Loose Battery Connectors

[Bellycaster]

Hi

I was reading an old review of the MXR 117 Flanger the other day. There was general discussions going on about mounting that pedal to a pedalboard. One reviewer stated he put Heat Shrink Tubing over his Battery connector to prevent shorts on the board.

I wonder why this measure was taken. Are the battery cables dangling out of this pedal after he modified the base of the pedal to mount on his board?I assume pedals that have the battery connecrtor safely housed inside the casing do not require such measures?

This has now made me wonder about my wah pedal. I have modified that to fit on my board. I had to take the battery housing out of the base and flip over the plate. So there is now a hole in the bottom which I was going to just cover with the Velcro. Is this recommended and enough of a measure? I doubt the battery connector would have fallen through the hole but you never know.

An issue like this would have never even entered my head.

Any of you do stuff like this?

Thanks

Jon.

[ICBM]

Yes, I always put a small square of gaffer tape over the battery contacts if there's any chance of it coming into contact with anything else in the pedal. The negative contact is effectively a loose ground point and can short against things - I've never come across any damage from it, but it can certainly make the pedal cut out or crackle loudly, depending on what it touches.

'Board' means the Printed Circuit Board inside the pedal by the way!