17/12/2022 11:53 Coda Effects - 3PDT and true bypass wiring

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3PDT AND TRUE BYPASS WIRING

THEORY TIPS

I found out that it was easier for beginners to

make a proper true bypass wiring when they
fully understand how does it work.

The 3PDT Footswitch

Before going any further, you have to

understand how functions a 3PDT footswitch.
The 3PDT stands for "3 poles, double throw".
Here is a diagram showing the different
possibilities :

Here, we can see that a simple pole, simple

throw (SPST) is equivalent to a simple on-off
switch; simple pole dual throw (SPDT): equivalent 
to a toggle switch. So basically, double throw just
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17/12/2022 11:53 Coda Effects - 3PDT and true bypass wiring

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means thatSTEP
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the
switch.
A dual pole, simple throw (DPST) is equivalent to
2 SPST, DPDT: equivalent to 2 SPDT.  

From that we can easily conclude that a 3PDT is

equivalent to 3 double throws at the same time.
You have two position for 3 switches with 2
positions each:
3PDT footswitch wiring
That means to say that on one position, the
middle pins are connected to the ones of the top
(2 is connected to 1 for instance), and in another
position to the ones on the bottom of the switch.

How to use it for true bypass?

When you want to do a true bypass, you want a

simple thing:
in one position (position 1), input
and output jacks are directly
connected, the signal does not goes
through the circuit (bypass)
Position 2: input jack goes to the
input of the circuit, the output of the
circuit is connected to the output
jack, and a beautiful shiny LED is on.
For position 2, there are 3 conditions to be filled,
that is why we need a 3PDT !


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17/12/2022 11:53 Coda Effects - 3PDT and true bypass wiring

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With this type of wiring, we have the two

following positions: 

That is to say on and off for the guitar pedal!

If you do not want to bother to solder directly on

the 3PDT (you have to be precise and it is not
very practical if you want to modify it afterwards,
and most of the times it does not look so good),
you can directly use a small PCB to make your
true bypass like a boss. You can either make it
yourself (model here and here), or buy it (very
cheap here).


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