Dotcomformat

Wouldn't the panel be tied to the common power supply ground through the power harness?  Being that the patch jacks are metal and are mounted on the front panel.

len


--- In dotcomformat@yahoogroups.com, "Doug" <dougslocum@...> wrote:
>
> Ya know, I never thought of that - A DOTCOM passive panel not having a specific ground connection.  
> 
> You're right that unless it's screwed to a common metal panel (as opposed to something like wood or plastic) it will always be floating until a patch cord is inserted.  It certainly wouldn't hurt to find a way to ground it, but I think your safe in leaving it disconnected like the multiple isn't either.
> 
> The only disadvantage I can think of would be potential voltage spikes from external equipment that could be at a slightly different voltage until plugged in.  And that gets into proper studio grounding anyway, which should always be done to prevent ground loops, etc.  (Boy am I guilty here!)
> 
> Hope that helps.
> 
> --- In dotcomformat@yahoogroups.com, "shadowfaac" <shadowfaac@> wrote:
> >
> > 
> > Hey all.
> > 
> > I bought a custom utility panel from Metalbox for my dotcom system. This is a 1U 19" rack panel with four 4-way multiples, two passive attenuators, and six 1/4" to 1/8" adapters (for interfacing with my euro system).
> > 
> > Anyway, the panel is all passive but it came with a power cable with only the ground pin connected. The problem is that this cable has a MOTM-style connector instead of the dotcom style. 
> > 
> > I'm wondering if it would be a bad idea to just leave the ground cable unplugged. Looking at the back of the panel, I can see that all the ground pins on all the jacks have been connected together, so I am assuming that plugging a patch cable between any jack in the panel and any module in my system should provide any necessary grounding. Also, the dotcom multiples and mini-jack interface (which this panel sort of substitutes) do not have a power connector and are not grounded directly to the PS, so I think I should be safe.
> > 
> > .Alfonso.
> >
>