Has anyone tried these USB-C PD cables from adafruit? They are a lot cheaper than the blindspot cables. I heard about them from this video from LinusTechTips.
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Yes, I have 5 of the Adafruit PD cables. Three of the 12 volt and two of the 9 volt. Solid build quality and great price. Also a great feature is inside the barrel plug is spring loaded so the 2.5mm inside diameter will work on devices with 2.1mm as well. I use the 12 volt ones on Octatrack, Digitak 1&2, and Behringer Crave.
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Dang! Thanks for the suggestion, I donāt trust the AliExpress/Temu trash from Amazon but I trust that Adaās are selected carefully 
I promise I am not just using this as an excuse to punt this video:
but I had the same problem for yonks. I have a bunch of devices I switch out on my desk, and itās a goddamn nightmare to have to find the appropriate DC PSU every time. Most desktop PSUs donāt have the correct voltage or amperageā¦ but I ended up getting this:
It has switches for 9v-12v and 12v-15v, and even an 18v output - all with decent amps for each. For polarity, I use a polarity reversal cable. Itās made life so much easier. I donāt power lots from it at once, but it is great for flipping between different devices for whatever setup I have at any time. I recommend it (or something similar)!
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So the second switch that is labeled ā15V 9Vā also has a third position for 12V? Looks like that in the picture in the store.
If that is the case, and it can ideed provede 1000mA for each output, this PSU @ ā¬33 is amazing value compared to the Cioks Powermax (ā¬250 or so).
A while ago I searched this list of pedal board PSUs and the Thomann site for PSUs with 3 or more 12V outs, and all I found was this.
- Cioks Powermax (4x 12V) (already mentioned above)
- T-REx Fuel Tank Chameleon (4x12V)
- Harley Benton PowerPlant ISO-10 AC Pro (4x12V)
- Effectrode AT-2A Atomic (4x 12V)
- Harley Benton PowerPlant ISO-12 Pro (3x12V)
- Harley Benton PowerPlant ISO-2 AC Pro Modular (3x12V)
But most of these provide less than 500mA per output, so none but the Cioks Powermax is able to power more than one Elektron Device.
I wonder how much effort it is to build a simple voltage regulator circuit that brings down the Fameās 18V output of 12V for a third device, because that would result in 1500mA and might be enough for powering a Syntakt on top of the other two.
Sorry, you are right. I mis-typed. The second switch is 9v/12v. There are a few variations of the Fame supplies, some which have two 12v outputs - Fame DC6x2 | MUSIC STORE professional
Thanks for clearing that up. From what I see the DC6x2 can only provide 750mA and 600mA at the 12V outs. Might still be enough for a Digitakt or Digitone, and many other devices, though not for a Syntakt.
Hey there -
Long-time lurker, first time poster here, and finally making the jump because I wanted to follow up on the interesting convos that happened here and here a while ago, but I didnāt want to open an old thread again. So posting here.
Did anyone involved in those threads ever find a good way to power four or more devices (Elektron preferably, but really any device up to 18V and up to 3A?). Iāve been scouring for a solution for my live set with four devices at the moment, and the number of power bricks and the power conditioner itself is ridiculous compared to everything else.
I have a hardware engineering background, so I started going down the road to design my own 8 port solution thatās powered off of USB-C PD, and so far Iām really happy with how it seems to be shaping up. Schematics done, board layout almost done. But before I finish the layout and get the first prototypes built, I thought Iād ask if anyone has any better solution for the following:
Must haves:
- Isolated outputs with no noise/ground loop issues
- Over voltage, over current, and over temperature protection
- At least four power ports
- Ability to switch polarity of each channel separately
- Ability to change the voltage of each channel separately. At very least, 9V, 12V, 15V, and 18V
- 100W total power available, shared across all the ports
- Manually switchable at a minimum
- Must support up to 3A on a port, so the most power-hungry pedals can work (looking at you Kemper Player!)
- At or close to the $200 price range
Nice-to-haves:
- 8 power ports
- Voltage continuously adjustable from 5V to 20V
- Current support up to 5A per port (not to exceed 100W total across the entire device)
- Current limit settable per port
- Device can output more or less voltage than the USB-C PD power supply plugged into it, using buck/boost regulators
- Device programmable via USB or BLEāso switching out gear doesnāt require buying a bunch of new cables or adapters. Just reconfigure and hook up to new devices. Config should be saved between power cycles of course.
- If device is programmable, itās loaded with preset, user-selectable power profiles for all major devices. Just choose āMonomachine mkIIā, and it can give you that funky 6V 3.5A it so badly wants, with proper polarity. Should also support the various Korg Volcas, the Roland stuff, and many guitar pedals like the Strymon goods. Should also be able to power smaller audio interfaces (like the MOTU Ultralite AVB), and IEM transmitters.
- Can be run off of any USB-PD compatible battery bank
Anyhow, I know itās a pretty specific list, but I thought Iād ask you all before spending the time to finish my project. Next show is coming up in October so gotta figure out something quick!
And very nice to finally join instead of just lurk!
Allison
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Thereās a MyVolts Silent Alchemist in development, doesnāt seem to hit all your must haves, especially price-wise. Moot point anyway as itās supposed to release in October so that will be be missed by your next show.
Thanks @karkwai! Thatās the closest thing Iāve seen so far. Before that it was just the CIOKS stuff.
I think Iāll still be moving forward on my own project since I didnāt catch this one. Also, yeah, whew, thatās pretty pricey for sure.
Regardless, glad to see more people than just me have this issue, and that theyāre supporting creators on Kickstarter. That always makes me happy to see.
Why USB-C PD, when the same thing could be achieved with a standard PSU that is much cheaper, and you arenāt relying on the PD capabilities of the source anyways? Sounds like an extra layer of complexity to me.
I canāt speak for anyone else, but for me, a couple reasons.
Standard PSUs arenāt necessarily much cheaper (a 100W USB-C PD supply can be made in quantity for ~$11.00). So there isnāt really a cost savings by going with a custom PSUāeven a Meanwell. Also, I know at least for me, I have a few 100W USB-C power supplies around from prior laptops, etc. As a power standard, itās pretty locked in and isnāt going anywhere. You can find them anywhere while traveling internationally, and they should just work, as long as theyāre of reasonable quality.
I also really like that most battery power banks support USB-C PD out. I have one large battery bank that has an outlet on it (The Goal Zero Sherpa AC100), which could work, but then you need a power strip, and back to having a bunch of extra power stuff. My current design is coming in at around 6.75" x 1.9" x 0.75", for 8 power ports.
The only drawback I see is the 100W limitation. Though with almost all the current Elektron boxes (save maybe the Syntakt IIRC?), each pull around 24W max. So you could still power four boxes off of one 100W supply. Or three boxes and a few pedals, or whatever.
I suppose if 100W was not enough, you would just run two devices with two power supplies? Not as small as one, but if you have 8 Elektron boxes to power, two candy-bar size power units will still probably be a small issue compared to your other cabling and whatnot?
Interested thoughāyouād prefer to have an IEC plug on the side instead of USB, like what you see with the CIOKS and the like? How many watts would you need it to support?
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Funny I was just thinking about something like this last night as I was rewiring some stuff in the studio. I have a Cioks that I had to buy when my Voodoo Labs died on tour and the Cioks was the only thing they had in the store in Copenhagen. But I love it, itās built like a tank and I thought the RCA connectors were weird at first but theyāre great because theyāre a lot harder to pull out than barrel connectors. For me the ideal product would have connectors like that or similar that are sturdier than barrel or usb.
My only concern with a product like that with lots of different voltages and polarities is the risk of accidentally damaging something. Plugging a $200 analog pedal into the 12v output of a pedalboard supply isnāt that big of a deal but accidentally frying a $2k elektron box would suck.
And it would definitely need an IEC plug. I canāt imagine powering a whole live rig on stage with a little USB cable into an adapter.
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For me the ideal product would have connectors like that or similar that are sturdier than barrel or usb.
Iām intrigued by the RCA jack design. It does seem to make them a bit more unique than general barrel plug cables you find online. But fundamentally, amps matter all the way to the plug of the device, so itād be important to not skimp on cables at the end of the chain to save a couple bucks.
CIOKS stuff looks really good. Do you have an issue with the DC7 only outputting only 48W max? What all do you run off of it? (Seems like a lot of ports if it can only power two Elektron boxes, but I might be missing something).
My only concern with a product like that with lots of different voltages and polarities is the risk of accidentally damaging something. Plugging a $200 analog pedal into the 12v output of a pedalboard supply isnāt that big of a deal but accidentally frying a $2k elektron box would suck.
100%, I feel you. This is something Iāve been thinking about too. Trying to think of fail-safe ways to prevent people from inevitably switching an incorrect voltage or polarity into their devices.
Currently Iām planning on making color-coded LEDs per channel, so it becomes clear that orange, for instance, is clearly the one you always plug into your Analog Heat (or whatever color setup makes sense to you. RGB LEDs so you can set them to whatever you want.) Also thinking of even having the enclosure have a white scribble-strip panted on it so you can write your device names on it if the extra peace of mind helps. Just wipe it off with rubbing alcohol if you change itālike a patch bay or mixer strip.
Iām all ears on how this might best be prevented, if you have other ideas.
And it would definitely need an IEC plug. I canāt imagine powering a whole live rig on stage with a little USB cable into an adapter.
Do you use PowerCons on stage, or just NEMA plugs into the outlet when playing? I had planned myself to wire everything up to a PowerCon panel in my rack setupāso the USB C power supply would still be in the rack, but totally makes sense an IEC plug would be helpful for basically everyone else who doesnāt use one.
I gotta think about this a bit. Could be ideal if there was the 8 port power supply itself, USB-C powered as described. But had an extension, or an adapter, or whatever that this slides into, and basically becomes IEC ready and has the proper international power support ready to go. So then you have a (albeit bigger) power supply with IEC, and pop that off and itās USB-C, and can be battery powered or USB or whatever for when at home.
Outside of the IEC requirement. What else would you need to see in something like this for it to be interesting for you?
I have a DC10 thatās probably 8 years old or something. Iāve only run it with a handful of guitar pedals.
Iām all ears on how this might best be prevented, if you have other ideas.
No idea, I guess itās on the user if anything happens. The reason I had to buy a new power supply on the road is because the step-up transformer I was using had plugs for 120 & 240 which werenāt very clearly labeled and I used the wrong one at soundcheck. Oops. Things happen when youāre tired, hungover, stage is dark, etc.
Do you use PowerCons on stage
No I never have. Everywhere Iāve played from tiny clubs to big festival stages and nice state of the art theaters have always had regular plugs available.
Outside of the IEC requirement. What else would you need to see in something like this for it to be interesting for you?
The Cioks can be used at 120 or 240 without needing a step-up transformer which is really handy. The Voodoo labs didnāt even have a fuse so it just immediately fried. They fixed it for free, but still kind of annoying.
This is super helpful, thanks so much for your input! And yes, I totally feel you on the dark, late, tired, and hungover. Thatās a rough mix.
No I never have. Everywhere Iāve played from tiny clubs to big festival stages and nice state of the art theaters have always had regular plugs available.
Gotcha, right. I meant as a connection to your board or rack. Something like Hosa makes, just to prevent the IEC from falling out. I know theyāre usually used for power amps, light rigs etc.
I think I have an idea to make this IEC-ready, and will support 100-240V, so should be international-ready. I think Iāve sourced a 200W supply, which means another USB-C PD source output could be included, to charge a laptop/tablet/phone off the same device, up to an additional 100W. This is in addition to the 8 outputs for the devices. That would be pretty slick. I could ditch my computer charger too in this case.
Do you use a laptop when you play live? Would USB-C output for a computer (or I guess a phone) be interesting?
I havenāt played in several years but my old setup included a little harbor freight carry on size road case with an ultralite interface, a laptop, line 6 hx stomp, and a small power strip, all crammed in there with the different wall warts. I like to use older cheap used macbooks so mine have always had a wall wart but obviously being able to power it would be ideal. A setup Iāve been working on now for a new project uses an octatrack, 60hp 4ms eurorack pod, Boss VE-20, Minifreak, and a Roland TR6S.
A setup Iāve been working on now for a new project uses an octatrack, 60hp 4ms eurorack pod, Boss VE-20, Minifreak, and a Roland TR6S.
The carry-on is the way to go. I went the SKB route and itās awesome, but so so small. Which led me down this path to begin with. But so nice to travel with. This, a guitar, and go.
Your new project sounds like this could sorta work for it (minus the Eurorack stuff-- +/-12V is a whole different thing.)
Funny too, Iāve been back and forth between a Boss VE-500 and doing vox FX in computer. Canāt decide which way to go yet, but good to see others rocking their stuff. I think itās solid.
Ok, you and dragonaut convinced me to ensure it has an IEC input on it in addition to a USB C.
Even better, the USB C can be a DRP, meaning it can both receive power by USB like the original plan, or can provide power out to something like a laptop or tablet. Basically a lot like a laptop USB C port works today. Can charge through it, or can power things with it.
I found one that sources 200W, so that could provide running all 8 ports, and charging up a Macbook Pro 16" as well. Super slick.
This basically checks off all the features, albeit at about double the size. Appreciate the feedback!
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Old thread, but Iām really surprised someone (CIOKS, Truetone, Walrus) hasnāt built a power block to do this yet.