Replacing Sparkle Drive Footswitch
- Thread starter cacibi
- Start date
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telefunken
Friend of Leo's
I sent mine to VooDoo Lab, they replaced my SparkleDrive and MicroVibes' switches for free.Took about three weeks.
A good buddy of mine got two Sparkledrives... He liked the first one so much , he got himself a second one just in case .
The switches on both of them went bad , so I e-mailed Voodoo labs and they went ahead and sent me two switches acouple of days later for free...Nice .
Anyway , it's a little tough to change them out because they are DPDT switches with six pins soldered directly to the board . I used a solder sucker a couple of times on all six connections , and I couldn't remove the old switch...
So out of desperation , here's what I did :
I used a hacksaw blade and CAREFULLY cut the body of the switch about 1/16" above the board , just leaving the six pins and about 1/16" of the body of the switch attached to the board .
I then nipped away at the plastic switch body with a wire clipper untill just the pins were left ,at that point it was easy to un-solder the six pins from circuit board .
I put the new switch in about 1/16" above the board and soldered in place , leaving a little bit of room to fit a wire clipper between the board and the switch ...If the job needs to be done again , I can easily clip the the switch off at the pins .
The first switch took way to long to do , but the second switch took about 30 mins...still way too long .
I think with a Dremel cutting wheel , I could have done it in 10 or 15 minutes .
That's my story ,
Chris
The switches on both of them went bad , so I e-mailed Voodoo labs and they went ahead and sent me two switches acouple of days later for free...Nice .
Anyway , it's a little tough to change them out because they are DPDT switches with six pins soldered directly to the board . I used a solder sucker a couple of times on all six connections , and I couldn't remove the old switch...
So out of desperation , here's what I did :
I used a hacksaw blade and CAREFULLY cut the body of the switch about 1/16" above the board , just leaving the six pins and about 1/16" of the body of the switch attached to the board .
I then nipped away at the plastic switch body with a wire clipper untill just the pins were left ,at that point it was easy to un-solder the six pins from circuit board .
I put the new switch in about 1/16" above the board and soldered in place , leaving a little bit of room to fit a wire clipper between the board and the switch ...If the job needs to be done again , I can easily clip the the switch off at the pins .
The first switch took way to long to do , but the second switch took about 30 mins...still way too long .
I think with a Dremel cutting wheel , I could have done it in 10 or 15 minutes .
That's my story ,
Chris
tlpruitt
Tele-Meister
Replacing VL Switches
The VooDoo Lab switch is a DPDT (2PDT) type and it is made by Cliff. Mojotone has them if you can't get one from VooDoo Labs. The Mojotone item number is 4114111 and they are $8 each.
As stated above, it is tricky getting the bad switch out. I was able to snip the legs off the old switch to get it out. Then you can open the holes in the PCB by applying a some heat with a soldering iron and poking a toothpick through the holes.
-Tim
The VooDoo Lab switch is a DPDT (2PDT) type and it is made by Cliff. Mojotone has them if you can't get one from VooDoo Labs. The Mojotone item number is 4114111 and they are $8 each.
As stated above, it is tricky getting the bad switch out. I was able to snip the legs off the old switch to get it out. Then you can open the holes in the PCB by applying a some heat with a soldering iron and poking a toothpick through the holes.
-Tim
tlpruitt
Tele-Meister
Other Switches
The PCB in VL pedals has a hole pattern that matches the pin pattern of the switch they use exactly. I was not able to find another PCB mount switch with the same pin pattern and spacing.
You can use a switch with solder type terminals and "fly" wires from the solder terminals on the switch to the holes in the PCB. However, the issue with using a different switch is the size and depth of the body of the switch. It needs to fit in there and still allow the PCB to mount into position without touching anything it shouldn't.
I have 2 VL pedals and the switches went bad in both of them. One switch I replaced with the same switch that VL uses. The other switch I replaced with a Carling DPDT switch with solder terminals and connected the switch to the PCB with wires as I desribed above. I had to bend the solder terminals 90 degress to flatten them and get them out of the way of the PCB. It was tight but it worked.
Neither switch has failed since.
-Tim
The PCB in VL pedals has a hole pattern that matches the pin pattern of the switch they use exactly. I was not able to find another PCB mount switch with the same pin pattern and spacing.
You can use a switch with solder type terminals and "fly" wires from the solder terminals on the switch to the holes in the PCB. However, the issue with using a different switch is the size and depth of the body of the switch. It needs to fit in there and still allow the PCB to mount into position without touching anything it shouldn't.
I have 2 VL pedals and the switches went bad in both of them. One switch I replaced with the same switch that VL uses. The other switch I replaced with a Carling DPDT switch with solder terminals and connected the switch to the PCB with wires as I desribed above. I had to bend the solder terminals 90 degress to flatten them and get them out of the way of the PCB. It was tight but it worked.
Neither switch has failed since.
-Tim
phisherman1997
Tele-Meister
I just had the switch in my sparkledrive replaced by VoodooLab. They were really nice on the phone, replaced the switch for free and paid return shipping. From Texas to California and back the pedal was only gone about 12 days.
The new switch sounds and feels a bit different, hopefully they've redesigned/upgraded it a bit.
Seems easy enough to just send it out and have them do the work. my .02
jesse
btw. They never even asked if I was the original owner, and when I mentioned that it would be under warranty the guy on the phone said "Yeah, don't worry about a warranty, we'll take care of it". That's what I call customer service!
The new switch sounds and feels a bit different, hopefully they've redesigned/upgraded it a bit.
Seems easy enough to just send it out and have them do the work. my .02
jesse
btw. They never even asked if I was the original owner, and when I mentioned that it would be under warranty the guy on the phone said "Yeah, don't worry about a warranty, we'll take care of it". That's what I call customer service!
tlpruitt
Tele-Meister
My VL Customer Service Experience
Hey phisherman1997,
Good to hear that VooDoo Lab helped you out and replaced the switch for free. Maybe their policy has changed. When I called them a year or so ago they were very nice too. But I am not the original owner of either of my VL pedals and at the time they said the warranty was only for original owners. I was told I would have to pay for the repair and the shipping since I was the second owner. They also said they would not give me or sell me a switch for me to do the repair myself. I have heard others tell different stories about VL fixing switches and sending out switches before my experience with VL and after my experience with VL. Maybe their policy has changed or maybe I talked to the wrong guy on a bad day at VL.
I have built and repaired effects and I knew I could replace the switch myself so I started searching for the switch that VL uses and eventually found that Cliff was the company that makes the switch. A Cliff sales rep pointed me to Mojotone as the only company that sells the switch in small quantities to individual customers.
Although I had the experience to replace the switch myself I would have gladly sent the pedal away to have it fixed for free but that wasn't an option for me at the time.
-Tim
Hey phisherman1997,
Good to hear that VooDoo Lab helped you out and replaced the switch for free. Maybe their policy has changed. When I called them a year or so ago they were very nice too. But I am not the original owner of either of my VL pedals and at the time they said the warranty was only for original owners. I was told I would have to pay for the repair and the shipping since I was the second owner. They also said they would not give me or sell me a switch for me to do the repair myself. I have heard others tell different stories about VL fixing switches and sending out switches before my experience with VL and after my experience with VL. Maybe their policy has changed or maybe I talked to the wrong guy on a bad day at VL.
I have built and repaired effects and I knew I could replace the switch myself so I started searching for the switch that VL uses and eventually found that Cliff was the company that makes the switch. A Cliff sales rep pointed me to Mojotone as the only company that sells the switch in small quantities to individual customers.
Although I had the experience to replace the switch myself I would have gladly sent the pedal away to have it fixed for free but that wasn't an option for me at the time.
-Tim
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