i keep ending up with these types of patchbays and i'm wondering if anybody has any input on them. they seem to take some sort of weird plug, sorta 1/4", but not really. i'm thinking they're telephone patch bays, and i have some patch chords for them, but not a lot of them. the one pictured above is ex-radio station and has labels alluding to its use with an audimax at some point, so they used it for audio, but i don't know whether i should use them or just stick with a current format.

thanks,
alex

I'm not the world's foremost expert, but those look like longframe 1/4" patch bays. Your two data points (former radio station equipment and sorta 1/4" plug) would seem to confirm it. Longframe connectors look like regular 1/4" connectors but with a smaller head. They're big versions of TT connectors (or the other way around, I forget) and they're not compatible with normal 1/4" stuff. The smaller head makes for bad contact in a normal 1/4" jack and the big head of normal 1/4" plug will deform the normalling contacts in a longframe jack. Or so I've read.

I just bought two longframe ADC patch bays that terminate via short snakes at a plate of punch block terminals off eBay for a pittance to use as mic line patch bays since my Neotek Series IIIc doesn't have mic line patch points on the built-in TT patch bay. I also made some longframe cables for myself, though you can buy them pre-made for about a buck more than the parts cost.

I used Canare L-4E5C mini Star-Quad cable and Neutrik NP3TB-B connectors. These are $0.33 per foot and $4.99 each respectively from Markertek. The mini Star-Quad is a bitch to work with (braided shield plus four teeny-tiny wires) but is good quality stuff. If you don't want to spend a long day watching Band of Brothers (again) and breathing in lead fumes, I would recommend just buying pre-made ones.

Best of luck,

Dan

These are known as PO or B-guage patchbays, have remained essentially unchanged since the days of manual telephone exchanges, and are still by far the most reliable patching system around. Hence they are still widely used today and you'll find them everywhere.

Make up your own cords - it's WAY cheaper if you're after more than a handful. The current neutrik plugs are: http://www.neutrik.com/content/Products ... =204_29951

Hope this helps.

wow, great responses. thanks very much both of you. i'll totally go with them then.

Hmm, I once worked in a theater that had a patchbay with that type of connector. I ran out of patchcords with the funky rounded 1/4" connector so I just used normal 1/4" balanced cables. It seemed to work. I don't think I broke anything (I sure hope not). You probably wouldn't want to make a practice of this, but it does work in a pinch.