Getting a battery powered device to work on house power.

[bowlesj]

Hi,

I have a device (a Boss FS-6 foot switch for guitar) that uses a 9 volt battery but has no AC adapter plug. It says on the battery cover (Type 00P 6F22 1604 6LR61 1604A ) whatever that means. Is there a way I can hook up AC power to this device. The power supply specifications from the manual are below.

Power Supply
DC 9 V: Dry battery/9 V 6F22 (carbon), 6LR61 (alkaline)
* Expected battery life under continuous use:
Carbon: 70 hours, Alkaline: 100 hours
(A and B = ON, MODE = LATCH)

Thanks,
John

 

[dick_freebird]

Find yourself a 12V "wall wart", buy a 7809 regulator and either
a 9V battery clip, or cannibalize a spent battery top and flip the
polarity assignment. If there is still too much hum, may need to
add some input filtering but most CD wall warts have "some"
and maybe enough.

You could probably find a 9V wall wart or adaptor but the
regulation is liable to be prety loose, and the regulator IC will
clean up a lot of noise.

I would insist on a transformer type wall wart, not the solid
state nonisolated ones you sometimes find now (iPhone
electrocution) since this is going to attach to a rat's nest of a
grounding scheme (going by what I've seen of musicians'
wiring).

 

[Audioguru]

Your circuit will probably blow up if you connect the polarity of a DC wall wart backwards.
It also might blow up if you try a "9V" unregulated DC wall wart.

I have a cheap Chinese unregulated wall wart labelled "9VDC/100mA". Its output is close to 9V when it has a load current of 100mA but its voltage is higher than 18V when it has a small load current like used by your circuit.

 

[bowlesj]

Thank guys for your quick responses. I have a multi-meter. Would it be wise to insert it into the curcuit to make sure the voltage is correct. This meter can measure current as well.

By the way, I am pretty green at all this so I am watching videos to help understand it. this one is on voltage regulators.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSzVs7_aW-Y
More to come. Now I understand the 7809 number and how to find one near buy.

If you know of any other YouTube videos to watch please let me know.

Thanks again,
John

 

[Audioguru]

I bought a pretty good multi-meter at Canadian Tire for ten dollars. You do not need to measure current, your guitar circuit should have spec's that say its current draw and it will not be much. Get a 200mA or 500mA regulated 9VDC wall wart.
You can buy a regulated 9VDC wall wart at RadioShack but they are gone from Canada. They sold one worth 5 dollars for 25 dollars. The Source store might ripoff the same.

 

[bowlesj]

I got lucky on this Youtube search. And here is how to get free 9 volt battery connectors from old 9 volt batteries - LOL.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zObxI_t2wkk

- - - Updated - - -

I just went back to the Boss FS-6 specifications (found with google search "Boss FS-6 specifications") and just below the Power Supply area I noticed it says "Current Draw 8mA (Max.)". So does that mean that a 9 volt regulated filtered power source of 300 mA will fry it?

 

[Audioguru]

A power source does not FORCE all its current. A load like your Boss draws only as much current as it needs (8mA).
A car battery can supply maybe 800 Amps to start the engine when it is cold in winter. The clock in the car is always connected to the same battery and it would fry and catch on fire if it draws only a few Amps (it actually draws maybe 1mA which is one thousandth of an Amp).

Your Boss would probably fry if you connected the polarity (plus and minus) backwards or if the voltage was much too high.

 

[bowlesj]

Thanks AudioGuru. That is good to know. I will see if I can find what I need tomorrow and when I achieve the goal I will post back to let you know how it worked out.
John

 

[bowlesj]

I thought I would pass on the great news. It seems everything can be found on Amazon and trusted too by the looks of it.

Power Supply (D'Addario) It is regulated and this company deals with musical equipment so it can probably be trusted.
https://www.amazon.ca/Planet-Waves-...=8-2-fkmr2&keywords=regulated+power+supply+9v

The power supply has great reviews (even a good review with someone who has a Boss foot pedal).
https://www.amazon.com/Planet-Waves-9V-Power-Adapter/product-reviews/B00191WVF6

9 volt Battery Adapter.
https://www.amazon.com/Gino-5-5mm-Male-Plug-Battery/dp/B005D65LEG


I never would have found this without everyone's help.
Thanks so much.
John

 

[Audioguru]

You said your Boss pedal does not have a female connector for an AC-DC adapter. Then how will you connect the AC-DC adapter that has a male connector?
The battery to male connector adapter will not work since you need it with a female connector and its polarity is not shown either.

You will need to cut off the connector on the AC-DC adapter and solder on a battery connector with the correct polarity.

 

[ads-ee]

You'll want something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Female-Pigtails-Adaptor-security-camera/dp/B00HST3V9I/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1406225423&sr=8-11&keywords=female+to+female+dc+plug to connect to the wall wart and solder the ends to that canibalized 9V battery terminal. Just make absolutely sure you know the polarity of every connection before you plug it into the wall and your Boss pedal.

 

[bowlesj]

Yes, Your right. I was distracted and didn't notice that. Thanks.

One question, can I use an analog volt meter to do the polarity check connecting the red to red lead and black to black much the way I connect to a battery. I guess what I am asking is if I do it very quickly watching carefully for the needle to go the wrong way and if it does I remove the connection instantly do you think the Multi-meter will survive?

John

 

[ads-ee]

Yes, Your right. I was distracted and didn't notice that. Thanks.

One question, can I use an analog volt meter to do the polarity check connecting the red to red lead and black to black much the way I connect to a battery. I guess what I am asking is if I do it very quickly watching carefully for the needle to go the wrong way and if it does I remove the connection instantly do you think the Multi-meter will survive?

John

You mean you're using a meter with a needle? If so I would be careful of reversing the polarity as pegging a needle (in either direction) can cause it to get bent or even slip on it's shaft when it slams up against the stop, thereby loosing it's calibration (I'd seen old analog volt meters that didn't read 0V when they weren't measuring anything).

Then again if you damage your analog meter, you'll have an excuse to buy a nice Fluke meter. ;-)
https://www.myflukestore.com/p1228/fluke_179.php now don't drool into the keyboard.

 

[bowlesj]

I think it would be a Fluke if I was to buy a Fluke meter . I use my multi-meter to check if batteries are good - LOL. I can use my many years of experience checking batteries to determine polarity after I get this power supply soldered up.

Updated:================================
Actually I should do it before soldering. I am going to take a guess that after I have these extensions
https://www.amazon.com/Female-Pigta...3V9I/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1406225423&sr=8-
plugged into the 9 volt regulated filtered power supply that I will test with the volt meter just like a test a battery by putting the red lead of the volt meter on the red wire and the black lead on the black wire. In other words the red wire is the same as the small positive post of the battery and the black wire is the same as the big negative post of the battery.
I would assume the needle should go in the correct direction landing exactly on the 9 volts.

 

[Audioguru]

My multimeter was analog with a needle about 40 years ago. Then I bought an excellent Fluke digital multimeter.

There are TWO center pin sizes on the connector for the AC-DC adapter and the seller does not say the size. The seller of the female pigtail says the size of the center pin is 2.1mm.
You might be lucky they fit each other or you might be unlucky.

 

[bowlesj]

Hi AudioGuru,

Thanks, I had no idea about the connector sizes. At $5.79 for the female connection adapter I am thinking it is better to cut and strip the wire on the D'Addario 9 volt wall wart and solder the spent battery plug directly on. I will probably be using this Boss FS-6 for the rest of my life and not likely to use the power supply for anything else.

If I decide to do that I assume the polarity would be even easier to deal with. My assumption is a red wire coming out would be the positive (the same as the small positive post on the spent battery to. I assume there will only be one other wire (black or white) and it of course would go on the big negative post of the spent battery top.

I think I could just go right in and solder it and connect it and be sure without any checking. However it is probably better to risk the 47 year old Micronta multi-meter ($30 to $50 to replace) than risk the Boss FS-6 foot pedal ($42.50 + tax to replace) since, like you said, if I screw it up I have an excuse to get a new digital multi-meter for $30 + tax (good enough for my limited two uses) and my guess is it may be more likely to survive better than the foot switch.

Canadian tire multi meter's ranging from $30 to $50.
https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/search-results.html?searchByTerm=true&q=multi-meter

If anyone is interested, here are some videos on the Boss FS-6.
Its big advantage is the light directly on the foot pedal allowing you to see the setting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnJ-Xr1CPFI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZDpjCQHYgk

 

[bowlesj]

It appears that most Long & McQuade stocks (and other musical outlets) stock something that can likely do the trick. You can zoom right in on the Long-mcquade link below to see its label very clearly. You can see it has a 2nd model number, 41-9-200R in addition to the ECB-003. The specs below from the 1st link say it is 5% regulated. Since it is meant for a Wah Wah pedal it is probably well filtered.

Description:
The Dunlop ECB-003 is a 9V power supply for Dunlop effects pedals. It features 9 volts of DC current with a negative center.
The ECB-003 provides the correct power supply for Dunlop pedals. It is also compatible with any pedal needing an 9vdc power supply. Dunlop's high quality components and attention to detail allow you to use the ECB-003 with confidence -in the studio or on stage.

Features:
9V DC @ 200mA 5% regulated.
2.1mm x 5.5mm + Barrel negative center.

https://www.long-mcquade.com/16484/...Adapter_Barrel_9-volt_U_S.htm#Description-tab

 

[bowlesj]

I picked up the Dunlop AC Adapter from Long & McQuade, wired it up and it is working now. Getting the polarity correct was actually pretty straight forward by simply thinking of the power supply as just a battery in my mind and knowing the power supply's connector outside was positive and the center was negative.

I didn't bother cutting the AC adapter wire. I just got some speaker wire, cut it to length, then soldered it to the the battery clip which I took out of the old battery. On the other end I bent back the negative exposed wire against the plastic outer sleeve and slipped the wire and sleeve into the center piece of the AC adapter connector. Next I wrapped the positive exposed wire around the outer part of the AC adapter connector and tapes it with electrical tape. It is making very good contact.

So it is getting proper power.

 

[Audioguru]

A wire taped to a connector or anything else will become intermittent fairly soon when the copper wire corrodes due to humidity in the air.
The post on the female jack has a powerful spring action that pushes it against the walls of center hole in the male plug. A bent wire poked into the hole is not the same.

 

[bowlesj]

A wire taped to a connector or anything else will become intermittent fairly soon when the copper wire corrodes due to humidity in the air.
The post on the female jack has a powerful spring action that pushes it against the walls of center hole in the male plug. A bent wire poked into the hole is not the same.

So I guess there are two options. Solder directly to the connector or cut the connector plug off (hoping to find a red wire), strip the wires and solder the wires.

After having wrote the above I watched some Youtube videos on soldering. They were very informative and one in particular taught me there is actually a lot you can know about it. I was doing it correctly when I was young (lately not so great). Its another example of use it or loose it. After having watched the videos I think I can do better than when I was young. Maybe I will cut the plug and solder it correctly just to make use of this new found knowledge. Either that or I will take the lazy route and do it when the connection goes bad - LOL.

I want to thank everyone for their help and hopefully some of my contributions for finding the regulated filtered wall wart at music suppliers will save some others having to build one of these.

John