i'm starting to get enough effect pedals to where a pedal board will be handy, so i'm going to start planning on making one.
so i was just looking around at stuff, seeing what i think i'll need. and i came across theses stupid things:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=22669&item=3722134264&rd=1
to me they look exacly like the links off a bike chain. so if you have a chain breaker, you could make your own and not have to use velcro or anything.
does anybody have any other ideas like this?
That's a clever idea. The only thing that I don't like about is that you would need a screwdriver to move a pedal. But, they would be really secured to the pedalboard, so in that regard, I like it.
I use them and they work great for a more permanent setup. The price for 50 of them is good too. If you try to buy the links at a store they cost anywhere from $.50 to over a dollar each.
I use only 2 of them per pedal.
A long time ago, that was my brilliant idea #2. First, I had a black painted board with velcro. #2 was the same board with holes drilled through for two of the pedal's bottom plate screws, and countersunk on the bottom. You had to flip the whole thing over to remove the pedals or change batteries, but no one ever stole one of my pedals.
That looks ok, and you can unscrew them from the top. No problem if you use a power supply. Leaves you the freedom to make any kind of board you want.
i have dozens of feet of bike chain in my garage :wink: . me and my brother used to BMX race and where always working our bikes.
Use Vise Grips, and grind the pins ends off, the chain link will come right off with a screwdriver, they can also be broken quickly with a big cold chisel and a big hammer, then re-flattenned with the hammer.
If you can find just the right sized flat screwdriver tip, and you don't mind that it'll get scarred on the sides, the wedge of the tip can span across the links on either side, and pry the link off the pin.
Grinding is as easy as any method, just face the grind marks on the link down.
I have one of those bike chain pin removal tools. That makes easy work of it.
does anybody else have any ideas like this? i'm planning on having a couple 9v power suplies, maybe even a plug in for a walwart if any digital pedals are acting up, input and output for easy setup, ect. what other feature would be cool?
Wireless hidden under your pedals 8) And lights can be handy on dark stages. Find a heavy-duty transformer that can supply around 300mA to a halogen lamp or something like that. I get tranformers that supply 9v 650mA twice 8) One 9v thingymajib for your FX and one for 2 lamps. Something like that.
The venues can't seem to use bulbs, or have trouble turning them on.
They all do have power, accesible from the wall outlet.
Bringing a lot of light makes setups and teardowns muchmuch easier.
I drag two things. a Quarts painters lamp 250w-500w. and string lights in a large plastic jar..these can be dropped, strewn around, stuffed in the plastic jar for a kool looking table or floor light. Very cheep and portable.
And if one of the bulbs should fail, there are like 99 more to go before your'e down to zero light.
I prefer the concept of a gooseneck lamp with a 60w halogen bulb [or two 25w's], in a large pedalcase.
I ncandescent Light bulbs should be installed in fixtures, arent worth the tote even one time probly. One bump and they're done.
Hey Goosenecks are a darn good idea... Gotta find some goosenecks. Damn I have too much stuff to do. :mrgreen:
so how many mA's would i need for just a couple 9v's for my pedals?
depends! Most analoge pedals draw as little as around 10ma, while some digitals go up to around 40ma, or more...
you should be safe powering a bunch with around 200-250...you probably won't be able to find much less than that anyway.
Modulation effects take up -much more power- than distortions. Depending on what those pedals are, I would go 500mA to 1A or even higher, just for future expandability (hey, you're here after all :wink: ). The price difference isn't huge, but if you can only find 250mA adapters, go for them.
And yep, digital effects can take tons of power. My Digitech RP-12 takes 2.2A... luckily it has its own adapter.
i think i'm ganna put some outlets on it for walwarts if any digital effects act up with my power suply. sound like a good idea? i'll just run it off the wire to the powersuply but after the fuse.
-rock on
Quotei'll just run it off the wire to the powersuply but after the fuse.
even better would be to run it BEFORE the fuse, and give it it's OWN fuse.
well i want to keep it as simple as possible while having what i think i really need and want. how important would the extra fuse be?
and i also want a volume pot i'll put inbetween the return 1/4" jack and the output to the amp. how should i wire it and what kind of pot should i use?
and what kind of fuse should i use??
Take it, Nifty... :)
the reason you'd want two fuses is so that you can rate them independently of each other.
Because you may not know what type of wallwart you are going to plug into those extra sockets, you can't really decide on a one fuse solution. If you "play it safe" and over-rate the fuse it could be dangerous for your power supply.
Or, going the other way; say your power supply draws 0.5A, you install an appropriate fuse. Then you plug in a wallwart to your "extra sockets" and blammo, there goes your fuse!
Plus, with two fuses, if you're in a gig and a wallwart blows up, your power supply keeps working! (and vice versa)
You can get cheap inline fuse holders that you just drop into the active wire going to the extra sockets.
You want slow blow. To rate them you have to first work out how much current is the maximum you want to draw from your power supply / extra outlets.
Them 50-60's cars used mercury switches for the trunk or hood light switch...good stuff maynard. Werth a looksee, IIRC they come out pretty easy.
I used one for a gooseneck dashlight/map reading light...very nice...just pull it a little bit in on it goes, perfect.
You guys might even theink of some other use for these....like on a spring or something, and hooked to an LED?...lol.
ok, i think i'll definitally want that extra fuse. so i'm going to go with 1A because thats the only regulater i can find for 9v (unless someone knows of any other). and i'm not ganna regulate the power to the oulets. so what fuses should i use?
and what about the volume pot? 100k audio sound good?
anybody? sorry if my question seems elementry but i'm clueless. i've tried drawing my own conclusions via google but not luck. besides, i'd rather have somebody tell me in person than off some web site thats half bs.
Quotei'm going to go with 1A because thats the only regulater i can find for 9v
1A should be plenty anyways.
Quotei'm not ganna regulate the power to the oulets. so what fuses should i use?
when you say "outlets" you're talking like whats on the wall in your house, right?! Just clarifying! I trust you are savvy with the dangers that exist in wiring up mains power?!
Regulation is already done for you by the power utility company in that case! Fuse rating depends on what you wanna plug in to it. It also depends on the quality of wiring and connections that you use.
Quote from: petemoore
I prefer the concept of a gooseneck lamp with a 60w halogen bulb [or two 25w's], in a large pedalcase.
I ncandescent Light bulbs should be installed in fixtures, arent worth the tote even one time probly. One bump and they're done.
Hey Pete, what about this? I've been fiddling with the idea for a long time. They are cheap enough, drains about 40mA (less than a few of my pedals), 5v (run a couple in series), and they are flexible...
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=309756&pfp=cat3
or just look for 'usb light' in compusa's web site. (there's also one that comes with a 'bonus' fan, to keep your power supply running cool)
The only problem with the link I posted is that it requires windows 98 or later to be installed in your pedalboard :shock:
two words; high-brightness LED.
ok.. so that's actually two hyphenated words and an acronym... :P
Consider the 5W Luxeon Star LED... sheesh, blindingly bright.
But realistically, three or five of these high brightness white LEDs and a current limited supply (probably more sophisticated than a series resistor) and you'll be cooking. Plus, they're practically indestructable in normal use.
There's even provisions being manufactured (http://www1.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=kc5349&CATID=&keywords=LED+bayonet&SPECIAL=&form=KEYWORD&ProdCodeOnly=&Keyword1=&Keyword2=&pageNumber=&priceMin=&priceMax=&SUBCATID=)to attache an array of LEDs to a standard bayonet light globe fitting! Or, you can even buy the complete thing! (http://www1.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=ZD0310&CATID=&keywords=led+globe&SPECIAL=&form=KEYWORD&ProdCodeOnly=&Keyword1=&Keyword2=&pageNumber=&priceMin=&priceMax=&SUBCATID=)
Quote from: niftydog
when you say "outlets" you're talking like whats on the wall in your house, right?! Just clarifying! I trust you are savvy with the dangers that exist in wiring up mains power?!
i'm not stupid :wink: . and yes when i said outlets i ment the kind thats on the walls of houses. i want them to plug walwart in if any digital effects don't cooperate with my powersupply (i've had problems like this with my old powers supply).
Quotei'm not stupid
glad to hear it! But I swear those are many a Darwinists last words right there! :shock:
ok, so like I said, regulation of mains power is already done for you.
The fuse rating depends on the quality and diameter of the cable you use to hook it up, and on the load you intend to plug in.
Perhaps not ideal to be hooking up a multimeter to check this out! Better off over-estimating at first, then trying smaller and smaller fuse ratings until they start blowing. Then, back up a couple and stick with it.
sound like a good idea, except that i'm not even sure on what to estamate them at. like i said, i'll be running 1A throught them and i won't have anymore than 5 pedals powered by the power supply. any help :?
For the power supply, I would start with a rough over-estimate of 50mA per digital modulation effect, and 10mA per for most others. Then, add it all up, add say 30% for supply inefficiencies and give it a shot.
For the outlets, I gather you're intending to plug in wallwarts that you already own? Is it possible that they have a input rating or a wattage?
Again, if you're running single pedals on the wallwarts, current is going to be pretty low on the AC side of the wallwart. You're looking at possibly less than 2mA of AC per wallwart!
Again, add 'em all up, add a bit for good luck...