Putney/VCS3 matrix patch bay needed--can I DIY?

[cslammy]

I was hoping to buy or build one of these for an upcoming project.

It seems pre-made ones ( Ghielmetti?) are hard to come by and if you can find one for sale, cost a fortune?

Yusynth says Someone named Steve Thomas had a DIY technique but perhaps that page is offline, couldn't find it in wayback or with google search.

Q: with modern/inexpensive pcb fab is this still really hard to do? EG:

--Create 2x PCB with a 20 x 20 matrix of 100mil vias (bigger? smaller?) and solder- able traces to each via

--The top board could use silkscreen to denote inputs, outputs etc. for the matrix. Or use an alu plate above the top plate with a mill for the matrix below.

--make sure each PCB has 180mil drills along the side for lining the two boards up, so one is exactly on top of another. Line em up with 4-40 screws and nuts. Maybe stick a stationary thick wire through the matrix in a few places to make sure things stay lined up.


--stick nails (conductive--zinc coated?) through each hole. This forms an electrical connection


If the drills, vias and nails are the right size (not easy to find the right nail?) that would work? Yes? No?

[richduckworth]

Future Sound Systems make the MTX9 pin matrix — we toured ours a lot and it still works perfectly

https://www.futuresoundsystems.co.uk/