Home › Forums › Help/Technical Questions › Wiggler and Power Supplies

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  • March 23, 2011 at 7:16 pm #81481
    asaphelps
    Participant

    Ok, I have been searching around the internet, and this board, and have found mixed responses. I found 2 threads discussing similar topics but no real answers.

    I have a Wiggler pedal, and I’m looking to connect it to either

    1) Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus – Voodoo Pedal Power 2 Plus Website
    or
    2) T-REX Fueltank Classic – T-Rex Fueltank Classic website

    This thread Wiggler & Fuel Tank EHX Forum Thread talks about what cable to use with the fuel tank, but it doesn’t actually say if it works or properly powers the Wiggler or not.

    Now the Voodoo Pedal Power 2 Plus has an Auxiliary AC outlet (like a regular 3 prong wall outlet or power strip outlet) which I think can handle this pedal if I use the default EHX Wiggler Power Supply. I imagine this would be the same as plugging the Wiggler directly into a wall socket, and would work fine.

    The T-Rex Fuel tank says it has “one 12-volt AC output with isolated ground, giving 500 mA”. Would this be able to properly power the Wiggler, similar to the discussion in the thread I linked above. The Wiggler specs says it needs 12V AC 1000mA, but the Fuel Tanks specs says it only gives 500mA. I guess I’m just confused because in the thread above it sounds like the posters suggest that the Fuel Tank CAN power the Wiggler, but since it only provides 500mA, I’m wondering if that is not true.

    If anyone (preferably and EHX employee) can definitively clarify if it is possible to properly power the Wiggler with the Voodoo Pedal Power 2, and the T-Rex Fueltank Classic, I would very much appreciate it.

    Thanks for the help! I love EHX and have a ton of their pedals, only wish finding a power supply for the Wiggler was simpler! But I gotta do it, the Wiggler is too awesome to let go!

    March 23, 2011 at 7:41 pm #114838
    The EH Man
    Moderator

    While I don’t know the actual current draw for the Wiggler, the 12AY7 Mic Preamp and LPB 2ube both draw over 600mA. I would imagine the Wiggler is close to that as well. At this point, until someone can chime in with an actual figure for it, I’d avoid the Fuel Tank solution.

    March 24, 2011 at 12:50 pm #114824
    ruger9
    Member

    yeah, I’d be VERY surprised if any of those pedal power supplies would be able to provide enough milliamps to power any tube pedal… well, any tube pedal that doesn’t use the “starved plate” technology, which I don’t think the EHX pedals do. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anybody being able to run an EHX tube pedal off one of those power supplies; the wall wart is ALWAYS required, which is why alot of people don’t like the EHX tube pedals.

    March 24, 2011 at 4:26 pm #114823
    asaphelps
    Participant

    I think the Voodoo Pedal Power 2 should be able to handle it, but ONLY from the Auxiliary AC outlet on it, not from any of the output ports. EHX should really take these issues into considerations when designing their pedals.

    March 24, 2011 at 4:37 pm #114819
    The EH Man
    Moderator
    Quote:
    EHX should really take these issues into considerations when designing their pedals.

    Actually, the power supply builders should take the EHX pedal requirements into consideration when designing their products. You don’t build a pedal around a power supply.

    March 24, 2011 at 4:51 pm #114820
    asaphelps
    Participant

    I agree, but both of these power supplies power 99% of pedals out there. 12AX7 tubes take between 150-300mA to power depending on how they are wired. Requiring an extra 700mA of current draw is kinda nuts, the rest of the circuit could stand to me a bit more efficient.

    And a lot of pedal builders do in fact build their pedals with power supplies in mind, since ease and usability is a huge factor into what makes it onto a pedal board. Zach Vex of Zvex, for example, makes it a point to build his pedals to be extremely efficient with very low power draw.

    March 24, 2011 at 5:04 pm #114821
    The EH Man
    Moderator

    I guess whoever decides to accomodate EHX tube pedals wins the power supply wars, then.
    The EHX pedals don’t require the entire 1000mA. As noted above, the 2 tube examples require less than 700mA to operate. No matter what power supply you get, there’s bound to be something it won’t handle.

    March 24, 2011 at 5:06 pm #114817
    melx
    Member
    Quote:
    Zach Vex of Zvex, for example, makes it a point to build his pedals to be extremely efficient with very low power draw.

    So he says….. or does he just happen to make pedals with a low current draw and then use that as a clever ‘sales pitch’ ?

    I’ve had the same battery in my Big Muff for about a year now. I’d guess it draws around the same as a zvex fuzz.

    …I’d bet the LPB-1 is just as easy on power as a super hard on too.

    March 24, 2011 at 5:37 pm #114818
    asaphelps
    Participant

    All I’m saying is EHX could be a little more aware of the “standards”. Yeah I know there’s no official standard or anything, but most pedals do use 9VDC, or even if they are 12V, they draw less than 500mA. 1000mA is A LOT of current for a pedal, even with tubes that are taking only up to 300mA…200mA should be more than plenty for the rest of the circuit.

    Another example is the big muff using a positive tip adapter instead of the regular negative tip one…even though they could have easily used the negative tip one, all it takes is flipping the positive and ground connections to the socket. So when I got my big muff, I (and i’m sure many other people) then had to go out and get an EHX adapter for it instead of being able to use any of the 5 normal adapters I had on hand. So if you guys can’t see why some “design” decisions are driven by business incentives, then that’s your choice. But the choice of using a positive tip vs. the majority negative tip is arbitrary, EHX could’ve again made it easier for everyone. Again, I love EHX pedals, but I also question some of their choices, as I would with any company.

    Anyways, this is getting way off topic, so I’m going to leave it at that. Best of luck to you guys!

    March 24, 2011 at 6:13 pm #114816
    ruger9
    Member

    But when you put a 12AX7 tube into a pedal, things get sticky… unless you want a “starved plate” design (plenty of those out there), the only way to use that tube the same way an amp uses it is to supply it with full voltage/milliamps, which is simply more than these pedal power supplies can accommodate. And, the number of tube pedals out there requiring this kind of power is small compared to the hundreds of regular pedals that have regular power requirements.

    Far more than the wall wart issue, I wish EHX would address the NOISE issue in their tube pedals. I owned 2 Wigglers, both had a hum/buzz, tried all kinds of “fixes” found on the net, nothing worked, sent one back to EHX, paid them the repair fee, and they took my repair fee and said “it’s no noisier than other Wigglers coming off the line.” Oh, OK… so EHX tube pedals are INHERENTLY noisy, and they make no apologies for it, nor attempts to fix the problem. Nice.

    Too bad- their tube effects are really cool and get some great sounds, but I’m not paying $192 for a wiggling NOISE BOX.

    April 8, 2014 at 11:02 pm #119864
    Neilon
    Member

    I wanna ask you. I have the similar problem. Realy wiggler needs 1000mA? Because adapter is 12V AC 1000mA, but adapter always can provide more mA than effect pedal needs. And my question: how many mA needs Wiggler? For example T-rex fuel tank classic provide 12V AC 500mA,it is enough for Wiggler? Is any fuel tank or something, where I can plug my Wiggler with any others pedals together? Thank you.

    March 23, 2016 at 1:06 pm #121372
    WigPOGBoy
    Member
    Quote:
    yeah, I’d be VERY surprised if any of those pedal power supplies would be able to provide enough milliamps to power any tube pedal… well, any tube pedal that doesn’t use the “starved plate” technology, which I don’t think the EHX pedals do. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anybody being able to run an EHX tube pedal off one of those power supplies; the wall wart is ALWAYS required, which is why alot of people don’t like the EHX tube pedals.

    You guys should check out the Cioks AC10, thats awesome power supply that Is designed especially EHX and other tube pedals in mind. I’m using it to power all my pedals (most of them are using DC current), including the Wiggler. It does the job flawlessly and thanks to the toroidal transformer inside it is extremely quiet.

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