respective male and female connectors.[1] In the US the more fixed connector is called a jack.[2]
Patching
The jacks and plugs commonly used for creating synthesizer patches are the 1/4" (exactly 6.35 mm), the 3.5mm (approx 1/8"), the banana and the 0.141" (3.58mm) Tini-Jax, these are all monophonic.
Midi
MIDI cables terminate in a five pin 180° DIN connector. Standard applications use only three of the five conductors: a ground wire, and a balanced pair of conductors that carry a +5 Volt signal. Some proprietary applications, such as phantom-powered footswitch controllers, use the spare pins for DC power.[3] Opto-isolators keep MIDI devices electrically separated from their connectors, which prevents ground loops from occurring.[4]
External DC connector
The coaxial power connector is the miniature power connector used for attaching extra-low voltage devices such as consumer electronics to external power supplies. Also known as barrel connectors, concentric barrel connectors or tip connectors, these small cylindrical connectors come in a variety of sizes.
Internal DC power supply
3U
For internal power distribution, a Eurorack case typically has a distribution board with 10-pin DIP headers. The 16 pin DIP used by Doepfer includes +5 Volts, Gate and CV as used by a few modules to pass these signals between modules without needing extra patch cables. The power cable is typically a length of ribbon cable with a female 16-pin IDC connector on one end and a 10-pin on the other. The stripe on the ribbon cable indicates the -12V side of the connectors.[5]
5U
To distribute DC from the power supply to the modules MOTM and Oakley implement a power bus with MTA-156 or Molex KK 0.1” headers.[6] Synthesizers.com implements a DC cable harness. The harness connects to the power supply by a a 4 pin .093 Molex connector while six pin keyed MTA-100 connectors on the harness connect to male headers on the modules, with +/-15V, +5V and a ground shared between these.[7]
References
- ^ Radio Production by Robert McLeish, Newnes, 2005, ISBN 0-240-51972-8
- ^ Reference Designations for Electrical and Electronics Parts and Equipment, ASME Y14.44-2008, ASME, Fairfield, 2008, Section 2.1.5.3
- ^ TC Electronic G Major by Dave Lockwood, Sound On Sound, December 2001.
- ^ Digital Theory by Allen Mornington-West, Sound Recording Practice, 4th edition, Edited by John Borwick, Oxford University Press, 1996.
- ^ Eurorack Power Cables
- ^ Dizzy User Manual and Builders Guide v3.2.0 by Tony Allgood
- ^ Synthesizers.com, Power System Components, DC Power Harnesses
External links
- Aaron Lanterman's Notes on making Buchla-compatible stuff
- Wikipedia:Phone connector (audio)
- Wikipedia:Banana connector
- Wikipedia:Coaxial power connector