Avalon U5 mod...

[danander11]

I have a Avalon U5 DI that I would LOVE to install a power switch on the front.  Anyone tried modding these things?  I'll pull it apart tonight and have a look inside but thought I might ask here just in case..

Peace!

 

[pucho812]

Anything avalon usually is done at avalon or by avalon as they will never give out schematics.

 

[Hank Dussen]

But then again I don't think you'll need the schematics to add a power switch.
Just cut one of the leads coming from the power inlet and attach it to a switch...

more detailed:
Use a SPST or SPDT switch, make sure it's rated high enough for the voltage you need.
Connect the one of the 2 wires coming from the power inlet (not the ground) to the middle lug of the switch.
Connect the wire going to the PCB or power transformer to the other or one of the other lugs of the power switch.

 

[okgb]

And you may as well take some pix to show us all

 

[danander11]

The mod should be easy,  but will be a bit of a kludge..  There's no room on the front panel for a switch..  I thought it might be tight but the boost and tone controls have little pcb's mounted to them making the front nearly inaccessible..  I have this thing on a RM1 rack mount so I suppose I could come through the side of the case and mount the switch on the mounting 'ear'..  that's a bit bogan though.  Still...

It's really kind of stupid to not have designed a power switch into it.  For what they cost, I mean c'mon.

They don't accept public email either..    I'll call them tonight sometime although it will probably be around 1am my time when they open..  Hopefully they've come up with some solution..  if not,  kludge city here we come.

and yeah..  I'll take some pics as I go..

 

[Gert]

Reverse enginering maybe????
looks fairly simple!

 

[danander11]

Reverse enginering maybe????
looks fairly simple!

The mod itself is dead simple...  I just want to find a way to do it that makes it look factory installed..

 

[Jarno]

They are using switching jacks, you could make something that switches when a jack is inserted, that would be needing a separate power supply though, not the easiest way. But you wouldn't need a switch, it would be reversible (probably will need a place to put a small board somewhere in the enclosure) since there's no need to drill.
You can use the ground switch contact on the jack, and have a relay energize when a connection to ground is broken.

 

[dmp]

I think drilling a hole and putting a power switch on the front would be something one might regret.
Looks like there would be room over the power cord in the back. Connect a dpst switch on the two red wires in the lower left of the picture.
Or just buy a power strip with a switch and use that to turn it on and off. 

 

[pucho812]

But then again I don't think you'll need the schematics to add a power switch.
Just cut one of the leads coming from the power inlet and attach it to a switch...

more detailed:
Use a SPST or SPDT switch, make sure it's rated high enough for the voltage you need.
Connect the one of the 2 wires coming from the power inlet (not the ground) to the middle lug of the switch.
Connect the wire going to the PCB or power transformer to the other or one of the other lugs of the power switch.

that is true, but there is more to doing it then just connecting the leads and such. One must consider space, location, where the wires will be placed, etc, etc. In the end might look nice but cause audio issues.

 

[QUEEF BAG]

i would vote for the switch in the back.
no need to yank wires with 60Hz across the audio electronics area and back again.

 

[Hank Dussen]

i would vote for the switch in the back.
no need to yank wires with 60Hz across the audio electronics area and back again.

That would definitely be the best option...

 

[okgb]

Or a power bar , retain the resale value

 

[G-Sun]

Or a power bar , retain the resale value

Yes, you could make a custom power-cord, with a switch on one end of an y-cable.