Fishman Powerchip

[Walter Morgan]

Anyone installed a FIshman powerchip with mag pup and switch?

The instructions say to use a on off on switch with the mag on one side the piezo on the other

and the center grounded.

I'm not very knowledgable on switches.  How are these connections

made physically at the switch? There are 3 pairs of lugs on the switch.

Want to end up with Volume and Tone on the humbucker and of course the Powerchip as piezo volume with the 3 way switch to comine or isolate the pickups.

PS if anyone needs a great diagram for Telecaster switch wiring look here

http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/Assets/pdf/Acme_Guitar_Works_Diagram...

thanks

Walter

[Ron Ellison]

First off I haven't done this with the particular pickup you refer to but I have done this kind of stuff before. It looks like your switch is a double pole double throw switch. Assuming that you want to have either the Fishman or the magnetic pickup but not a mix of the two, I would solder the core from the fishman to one side, the core from the magnetic pickup to the other side and the core to the output in the middle. All of these on one row. On the other row I would solder the corresponding shields.

[Walter Morgan]

HI Ron,

thanks for the reply.

Here is the schematic provided in the FIshman instructions. 

As I now look at it with fresh eyes. Is it really so simple? Hot from mag to one side of switch out the other side to Powerchip. The piezo connections actually go to the Powerchip and there is an additional solder pad on the board for the piezo connect to switch. I guess either side or should they be tied together? center lugs tied to ground. 

I'll try to connect with FIshman and report back.

Walter

PS Schatten Design makes a really fine endpin preamp. I chose he FIshman for this setup because it takes up less space in the guitar but more in the wallet:) 

[Ron Ellison]

The ons and off on your switch suggest it is not the one I thought. Best to ignore my first post.

[Russell Vance]

Walter, this is the equivalent of the Graphtech Ghost "Quickswitch" - the Fishman powerchip already combines the two pickups together - that what it's purpose of the trim pot is on the "chip" - the volume knob controls the piezo level overall in combination with the magnetic.   The optional switch enables you to cut the magnetic pickup or the piezo from the circuit with one switch selection.   The wiring is as per the Fishman installation and simply earths out each signal to cut it from the mix.  Either side of the in-line connectors is fine (no diagonals) with the center "off" tied to the common earth on the other side of the board as per the instructions for running a single earth wire to that "delicate" pad. 

If you have any doubt as to your prowess with a soldering iron I humbly suggest you lose a bit of cash by having it done by a Tech as de-laminating the solder pad is sometime an end game for the circuit board.  Try to do a dry run before actually doing the job as damage is often done trying to heat the pads twice when the pad and surrounding board is already hot from a previous attempt. 

25 Watt iron with a skinny tip is often the preferred weapon of choice for these jobs.  I usually put a clean deposit of solder on the pad (to "tin" the surfaces with a thin layer of new solder) and the wire before finally soldering the two together   If you already have all this knowledge I apologize for the suck-eggs stuff, good luck, Rusty.

[Walter Morgan]

Awesome info. Thanks Russell.

Yeah I intend to tread lightly on the circuit board connections. I'm not a complete novice but

I want to include this option for my builds so there's nothing for it but to learn how to do it. I can trial and error on a project board.

Again thanks for the reply. I appreciate it.

Walter

[Paul Verticchio]

"I'm not a complete novice but...."

Hi Walter.

Take Rusty's and my advice & take it to someone who is an expert with soldering AND who knows how to work on SMT board level components in case jumpers need to be reconfigured or a board level component needs replaced. 

These are not jobs for novices, amateurs or hobbyists. Soldering skills really do make or break the project.

90% of my "electronics" work is correcting poor and sloppy "hack" solder jobs that resulted in a trip to the repair shop.  Most of my time is spent cleaning up terminals and undoing their damage.   I really do wish Radio Shack would stop selling soldering irons to hacks (:

Sounds like a great project.  Have fun (-:

[Walter Morgan]

Paul,

Thanks for the reply.

cheers,

Walter