Failed Orange Footswitches???

Orange Amps General Forum

Moderator: bclaire

rclangelan
Tiny Terror
Posts: 137
Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2007 9:24 pm
Location: USA
Contact:

Failed Orange Footswitches???

Post by rclangelan » Mon Jun 06, 2011 4:19 am

Hi all, I've gone thru two Orange double footswitches in less than one year. In both instances, the first switch (1) malfunctioned and stopped "clicking", and therefore stopped functioning as channel or reverb control.

I take VERY good care of my gear. I keep it clean (as clean as a footswitch can be) by wiping it down with a lightly dampened rag or a soft-bristled brush on a shop vac. Still, no luck.

So, I think that the Orange switches are not the answer for me.

I tried the Boss FS-6, but it's too long for the space on my board, requires a 9V battery to function and does NOT accept a power supply. So I'm taking that one back to guitar center.

What do you recommend I try as a suitable Orange substitute (with LEDs)?

Thank you!

- Ryan
PRS Custom 24 (Whale Blue)
PRS Custom 24 (Black Cherry)
PRS SE Singlecut (Black)
Orange Rockerverb 50H (Live Rig)
Orange PPC412 Cab (Live Rig)
Orange PPC112 Cab
Line 6 Vetta II

http://www.whitehouseeffectband.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Norrin Radd
Duke of Orange
Posts: 6826
Joined: Mon Apr 18, 2005 4:17 pm
Location: USA

Re: Failed Orange Footswitches???

Post by Norrin Radd » Mon Jun 06, 2011 4:34 am

You can make your own for about $20. Blackcloud45 (sp?) made one a while back, made a thread about it and then a bunch of us copied him!

Here's the parts list (for a small single switch - prices may be a couple years old by now):

Orange Channel Switch:

Here's a list of parts:

Small Bear Electronics Stock List Items
1 LED T-1 3/4 5 mm Water-clear High-brightness (Orange) @ $0.50 = $0.50 
1 Switch - Alpha 107-SF12020-L DPDT @ $4.95 = $4.95 
1 Bezel, LED 5mm, Chrome @ $0.70 = $0.70 
1 Jack, 1/4 in. Stereo Switchcraft #12B @ $1.75 = $1.75 
1 120 Ohms to 1K - Individual (470 ohms) @ $0.15 = $0.15 
1 Box - Hammond 1590A Size @ $8.50 = $8.50 

Sub-Total: $16.55

Shipping: $5.25 (USPS)
Sales Tax: $0.00
Small Bear Electronics Stock List Total: $21.80

And then we all made them - a fun project - my first "pedal" by me. Here it is:

Image
Greg

ironlung40
Orange Master
Posts: 2851
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 2:10 pm
Location: USA (in the south)

Re: Failed Orange Footswitches???

Post by ironlung40 » Mon Jun 06, 2011 4:42 am

If it were me, and I was thinking of building my own pedal, I'd just repair the orange footswitch, and use the heaviest duty parts I could find and solder the hell out of it.

I've never had problems out of my single orange footswitch and it has been to hell and back twice. :?

Are you getting them wet?
Sincerely,
Ironlung40
OR120 Pix/text
Tiny Terror HW
Rocker 30 combo
Rockververb 100 MKII
Thunderverb 200
Gibson SG 61 RI
Image

jason41224
Orange Master
Posts: 3683
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 2:50 am

Re: Failed Orange Footswitches???

Post by jason41224 » Mon Jun 06, 2011 4:50 am

yeah, i think your problem may be the slightly damp rag. slightly damp electronics are just about as good as confetti :D
you'd be much better off using something like dust-off. http://www.amazon.com/FALDPSXL12-Dispos ... B0000AE67N

i would go the custom F/S route. i may be doing the same here pretty soon, for another reason. i love how durable orange's switches are, but they're so, so big. it takes up way too much room on my board.
Image
Jason
Rocker 30
too many pedals

StonieSlagg
Rocker
Posts: 198
Joined: Mon Apr 19, 2010 4:39 am
Location: Lehigh Valley, PA, USA

Re: Failed Orange Footswitches???

Post by StonieSlagg » Mon Jun 06, 2011 5:14 am

since we're on this topic, does anyone know if it's possible to mod the Orange single footswitch so when used with a DT the led lights up when using the fat channel?
Image

Everyone tells me they're crazy. Well crazy people aren't so f**king boring. So wake me when you're through being cool, cause I'm snoring...

jason41224
Orange Master
Posts: 3683
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 2:50 am

Re: Failed Orange Footswitches???

Post by jason41224 » Mon Jun 06, 2011 5:18 am

try the switch on the amp in different positions. that might help. if not, then i have no clue. you would need a polarity switch of some kind. if you can't mod the orange switch, you could always buy a Loopmaster one with a polarity switch.
Image
Jason
Rocker 30
too many pedals

Jondog
Duke of Orange
Posts: 7234
Joined: Thu Aug 21, 2008 12:16 pm
Location: Ontario, Canada

Re: Failed Orange Footswitches???

Post by Jondog » Mon Jun 06, 2011 11:58 am

The switch itself is an easy fix if you have the tools. I got an apex switch, $15 for the single footswitch, they make a double too. Same construction style as the Fender footswitches. Work great, no issues. I've got a couple other Apex products that have been tossed around quite a bit and they seem pretty solid as far as build quality.
Image Image
Image

ironlung40
Orange Master
Posts: 2851
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 2:10 pm
Location: USA (in the south)

Re: Failed Orange Footswitches???

Post by ironlung40 » Mon Jun 06, 2011 1:41 pm

Jondog wrote:The switch itself is an easy fix if you have the tools. I got an apex switch, $15 for the single footswitch, they make a double too. Same construction style as the Fender footswitches. Work great, no issues. I've got a couple other Apex products that have been tossed around quite a bit and they seem pretty solid as far as build quality.
Image Image

what are you proposing? just putting the apex guts into the orange enclosure?
Sincerely,
Ironlung40
OR120 Pix/text
Tiny Terror HW
Rocker 30 combo
Rockververb 100 MKII
Thunderverb 200
Gibson SG 61 RI
Image

blackcloud45
Orange Master
Posts: 4435
Joined: Tue Jul 11, 2006 5:46 pm
Location: USA

Re: Failed Orange Footswitches???

Post by blackcloud45 » Mon Jun 06, 2011 2:26 pm

Check it out:

Image
Image

Not that it matters, but there is no PCB to tear up in the home-made one. Plus it's about a 1/4 of the size of a single Orange footswitch.

You'll need this too:

Image
Image

http://hypersoulrocks.com/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.myspace.com/lovea45" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Image

ironlung40
Orange Master
Posts: 2851
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 2:10 pm
Location: USA (in the south)

Re: Failed Orange Footswitches???

Post by ironlung40 » Mon Jun 06, 2011 2:42 pm

blackcloud45 wrote:Check it out:

Image
Image

Not that it matters, but there is no PCB to tear up in the home-made one. Plus it's about a 1/4 of the size of a single Orange footswitch.

You'll need this too:

Image
Yep, and you could even coat everything in silicon and make it waterproof/resistant if you wanted to. Not saying you'd want to get it wet, but it may help protect it some if something was spilled on it, etc.
Sincerely,
Ironlung40
OR120 Pix/text
Tiny Terror HW
Rocker 30 combo
Rockververb 100 MKII
Thunderverb 200
Gibson SG 61 RI
Image

Randy Bass
Lord of Orange
Posts: 10149
Joined: Tue Sep 29, 2009 3:44 am

Re: Failed Orange Footswitches???

Post by Randy Bass » Mon Jun 06, 2011 3:15 pm

If you've had two DPDT switches fail, they are either corroding internally, being stomped incredibly hard, or are not well-made parts. In any of these scenarios, the Orange enclosure and circuitry are not to blame. It would make sense to buy new DPDTs rather than junk the whole enclosure. I have had a DPDT switch fail on a M*rshall footswitch, so I guess you'll want to steer clear of them too. Actually, the non-strain-relieved built-in cable on the M*rshall switches is a legitimately terrible idea and I have had two of those short out.
_________________
Image

Jondog
Duke of Orange
Posts: 7234
Joined: Thu Aug 21, 2008 12:16 pm
Location: Ontario, Canada

Re: Failed Orange Footswitches???

Post by Jondog » Mon Jun 06, 2011 3:47 pm

ironlung40 wrote:
Jondog wrote:The switch itself is an easy fix if you have the tools. I got an apex switch, $15 for the single footswitch, they make a double too. Same construction style as the Fender footswitches. Work great, no issues. I've got a couple other Apex products that have been tossed around quite a bit and they seem pretty solid as far as build quality.
Image Image

what are you proposing? just putting the apex guts into the orange enclosure?
no, just that they are decent quality, effective, very reasonably priced footswitches other then one made by Orange. He was asking for a decent substitue with LED's. I guess you could do that if you wanted, but it'd be easier to just replace the switch in the Orange footswitch, which is what I would do.
Image

ironlung40
Orange Master
Posts: 2851
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 2:10 pm
Location: USA (in the south)

Re: Failed Orange Footswitches???

Post by ironlung40 » Mon Jun 06, 2011 4:15 pm

Randy Bass wrote:If you've had two DPDT switches fail, they are either corroding internally, being stomped incredibly hard, or are not well-made parts. In any of these scenarios, the Orange enclosure and circuitry are not to blame. It would make sense to buy new DPDTs rather than junk the whole enclosure. I have had a DPDT switch fail on a M*rshall footswitch, so I guess you'll want to steer clear of them too. Actually, the non-strain-relieved built-in cable on the M*rshall switches is a legitimately terrible idea and I have had two of those short out.

Yeah, I have changed the non strain cables out , drilled holes and mounted normal jacks in marshall footswitches before.
Sincerely,
Ironlung40
OR120 Pix/text
Tiny Terror HW
Rocker 30 combo
Rockververb 100 MKII
Thunderverb 200
Gibson SG 61 RI
Image

jamison162
Orange Master
Posts: 1560
Joined: Tue Jun 27, 2006 5:03 am
Location: USA

Re: Failed Orange Footswitches???

Post by jamison162 » Mon Jun 06, 2011 4:29 pm

I've got one for sell, smaller footprint, that I'm no longer using. A homemade amp fotswitch used with my Orange RV50, Zvex size. $30. Stereo 1/4" jack (Cable can be modded to two mono).

Image

Because I built this: http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showth ... p?t=905901

Image

Image
Image

Jondog
Duke of Orange
Posts: 7234
Joined: Thu Aug 21, 2008 12:16 pm
Location: Ontario, Canada

Re: Failed Orange Footswitches???

Post by Jondog » Tue Jun 07, 2011 11:55 am

jamison162 wrote:I've got one for sell, smaller footprint, that I'm no longer using. A homemade amp fotswitch used with my Orange RV50, Zvex size. $30. Stereo 1/4" jack (Cable can be modded to two mono).

Image

Because I built this: http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showth ... p?t=905901

Image

Image
ixnay on the ellsay of the ootswitchfay
Image

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 174 guests