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#152950 03/09/12 05:54 PM
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I would welcome some advice regarding "wall wart" power adapters. My understanding is that as long as the DC voltage wall-wort-voltage matches the DC voltage requirement of the pedal device, then the amperage rating output of the wall-wort is not that critical? But, How close does the DC voltage have to marry from the output power supply to the pedal requirements, I have an old Ibanez Rock&Play RP200, this was a small portable cassette playback device you could plug 2 guitars into it, listen to and play along with a cassette. You could also add chorus and distortion as well as slow the tape to half speed.Its power rating is 2 by 1.5 AA batteries or an AC adapter that put out 3volts @ 200mA. I have a wall wort that puts out
2.4v DC @ 2.0A or another one that puts out 5.9vDC @ 400mA. Can anyone advise me of the risks of using any of these. Thanks DennisD


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DennisD #152951 03/09/12 06:58 PM
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200mA is equivalent to 0.2A if you throw a 2.0A adapter on the box, you will likely fry it. Same is true with the 5.9v adapter. You also have to pay attention to the polarity of the adapter.

You can find decent universal adapters for less than $20. They come in very handy.

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The amperage is not the problem here. It's OK, all other things being correct, to have a power supply with an amperage rating higher than you need. The device only draws the power it needs.

The polarity is critical, as mentioned.

The voltage is the problem with your two suggestions. You need a power supply rated at 3 volts.
2.4 is probably too low (brownout) and 5.9 could damage the device. However, if the device accepts rechargeable batteries, 2.4 may be OK since a rechargeable battery is 1.2 volts, as opposed to a non-rechargeable one that is 1.5 volts.


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Another consideration is...some wall warts are unfiltered and only having filter capacitors in the device being powered (Ibanez Rock&Play RP200) so you could be introducing unwanted noise in the signal chain.

+1 on the polarity factor. You certainly don't want to "let smoke out"

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Watch out for regulated or un-regulated supplies. The un-regulated are cheaper, but the voltage can swing depending on the load. Regulated are always safer.

ROG.

ROG #152955 03/10/12 03:28 AM
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In fact the amperage IS a problem. I fried a boss superchorus pedal by using a higher amperage power adapter

bupper #152956 03/10/12 05:51 AM
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Quote:

In fact the amperage IS a problem. I fried a boss superchorus pedal by using a higher amperage power adapter



Bull!


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My experience says that a battery powered device probably has some regulation and that the devices actually operate at a much lower voltage. If there were no regulation the device would not operate well as the voltage of the batteries lowered. Try the 2.4 vdc as long as the polarity is OK. Why not just get one of the universal supplies at Radio Shack. I have a couple of these and they're life savers.


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Gee John isn't 'bull' a tad over the top? Spring is coming, I sure wish it would hurry. This used to be my favorite time to drive south and see the changes as the miles go by, until you got to SC or so and spring was full on and at home it was still snowing off and on.

I personally have gravitated to EL Toro poo poo, given that about 2/3 of the US you see anymore speak Spanish first. The face of America, over fast food counters and gas stations. I think you have to head to wall street, for wall mart is full of spanish speaking customer service people.

I tell my kids, learn Spanish, it seems to be the future, LOL...

I did manage the 'cerveca' and other great stuff on my Mexican adventure.


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Quote:

200mA is equivalent to 0.2A if you throw a 2.0A adapter on the box, you will likely fry it.




NO.

It is the VOLTAGE requirement that must not be exceeded.

The unit will only draw the amount of amperage it needs to run properly at the required voltage, and since the 2.0A adaptor is certainly able to supply 0.2A or 200milliAmps, as long as its voltage rating is not exceeded, it will be happy.

BUT -- there are some other considerations that are very important. POLARITY of the connector may or may not be the same as the Polarity needed for the device. That is the little marking of + and - next to the jack on the target device. If you use a Walwart supply that has the correct Voltage limit and supplies enough or more Current, it still could instantly damage your device if the + and - Polarity of the power is switched around. Most Wallwart supplies are marked as to the plug polarity wiring, make certain that it is the same as the markkings on the target device.

One last item, the only supply out of the two that *might* work here would be the 2.4v DC @ 2.0A -- BUT it does not deliver the full 3VDC requirement. The device may operate, but you are taking the chance that some components may be running in a brownout condition, because there is 0.6VDC difference between the supplied 2,4VDC and the required 3.0VDC. If the unit uses motors for such things a tape transport, it will likely be running too slow at this voltage.

My answer would then be that, out of the two possible walwarts given by the OP, NEITHER would be a proper choice for this device.

The good news is that you can probably find a generic supply at places like Radio Shack, etc.


--Mac

bupper #152960 03/10/12 09:21 AM
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Quote:

In fact the amperage IS a problem. I fried a boss superchorus pedal by using a higher amperage power adapter




There must have been some other parameter other than the Amperage that caused that problem. Most likely canditate is that the POLARITY of the supply was reversed from what your superchorus pedal required.

However, there is indeed a caveat concerning using a power supply that can deliver much more amperage than the device in question needs to operate properly and that is the case where there already is a FAULT CONDITION in the device itself. If there was something shorted in that device, some component or other, and the supply was capable of delivering, as in the case of the 2A supply powering the 0.2A device, well, there would be an additional 1.8A of Current available to cause all sorts of problems in the device, most of which would be summed up as HEAT, likely leading to more compononent damage and releasing all the magio SMOKE out of the already broken down device. WHEN USING A SUPPLY THAT CAN DELIVER THAT MUCH MORE AMPERAGE TO YOUR DEVICE, YOU SHOULD KNOW ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO INSTALL A PROPERLY SIZED FUSE IN THE DC LINE THAT WILL BLOW AND LIMIT THE AVAILABLE CURRENT IN CASE OF A FAULT.

Quite a lot of electronic equipment passes over my testbench for repair after attempts to use it with the wrong kind of power supply. I'd say a good 75 - 80% of it is repairable, but sometimes the cost of repair, what with the cost of replacement parts and technician time/labor, often exceeds the amount of money to purchase a new device.


--Mac


--Mac

DennisD #152961 03/10/12 03:39 PM
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Thanks to all of you for taking the time to respond. I will keep my eye out for an adapter with the correct voltage and polarity. I just had the RP200 lonely for an adapter that took 3vDC. I happened to have the two adapters mentioned that I scavanged off something (can't even remember!),so I think I will junk them. Thanks again, this is good information to keep on file. DennisD.


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