Home › Forums › Help/Technical Questions › How about a chart of *Maximum* DC voltage allowed for each EHX pedal?

Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
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  • September 25, 2018 at 1:47 pm #85484
    zmix
    Participant

    So many pedalboard power supplies out there have outputs of fixed voltages above 9Vdc, such as 12, 15, 18 or even 24, and there are pedals which use onboard voltage regulators, charge pumps, etc that can handle voltages of more than 9Vdc without problems. The LTC1044A charge pump is very popular in pedals and has an absolute maximum input voltage of 13V, so you can use a 12V output on such a pedal without issue.

    In the Deluxe Memory Man TT-1100 manual they state the maximum input voltage to be 10.5V, so you don’t want to run it from anything higher than that..

    What about all the DSP based effects though? The Ravish Sitar, HOG, Grail, etc?

    September 25, 2018 at 2:58 pm #124341
    gvelasco
    Participant

    The Ravish Sitar doesn’t specify a maximum voltage in its documentation. It simply says:

    “WARNING: Your Ravish Sitar comes equipped with an Electro-Harmonix 9.6DC200
    power supply (same as used by Boss® & Ibanez®: 9.6 Volts DC 200mA /
    Center Negative). The Ravish Sitar requires 160mA at 9VDC with a center
    negative plug. The Ravish does not take batteries. Using the wrong adapter may
    damage your unit and void the warranty.”

    It doesn’t take batteries and comes equipped with one of their 9.6V 200mA negative tip power supplies, so it MIGHT be able to handle more voltage, but I wouldn’t try it.

    September 25, 2018 at 3:01 pm #124342
    gvelasco
    Participant

    HOG2? Same deal.

    “WARNING: Your HOG2 comes equipped with an Electro-Harmonix 9.6DC-200BI power supply (same as used by Boss® & Ibanez®: 9.6 Volts DC 200mA). The HOG2 requires 170mA at 9VDC with a center negative plug. The HOG2 does not take batteries. Using the wrong adapter may damage your unit and void the warranty..”

    I’m beginning to see a pattern here. In particular, “Using the wrong adapter may damage your unit and void the warranty.”

    September 25, 2018 at 3:05 pm #124343
    zmix
    Participant

    Clearly that warning is necessary and obvious, bot does not address the topic.

    For example, the DMM actually specifies a maximum voltage of 10.5Vdc , which is the sort of detail I’m asking about here.

    September 25, 2018 at 3:07 pm #124344
    gvelasco
    Participant

    Holy Grail doesn’t say. It simply says:

    “Plug the DC adaptor into the US96DC-200BI jack and then plug the DC adaptor into a wall outlet.”

    That’s their standard US 9.6V 200mA negative tip power supply. But I read of people either here (?) or in other forums plugging their Holy Grail into the wrong power supply and allowing the magic smoke to escape. Once the magic smoke escapes, it’s very difficult to collect it all and return it to it’s secret place.

    September 25, 2018 at 3:12 pm #124345
    gvelasco
    Participant

    Holy Grail Max:

    “WARNING: Your Holy Grail Max comes equipped with an Electro-Harmonix 9.6DC-200BI power supply (same as used by Boss® & Ibanez®: 9.6 Volts DC 200mA). The Holy Grail Max requires 80mA at 9VDC with a center negative plug. Using the wrong adapter or a plug with the wrong polarity may damage your Holy Grail Max and void the warranty.”

    and

    “9V Power Jack – Plug the output of the AC Adapter supplied with the Holy Grail Max into this jack located at the top of the enclosure. The HG Max draws 80mA at 9VDC with a center negative plug and accepts Boss® and Ibanez® style AC Adapters. Please do not allow the power supply voltage to exceed 10VDC. The Holy Grail Max does not take batteries.”

    September 25, 2018 at 3:24 pm #124346
    gvelasco
    Participant

    I think (I SUSPECT) that most of EHX’ modern circuits have some sort of protection against excessive voltage since multi-tap power supplies have become so popular and it’s an easy mistake to make, but protection against excessive voltage is easier to design than operation at higher voltage.

    The Soul Food is EHX’ Klon Klone. The Klon famously has boosted rails running at 18V internally, so does the Soul Food, but you cannot use an 18V adapter with it. It takes a 9V power supply or battery and boosts it internally to 18V.

    The OD Glove is EHX’ answer to the Fulltone OCD. The Fulltone OCD can run at 9V with a battery or 9V power supply, but it can operate at 18V if you plug it into an 18V power supply for extra headroom. The OD Glove is internally switchable to 18V, but is not designed for an 18V power supply. If you want to run the OD Glove at 18V, you still use a 9V battery or 9V power supply.

    In summary, I think it’s best to stick with the recommended voltage and polarity which are usually printed on the unit right above the jack rather than to press your luck

    September 25, 2018 at 4:46 pm #124347
    EHX STAFF
    Keymaster

    Truth stay with the suggested voltage or you will blow the protection diode in the power supply input.

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