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Step 8Wire Up the Power Jack and Power Supply
I used standard 4-pin DIN connectors for the power. You could use any 4-pin connector you like, but I like these DIN connectors because they lock in place and are very sturdy.
Anyway, these connectors are actually really easy to hook up. Both the plug and receptacle ends use solder cups - simply insert a short section of stripped wire, and feed in some solder. For the two sockets, be mindful of the pin number (there are tiny numbers printed on the connectors), and maintain the same number and wire colour throughout to keep yourself sane.
I would have preferred to use some nice stranded power cable for this, but all I had was 8-conductor ethernet cable. I grouped the wires in pairs (blue/blue, orange/orange, etc.) and managed to fit two of these wires in each solder cup. I highly recommend using a shielded 4-conductor stranded cable for this, if you can. The assembly of the connector itself is tricky, and the order of the various sleeves is critical. Do one end first so you know the order, then thread the sleeves on the other end BEFORE soldering on the second connector. Fortunately the connector I chose is easily rebuildable so if you make a mistake it'll just cost you time, and not money...
As I mentioned earlier I used a pre-made +15, -15, +5V power supply. This cut out a lot of development time for me, and the end result was a supply that is smaller and lighter than anything I could have made. It's almost small enough to fit in the guitar itself! I desoldered the existing connectors and hard-wired an AC jack to one end, and the power jack to the other. You will also need to do one modification to the power supply: solder a single wire between the +5V ground and the +15V/-15V ground, so the two grounds are at the same potential. You may craft a custom enclosure for the power supply, or just stuff it into a project box.
Anyway, these connectors are actually really easy to hook up. Both the plug and receptacle ends use solder cups - simply insert a short section of stripped wire, and feed in some solder. For the two sockets, be mindful of the pin number (there are tiny numbers printed on the connectors), and maintain the same number and wire colour throughout to keep yourself sane.
I would have preferred to use some nice stranded power cable for this, but all I had was 8-conductor ethernet cable. I grouped the wires in pairs (blue/blue, orange/orange, etc.) and managed to fit two of these wires in each solder cup. I highly recommend using a shielded 4-conductor stranded cable for this, if you can. The assembly of the connector itself is tricky, and the order of the various sleeves is critical. Do one end first so you know the order, then thread the sleeves on the other end BEFORE soldering on the second connector. Fortunately the connector I chose is easily rebuildable so if you make a mistake it'll just cost you time, and not money...
As I mentioned earlier I used a pre-made +15, -15, +5V power supply. This cut out a lot of development time for me, and the end result was a supply that is smaller and lighter than anything I could have made. It's almost small enough to fit in the guitar itself! I desoldered the existing connectors and hard-wired an AC jack to one end, and the power jack to the other. You will also need to do one modification to the power supply: solder a single wire between the +5V ground and the +15V/-15V ground, so the two grounds are at the same potential. You may craft a custom enclosure for the power supply, or just stuff it into a project box.
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