OCD pedal died

[easlern]

Is this the right place for pedals? Wondering if anyone’s had an ocd die on them, and if there’s maybe a common cause. It happened to die the same day as a tremolo pedal though, so I have no idea if one killed the other or if it was totally coincidental? I measured the voltage on the line feeding both and it’s a steady 9.3. Can pedals hurt each other when they’re chained? I wouldn’t think the voltages in audio are high enough but maybe a regulator blew up on one and killed the other or something?

 

[ecc83]

Is this the right place for pedals? Wondering if anyone’s had an ocd die on them, and if there’s maybe a common cause. It happened to die the same day as a tremolo pedal though, so I have no idea if one killed the other or if it was totally coincidental? I measured the voltage on the line feeding both and it’s a steady 9.3. Can pedals hurt each other when they’re chained? I wouldn’t think the voltages in audio are high enough but maybe a regulator blew up on one and killed the other or something?

No, chaining pedals can do no harm. If a pedal can run from a 9V battery it will not have a regulator in it. If one runs from a higher voltage from a dedicated supply, it might, still would not fek anything else. Is it possible that a supply has been connected with the wrong polarity? A lot of pedals use a "one shot ***t or bust" diode plus fusible resistor for polarity "protection". STUPID! Achaic design philosophy but then so is "true" bypass!

That Fullertone sells for £150 over here so well worth getting looked at. I know several good techs' in UK, not your neck of the forest I am sorry to say. COULD just be a broken wire but DON'T say that to the tech...They don't like it"!

Dave.

 

[easlern]

Thanks for your reply Dave, I do like the pedal and I spent quite a bit on it. I did buy it used though so I haven’t actually tried the tech support email to get it serviced. Although I should probably give it a shot, I don’t know what I’m doing if I did open it up really.

The power supply is possibly a cause I think too, even though it measured fine in that moment. I should’ve spent money on a decent one, silly me I thought it was kinda simple to build a device properly. But you know ebay. . .

If it’s not likely one pedal killed the other it’s probably the supply after all. I can live without the tremolo but that ocd hurts. Probably email Fullertone and see what they recommend.

 

[TalismanRich]

Fulltone stuck by my MDV2 when it went down years ago. It came back better than when I got it. I'm guessing a part was weak when it was made.

 

[easlern]

Just an update on this, weirdly all my pedals except the cheap chorus pedal are working fine now. Maybe I was dumb and just not setting them up correctly during troubleshooting. But I'm happy, learned not to buy cheap I guess. Nearly a very expensive lesson.

 

[ashcat_lt]

First of all, polarity is more important than actual voltage. Most pedals with Boss-style DC power want the positive on the outside barrel and will not last long if given the opposite. Tangential to that, if the (positive) barrel of one the plugs on your daisy chain makes contact with the (grounded) chassis of one of your pedals or sometimes even like a concrete floor, the power supply is shorted and none of the pedals on that chain will get power. How long that PSU can survive the shorted condition depends on how it is designed. A OneSpot won’t really even care, but a cheaper supply could burn itself out eventually.

 

[rob aylestone]

Concrete is a conductor? Maybe if wet, but dropping a powered up mains cable with bare end onto a concrete floor in my workshop does nothing, and while the rebar in concrete is a conductor, the concrete is normally a high resistance insulator.

 

[ashcat_lt]

Ok dude. I mean I’ve seen it happen. I’ve also gotten tingles in my feet playing certain amps in certain basements. You don’t have to believe it, but...

 

[ecc83]

Steady chaps! Concrete is basically an insulator but is never totally free of water since the reaction with that goes on for years. The volume resistivity can therefore be low enough that touching live whilst in leather shoes (or bare feet if you are some sort of stupid hippy!) could result in a lethal shock.

However IMO the resistance would never be low enough to draw more than a mA or so from a 9 volt power plug.

Dave.

 

[easlern]

I should pay more attention to the polarity, I always assumed if the barrel plug fits it's okay but sounds like that's not always the case! I do have a cement floor where I was messing with these with the unused daisy plugs lying on the floor. I don't have a pedal board so I should probably invest in one. I only use one adapter/plug/pedal at a time now, on a stiff carpet.

 

[miroslav]

I’ve also gotten tingles in my feet playing certain amps in certain basements.

Don't play barefoot.

I should pay more attention to the polarity...

Yup.

So then...is your OCD still RIP...or has it come fully back top life now?

Oh...just put down a piece of plywood on the cement if you don't want to get/build an actual pedalboard.

 

[easlern]

So then...is your OCD still RIP...or has it come fully back top life now?

It's fine now! All my pedals are working except the chorus. Probably due to me being dumb, I'm just happy it wasn't worse.