Guide: DIY silent remote for Neo Instruments Ventilator

[Stefan Lindmark]

I decided to make myself a cheap and silent remote footswitch for the Neo Instruments Ventilator. It worked so well that I made a DIY guide for others looking for a similar solution. If you can connect an instrument cable you can also make this. Enjoy!

 

/Stefan

 

http://i.imgur.com/N63eG.png

[AnotherScott]

That's great! I've hardly used my Ventilator, in part because of the noisy switches, which really do seem like a terrible design decision. If I hang onto it, I'll give this a shot. Though right now I'm leaning toward going with the hamichord's exp module altogether!

[Stefan Lindmark]

FYI besides the noise-free operation, this solution is also around half the price of the original remote.

[mate stubb]

Those are some big switches.

[Stefan Lindmark]

The AB200 is just about 130 mm or 5 inches wide.

The Ventilator itself is around 185 mm or 7.5 inches wide.

 

And the AB200 has a significantly lower profile, so it actually feels quite small in comparison.

[Stefan Lindmark]

In case you didn't refer to the switch buttons themselves. They're really just big plastic plates pushing in very small switches mounted on a PCB underneath.

[Josh Paxton]

Tangentially related question: If you only want to switch between slow and fast, and never want to put the brake on, is it possible to use a standard footswitch (sustain pedal type) with the Vent?

[Stefan Lindmark]

No, you need a foot switch that switches from one connection to another. A normal footswitch just connects or breaks the circuit of the same connection. So it doesn't work at all, not even if you omit the break function.

[Stefan Lindmark]

I can disclose that the reference to the FS-6 is in the guide out of more than a theoretical point of view. Bought the thing before examining the pinout of the remote jack. And it really doesn't work ;-)

[GDP]

This looks pretty cool! I wonder, for the sake of cable neatness, if you could open the AB200 up and hardwire the connections. Then you would just have one TRS to the input.

 

[Josh Paxton]

No, you need a foot switch that switches from one connection to another. A normal footswitch just connects or breaks the circuit of the same connection. So it doesn't work at all, not even if you omit the break function.

 

Thanks!

[Stefan Lindmark]

This looks pretty cool! I wonder, for the sake of cable neatness, if you could open the AB200 up and hardwire the connections. Then you would just have one TRS to the input.

 

That's a really good idea! It would be a very clean and neat solution. However, the AB200 has TS jacks and not TRS jacks. So that would most probably require replacing one of the jacks of the AB200 first. Don't know how difficult that would be, but it's not unlikely that the jack is soldered to the PCB.

[mobi]

I wonder if will work with a Boss FS 6

 

 

[RedKey]

I wonder if will work with a Boss FS 6

 

I'll save you the time so you don't have to read page three of his guide.

 

No.

[Stefan Lindmark]

I wonder if will work with a Boss FS 6

 

I'll save you the time so you don't have to read page three of his guide.

 

No.

 

Or even my own previous in-thread response about exactly the same product 5 posts earlier. Perhaps I just waste my time trying to document things properly

[zoooombiex]

Tangentially related question: If you only want to switch between slow and fast, and never want to put the brake on, is it possible to use a standard footswitch (sustain pedal type) with the Vent?

 

No, you need a foot switch that switches from one connection to another. A normal footswitch just connects or breaks the circuit of the same connection. So it doesn't work at all, not even if you omit the break function.

 

As a follow-up to this question, I notice on the Ashby site that it says "These pedals may look like your average floor pedal, but they're not the same. The standard pedal used in guitar amps for tremolo-reverb or channel-boost will not work without modifications."

 

What kind of modification would allow you to use a trem/reverb type switch for the fast/slow function? (Ashby's one-button switch appears to be a normal, modded trem/reverb type switch.)

 

FWIW, I already bought a 2-button footswitch from Ashby. I just have some extra trem/reverb switches around and was curious how hard it would be to convert them for the vent...

[Tonysounds]

The answer is in your post, the quote from Stefan. Trust me, we've tried rewiring a number of pedals a number of ways and the only things that work are those wired to Leslie specs.

[JeffLearman]

In addition, if you want a momentary switch for fast Leslie, just flip the black switch on the left from "latch" to "momentary". :-)

 

Cool; thanks!

[Mr. Nightime]

So if I look up the schematics for a half moon switch, and create a pedal based on that, it will work?

[Tobias Åslund]

So if I look up the schematics for a half moon switch, and create a pedal based on that, it will work?

Yes! I made one myself - works great. Only thing is that the switches require quite a bit of force to push down, and I put them in a very small box, so it moves around a lot and isn't very stable.

I also have a switch on the side of my DIY halfmoon so I can select if I wan't to control the vent with halfmoon or DIY pedal - see pic below

 

What kind of modification would allow you to use a trem/reverb type switch for the fast/slow function? (Ashby's one-button switch appears to be a normal, modded trem/reverb type switch.)

 

FWIW, I already bought a 2-button footswitch from Ashby. I just have some extra trem/reverb switches around and was curious how hard it would be to convert them for the vent...

So my new pedal will be a modified, cheap 2-button footswitch like the one you describe. Given that the switches inside are two-way, and not just on/off, it is very easy to modify the pedal. Otherwise you need to replace those switches.

You will find the schematic how they should be wired in the Ventilator manual, so anyone with very basic electronic skills and a soldering iron can do this.

 

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/8333/img0555i.jpg

[Mr. Nightime]

So let me see if I have this right. The switch should complete the circuit between the sleeve and tip for slow, and between the sleeve and ring for fast?. I have a 2 button Motion Sound footswitch that I'd like to convert to work with the Vent. I looked at the schematic in the manual, and I'm not 100% sure how it should be wired. Maybe a pic of the inside so I can see how the switches are wired?

 

[zoooombiex]

The answer is in your post, the quote from Stefan. Trust me, we've tried rewiring a number of pedals a number of ways and the only things that work are those wired to Leslie specs.

 

Sorry if I was unclear - I was looking for instructions on how to rewire/modify a regular trem/reverb footswitch to a fast/slow switch. I understand "a foot switch that switches from one connection to another" in a descriptive sense, but not the specific wiring needed for this purpose.

 

So is this correct? --

 

So let me see if I have this right. The switch should complete the circuit between the sleeve and tip for slow, and between the sleeve and ring for fast?

 

That's what it looks like on the slideshow for the Vent/AB-200.

 

So if that's correct and you just want a one-button switch for fast/slow, would that mean you get a SPDT switch and a TRS cable, wire the sleeve to the center pole, the ring to one side of the switch and the tip to the other?

[Tobias Åslund]

So let me see if I have this right. The switch should complete the circuit between the sleeve and tip for slow, and between the sleeve and ring for fast?

So if that's correct and you just want a one-button switch for fast/slow, would that mean you get a SPDT switch and a TRS cable, wire the sleeve to the center pole, the ring to one side of the switch and the tip to the other?

It seems you are both on the right track. If you want to make a two button switch - just put the other switch between the sleeve and the "slow/fast"-switch.

 

If you're not sure how to wire the switch it can't hurt to try - it's only passive electronics, so there's no way it can damage the Ventilator.

[Tobias Åslund]

That's great! I've hardly used my Ventilator, in part because of the noisy switches, which really do seem like a terrible design decision. If I hang onto it, I'll give this a shot. Though right now I'm leaning toward going with the hamichord's exp module altogether!

Back to this - I really don't see when this can be an issue? Ok, if you have it in a studio and you have a recording microphone near the Vent, but other than that, no... These switches are less noisy than switches in many comparable guitar fx pedals.

[MuzikTeechur]

I have the "official" Neo foot switch (isn't the vent itself a footswitch? I always felt it was too nice to put down there on the floor).

It's configureable to behave in several different ways - to mimic the various Leslie switches through the years - via DIP switches.

It's a few dollars more than a generic foot switch, but no re-wiring involved.

As far as "noise" - I have never even *heard* the click.

[zoooombiex]

So let me see if I have this right. The switch should complete the circuit between the sleeve and tip for slow, and between the sleeve and ring for fast?

So if that's correct and you just want a one-button switch for fast/slow, would that mean you get a SPDT switch and a TRS cable, wire the sleeve to the center pole, the ring to one side of the switch and the tip to the other?

It seems you are both on the right track. If you want to make a two button switch - just put the other switch between the sleeve and the "slow/fast"-switch.

 

If you're not sure how to wire the switch it can't hurt to try - it's only passive electronics, so there's no way it can damage the Ventilator.

 

Thanks. I use a lot of pedals and rarely use the brake function on the Ashby 2-button, so I like the idea of a super-small fast/slow switch.

 

I have some of these around and thought they might do the trick. Looks like I probably just to replace the cable with a TRS cable and rewire to the switch. Not sure if the switch is SPST or SPDT though.

 

http://elderly.com/images/accessories/ELA/FFS15.jpg

[Mr. Nightime]

I just opened up my Motion Sound pedal, and it has two DPDT switches. I'm going tomorrow to get a headphone extention cord @ Radio Shack that's TRS. I don't really need the cord to detach, so for a few bucks I can get the cable with the 1/4" TRS plug already there.

 

[Mr. Nightime]

Update

 

I took my Motion Sound pedal and rewired it.

 

I went to Radio Shack, and for $12 got a Headphone extension cord with a 1/4 TRS plug.

 

Cut the cord to the required length

 

Then I connected the sleeve to the center post of the switch, and the tip and ring to either side.

 

So one click connects the tip and sleeve, and the other click connects the ring and sleeve.

 

Works perfectly.

 

Now I can place the Vent on top of my XB-2 and adjust the settings depending on the song. Just what I wanted

 

 

 

 

[zoooombiex]

So let me see if I have this right. The switch should complete the circuit between the sleeve and tip for slow, and between the sleeve and ring for fast?

So if that's correct and you just want a one-button switch for fast/slow, would that mean you get a SPDT switch and a TRS cable, wire the sleeve to the center pole, the ring to one side of the switch and the tip to the other?

It seems you are both on the right track. If you want to make a two button switch - just put the other switch between the sleeve and the "slow/fast"-switch.

 

If you're not sure how to wire the switch it can't hurt to try - it's only passive electronics, so there's no way it can damage the Ventilator.

 

Thanks. I use a lot of pedals and rarely use the brake function on the Ashby 2-button, so I like the idea of a super-small fast/slow switch.

 

I have some of these around and thought they might do the trick. Looks like I probably just to replace the cable with a TRS cable and rewire to the switch. Not sure if the switch is SPST or SPDT though.

 

Update on my 1-button project.

 

The normal fender reverb switches are SPST and so won't work for fast/slow switching without replacing the switch. They look like this:

 

http://images.thomann.de/pics/prod/203738.jpg

 

However, there's another all-purpose 1-button switch that uses a SPDT switch:

 

http://www.siglermusiconline.com/store/pc/OSP-Push-On-Push-Off-One-Button-Footswitch-p5150.htm

 

http://www.siglermusiconline.com/store/pc/catalog/fs-1_03_453_detail.jpg

 

It's just a touch taller than the normal fender footswitch, but still pretty compact. I found a good deal on ebay, so I grabbed one to try it out. I thought it might be big enough to put a jack on it, but not quite, so it has to be hard-wired.

 

I had an extra stereo cable and wired it up in just a few minutes. Just cut off the mono cable that comes with the footswitch, re-wire the new one (sleeve to center prong on switch, red/white cables to left/right prongs) and you're done.

 

Can't say it's a big money-saver. The switch is ~$15, and a stereo cable will add a few more $, and then there's whatever value you attach to your time. Ashby's is only ~$35 and no rewiring needed, plus it comes with a jack rather than a hard-wired cable, if that is a plus to you - the two switches shown above are too small for a jack.

 

But if you want something super-small for fast/slow switching only, it's an easy project.

[Delaware Dave]

As far as "noise" - I have never even *heard* the click.

Neither have I ... of course i play in a loud band but the click on the Vent is still quieter than the click on my Motion sound pedal so I always thought of it as an improvement.