the
CheckMate My students have each built one of these for the last two academic years, and you can build one too. It is a simple Push Button and LED continuity checker which can test XLR's, NL4's, 1/4", RCA, MIDI, & 4mm Bananas. Every connector is panel mounted in a small rugged aluminum die-cast box so it should stand up to quite a bit of abuse. No solder joints to rip out of a circuit board here! You can spray paint it any color you choose before you screw everything together so as to individualize it to your taste (Jason likes Zebras!).
As with all my designs, it will run quite happily off of a half dead 9Volt battery. The choice of which connectors to incorporate in the tester was as a result of a survey amongst my students which considered the following...
 |
How often will a sound professional come across this connector? |
|
How often are cables with this connector faulty? |
|
How much will it's inclusion increase the size of the box? |
|
How much will it's inclusion increase the number of continuity circuits needed in the box? |
|
Can the connector use a round hole (drilled as opposed to punched)? |
As with everything it is a bit of a compromise (welcome to the field of sound!). The two outside contenders were NL8's and CAT5. However, these significantly altered at least two of the above list.
As soon as the instructions, drawings, and parts/source list become available you will be able to link to them from this page. As with all my designs they will be freely downloadable. The kit may take a little longer to make available as I am not really geared up to drill aluminum die-cast in quantity, so I need to find someone locally who will do it cheaply in small quantities. I'll keep you posted.