Help, I don't want to blown it up!

[PhiloB]

Please confirm.  A buddy gave me a Line 6 DM4 with no power adapter.  It say it requires 9v AC 1200mA.
I have an adapter that says 'AC/DC'.  Will it work.  See pics below:




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[jubal81]

Don't think that will work. Looks like your pedal wants AC and that plug puts out DC.

[PhiloB]

Thanks Jubal.  I was confused by the "AC/DC" label on the adapter.


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[flanagan0718]

Yeah I've worked quite a bit with the line 6 stuff they require ac.


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[jtn191]

I bet a lot of people think a pedal is broken if it doesn't work with 9v dc...I "repaired" a Whammy pedal which also requires 9v ac

[PhiloB]

Why does a DC adapter have the words 'AC/DC' on it?  A little confusing.


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[sonarchotic]

I use something similar to this with my DL4 and a dc supply brick. It should work with your wall wart there.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1SpotCL6/

[PhiloB]

So that thing converts DC to Ac?


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[sonarchotic]

I believe that's the idea. I've used regular 9vdc wall warts like yours before with the adaptor and it was fine. No different than me using the supply brick which has worked great for a while now. At the bottom of the page Beavis discusses powering Line 6 pedals. http://www.beavisaudio.com/techpages/PoweringPedals/index.htm

[PhiloB]

Thanks!


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[RobA]

I believe that's the idea. I've used regular 9vdc wall warts like yours before with the adaptor and it was fine. No different than me using the supply brick which has worked great for a while now. At the bottom of the page Beavis discusses powering Line 6 pedals. http://www.beavisaudio.com/techpages/PoweringPedals/index.htm

Do you have one of those adapters now and can you measure the voltage coming out of it? It doesn't sound from the 1-Spot ad copy that it is actually working like a DC-to-AC converter (which are usually bigger and hot and noisy). It sounds more like the Line6 stuff can actually run off a DC adapter if the input jack is right. It wouldn't be too surprising if that's the case since they do actually run straight off of DC power (the 4 C batteries) internally anyway. But neither the 1-Spot manuals nor the Line6 manuals are clear about what's going on.

A full wave rectifier will pass the DC signal to the correct polarity and will rectify an AC signal to the right polarity, but there's some weirdness with what level ground would sit. It would be interesting to know what Line6 are doing if you can stick DC straight on there.

[RobA]

Here's a schematic for the power supply section of the DL4. I'm guessing they are the same.
http://www.aronnelson.com/gallery/main.php/v/MrHuge/Line+6/DL4_ps.jpg.html?g2_imageViewsIndex=1

The MAX887 is a DC-DC converter that can take 3.5V to 11V DC input and output 3.3V in that configuration. So, there is some possibility of it working with a correct polarity DC input.

I don't get what's happening with the inductors when it's an AC input. Can someone explain that bit to me? Are these coupled inductors?

It's got three clocked chips in the power supply section! I'm guessing that the digital part of the pedal has been a bit unfairly blamed for some noise issues.

[sonarchotic]

Your probably right about the converter not changing DC to AC but the pedal being able to operate on DC somehow with a different plug. The conversion bit seems like a lot for such a simple looking adaptor. I suppose I just tried it, it worked and I forgot about it. Would be interesting to know though. When I get my stuff unpacked today I'll measure it and see.

[Thomas_H]

The wall wart in the picture has AC/DC on it because it converts mains AC into DC but still it is an unregulated power supply.
You can identify them by looking at the symbol after the voltage indication. (9V)
If you see a straight line it means regulated.
If you see a straight line with a broken line underneath it means unregulated.
Usually the unregulated units only have the diodes for rectification but nothing else.

[PhiloB]

Thanks for the explanation Thomas.



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