Banana Plugs/Jacks

Slurry · Joined: Sep 15, 2008 Posts: 12 Location: Reno, NV

Hey everyone,
I'm getting ready to start on my new bending project of a Yamaha DD-5 and I'd like to put a nice patch bay in the corner using banana jacks.
The thing is I'm having trouble finding any on the net. Where do you guys think is the best place to get them?

Looking for ones just like these...
I need both the plugs and the jacks.

Posted Image, might have been reduced in size. Click Image to view fullscreen.

Posted Image, might have been reduced in size. Click Image to view fullscreen.

Sorry if this is a repost. I searched the forum, but nothing usable came up.

cbm · Joined: Oct 25, 2005 Posts: 381 Location: San Francisco

Pomona Electronics is pretty much the king of Banana.

They have many distributors. Here are a couple:
http://www.tequipment.net/Pomona.html
http://www.mouser.com/search/Refine.aspx?Ntt=Pomona%20Banana%20Connectors

Slurry · Joined: Sep 15, 2008 Posts: 12 Location: Reno, NV

Well I just ordered some off of Mouser that came from Johnson/Emerson.
They seemed to be the ones I'm looking for, but I've screwed up a bunch of Mouser orders in the past.

What do you guys think of these?

http://www.mouser.com/Search/Refine.aspx?Keyword=530-108-0913-1

http://www.mouser.com/Search/Refine.aspx?N=4206622&Keyword=530-108-0303-1&FS=True

cbm · Joined: Oct 25, 2005 Posts: 381 Location: San Francisco

The Johnson jacks are OK, but not as good as the Pomona. The Johnson's use formed sheet metal spring-like thing as the contact, and the Pomona's are nicely machined. The insertion force is higher on the Johnson, but the contact area seems to be smaller (contact area doesn't really matter for the voltages/currents involved in synthesis). Old Buchla used the Pomona, new Buchla uses the Johnson, I think.

The Johnson plugs are OK if you want to make your own cables, but once again, not as good as a molded Pomona end on their cables. I have used the Johnson plugs for a little custom "snake" for my Buchla (eight cords that I always use the same way, in a tie-wrapped bundle).

Slurry · Joined: Sep 15, 2008 Posts: 12 Location: Reno, NV

Thanks for all the useful info cbm.
I based my purchases mostly on pictures cause I was in new territory,
plus someone had suggested those specific ones to me because they used them with great results.
So if they don't work out, at least I'll have gained the knowledge.

cbm · Joined: Oct 25, 2005 Posts: 381 Location: San Francisco

They'll work. They're just not the best. There's something to be said for saving money, though Smile