Powering a stomp box

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Dr_Sbaitso

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I've got a Boss SD1 Overdrive pedal that I use quite a lot. I generally run it on a 9V battery. My friend and I noticed yesterday that when the battery is running out, the sound it puts out is really appropriate for a song that we are about to record.

I've got a variable supply hobby tranformer that'll output a peak of 12V. Is it going to damage the pedal if I hook this tranformer up to it and run in lower voltage than it would generally use? or if I run the full 12 volts into it? I know theres a bit of give and take in most things... One of the keyboards I use is supposed to be used with a 7.5 Volt tranformer, but it came second hand with a 9v tranformer and functions fine...

Thanks,

Dr_Sbaitso
 
I once read a review by someone who did put 12V through his Boss pedal because that was what he had lying around. I would not really hesitate to give my OS-2 a bit of extra juice if I had to either.

I think it's pretty safe to try it out. But of course, I don't guarantee anything :)
 
the transformer does AC or DC... I'd want to use DC right?
 
Yes use DC. The thing to watch out for is the Amperage rating on the power supply. Too high and you will burn stuff up.
 
The previous post is incorrect, you need to have the right voltage power supply, the right type (AC or DC) and if DC, the polarity correct. The amount of current ("amperage") drawn by the device is determined by the impedance/resistance of the device itself; it won't hurt to have power in reserve. Using TRK's logic, your 110 volt stereo that draws 150 watts(approx 1 1/2 amps) would be burned up since it is plugged in to a circuit in your house that is on a 15 amp breaker. What will burn up is an underpowered power supply, it will not be able to dissipate the heat generated from supplying more power than it was designed. As far as damage by under-voltage, some electronic devices can fail, but I think you would probably be ok as long as you don't go too low. I would try to stay above 7 volts or so, maybe 6 at the lowest; I have measured batteries that were beginning to fail and it seems they were in the 7 volt range. if this were a high $ vintage piece of gear, I would advise to stick with rated volts, but a $50 pedal, go for it.
 
Oh, sorry, TRK is correct about the DC part, also make sure that you get the polarity correct + / - Radio Shack sells the connectors that mate with your unit's power input, but there are several sizes that look about the same... The + goes to the outer (barrel) part of the connector, the - goes to the inner part that mates with the pin. Also as you are measuring the voltage from the power supply, measure it with the pedal connected and turned on, a lot of power supplies will measure a substantially higher voltage with no load connected, as you connect devices, it will drop. Good Luck
 
Oh, sorry, TRK is correct about the DC part, also make sure that you get the polarity correct + / - Radio Shack sells the connectors that mate with your unit's power input, but there are several sizes that look about the same... The + goes to the outer (barrel) part of the connector, the - goes to the inner part that mates with the pin. Also as you are measuring the voltage from the power supply, measure it with the pedal connected and turned on, a lot of power supplies will measure a substantially higher voltage with no load connected, as you connect devices, it will drop. Good Luck
 
some of the boss products will get screwed up with a 12 volt.. seriously I have had this happen at least 2 or 3 times. Some of the models are more resiliant then others
 
Transformer

I'm a little confused ... maybe I'm not following ... if the original poster likes the sound just before the battery expires, doesn't he want to feed the stompbox a lower voltage than what is ordinarily called for? (I must be missing something ... 12 is still more than 9, isn't it?).

A few observations, for what little they're worth:

Putting 12 volts in where 9 is called for might fry something, but it's close enough you've got a good chance it won't. Undervoltage can do really strange things to anything with a chip in it. The current (amp) rating of your transformer should be at least as high as what's called for ... it's okay to be over. Don't mix up AC and DC (things that can run on batteries ordinarily want DC transformers, but you never know). Watch the polarity (if it's DC). Various devices use connectors that look almost identical, but are slightly different dimensions. Getting the wrong one shouldn't blow anything up ... it just won't fit.
 
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