Sav Posted December 11, 2003 Share Posted December 11, 2003 I have been asked by my sound engineer to find out the best method of cleaning the bt type patch bays. We believe that it has been done using some kind of abrasive version of the plug in the past and don't really want to use anything of that sort as we are sure that we could end up with some kind of long term damage. What have you people used in the past? Any advice please?Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted December 11, 2003 Share Posted December 11, 2003 Canford Audio sell a jackfield 'burnishing' tool - basically as you describe, a slightly abrasive version of the standard GPO connector metalwork. That would seem to be your best bet. www.canford.co.uk - it's product code 20-051, and is a bit pricey!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 Hi Sav it depends what bits you want to clean, how long you want to spend on it and whose jackfields they are. If it's the part of the leaf contact which mates with the inserted jack then, as Gareth said, you can use a jackfield burnisher from someone like Canford. The beauty is you can clean from the front and it's quick, the downside is that each time you do it you wear away some material. You can also get burnishers which have a hole down the middle to squirt in a cleaner. If you are squirting in cleaner, remember that it will drip on the jack rows below so start cleaning from the top and work downwards. The other way is to take the field from the bay and then using cleaning fluid and something called 'bank' tape (also from Canford) you can gently clean the contacts. Much better but takes longer. If it's the normalling contacts that are mucky, shown by intermittent normalling, then the only way is a manual clean. Intermittent normalling can alos be caused by older jacks losing their spring and needing a slight tweak to tighten them up, but, unless you are confident doing this last bit I'd leave it well alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 Moderation: Topic moved to Sound and AV from Safety Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robloxley Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 Certainly some good advice would be not to clean it - especially with an abrasive - unless it needs cleaning, or at least not more than say every year or two.Studiospares do jackfield burnishers with a hole down the centre through which you can squirt a bit of contact cleaner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 yes it's thread necromancy but I'm just trying to keep on topic ... the venue I'm currently at use a normal jack plugdipped into Brasso, a bit of elbow grease and some paper towels to clean the jack plug It's coming up to the yearly clean and I'm just wondering if anyone has a new and improved method for cleaning jackfields (particularly B gauge). I don't particularly want to pull the thing apart. There's an awful lot of holes in that thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew C Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 The Canford cleaner is so easy there really shouldn't be a discussion. Stick it in, one or two turns, job done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robloxley Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 the venue I'm currently at use a normal jack plugdipped into Brasso, a bit of elbow grease and some paper towels to clean the jack plugsurely the brasso ends up all over the switched contacts???Would agree with AndrewC, no pulling apart needed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 so in that case I'm guessing we should be looking at the solvent injectors as well as the burnishers to clean out any brasso that gets missed. Any favourites on solvents cleaners while the thread is open. Colclene (canford code 55-171) is no longer distributed by them so if someone wants to promote their favourite brand the soapbox is yours ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 in my be nice to CPC mode - they still do colclene. Damn expensive stuff, though. But anything that can be used on a guided missile must be good for a jackfield! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassman Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Just one further name for the list, I have been using De Oxit from Caig Labs when servicing patchbays/sockets on equipment panels etc. Great stuff and a can lasts for ages as not a lot is needed to do the job. I would personally not use a burnisher unless absolutely necessary, use a spare jack plug to wiggle round in the socket to get the solvent to do the job. They also do CaiLube MCL which is good for carbon-based components... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 If you can get Caig "DeOxit" I concur it's very good stuff. As for cleaning B-type patch bays, the burnishing tool is the way to go if you have problems. However, in a TV facility with several bays worth of audio patch panels the number of failures we'd get due to needing a clean was practically nil. We certainly never had a programme of planned cleaning...we'd just use it once every year or three if we suspected a bad connection. However, if this is a travelling install in less clean conditions I suppose it could be different... Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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