Thanks for that picture, that makes sense as I'm using the same ll4e6s canare cable. My question is the other end of that cable is connected to a 4-pin connector. How do you know which of the blue wires and white wires are connected to +/- and which are connected to ground? Or does it not matter? Thanks,
Hello Ankim,
in my PEARL 3 - builds I also used a 4-wire cable between the PSU and the PEARL3 (audio board).
You always have to be sure in electronics which wire is what. Electronics are not forgiving!
I used a cable that has a number code on the single wires. But I always check via DMM (measure resistance or beep test) if the connection is correct.
And as a second security thing I use coloured shrinktube or coloured wires:
red: + V DC
black: audio ground
blue: - V DC
yellow / green: safety ground to the case
But this is my way how I do it. You should also be sure what the rules / laws say in your country about which colours to use
in electronic hardware and check safety standards.
You can always ask here. Many members from the U.S.A. which will help you!
In Europe we have slightly different standards and norms (for example VDE, european standards, ...).
Cheers
Dirk 😉
in my PEARL 3 - builds I also used a 4-wire cable between the PSU and the PEARL3 (audio board).
You always have to be sure in electronics which wire is what. Electronics are not forgiving!
I used a cable that has a number code on the single wires. But I always check via DMM (measure resistance or beep test) if the connection is correct.
And as a second security thing I use coloured shrinktube or coloured wires:
red: + V DC
black: audio ground
blue: - V DC
yellow / green: safety ground to the case
But this is my way how I do it. You should also be sure what the rules / laws say in your country about which colours to use
in electronic hardware and check safety standards.
You can always ask here. Many members from the U.S.A. which will help you!
In Europe we have slightly different standards and norms (for example VDE, european standards, ...).
Cheers
Dirk 😉
For clarity.... and just in case...
It makes no difference whatsoever which colors you assign to a given pin / use, with the exception of the shield. What matters is that you keep very careful track of what colors / exact conductors you used for which purpose and ensure that on both ends of the fully connected umbilical have a low resistance from board to board and that you ensure that you do not have any short circuits / crossed wires.
IMHO, the most simple way to accomplish this (even if you make a very slight ookup in your wiring... Hey, it happens) is to test from the PSU board to the P3 boards with the umbilical connected as a final check.
What I do (did) after I had built my umbilical and done other interim checks that the umbilical was built properly is / was:
With the umbilical connected, but before applying power, and after ensuring the PSU was operating properly separate from the P3-
Check for a very low resistance between:
V+ from PSU to each P3 board
V- from PSU to each P3 board
GND from PSU to each P3 board
Shield ...
Make sure that I did not have a short between
V+ and V-
V+ and GND
V- and GND
If you see anything that looks amiss (apart from poor soldering at the jacks themselves), and if you used 'Euroblock' or similar connections for both the PSU and the P3 boards, it's simple enough to move the wires accordingly without any de-soldering or deconstruction of your umbilical etc. 🙂
Hope that helps a bit more.
Thanks - that seems pretty obvious now that you said it. I'll hopefully have the PSU all buttoned up by tonight and able to do some testing. I appreciate the fast response.
Thanks Dirk, yes that's what I was thinking but electronics is a new hobby for me and I'm learning as I go. Trying to be cautious as well. I have built other kits but this is the first one that is a little more DIY vs the others I have built and it has been a lot of fun. I appreciate the feedback and look forward to sharing my progress as I get through the testing in the next few days. Thanks
Modified rear panel of the Pearl chassis with 4 pole xlr connectors (instead of fuses and mains connector):
Sorry for just joking earlier!
My further recommendation: take care of the pin assignment. You should use the same pin on both plugs and connectors for plus, f.e. (and minus ang gmd too, of course). It could be confusing if someone isn't paying attention, because they are on both ends of the cables so they are mirrored. With this you can also change the direction of the cables.
Thanks everyone for the help thus far and @Plott I don't take any offesnse to jokes about my ineptitude...it's all very fair at this point in my learning journey. As a sanity check I want to do the following with my 4 wire Canare cable which has (2) blue wires and (2) white wires:
1 white wire will be + out of the PSU
1 blue wire will be - out of the PSU
the remaining white and blue wire will couple together from the ground out of the PSU.
On the other end of the cable I will solder into a female 4-pin connector as follows:
Pin 1 - Metal shield from Canare cable.
Pin 2 - + white wire
Pin 3 - both white and blue ground wires
Pin 4 - - blue wire
Then for the male 4-pin connector in the back of the P3 chassis I will do as follows:
Pin 1 to whatever the tab is called on the back of the same connector
Pin 2 1 wire to + connectors on boards
Pin 3 1 wire to ground connectors on boards
Pin 4 1 wire to - connectors on boards.
That all makes sense in my head as I envision it but I wanted to do a sanity check before I fry anything or injure myself.
Thanks,
1 white wire will be + out of the PSU
1 blue wire will be - out of the PSU
the remaining white and blue wire will couple together from the ground out of the PSU.
On the other end of the cable I will solder into a female 4-pin connector as follows:
Pin 1 - Metal shield from Canare cable.
Pin 2 - + white wire
Pin 3 - both white and blue ground wires
Pin 4 - - blue wire
Then for the male 4-pin connector in the back of the P3 chassis I will do as follows:
Pin 1 to whatever the tab is called on the back of the same connector
Pin 2 1 wire to + connectors on boards
Pin 3 1 wire to ground connectors on boards
Pin 4 1 wire to - connectors on boards.
That all makes sense in my head as I envision it but I wanted to do a sanity check before I fry anything or injure myself.
Thanks,