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**VT LOOP MOD**

Moderators: Voxman, laurent_56

First unread post • 1 post • Page 1 of 1

**VT LOOP MOD**

by retrobob » 20 Jun 2010, 21:07

This is it, the complete plug in mod for the techies that want to do it themselves. This is intended for individuals with technical knowledge and above average soldering skills.
If you do not possess the technical and soldering skills necessary to complete this project, may we suggest you purchase the pre-assembled VT LOOP MOD plug in kit, which requires no technical skills, no soldering, no drilling and no wood working what so ever.

Material List (average retail costs)

3 - Neutrik NMJ6HC-S 1/4" stereo switched solder Jack..........1.50ea..........4.50

3 - Neutrik NMJ4HC-S 1/4" mono switched solder Jack..........1.50ea..........4.50
1 - 3 pin miniature plug (JST PHR 3 2mm), with contacts..........3.00..........3.00
1 - 3 pin miniature plug (MLX-HU03 2.54mm), with contacts..........2.50..........2.50
1 - D.P.D.T. center off miniature switch..........2.00..........2.00
1 - 5K? linear pot..........2.00..........2.00
1 - Knob..........2.00..........2.00
4’ - 6 conductor 22 gauge shielded cable..........1.50ft..........6.00
3’ - 4 conductor 22 gauge speaker cable (*VT50 = 2 conductor)..........1.50ft..........4.50
1 - 5” x 3” x 2” aluminum shielding box..........8.00..........8.00
1 - Vinyl face plate decal (sign shop)..........8.00..........8.00
1 - 5” X 7” 22 gauge sheetmetal (face plate) ..........2.00..........2.00
1 - 3” X 3” 22 gauge sheetmetal (shielding partition)..........2.00..........2.00
2 - Cable connectors (split compression)..........1.00ea..........2.00
2 - Cable grommet (rubber)..........1.00ea..........2.00
1 - 22? 1 watt resistor ...........70...........70
4 - 47? 1/2 watt resistor .50 2.00
1 - 220uf 25 volt capacitor..........2.50..........2.50
10 - 4” cable ties...........10ea..........1.00
6 - #6 X 3/8” wood screws...........10ea...........60
1 - 1/2” heat shrink tubing..........1.50..........1.00
1 - 1/4” heat shrink tubing..........1.00..........1.00
1 - 1/8” heat shrink tubing..........1.00..........1.00
2 - .205 (not .250) female speaker terminal connector...........25ea...........50
2 - .205 (not .250) male speaker terminal connector...........25ea...........50
1 - 1 oz electronics grade rosin flux solder..........3.50..........3.50
1 - Black spray paint..........4.00..........4.00
1 - 24” x 24” x 5/8” MDF panel..........6.00..........6.00
1 - 2’ x 2’ black vinyl covering..........6.00..........6.00
1 - Spray adhesive..........6.00..........6.00
TOTAL..............................$92.80

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Valvetronix VT FX loop mod

VT LOOP MOD schem.jpg (1018.88 KiB) Viewed 1298 times

INSTRUCTIONS;
(average assembly time is 8 hours)

Applying the face plate decal;

Mix 2 drops of Ivory liquid soap in 1 quart of water and apply a liberal amount of the solution to the metal face plate, position the decal on the face plate (the solution will not let the decal stick). Once the decal is positioned, hold the decal securely at the one edge while slowly and firmly
squeezing the solution out from under the decal allowing the decal’s adhesive to adhere to the face plate.

Preparing the face plate and shielding box;

Center the shielding box on the back side of the face plate and temporarily secure the shielding box to the face plate using a few drops of super glue. Once the glue is dry and the box is securely held to the face plate, drill the holes for the jacks (7/16” dia.), switches (5/16” dia.) and
mounting holes (3/16” dia.), drilling through the face plate and the shielding box at the same time.

On the shielding box’s cover, at the right side rear drill a 7/16” hole for the loop wire connector 1/2” from the right edge and 3/4’ up from the bottom edge. At the left side rear drill a 7/16” hole for the speaker wire connector 1/2” from the left edge and 3/4’ up from the bottom edge.

Mark a line on the 3“ X 3“ partition shield at 1“ from one end and bend the metal at a sharp 90° angle. Place the shielding partition inside the shielding box (trim to size if needed) align the 1” unbent edge of the shielding partition flush with the edge of the shielding box where the extension
speaker is located. Mark the extension speaker and footswitch jack holes onto the shielding partition. Drill a 7/16” hole for both jacks centered in the marks. Mark at the other end (90° bend) and drill a 3/8” hole in alignment with the footswitch jack at 1“ up from the bend and install a 3/8
rubber grommet in this hole.

Assembling the face plate components;

Install the 3 mono jacks into the face plate. 1- send, 1 - return, 1 - extension speaker (install the shielding partition at the speaker jack), install the 3 stereo jacks into the face plate, 1 - phones, 1 - CD, 1 - boost footswitch. Install the 5K? linear potentiometer and D.P.D.T. center off toggle
switch into the face plate.

Assembling the Mod’s electronic components;

Solder the 22? 1 watt resistor to the 220uf capacitor in series (positive side of the capacitor facing the resistor) and insulate, solder the negative leg of the 220uf capacitor to the TIP common terminal of the SEND jack. Cut one foot off of the 6 conductor shielded cable, remove the
insulation, seperate the wires and use these wires as needed. Solder a short red wire to the TIP normally closed (N/C) terminal of the SEND jack, continue the wire and solder it to the TIP normally closed (N/C) terminal of the RETURN jack.

Solder one end of the first 2 - 47? resistors together, solder the remaining ends of the resistors to the TIP and RING common terminals on the CD jack. Solder a short black wire to the connection of the two 47? resistors where they are soldered together, insulate this connection, continue
this wire and solder it to the center terminal of the 5K? potentiometer.

Solder one end of the other 2 - 47? resistors together, solder the remaining ends of the resistors to the TIP and RING common terminals on the HEADPHONE jack.. Solder 2 orange wires (one short, one long) to the connection of the two 47? resistors where they are soldered together and

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insulate this connection, continue the short wire to the 5K? potentiometer and solder it to the left terminal, continue the long wire and solder it to the RETURN jack common terminal.

On the SEND jack, solder a long green wire to the Sleeve normally closed terminal, continue this wire and solder it to the Sleeve common terminal, continue this wire to the RETURN jack and solder it to the Sleeve normally closed terminal, continue this wire and solder it to the Sleeve
common terminal, continue this wire to the CD jack and solder it to the Sleeve normally closed terminal, continue this wire and solder it to the Sleeve common terminal, continue this wire to the HEADPHONE jack and solder it to the Sleeve normally closed terminal, continue this wire and
solder it to the Sleeve common terminal, continue this wire to the MUTE / CAB switch and solder it to the lower normally open terminal, continue this wire through the rubber grommet in the shielding partition to the BOOST footswitch jack and solder it to the Sleeve normally closed terminal,
continue this wire and solder it to the Sleeve common terminal.

At the BOOST footswitch, solder a long white wire to RING normally closed terminal, continue this wire through the shielding partition grommet and solder it to the MUTE / CAB switch right side common terminal. Solder a long blue wire to the BOOST footswitch TIP normally closed terminal,
continue this wire through the shielding partition grommet and solder it to the MUTE / CAB switch left side common terminal. At the MUTE / CAB switch, solder a short black jumper wire between the remaining two lower normally open terminals.

On the remaining three foot piece of the 6 conductor shielded cable, carefully remove the outer insulation on one end approximately 4”, remove the foil shielding exposing the 6 wires plus bare shield (drain), cut a 1” long piece of black 1/4” diameter heat shrink tubing and slide it up, center
it so it covers and secures the cable outer covering and the wires as they exit the outer covering, heat with a hair dryer to secure it in place. Strip the end of each wire approximately 1/8” and lightly tin with solder. Solder the red wire to the 22? 1 watt resistor and insulate. Solder the
orange wire to the Tip common terminal of the RETURN jack. Solder the black, green and bare shielding (drain) wires to the Sleeve common terminal of the SEND jack. Run the white wire through the shielding partition grommet and solder it to the RING common terminal of the BOOST
footswitch jack. Run the blue wire through the shielding partition grommet and solder to the TIP common terminal of the BOOST footswitch jack. Solder a short wire to the BOOST footswitch RING normally closed terminal, continue this wire through the shielding partition grommet and
solder it to the MUTE / CAB switch right side common terminal. Solder a short wire to the BOOST footswitch TIP normally closed terminal, continue this wire through the shielding partition grommet and solder it to the MUTE / CAB switch left side common terminal. At the MUTE / CAB switch,
solder a short black jumper wire between the remaining two lower normally open terminals.

*VT15/30 preparing the external speaker jack;

Carefully remove the outer insulation on one end of the 4 conductor speaker (non-shielded) cable approximately 2” exposing the 4 wires, cut a 1” long piece of black 1/4” diameter heat shrink tubing and slide it up, center it so it covers and secures the cable outer covering and the wires as
the exit the outer covering, heat with a hair dryer to secure it in place. Solder the red wire to the Tip common terminal of the EXTERNAL SPEAKER jack. Solder the green wire to the Sleeve common terminal of the EXTERNAL SPEAKER jack. Solder the white wire to the Tip normally closed
terminal of the EXTERNAL SPEAKER jack. Solder the black wire to the Sleeve normally closed terminal of the EXTERNAL SPEAKER jack.

*VT50 preparing the extension speaker jack;

Carefully remove the outer insulation on one end of the 2 conductor speaker (non-shielded) cable approximately 2” exposing the 2 wires, cut a 1” long piece of black 1/4” diameter heat shrink tubing and slide it up, center it so it covers and secures the cable outer covering and the wires as
the exit the outer covering, heat with a hair dryer to secure it in place. Mark the white wire with a black stripe (permanent marker pen) and solder it to the Sleeve common terminal of the EXTENSION SPEAKER jack. Solder the black wire to the Sleeve normally closed terminal of the
EXTENSION SPEAKER jack. Solder a short black jumper wire to the Tip common terminal of the EXTENSION SPEAKER jack, continue and solder this wire to the Sleeve normally closed terminal of the EXTENSION SPEAKER jack,

Run the SPEAKER cable through the shielding box’s cover speaker side rear hole, run the LOOP cable through the shielding box’s cover loop side rear hole and install the shielding box’s rear cover. Gently push the LOOP cable inside the shielding box just past the exposed wires and secure
the cable to the box using the spit compression cable connector. Gently push the SPEAKER cable inside the shielding box just past the exposed wires and secure the cable to the box using the spit compression cable connector.

Installing the Mod’s cable plugs;

The two plugs (PHR smaller, HUO larger) use a crimp type contact pin that attaches to the wire, there is a special tool for crimping these, however in most cases these can be installed by lightly mashing and soldering the wire in place.

On the LOOP cable carefully remove the outer insulation 6”, carefully remove the foil shielding exposing the 6 wires plus bare shield (drain), cut the bare shield wire off as it will not be used at this end of the cable. Cut a 3” long piece of white 1/4” diameter heat shrink tubing and slide it
over the ORANGE, GREEN and WHITE wires, cut a 3” long piece of red 1/4” diameter heat shrink tubing and slide it over the RED, BLACK and BLUE wires, slide both the white and red heat shrink tubing all the way up the wires and heat with a hair dryer to secure them in place. Cut a 2” long
piece of black 1/4” diameter heat shrink tubing and slide it up, center it so it covers and secures the cable outer covering and the wires as the exit the outer covering, heat with a hair dryer to secure it in place. Strip the insulation back 1/8” off of each wire and tin the ends lightly with
solder.

Starting with the PHR-3 (smaller) connector first, install the 3 PHR contact pins onto the red, black and blue wires and lightly solder them in place. Orientate the PHR housing so you are looking at the end the contact pins insert into (opposite the end that plugs into the circuit board), holding
this end facing you with the plugs polarity notch upward insert the wires as follows; Red is on the left, Black is in the center, Blue is on the right.

On the HUO-3 (larger) connector, install the 3 HUO contact pins onto the orange, green and white wires and lightly solder them in place. Orientate the HUO housing so you are looking at the end the contact pins insert into (opposite the end that plugs into the circuit board), holding this end
facing you with the plugs polarity grove upward insert the wires as follows; Orange is on the left, Green is in the center, White is on the right.

*VT15/30 installing the Mod’s speaker terminals;

On the SPEAKER cable carefully remove the outer insulation approximately 12” exposing the 4 speaker wires. Cut a 1” long piece of black 1/4” diameter heat shrink tubing and slide it up, center it so it covers and secures the cable outer covering and the wires as the exit the outer covering,
heat with a hair dryer to secure it in place. Strip the insulation back 1/8” off of each wire and tin the ends lightly with solder.

Install the 2 male .205 speaker connectors on the green and red wires and lightly solder them in place, slide a 2” long piece of 1/2” heat shrink tubing over each of these wires and leave the tubbing slid back for now. Install the 2 female connectors on the white and black wires and lightly
solder them in place.

*VT50 installing the Mod’s speaker terminals;

On the SPEAKER cable carefully remove the outer insulation approximately 12” exposing the 2 speaker wires. Cut a 1” long piece of black 1/4” diameter heat shrink tubing and slide it up, center it so it covers and secures the cable outer covering and the wires as the exit the outer covering,
heat with a hair dryer to secure it in place. Strip the insulation back 1/8” off of each wire and tin the ends lightly with solder.

Mark the white wire with a black stripe and install a male .205 speaker connectors on it and lightly solder it in place, cut and slide a 2” long piece of 1/2” heat shrink tubing over the wire and leave the tubing slid back for now. On the black wire install a female connector and lightly solder it
in place.

Making the amp’s new rear panel;

Lay the amp’s original panel finished side down on top of the 2’ x 2’ MDF panel and trace the outside edges onto the new panel, trace the rear power/control space edges onto the new panel and mark the panel’s chassis and box screw holes onto the new panel.

Cut out the new panel, the panel’s cut out area for power/controls, and drill the screw holes. Locate and mark the position on the rear panel for the new LOOP MOD panel, 4 inches down from rear control cutout’s bottom edge and 2 inches from the rear right side panel’s edge. Once the
appropriate area has been located, cut a square hole with 1/2 radius corners in the rear panel 3 - 1/2’ tall by 6 - 1/2” wide. Trial fit the new rear panel and adjust as needed, making sure the power/control area fits properly and the screw holes line up.

Paint the rear panel and edges with black paint and let dry. Apply the spray adhesive to the outside of the new rear panel (finish side), apply the vinyl covering and trim to fit. Position the LOOP MOD face plate down onto the back side of the rear panel (un-finished side), center the face
plate in the cut out hole and fasten it in place using 6 - 3/8” by #6 screws.

Installing the Mod into the amp;

Unplug the amp’s power cable from the power source it is plugged into and remove the power cable from the rear of the amp. Set the power cable aside away from the amp, being absolutely sure the power cable is disconnected from the amp.
*WARNING!! The power must be disconnected from the amp before installing this mod, failure to comply could result in serious injury or death!

Remove the side chassis screws at both sides of the amp, store these screws in a zip lock bag marked chassis screws, remove the rear panel screws at the back of the amp, store these screws in a zip lock bag marked rear panel screws. Remove the rear panel from the amp, exposing the
speaker and set the rear panel a side. Using a permanent marker pen, mark the speaker terminal where the black (-) speaker wire attaches to the speaker and unplug both speaker wires from the speaker.

Carefully slide the amp chassis out of the rear of the amp box and place the chassis on your work space. Set the new VT LOOP MOD rear panel next to your amp, panel laying flat with the loop shielding box up. On the input jack side of the amp chassis at the bottom, locate the indicated
hole for the new harness cable to run through. Slide the 3/8” rubber grommet over the cable and gently insert one cable plug at a time through this hole and pull the new cable inside the amp chassis, slide the grommet up into place and install it in the chassis hole.

Locate the upper indicated headphone board plug (smaller) at the upper control circuit board and gently remove the upper plug from its connection. Align and insert the mod’s new HPB plug #1 (smaller) into this connection. Locate the lower indicated headphone board plug (larger) at the
lower main power board and gently remove the lower plug from its connection at the lower main power board. Align and insert the mod’s new larger HPB PLUG #2 into this connection. Secure the cable to the nearest board stand off using a cable tie. Bundle the cables from the original
headphone board and secure them to the headphone board out of the way. Slide the amp chassis back into place in the amp box.

*VT15/30, connect the amp’s speaker wires to the new mod’s speaker wires as follows; The amp’s white wire with the female connector plugs into the mod’s red wire with the male connector on it. The amp’s black wire with the female connector plugs into the mod’s green wire with the
male connector on it. Slide the 1/2 “ insulation over each connection and secure using a hair dryer and wire ties. Connect the mod’s new white speaker wire with the female connector onto the speaker’s positive (+) terminal. Connect the mod’s new black speaker wire with the female
connector onto the speaker’s negative (-) terminal.

*VT50, connect the amp’s speaker wires as follows; The amp’s white wire with the female connector plugs onto the speaker’s positive (+) terminal, the amp’s black wire with the female connector plugs into the mod’s new white wire (with the black stripe) with the male connector on it.
Slide the insulation over this connection and secure using a hair dryer and wire ties. Connect the mod’s new black wire to the speaker’s negative (-) terminal.

Place the new rear panel onto the amp. Using the longer machine screws, install and hand start the side chassis machine screws on both sides of the amp box. Using the shorter machine screws, install and hand start the rear chassis machine screws at the upper rear panel. Using the wood
screws, install and hand start the wood screws at the remaining rear panel holes. Tighten the rear panel screws snugly, tighten the side chassis screws snugly, careful to not over tighten them.

Plug the amp’s power cable back into the amp and into the power supply source. Plug in your guitar and turn your amp on, it’s time to try it out.

HOW IT WORKS;

THE SEND jack is located on the top left side of the VT LOOP MOD’s panel, when a cable is inserted it redirects the signal out of the pre-amp section of the amp, sending it to your effect of choice.

THE RETURN jack is located on the bottom left side of the VT LOOP MOD’s panel, when a cable is inserted it redirects the signal into the power amp section of the amp before the tube, returning the signal from your effect of choice.

THE CD input jack is located on the bottom left of center side of the VT LOOP MOD’s panel, when a cable is inserted it injects the signal from any CD / MP3 player into the return section of the circuit, you can adjust the level of the CD / MP3 player to match your guitar levels using the CD
level control in conjunction with the amp’s master volume control.

THE HEADPHONE jack is located on the bottom right of center side of the VT LOOP MOD’s panel, the headphone circuit is now placed after the effects loop and CD / MP3 player input, so anything going into the amp can be heard through the headphones. Plus the headphone jack is no
longer a through circuit (the signal does not go through the headphone jack to complete the amp’s circuit) and will not effect the signal path of the amp (no more dirty headphone jack contacts causing the amp’s sound to degrade). *Use the mute switch for silent use (speaker off = mute
on)

The new headphone jack can also be used as a LINE OUT for sending signal to a PA or recording device. To use the headphone jack as a line out, insert the cable into the headphone jack and pull back out slightly (insert the cable plug and pull it out one click), this allows the mono signal to
be sent to your PA or recorder without any signal loss. *Use the mute switch in conjunction with this feature for either silent use (speaker off = mute on) or monitor use (speaker on = mute off).

THE MUTE / BOOST SWITCH is located on the top right of center side of the VT LOOP MOD’s panel, this switch has 3 positions, up, center and down. In the CENTER position both circuits are off, in the UP position the boost circuit (cabinet simulation) is on, in the DOWN position the
speaker mute circuit is on for private listening (speaker off / mute).

THE BOOST FOOTSWITCH jack is located on the top right side of the VT LOOP MOD’s panel, this allows a modified two button footswitch to control the BOOST and MUTE circuits. When the FOOTSWITCH jack is in use the MUTE / BOOST SWITCH is de-activated and only the footswitch will
control these features. *Most standard 2 button foot switches will not work unless they are modified, the 2 button footswitch requires that one of the switches be a S.P.D.T. (a D.P.D.T. will also work), once you have the correct switches, re-configure the footswitch wires to match the
footswitch drawing.

THE EXTERNAL/EXTENSION SPEAKER;

*VT15/30 jack is located on the bottom right side of the VT LOOP MOD’s panel, speaker impedance should be no less than 4?. When a speaker cable is inserted it redirects the speaker signal to an external speaker cabinet, disconnecting the internal speaker. *To prevent damage from
occurring to your amp, the amp should be turned off before plugging into and out of this jack.

*VT50 jack is located on the bottom right side of the VT LOOP MOD’s panel, speaker impedance should be no less than 4?. When a speaker cable is inserted it redirects the speaker signal in series with the internal and external speaker cabinet, allowing both the internal and external
speakers to operate. *To prevent damage from occurring to your amp, the amp should be turned off before plugging into and out of this jack.

* V O X, V T 1 5 , V T 3 0 , V T 5 0 are regis tere d trade marks of the Korg/V ox C orporation with all rights res erve d, we are not affiliated with them or any other c ompanies , any refe renc es to their name(s ) is as a refere nc e only and not intended as an infringement. M odific ation of any equipment under the fac tory warranty may void any c laims you have for warranty s ervic e, c hec k with your manufac turer to be s ure before any alterations are made and proc eed at your own ris k. We c an not be held res pons ible for any los s es , damages and/or

injuries that may inc ur by or during the ins tallation of our mods /kits . A ll of our mods /kits /produc ts are us e at your own ris k!

*NOTE!
The WARRANTY comes first! Before any modification is considered, check to see how it effects the product's warranty and weigh the benefits accordingly!

THERE IS NO TECH SUPPORT OFFERED WITH DIY MODS! ALL MODIFICATIONS ARE USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

retrobob

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Joined: 11 Jan 2009, 20:45
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