switchraft switching jack failures

[martin manning]

In the case I reported on above the contact was not loaded correctly. There should be enough interferance between the contacts so that there is some sliding motion between the tip leaf and the shunt leaf when it makes and breaks. That way there is a self-cleaning action.

[husky]

What problem(s) were you having, and what did CE say about it.?
Thanks

the switches were opening up and lifting the grid leak resistor out of circuit letting in a TON of RF and noise to the first tube stage. Scared the crap out of a few of my customers when their amp suddenly went crazy after silently idling.

It also cost me some money to recall a few recent amps - not cool, but not too bad.

The problem took anywhere from 2-6 months to present itself and was intermittent. Not the easiest thing to track down but its definitely the input jack causing it. If you look at the mechanism closely, you can see where the corrosion occurs.

I had that problem with the 12A's as early as 1990. The only work around we found which seemed like a permanent fix was to fold a piece of 800 grit paper and while jack is open with a plug insert between the contacts, pull the plug then pull the paper and add some De-Oxit. I did run in to improperly formed tip contacts as well so that when some non Switchcraft plugs were used they could deform the connectors. That also created an open circuit. The explanation from Switchcraft to me was that there was a coating on the metal to aide in the bending/forming process that was difficult to 100% remove.

[Structo]

Just wanted to let you guys know that I received my order from AES yesterday and they are indeed Cliff made in UK jacks.

Not sure if those white plastic jacks they sell are but the black S4 are.

Just looked at AES and now they say they are out of the S4 jack.......

[Structo]

What problem(s) were you having, and what did CE say about it.?
Thanks

the switches were opening up and lifting the grid leak resistor out of circuit letting in a TON of RF and noise to the first tube stage. Scared the crap out of a few of my customers when their amp suddenly went crazy after silently idling.

It also cost me some money to recall a few recent amps - not cool, but not too bad.

The problem took anywhere from 2-6 months to present itself and was intermittent. Not the easiest thing to track down but its definitely the input jack causing it. If you look at the mechanism closely, you can see where the corrosion occurs.

I had that problem with the 12A's as early as 1990. The only work around we found which seemed like a permanent fix was to fold a piece of 800 grit paper and while jack is open with a plug insert between the contacts, pull the plug then pull the paper and add some De-Oxit. I did run in to improperly formed tip contacts as well so that when some non Switchcraft plugs were used they could deform the connectors. That also created an open circuit. The explanation from Switchcraft to me was that there was a coating on the metal to aide in the bending/forming process that was difficult to 100% remove.

Hi John,
I believe the C12A jack is the military version that is supposed to have fine silver contacts.

I would be afraid of removing that silver plating on the contacts with sandpaper.

Perhaps a contact cleaner on a piece of paper might do better to remove any oil or manufacturing coating.

My problem isn't so much with the contacts not conducting but with the metal used for the leaf contact.
It doesn't seem to have a very springy memory and bends easily.

It is supposedly Special copper alloy. Integral contacts are standard in the isolated switching circuits.

[C Moore]

Does anybody have any definitive info-data-tests that show a difference between Cliff jacks and Cliff UK.?
Has anybody compared one thousand of each and seen any kind of "scientific" difference.?
You guys know what I mean. How many times can you insert and extract a plug before the jack fails.....stuff like that. Is there a difference to even be concerned about.?
Thank You

Funny thing is that there was even a point during the lawsuit when Cliff USA was buying jacks from Cliff UK. Naturally they would be Cliff UK real jacks though. There is very much a cross pollination of people who worked and designed for both companies. It is difficult to switch to Cliff UK though unless they can get production up to better numbers. I'm having a hard time getting delivery and pricing from Cliff UK. Also just for the record, in the 2,000 jacks a month I use.... I have not seen ANY difference in the failure rate from either company. Both are very reliable, this includes warranty repairs going back 5 years. Not one ! jack failure for warranty once the amp or pedal was shipped and I have a lifetime warranty. All my jack failures (a handful at the most) out of 30,000 jacks have been out of the box issues or damage from improper soldering while teaching a trainee. Lets not forget the Chinese factory was setup by both companies Cliff Products and Cliff USA
At least that is what I understand but the whole thing is a very messy he said she said. I personally do not see any evidence to be worried about reliability from either. Much better track record than Switchcraft in my book. Hope that answers your question.

Thank You Mr S.....
Exactly what I was looking for. A large number of jacks over a decent period of time. Just wondering if there was a real difference.....politics aside. I have no problem with anybodies preference's.
Best