Question from an electronics simpleton

FinsburyParkCarrots · April 2008

I've an old pedal and the live socket is the output. In other words, the LED goes on when the output lead is plugged in from the pedal to the DI, etc.

Would that make a difference to polarity if I wanted to do away with batteries and buy a 9v adaptor?

I don't possess a volt meter, and there's not much spec on this old pedal. No manuals. It's my old delay again.

Sorry for being a buffoon.

xtremehardy388 · April 2008

FinsburyParkCarrots wrote:

I've an old pedal and the live socket is the output. In other words, the LED goes on when the output lead is plugged in from the pedal to the DI, etc.

Would that make a difference to polarity if I wanted to do away with batteries and buy a 9v adaptor?

I don't possess a volt meter, and there's not much spec on this old pedal. No manuals. It's my old delay again.

Sorry for being a buffoon.

Nah dude, you're totally cool. I think I understand what you're saying. If you use an adapter, you're gonna still get the light coming on. The pedal is on in this case. I've probably missed the question and stated something you already know. Anyway, I don't think it would make a difference but then again, I'm just a guitarist and not anything close to an electrician so I'll wait for someone better at this to explain,haha, sorry

ianvomsaal · April 2008

Just plug one of these in where the 9v battery goes click: Battery Clip Converter.
I'd suggest getting a click: 1-Spot Power Adapter or something similar because they self regulate .
This way you can plug the pedal in without modding it (I do it all the time with my vintage pedals).

- Ian

FinsburyParkCarrots · April 2008

What I mean is, if my pedal's live jack (the jack that wakes up the LED) is the output, does that mean that there's something different with the polarity from pedals where the live jack is the input? Just wanting to know, if I get an adaptor for this thing (it's second hand, without an adaptor). Am I making much sense? If not, I apologise. I just don't want to plug in an adaptor and have everything go kabooooom.

You'd think I'd know these things. But that's over-reliance on batteries for pedals, and no knowledge of electricity, for you.

FinsburyParkCarrots · April 2008

ianvomsaal wrote:

Just plug one of these in where the 9v battery goes click: Battery Clip Converter.
I'd suggest getting a click: 1-Spot Power Adapter or something similar because they self regulate .
This way you can plug the pedal in without modding it (I do it all the time with my vintage pedals).

- Ian

Cheers. That's what I was thinking. There must be some kind of adaptor/adapter or widget that "knows" or regulates what the old pedal's doing.

xtremehardy388 · April 2008

I agree with Ian. I use four 1-spots for my board.

Novawind · April 2008

Here's how voltage works:

You can either have a direct current (DC) signal or an alternating current (AC). The difference is shown here (click).

The sine wave is the AC voltage because it alternates from positive to negative over time. The dotted line is a constant voltage (DC). Your pedal takes a 9V battery, which theoretically delivers a constant 9V to your pedal no matter what. Any adapter you attach to the pedal (whether boss double-barrel tip or a battery clip as Ian suggested) should emulate this 9V DC signal. It may not be perfect, but either of these adapters will safely give you the required voltage for your pedal, more than likely the battery clip if you have an older pedal. Hope that answers your question.

Question from an electronics simpleton

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