mcnach Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 Does it exist? I've seen many pedals, typically tuners, that give you an additional (or several) 9V DC outputs so you can power other pedals from it. I would like to power a little clock that can live on my board, which requires a typical USB 5V connection. I'd like to avoid having a separate power supply, has anybody seen some FX unit that provide a USB out for powering other gear? Or a 9V->5V converter if that's small enough that I can maybe put it under the board next to the supply? I'll probably end up using one of those basic 'analog' little alarm clocks running on batteries, but I'm curious to see if other alternatives might be possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 i have one of these 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nail Soup Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 Out of interest, what is the clock for? Keeping the set running to time? Telling the guitarist when his 5 minute solo is nearly up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 Just now, Nail Soup said: Out of interest, what is the clock for? Keeping the set running to time? Telling the guitarist when his 5 minute solo is nearly up? So he doesn't miss last orders! 😆 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acidbass Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 I know the Cioks DC7 has a USB out. Could power your clock and the rest of your board too! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nail Soup Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 This might work for you - the Rockboard Power LT XL. It's a rechargeable power supply, designed for guitar pedals and it has 5v USB out (in addition to the obvious 9v outs) Power lasts pretty well, easily enough for a couple of gigs or rehearsals. I used to run about four pedals from mine. One less lead on stage was my reason for ownership. Available £35 from Thomann at the moment. [Disclaimer - mine eventually developed a fault which meant it had to be charged the same day as it was used, but could be a one off. I replaced it with a similar product available cheaper without the 5v out. The Rockboard was more than £35 at the time) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted August 20, 2020 Author Share Posted August 20, 2020 On 19/08/2020 at 16:55, MacDaddy said: i have one of these Nice! But isn't that USB only to transmit data (firmware updates and the like... although I'm not sure what kind of updates a tuner needs, hmmm) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted August 20, 2020 Author Share Posted August 20, 2020 On 19/08/2020 at 16:59, Nail Soup said: Out of interest, what is the clock for? Keeping the set running to time? Telling the guitarist when his 5 minute solo is nearly up? To ensure we stick to the times etc. A clock discreetly bundled in the pedalboard looks better than us looking at our watches or even a phone, but in general I thought it'd be good to be able to tell the time discreetly. I'll probably just use something like this (simple, cheap, batteries last long), but if I can find a simple way to power a digital unit it might be nicer: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted August 20, 2020 Author Share Posted August 20, 2020 On 19/08/2020 at 17:00, MacDaddy said: So he doesn't miss last orders! 😆 Busted! 🤣 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted August 20, 2020 Author Share Posted August 20, 2020 (edited) On 19/08/2020 at 17:11, acidbass said: I know the Cioks DC7 has a USB out. Could power your clock and the rest of your board too! eeek! > £200!!! But it's a good call, I didn't think of power supplies that come with a USB outlet... Hopefully there will be something simpler around. The DC7 looks like a great unit with LOTS of power on tap, but it's way over-spec'd for my needs and I don't want to spend £200 to replace my power supplies just so that I can power a digital clock... when a £5 travel analog alarm clock will probably do the job just as well. edit: hmmm, my Voodoo Labs power supply has a 'sag' control on one or two of the outputs, allowing me to reduce the output (supposedly to simulate the effect that well-used batteries have on some effects) and I'm pretty sure it goes down to 4V... It's on my big board which doesn't get as much use (well, since March zero :D) but... yeah, that can work there. I still would like to find a suitable alternative for my other smaller boards Edited August 20, 2020 by mcnach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 Just an idea mcnach, because I don’t really know but , would an adaptor like this work from one of your pedals 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted August 20, 2020 Author Share Posted August 20, 2020 On 19/08/2020 at 17:13, Nail Soup said: This might work for you - the Rockboard Power LT XL. It's a rechargeable power supply, designed for guitar pedals and it has 5v USB out (in addition to the obvious 9v outs) Power lasts pretty well, easily enough for a couple of gigs or rehearsals. I used to run about four pedals from mine. One less lead on stage was my reason for ownership. Available £35 from Thomann at the moment. [Disclaimer - mine eventually developed a fault which meant it had to be charged the same day as it was used, but could be a one off. I replaced it with a similar product available cheaper without the 5v out. The Rockboard was more than £35 at the time) Brilliant! Bonus points for thinking outside the box I can probably use one of those power banks they sell to charge mobile phones while on the move, and there are some pretty small ones that would have plenty of juice to power a clock for an evening. Not only they're about £10-25 depending on the charge they can hold, but I may have already one (I have a biggish one, a bit bigger than a modern phone, and 2-3x as thick, that holds a lot of charge... but I also have somewhere a much smaller one that can charge my phone entirely a couple of times, it might just work!) Thank you for the idea I'd still prefer something that is powered together with my pedals (the clock has a battery just to keep the time internally when main power is off), as this would be one more thing to remember (to charge it), but it's not terrible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted August 20, 2020 Author Share Posted August 20, 2020 8 minutes ago, Reggaebass said: Just an idea mcnach, because I don’t really know but , would an adaptor like this work from one of your pedals 🙂 I'm not sure I follow... I've got a 9V supply, I need it to go down to 5V (I mention USB because it's the most common alternative, and the clock works if powered that way). It's not so much to find a specific type of connector, but to get the right voltage. I looked for similar clocks but didn't find the right one working at 9V, which would make my life easier. If I find one that's an alternative too, I don't need to stick to the one I found. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 1 minute ago, mcnach said: It's not so much to find a specific type of connector, but to get the right voltage. Ah I’m with you, I didn’t realise it’s the voltage you want to change 👍. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 41 minutes ago, mcnach said: ...one more thing to remember (to charge it)... Can you not set the controls for the heart of the sun an alarm on the clock, to remind you..? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 (edited) Something like this might work for a couple of quid. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DC-DC-Buck-Step-Down-Converter-9V-12V-24V-to-5V-3A-CAR-USB-Charger-Module/283982262965?hash=item421ea972b5:g:auwAAOSwTjpfOpQh Edited August 21, 2020 by Jean-Luc Pickguard 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 On 19/08/2020 at 16:59, Nail Soup said: Out of interest, what is the clock for? Keeping the set running to time? Telling the guitarist when his 5 minute solo is nearly up? On 20/08/2020 at 17:49, mcnach said: To ensure we stick to the times etc. Remind me to introduce you to my bands, both of them. They might take a slightly kindlier attitude to my cat-herding efforts if they knew you'd actually put a clock on your band! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted August 22, 2020 Share Posted August 22, 2020 Like above, I've put together my own little convertors. This isn't the exact one I was looking for for you, but CPT make the ones I've bought. 9v pedal power to 5v mini USB for powering the likes of Zoom recorders or when I've needed a stable 9v from a 12v supply, they have always had what I needed. You may have to have a search outside of eBay, but I'd at least recommend these. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272676355696 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted August 22, 2020 Author Share Posted August 22, 2020 17 hours ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said: Something like this might work for a couple of quid. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DC-DC-Buck-Step-Down-Converter-9V-12V-24V-to-5V-3A-CAR-USB-Charger-Module/283982262965?hash=item421ea972b5:g:auwAAOSwTjpfOpQh Ooh, that's intriguing and looks perfect! It's tiny, I can easily mount it into some tiny box and fix it next to the power supply on the board... for that price it's worth a punt, thank you!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted August 22, 2020 Author Share Posted August 22, 2020 2 hours ago, Dood said: Like above, I've put together my own little convertors. This isn't the exact one I was looking for for you, but CPT make the ones I've bought. 9v pedal power to 5v mini USB for powering the likes of Zoom recorders or when I've needed a stable 9v from a 12v supply, they have always had what I needed. You may have to have a search outside of eBay, but I'd at least recommend these. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272676355696 awesome, thank you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 On 22/08/2020 at 16:03, mcnach said: awesome, thank you! Any time fella! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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