TRS Jack Distorto Mix Project

Hey guys,

I had one of these made and seem to have lost it.  It was a project in an EQ mag article back in around '99 or so.  If I recall correctly, a couple of diodes built into a TRS jack that when inserted into a Mackie type insert jack would allow you to drive the gain of the channel and get some great distortion.  I wanted to build a bunch of these but seem to have lost my original unit that I had sadly...does anyone remember these, or know how this thing works?

Thanks!
Sig

This guy remembers it:

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/low-end-theory/780460-distort-o-gate-similar.html

And it seems it may be similar to what this guy is making:

http://www.kasploosh.com/projects/make_stuff/11911-electric_guitar/part_3/7-megalottacombo.html