Nomad External Switchbox

I picked this up off of ebay today:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/32097257952...NX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_500wt_1413

The seller has posted it a few times, but it didn't sell, so I was able to snag it for a pretty cheap price. The seller says he ordered it as a custom piece from Mesa, then never ended up using it. Other than that, he doesn't have much info.

I'm interested in testing it out to see what it's about and possibly tracing the circuit. I don't currently have a use for it, but I've been thinking of picking up a G-Major or other device with relay switching and it would seem this would make that a lot easier.

Primarily, I'm wondering if it uses momentary or latching switches. The other big question is whether the Channel one switch toggles between channel 1 and 2 or if it only activates channel 1, with channel 2 being the other option.

Hopefully it will show up in a day or two and I can start tinkering with it.

This showed up on Saturday and I'll have a chance to try it out with my nomad tonight. Still not sure if it uses latching or momentary switches.

I opened it up and found the circuit to be constructed on perfboard. What surprised me is that aside form the resistors I expected to find there were some ICs wired into the board as well. I couldn't make out what the IC number was so that might take so more research.

I was in a hurry when I opened it up to take a peek, so I didn't take any pics. After I test it out tonight, I will try to get some pics up and possibly trace the circuit too.

Tested this out with my Nomad 100 last night.

The switching requires latching switches. When the amp has the channel select switch set to footswitch, it defaults to channel 2.

Putting a latching switch on the jack labelled CH1 toggles between CH1 and CH2.

Putting another switch on the CH3 jack toggles between CH3 and whatever the currently active channel is on the CH1 jack.

REV, SOLO, and EQ are all selectable by the respective jacks using the normal 7-pin cable.

My usual setup as of late has been to run the mesa footswitch using a 5-pin midi cable. The only compromise to this is loss of the EQ switching function. Since I never use this anyway, it works for me.

I decided to try the external switch box with a 5-pin midi cable and it did the same thing. All of the jacks are active except for EQ.

This was a great find! Hopefully I can find some time to trace the circuit as I am sure it would be useful to others on here. I have no plans to use it just yet, but I'm starting to think that maybe there might be an fx processor with relay switching function in my nomads future.

I use a podhd500 with my Nomad. It would be great to add a midi switcher to switch patches and channels at the same time with just one button push on the pod ie: get rid of the fu2. I know there are some switchers out there (miniamp gizmo) but I can't justify the cost or the 4 xtra channels. The voodoo lab switcher (affordable) from what I've read doesn't work with the Nomads wonderful 7 pin connector. Frustrating. The voodoo lab unit however does work with 1/4 inch jacks. Could this be an interface for that? I could use something like that.

I recently saw the Voodoo Lab control and was thinking the same thing. In theory I don't see why it wouldn't work, as long as the jacks on the voodoo lab are latching and not momentary.

I bought the box for that reason, but it's more of an investment at this point, as I don't have the other gear to test with. I am hoping I can maybe score a G-Major on the cheap one of these days and get into some advanced level studies with this.

I assume they would have to be latching in order to send midi on/off messages.

Back in the day, I bought unit made by Axess Electronics (now out of business) that handles up to 4 functions of the Nomad's switching via Midi. I would sell it to you if you are interested. This would allow you to switch your other midi devices and change amp channels simultaneously.

The switching unit is called CFX4 and is available on ebay etc from other sellers. PM me if you want more info on mine. Below is a listing for one on Ebay (not mine)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Axess-Electronics-CFX4-Control-Function-Switcher-/180976234102?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item2a23062e76

The CFX4 I own has a 7-pin cable which will be included, and is wired up specifically for the Nomad

hi the recluse!,

Already you could make the pictures and trace the circuit? I´m really interested in make one!!!

thanks!

It may be a while until I can get the circuit traced. Things have gotten pretty hectic, and the circuit is a bit more complicated than I expected it to be. Once I have the info, I'll be happy to post it, but it's probably going to be a while. Sorry to leave you hanging.

I bit on Thelastleroy's offer to buy his Axxess unit and I'm really liking it. My quest for a single button push to change channels and multiple effects is finished. The pod500 works great with it. GOODBYE FU-2. I can also tell you that the switching is indeed latching not momentary. THANKYOU Thelastleroy. What a great guy!