[sdiy] banana sockets

[Troy Sheets]

Make sure you use all-metal banana jacks.  I made the mistake of using
plastic-bodied ones.  They are all slowly breaking, and I have to replace
them with the metal ones.

-troy

On Fri, Jul 09, 2004 at 02:34:02PM -0500, Cornutt, David K wrote:
> From: charles kerr [mailto:thebadproducer at yahoo.co.uk]
> 
> hello people,
> just joined the list, and as a beginner diy-er I must say most of what is discussed is way above my head ( at the moment at least) - I thought jitter analysis was something to do with watching my dad dance! 
>  
> 
> Well, it varies a lot.  Some threads are highly theoretical and some
> are down in the guts and solder.  You just happened to catch us at
> a heads-in-the-clouds moment.
> 
> Anyway I have a small setup (doepfer, analogue systems/solutions) which is all interconnected with minijacks, these have a tendency to be crap so I want to change all the sockets to banana sockets as these will fit on the existing panels (1/4" sockets are too big) but as banana plugs are unshielded I am concerned that problems may arise (crosstalk, interference etc.) Am I correct, or would it be okay to  proceed with said conversion. I notice that several synth manufacturers use banana sockets, but are the circuits configured in such a way that any problems are negated by their design? 
>  
> 
> The only thing about using banana jacks is that you have to provide
> some means of signal return continuity between the modules.  
> I'll let someone like Cynthia jump in on what's the best way to
> accomplish this -- through the face plates and rack rails, I would
> guess, although it could be done via the power supply return.
> There are noise advantages and disadvantages to each approach.
> Back-panel wiring to connect all the returns together would
> probably be best, but it's extra effort to configure.  If you have
> multiple separated units, there has to be some external ground
> connection between them.  
>  

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