Ext. Switch with LED indication ?

Boogiem

Boogiem

Inspired
Is it possible to wire a LED in parallell with an ext switch to get "on" indication/status like on the RJM mastermind gt controller? or do I have to use an ext switch with two contacts set, on for connection to ext sw jack and the other contact set with an ext psu to drive the LED?
 
The only way for this to happen, as far as I know, is if you connect some type of Midi controller to the AX8. Just using the External Controller with ¼ cables will never be able to have a reliable on/off indication because changing a preset doesn't reset those switches states. You would need a Midi controller with a display like one of the RJM Mastermind GT's for this to happen.
 
You can build one with a 3PDT, but it will require power. Can be a little battery though.
 
bsas said:
You can build one with a 3PDT, but it will require power. Can be a little battery though.
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Yeah, but it's not going to be accurate when you change presets. Say you are in Preset 1 to start your gig....you hit the external switch to turn on whatever block it controls, led lights up, your block is active, you're all good! Now, you switch to preset 2 or scene 2,3,4,5 or whatever you have programmed....well your switch still shows that the block is on according to the LED, but is it really?? Sure, if you want to turn it off every time before you change a preset or scene then yeah, it will work....but what happens when you forget to do that??? The only way to have anything reliable that resets on preset/scene changes is something Midi based where the AX8 is sending info to it.
 
ssmorga78 said:
Yeah, but it's not going to be accurate when you change presets. Say you are in Preset 1 to start your gig....you hit the external switch to turn on whatever block it controls, led lights up, your block is active, you're all good! Now, you switch to preset 2 or scene 2,3,4,5 or whatever you have programmed....well your switch still shows that the block is on according to the LED, but is it really?? Sure, if you want to turn it off every time before you change a preset or scene then yeah, it will work....but what happens when you forget to do that??? The only way to have anything reliable that resets on preset/scene changes is something Midi based where the AX8 is sending info to it.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure if I understand your post. I use a Boss FS-6 for a couple of effects blocks and it works as you would expect, if you turn a block on with the FS-6 and change presets the block will still be on when you change presets, of course if your presets don't have the same block layout things will get goofy but if your presets all follow the same layout it works just fine.

I also thought about making a footswitch with LED's but all things considered it was cheaper to just buy the FS-6, and it has some nice options like momentary vs. latching. The only thing I don't like about it is that it doesn't have a DC power input so it only runs on battery, so you need to unplug it when done to not drain the battery, other than that it works perfectly for what I need.
 
Hmmmm, that's interesting as I have never had an external 1/4" footswitch connected to the AX8 or MFC when I had the full rack rig that carried over its state to the next preset. Even with the layouts of all my presets set them same... if I hit one of my external switches that say, turns on my Filter 2 Block in Preset 1, then swap to Preset 2 the Filter 2 Block won't be on unless I hit the footswitch again.....
 
I do the same as timowen...have since many years back. I sue both. latching and unlatched...Latch, as stated above has the LED. Does suck about the battery though.
 
I made one myself, works perfect on my FX8... led is blue (5 volts), no battery.
 

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Sonicsam said:
View attachment 38241
Here's the scematic :
Click to expand...
Thanks for the drawing.
If I understand your schematic the LED is lit when the exp. Rotarypot is disconnected.
I'm after a circuit with a switch that lit up the LED for "on" status. And in my head the only way to do that is to use a normally open switch in parallell with a LED. i'm on holiday these days so I havent my ax8 here so I can try it.
 
Boogiem said:
Thanks for the drawing.
If I understand your schematic the LED is lit when the exp. Rotarypot is disconnected.
I'm after a circuit with a switch that lit up the LED for "on" status. And in my head the only way to do that is to use a normally open switch in parallell with a LED. i'm on holiday these days so I havent my ax8 here so I can try it.
Click to expand...
Maybe my schematic is not exactly as I built it, but it works like you described it...
 
I had an old Marshall amp foot switch lying around, and I tried it in the external switch socket in the MFC. To my surprise, both foot switches work perfectly, stay in sync (I set the MFC switch type to 'HDW' so it polls the state of the switches on preset change) and, to my great surprise, the LEDs work on both foot switches. There's no battery involved. I know little about electronics, but I guess there must be a small charge/ current that's just enough to be used by LED's. They're not particularly bright, but adequate for what I need.
 
Theurge said:
II know little about electronics, but I guess there must be a small charge/ current that's just enough to be used by LED's. They're not particularly bright, but adequate for what I need.
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Yup. ;). The pedal jacks supply enough current to power an indicator LED.
 
Hi there, sorry for necro but I'd like to use a footswitch with led (and no battery) too. I have bought a cheap chinese but it doesn't work. I have 0 idea about electronics although I've tried to wire this pedal in several forms. None worked.
So, anyone could say me how to achieve this? What led do I need? (3v, 5v, 9v...), Is the schematic above correct? If so, maybe I could show it to a friend who knows how to wire it.
I'd appreciate any help, thanks
Sorry for my english, is not my native language
 
Maegirom said:
Hi there, sorry for necro but I'd like to use a footswitch with led (and no battery) too. I have bought a cheap chinese but it doesn't work. I have 0 idea about electronics although I've tried to wire this pedal in several forms. None worked.
So, anyone could say me how to achieve this? What led do I need? (3v, 5v, 9v...), Is the schematic above correct? If so, maybe I could show it to a friend who knows how to wire it.
I'd appreciate any help, thanks
Sorry for my english, is not my native language
Click to expand...
No, I don't think the schematic posted above is accurate.

The components and values you would use will depend on what voltage and current is available at the expression jack. To be honest, I don't have the time to experiment and discover what will work. Maybe someone else already knows.
 
Rex said:
No, I don't think the schematic posted above is accurate.
Click to expand...

That's what i thought...
I'll try to get a voltage meter in order to test the current available in the jack.
Anyway I have just realized that this is an AX8 thread and I'm on FX II :sweatsmile:, maybe it would be better to start a new topic in FX2 section. Thanks.
 
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