Power Supply questions

[hywelg]

Last night I had to get our bass player out of a hole when his power supply to his boss unit went down. So, as I had my spare factor supply I suggested he use that, ONLY its NOT 9VOLTS, and coupled to that its not centre negative like just about every other pedal in the world.

We measured BOTH my Factor power supplies at 12.7 volts. The transformer is quite clearly labeled 9v DC. So what is going on here?

My PF power supply has been on  my board for about 6 months and I have to unplug it from the mains and stow it each time I use it. In this short time the wire insulation just where the cable goes into the transformer has cracked revealing the conductors. THIS IS NOT GOOD and I am hoping I will be able to take it apart and remake the end but this cable is just not up to the job.

So Eventide, you have dug  big hole for yourselves here. Centre negative is the way the pedal world works so don't try and be clever. IF you insist on going against the flow then you'd better make damn sure you do it better than anyone else and this power supply is just not up to it. So My suggestions for powersupplies of Factors Mkii

1   9volts 2.1mm centre negative

2   Physically smaller wart so that I can use each socket on a 4 way. Yours takes up so much space no transformer I own can use the next socket. Better still an IEC IN socket in a flat bick like format so we can velcro it to the board.

3    At least three, 2.1mm plug in sockets to power at least three factor pedals. No tied wires. Provide varying length cables plus spares.

3   Green LED to show normal working and voltage being maintained correctly. Red to show failure or voltage drop to near the minimum safe level.

4  At least 5000mA output so we can use it for other pedals aswell.

THAT LOT would be something genuinely useful rather than the afterthought that is the current powersupply.

[CIOKS power support]

Hello there,

Maybe our brand new CIOKS DC10 power supply is something you should consider… Please let me know exactly what you have on your pedal board and I will come up with a solution for you with exact figures on voltage, current draw and plug types you'd need to power it all properly. You can either write here or mail me directly.

Regards,
Poul Ciok
poul.ciok@cioks.com

[hywelg]

Thank you but I already have a solution to my problem, I intend getting the GigRig  Evenflo adaptor as I already have the generator.

No, I was making suggestions for Eventide to consider when they are looking at redesigning the powersupply. Personally I think they need a gigging guitarist on the staff as this type of problem would have been flagged very early on, along with the need for patch naming.

[Gio Makyo]

> In this short time the wire insulation just where the cable goes into the transformer has cracked revealing the conductors. THIS IS NOT GOOD

I have to second this opinion, unfortunately. I had my Timefactor freak out during a live performance the other night ; power suddenly cut out, then came back on, and immediately cut out again, and it just kept going like this and would not start up properly, even if unplugged and re-started. Needless to say, this really wrecked my set!!!! Upon closer examination, I found the same thing as described above: the wires were exposed at the point immediately next to the thicker protection for the cable as it enters the power supply. (I'd be happy to send over a photo of this if your team would like an example of where this is fraying.)

To put this in some perspective, I've had the Timefactor for about a year and a half, and I only play out about once every two months, the rest of the time it's plugged into the same wall outlet, so this hasn't seen extremely heavy usage. I must say I have never seen as thin and weak a cable on a piece of gear designed for live usage before — let's be frank:  this is clearly he downside of "Made in China".

Eventide sound quality is first rate, no complaints there, and I'm glad I bought this unit. But reliability is also quite important, and with parts as fragile as this, I'm starting to think twice about picking up the Space reverb now, which I was looking forward to. Has Eventide addressed this problem?

Also, since I now need a new adapter, is it possible to buy this separately as a replacement part? 

Thanks in advance.

[bhaberman]

Hello Gio,

I'm sorry for your unfortunate experience.  Replacement power supplies may be purchased from your local dealer or from http://www.eventidestore.com.  I know you said your TimeFactor is out of warranty but for those that are within the one year warranty period, support@eventide.com will be happy to try and help. 

Again, my apologies.

[Gio Makyo]

Thanks for the reply. Out of warranty, I'm afraid. I guess I'm wondering how common this problem is. My purpose here isn't to complain, but Eventide might want to have a word with whoever they are manufacturing these with –in all my years of using electronic musical gear I've never seen this happen to a power supply cable. Like I said, I'd be happy to provide a photo if Eventide would like one.

[bhaberman]

Hello Gio, I appreciate your offer of a photo, but I think I understand what you are describing.  I have passed your concerns along to our engineering and operations teams.

[davidkaeser]

Hi all!

Just received my H9! Is it possible to use the power supply (US format) with an adapter (US to CEE format) ? I see input is 110-240v, so maybe it's possible ?

Thanks for reply 🙂

[nickrose]

Sorry – don't know. We can only suggest that you get the power supply specified for your location – otherwise it's sort of at your own risk. (We can't possibly test all likely combinations).

[hendrik7]

I can chime in on point #1

I had to go through huge troubles  to power the H9 on my board when finding out the it was not only center positive but 2.5mm

I don't get that at all when every other pedal on the market is centre negative and 2.1.

[Imerkat]

Well, every other pedal that uses 2.1 center positive are analog. Line 6 uses 2.5mm center positive and Digitech uses both.

[davidkaeser]

Hi all!

This message to tell you that it is possible to use the H9 power supply (US format) with an adapter (US to CEE format). No problem at all for me, i have tested it! (input is 110-240v).

Have a nice day!

[fredski28]

I have the Strymon Zuma power supply on my board.

I need a cable that’s compatible with the H9 and the Zuma 12v outlet, where can i get this?

Thanks in advance.

[silver_mica]

See this thread – there’s a link to the Voodo DC Power cable

https://www.eventideaudio.com/community/forum/stompboxes/will-h9-work-new-strymon-ojai-power-supply

fredski28 wrote:

I have the Strymon Zuma power supply on my board.

I need a cable that’s compatible with the H9 and the Zuma 12v outlet, where can i get this?

Thanks in advance.

[Author]

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