Ground loop question

[matty]

Hi fellow nuts! ;D

first off i have to say that modding is kinda addicting, certainly seems like a slippery slope trying to find the perfect tone. But in the end it seems so much more satisfying changing and fixing your own gear!

anyways quick question about ground loops. I am busy doing the QTB mod to my partscaster and if I put the ring terminal around the volume pot instead of the tone ( I am only using 2 pots, a volume and tone) then i don't need to run a wire from where the ground lead of the output jack attaches to the volume pot to the ring terminal because this would make a ground loop correct? since the pot is connected by the other ring terminal around it attaching a wire from where the output jack ground wire goes to the ring terminal would be creating a ground loop in my case right?

my second question is does it matter if one of my vitamin q caps ( the silver looking paper in oil thingy's) is touching the shielding? I don't know if this will create some kind of wierd ground loop also or not and there is not a lot of room left in the cavity now so I think part of it will likely be touching the shielding. I am not sure of what the outer coating of the cap is made of so don't know if it will matter. worse case scenario i just wrap it with electrical tape i guess ( so much for paying for the name haha)

thanks for reading my short story!

Matt

[pete12345]

Don't quite get what you mean with regards to ground loops...

All ground wires and the jack ground connect to a ring terminal, which is insulated from everything else. That's your star grounding. The ring terminal around either pot shaft connects the shielding to ground, via the 400v, 0.33uF capacitor. The only other thing touching the shielding should be the pots/switches.

If you think there is a possibility of the tone capacitors touching the shield, then by all means insulate them with tape as well.

Pete

[sumgai]

matty,

Hi, and welcome to the NutzHouse! ;D

Yes, you have correctly anticipated the creation of a ground loop. To help prevent that, your final product should resemble this drawing, or one of the variants shown below it. But do be aware that in most cases, these ground loops are too small to produce an audible effect. That is, unless your customary gigging spots are directly underneath some very high tension wires, like those coming from Hoover Dam! ;D

A capacitor should be able to touch anything else without ill effect, but there's always the "time versus durability" rule, which states that no part can withstand forever a continuous rubbing back and forth across it's surface. Electrical tape will go a very long way towards giving the cap a useful lifespan.

As for slippery, I'll let sum other Nut take over on that one. ;D

HTH





sumgai