Tactile Switches

The DL4 switches are actually mounted right on the circuit board. A mechanical plunger connects the footswitch to the actual switch.

Many folks appear to be unhappy with this arrangement. Actually, it is quite a good arrangement. I didn't like it at first either, but now I see its merits. Some folks advise DL4 owners to swap out the circuit board mounted switches for general purpose footswitches. The only real difference is that a $0.45 switch (Mouser 612-TL1100D, Feb 2015 price) is being replaced by a $4 switch (Small Bear 0206A, Feb 2015 price). Mechanically, the $4 is just as likely to break as the $0.45 switch. The really difference is that the $0.45 switch is much harder to replace if you don't know how to solder well. The $4 switch has solder lugs which are excellent for beginners, so naive repair persons will mistake the solder lug for some kind of sign of quality.

If one of the tactile switches is going bad and seems intermittent, remove all of them and replace with either the Mouser sku above, or something similar.

The easiest way to do this is to take good flush cut diagonal cutters and snip the legs of the switch off so that the main body of the switch just falls off. You may scratch the circuit board, but it is difficult to do any real damage. Next, you remove the legs using your best de-soldering method. Here is where you can do real damage by over heating and de-laminating the solder pads. I've had several people bring me boards they cooked in DIY attempts, and I had to pick up the pieces. The gentlest and best bethod of solder removal is a good desoldering braid/solder wick. For the first round, a medium sized solder pump can remove the bulk of the solder and then the wick will get the rest. Get the holes completely clear or else the new switches will have a hard time going in. This is a double side board, so you have to do the pads on both sides.

The new set of switches should be good for a long time.

Some DL4s come with little bits of plastic inside the footswitch spring. They are easy to lose. If you want to replace them, or add them to ones without (they seem to help with intermittent switching problems) I just open up a BIC Round Stic pen and cut tiny bits off of the plastic tube holding the ink with a razor. Obviously use the end that isn't full off ink!