Circuit Protection

power_connection_sm

Eurorack suffers from the problem of power connector reversal. When 10 pin connectors are used, mis-insertion results in a swap of +12V and -12 V, and protection is easily accomplished using various techniques such as series diodes.

But more systems are providing the +5V supply and thus use the full 16 pin connector. When this is reversed, a diode-protected module is still safe, but the six connected ground pins in the module will short together the system’s +5V and +12V supplies, potentially damaging the power supply and any modules that use +5V.

To prevent this, Rossum Electro-Music modules deviate from the standard Eurorack power connector by leaving power connector pins 9 and 10 open, rather than connecting them to ground. When plugged in backwards, this leaves the system +12V supply disconnected.  Since ground is still supplied by four pins as well the chassis and any patch cords connected to the module, the dropping of these two pins has no measurable effect on circuit performance, but it means that if a Rossum Electro-Music module is accidentally plugged in backwards, no stress is placed on the +5V supply or modules that use it.