Pedalboard and Reed switches

Reed switch are a pain.  Though they create a reliable connection, the switches themselves are delicate, and it seems like magic as to what will and won't trigger them.  Sometimes, magnetism seems kind of magic anyway, so, no surprise.

As with most things, experimentation and making mistakes teaches us the better way to do things.   Initially, I set the switches crossways

And measuring carefully, just set the magnets into the pedals

But as you can see from the ones with 2 and 3 magnets in them, there's more magic in them than I at first thought.  So I found some great double sided tape in the garage (finally, a use for the random stuff that I've collected over the years), which allowed me to move the magnets until they worked, then glue them in place.

The next thing I tried was to set the switches 90 degrees from where they were.  This worked WAY better, as they were further apart from each other and had fewer interactions to worry about.

Whenever you use reed switches
1) Buy extras - the glass tubes are fragile
2) Figure out a way where the reed switches - all parts of them - are as far away from each other as is possible
3) Figure out a way that you can move the magnets around until they work well.

Video of the pedalboard in action to come soon.  It's a busy week coming up.