Chris Reitz dot Com

A Punch Block

OK, so my radio station moved, and they didn’t need a couple extra Krone punch blocks and a really nice big (3′x6′!) desk.  So, I took the punch blocks, and my brother helped me grab the desk. And then, because our band’s studio has been in pieces for about a year, we figured it might be cool to redo it using the desk as an editing desk, and, of course, using the punch blocks.

First of all, note that some of this stuff (in particular using a screwdriver to punch wires down) only works on Krone punch blocks.

Second, note that you’re probably going to get a better punch down if you use a punch down tool. Same way cutting wood works a lot better with a saw than with a hammer.

Third, (and this is partly why I used the screwdriver approach) I had trouble locating a nice cheap punch tool. Full Compass sold one for $70 (tip not included, and about $100 extra). I talked to my rep at Full Compass and he told me that they’d only ever sold one of those, so he suspected they weren’t the way to go. After a bit of googling, he suggested this from Newegg, for $16. Obviously, it’s more cheaply made, but theoretically, if you’re not a broadcast engineer, punching stuff down every day, you should be able to get along with the cheap tool. When it arrives in the mail, I’ll try it out and see.

So basically, what I wanted to run is balanced audio from the board to the blocks, and then balanced audio from the blocks back out to other stuff like an EQ, DAW, and a bunch of ports where you can plug instruments in.

A TRS Plug

First step, make the plugs. Sorry, I didn’t get a shot of how I made an XLR plug. They aren’t hard to make. My biggest issue with making any kind of connectors is I’m not good at working with tiny stuff, so it takes me a while. But after about 5-6 TRS plugs, I was pretty much clipping along. No pun intended.

Once I had the tip made, I threaded it through the table, to the punch blocks, and punched it down. For those of you who haven’t punched stuff down before, you don’t have to strip the wires.

Tinning the ground wire

I found that, because the ground wire was bare and stranded,  it was a lot easier to punch down if I tinned it with a little bit of solder first. Then using a 1/8″ Craftsman flat blade screwdriver, I just forced each wire into a slot, bare, black, red, bare, black, red (aka ground, cold, hot).

Punching down with a screwdriver

The reason why I mention that it’s a 1/8″ Craftsman screwdriver is because, as I said before, some screwdrivers won’t work. I tried two other screwdrivers before I found that the Craftsman worked. I think it was a combination of slot width, and the fact that the sides of that particular screwdriver’s blade were grooved, which seemed to help keep the screwdriver from slipping out of the slot I was trying to punch the wire into.

I haven’t had the opportunity to run audio through the setup yet and see how it sounds, but so far, I’m really impressed. For about $65 worth of cable and connectors and two free punch blocks, looks like I’ll be able to make a whole studio. Pretty legit.

Totally different note, I need to write up how I’m making some old disgusting studio foam look schnazzy again. Next time I’m making some, I’ll try to remember to take pictures.

Top view of cable routing

Pretty, ain’t she, at least so far?