Creating Direct-Outs for my desk...

[technominds]

I have a 24 channel desk and it does not have direct outs... I was thinking maybe by wiring through the insert I could create my own direct outs? Do you think this is possible?

 

[mshilarious]

I have a 24 channel desk and it does not have direct outs... I was thinking maybe by wiring through the insert I could create my own direct outs? Do you think this is possible?

Yes. However if you don't need the inserts, you can put a plug in to the first click.

 

[frederic]

Aaah, the first click jack trick. haven't seen that one years.

And yes, you can add direct out jacks. Just wire one in parallel with the insert jack's connection to the pre-amps.

You can also make a TRS plug to TS in-line jack cable, and plug it into the inserts. On the plug, connect the Tip and ring together, and run your jack to the Tip (signal) and Sleeve (ground).

If you have the schematic, you can also tap in with an op-amp further up the preamp if that's a better design for you...

 

[technominds]

Well im doing it because im thinking about making my own meterbridge for my desk. Using all the insers i was thinking about taking a wire from the tip, splitting it.. looping one of them back to the ring and taking the other out for the meterbridge measurement. If done well I should be able to have a full-working meterbridge...

 

[frederic]

Well im doing it because im thinking about making my own meterbridge for my desk. Using all the insers i was thinking about taking a wire from the tip, splitting it.. looping one of them back to the ring and taking the other out for the meterbridge measurement. If done well I should be able to have a full-working meterbridge...

Yep.

A NatSemi LM3915 plus a 10-LED bargraph display and a few minor parts is all you need to make a nice VU meter. Cascadable if you want more than 10 LED's.

http://cache.national.com/ds/LM/LM3915.pdf

If you're following the DIY analog console thread, down the road a bit (I'm still catching up to "real life") you may like my VU meter design. Applicable to individual channels or to the busses... but I'm using dual-color LED bargraphs in my design, and a pair of LM3915's driving the same display.

The bargraphs have red/green LED's in them.

The first LM3915 driving the green LED's are in bar mode, and displays the VU. The second LM3915 drives the red LED's in the same display, in dot mode, but has a few passive components up front to make the "falloff" of the signal much slower... thus making a peak and hold detector, in a different color, on the same LED bargraph.

Anyway, that's not for a while yet... I'm just starting to draw up the rest of the parts of the input channel I started to post.

Slow going!

 

[technominds]

Ah i wish i had the time to make a console, I know it would be worth my time aswell! I might have a shot at building this meterbridge... if I dont, is there any multi-input meterbridges available to buy genericly?

 

[frederic]

I have not seen anything recently.

Though, the mackie 24*8 and 32*8 consoles did have meter bridges, and they were completely analog, so I am going to guess and suggest if you can figure out the pinouts of the bridge... you could easily do that.

I'm just going to make them, eventually, as my digital mixers have a stereo pair of VU meters I can flip to any input channel, buss, or output, but it's only a stereo VU meter which is fairly useless to me.

I figured out how to cram each VU meter in 1/2" wide of space, so the width of my "center section" could have enough VU meters for all the inputs, busses, and outputs if I wanted.

I just have to decide how much soldering I want to do.

 

[technominds]

You are lucky you can put this kind of stuff together, i dont even have enough resources to make circuit boards myself... I wish i did though because I would create so many things I dont even need.. it would be great!

I have a behringer 24*4, which was actually based on the mackie 24*8 but I dont know what connections the 24*8 meterbridge uses. If its one of those rediculous mutli-plug things is it possible to get each individual one split?

 

[frederic]

You are lucky you can put this kind of stuff together, i dont even have enough resources to make circuit boards myself... I wish i did though because I would create so many things I dont even need.. it would be great!

So, don't make a circuit board. Use perfboard and little wires between everything. PITA, but it works just dandy, and you only need wire, wire nippers, and a soldering iron, and of course the perf board.

[/quote]I have a behringer 24*4, which was actually based on the mackie 24*8 but I dont know what connections the 24*8 meterbridge uses. If its one of those rediculous mutli-plug things is it possible to get each individual one split?[/QUOTE]

The Mackie uses a funky multi-pin connector I believe... I sold me mackies a long time ago so honestly I don't recall, but I'm fairly sure each input channel had it's own "feed" to the meter bridge, which leans me towards thinking what you want to do will work fine.

Once you figure out the power pins on that funky connector, from there it's easy to see which pin feeds which meter... power it up, and put a pair of AA batteries between ground and each pin, and see which VU meter lights 2 LEDs. Then write it down before you forget!