Wiring Help

[ericmeyer4]

I was wondering if anyone could help me with a simple problem.

I want to wire a mini switch to my pickup so that I can either use the control pot or bypass it all together.

Any ideas on how to wire this?

Thanks,
Eric

[ArtieToo]

Hey Eric; How do you mean "control pot"? Volume, blend, spin-a-split?

[ericmeyer4]

Volume

[ArtieToo]

Ah . . . gimme a minute.

[octavedoctor]

It's easy.

Leave all existing wiring in place but take two lengths of patch cable from the pot, one from the centre tag, the other from the input tag. attach one to the common terminal of the switch, the other to one of the outer terminals on the same side of the switch (if you have a spst switch or spdt switch you dont need to worry about this).

Activating the switch effectively shorts the input and output terminals, disabling the volume control.

Sorry you need to add one other connection; the earth has to go to the other side of the switch as you have to break the earth connection to the pot casing as well.

[ArtieToo]

I don't think that will work. The output will still be connected to the wiper. As the pot is rolled down, you short the output to ground. I think it needs to be like this:



Edit: "Down" on that switch is bypassed. Up is normal.

[octavedoctor]

It does work artie, because the switch also breaks the connection to ground at the same time as it shorts the input/output tags so the wpier doesn't do anything.

You may have been looking at an earlier post which I've since edited to take account of this 'cos i forgot about the earth wire initially.

Either schematic will work, but the version i've posted is an "add-on" which doesn't need the signal or output wires to be disturbed.

[ArtieToo]

This is what I visualize from your description:



Am I interpreting this wrong?

[octavedoctor]

This is what I visualize from your description:



Am I interpreting this wrong?

You're missing the switch that breaks the earth link at the point indicated by the red arrow here



If you check the modified diagram above (i've been doing this on the fly and it's been held up by imageshack stalling on upload so i've switched to fapomatic!) you will see that I have put in the link which makes the earth connection when the short between the in and out is broken, and vice versa...

Yuo may have been basing your assessment on an earlier post when i forgot to include this link on account of trying to do half a dozen things at the same time....

[ArtieToo]

Yuo may have been basing your assessment on an earlier post when i forgot to include this link on account of trying to do half a dozen things at the same time....

I probably missed it because I try to do a dozen things at the same time.

That makes sense.

Artie

[ArtieToo]

I just realized that there's two ways to interpret this question. I picked up on one way, OctaveDoctor got the other. In my way, you click a switch, and the volume control goes to "10". But the "load" of the pot stays in the circuit.

In OD's way, you eliminate the pot, and its load, altogether. Which results in a slightly different tone.

Eric; Which way did you mean?

Artie

[ericmeyer4]

I ment the second way... sorry for being really clear and all. lol

Thanks for the help guys!!!

-Eric