Starting a patchbay theme, there's a useful little gizmo from Studiospares that can make cleaning the things a little easier. It's a sad fact of life that corrosion, grease and tar from cigarette smoke builds up on all jackfield contacts, eventually causing failure or signal distortion.

To the rescue comes the Burnisher, a solid metal, jack plug-shaped device with a mildly abrasive surface. Simply push it into the offending jack socket, twizzle it around a couple of times and the oxide film should be removed.

There's also a hole down the middle of the Burnisher into which spray contact cleaner can be forced in order to direct it onto the socket contacts. The hole emerges between the ring and tip sections of the Burnisher plug, but it is important to note that some sprays leave a greasy film which attracts dust and eventually makes the problem worse than ever.

Unfortunately, the Burnisher can't clean the normalising contacts within a jack socket — it only cleans the main contacts. I can't see any way around this, but when it comes to insert points and other normalised connections, it's these difficult-to-reach contacts that cause the majority of the trouble. In all other respects, the Burnisher is a practical and simple way of cleaning the main contacts within a jack patchbay, and the brief instructions include warnings about overdoing things and wearing away all the plating on the contacts. Also pointed out is the fact that contact cleaner sprays can cause eye damage, so either close your eyes or use safety glasses when using the Burnisher in conjunction with a spray cleaner.

Further Information

Jack Burnisher (part number 402940) £14.50 inc VAT.

Studiospares Ltd, (Contact Details).