mike257 Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Hi guys, I've just rebuilt my board with a space to slot in my wireless receiver which asks for 11-18v. I'm currently powering it with its own 12v adapter. The rest of my board is quite happily taken care of by my Johnny Shredfreak supply (same as a Diago Powerstation) and its got capacity to spare as I'm down to 5 pedals now. I'd love to get back to only needing one mains socket, can anyone recommend anything that will bump my 9v daisy chain supply up to run the wireless? I'd rather not change my whole PSU as its perfectly capable in all other respects and is also very compact. Cheers, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazm Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Something like this? [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/In-4V-9V-Out-DC-12V-Step-up-Buck-Inverter-Power-Module-/350385882425"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/In-4V-9V-Out-DC-12V-Step-up-Buck-Inverter-Power-Module-/350385882425[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike257 Posted May 1, 2013 Author Share Posted May 1, 2013 Yeah, that might just be the thing. I looked on eBay but forgot I'd got my phone app set to UK only! Gigrig sell something that does this but its £60 and more than likely just a board like this in a little plastic enclosure. I knew there'd be a more sensibly priced option around! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 As gazm points out above, there are many ways of doing such a thing and it's not even very complicated IF you're handy with a soldering iron and know enough basic theory to read a data sheet to ensure you've got the various ratings sorted out. Otherwise, is an extra mains socket such a big deal? How about one of these? [attachment=133931:mainsadapter.jpg] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike257 Posted May 1, 2013 Author Share Posted May 1, 2013 [quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1367428799' post='2065589'] As gazm points out above, there are many ways of doing such a thing and it's not even very complicated IF you're handy with a soldering iron and know enough basic theory to read a data sheet to ensure you've got the various ratings sorted out. Otherwise, is an extra mains socket such a big deal? How about one of these? [attachment=133931:mainsadapter.jpg] [/quote] I'm ok with the diy approach, although with the premade boards like the link above coming in at under a tenner it barely seems worth the effort to make one myself! Although it seems like a negligible difference to have two plugs instead of one, it's the difference between the mains connections fitting on my board and not doing. I'm also responsible for the PA in our function band, so I'm on a mission to get my personal gear setup as simplified and fast as possible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 [quote name='mike257' timestamp='1367433973' post='2065654'] . . . . so I'm on a mission to get my personal gear setup as simplified and fast as possible! [/quote] I certainly subscribe to that. I'm amazed when I see guitarists (it always seem to be guitarists) setting up their gear with half a dozen separate pedals, trying to remember the daisy-chaining order, pulling knotted cables out of a carrier bang, plugging in half a dozen 'wall warts', etc etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike257 Posted May 1, 2013 Author Share Posted May 1, 2013 Haha, funny you should say that, this is for my guitar board! I did have a tidily wired up but stupidly oversized board. I've downsized but they've just been loose on the floor while I've been working out what I do and don't need. Got it down to a bare minimum (tuner, overdrive, two delays, reverb and amp footswitch) so its finally going on back on a board, albeit a much smaller one. I've just gone from head/cab to a combo and fixed my broken wireless too, so once I sort these 12v shenanigans it won't even be a 2 min job to get set up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Diago sell 9v - 18v adaptor tips. They can introduce some high pitched background noise though and are prone to burning out if the device attached to it tries to draw too much current. Gigrig make one too, 'The Doubler' but it's ridiculously expensive, about twice the price of the Dunlop 18v power supply I eventually ended up with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 [quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1367506580' post='2066128'] Diago sell 9v - 18v adaptor tips. [b]They can introduce some high pitched background noise though and are prone to burning out if the device attached to it tries to draw too much current. [/b]Gigrig make one too, 'The Doubler' but it's ridiculously expensive, about twice the price of the Dunlop 18v power supply I eventually ended up with! [/quote] The high-pitched backghround noise is one of the hazards of voltage increasing circuits and the cheaper ones will likely skimp on the required filtering and smoothing circuitry to completely eliminate it. Burning out due to over current demands is really not acceptable though - all PSUs really should be protected against such things, even complete short-circuits, which can easily happen in the stress of connecting up everything before a gig. If possible, it's generally best to start with a well regulated high-ish voltage supply (18, 20, 24V etc) and regulate it down to the required voltages using linear regulators. These are not as electrically efficient as switching regulators (meaning they burn off the extra power and so get hot) but they are very electrically-quiet in operation and won't introduce noise on the audio signals. That's not to say switching regulators are no good, but they do need a bit more care in their design for a noise-free result and this usually means additional circuitry at additional cost, so beware of the really, really cheap ones and test them before buying if possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike257 Posted May 2, 2013 Author Share Posted May 2, 2013 I've ordered one of the board that Gazm linked to in his reply above. I figured at under a tenner it was worth a punt. It's coming from the USA so I'll be surprised if I see it within the next fortnight but when I do I'll report back. It's only got to power my wireless receiver which doesn't pull a particularly hefty current, hopefully it'll do the trick and that wall wart will vanish - maybe even making space for another pedal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 Well, the specs look OK and I'd be surprised if your wireless unit requires more than 1.5A, so it'll be interesting to hear how this works out. Might be worth thinking about a heatsink though, depending on the wireless unit power requirements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike257 Posted May 5, 2013 Author Share Posted May 5, 2013 I'm pretty sure it was only 200mA, although I haven't got the unit handy to confirm. Shouldn't put too high a strain on it anyway. If all goes well there'll be no need to have an extension lead on the board at all, just a long mains lead coming straight from my PSU will do. Mega space saver! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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