I was just looking at Walrus Audios new isolated power supply
http://walrusaudio.com/shop/aetos-clean-power-supply/ (http://walrusaudio.com/shop/aetos-clean-power-supply/)
I have been trying to find a decent one to build for some time but it seems like all the AC to DC transformers spec. are huge. How do companies like Walrus and VooDoo keep their enclosures smaller and is it even worth DIY at that point? I want to upgrade my pedal board from its OneSpot at some point.
I see stuff like this
(http://powersupply88.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/super-clean-9VDC-power-supply.jpg)
and wonder if it outputs 9v 1A could that them be split up in to 100mA connections and still be "isolated"
I have been poking around here and trying to wrap my head around what is needed for a isolated PS and still keeping a small foot print.
http://www.power-supply-designer.com/2011/05/isolation/ (http://www.power-supply-designer.com/2011/05/isolation/)
Thoughts?
Cody
Interesting question... and ideas.
I am too tired now, but I will think about this tomorrow at work...
Niki Fena, from N-Audio, has a power supply similar to the ones build by VooDoo Labs and he shared the schematic (no values though): http://n-audio.net/sites/default/files/Powerbox%20MK2%20Schematic.pdf
Niki's products are one of a kind, good pcb design, good box design and some good priced and good sounding pedals.
Weber sells transformers made for DIY pedal powers. I believe for it to be isolated each tap of the transformer needs to be on one outlet. The weber one has like enough for 8 I think?
Thanks, look forward to the discussion. I am going to read up more tonight on this also. I keep thinking something like has to be done to keep them isolated but its just guesses since I know nothing about this stuff and just trying to retain it.
(http://music.codydeschenes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/isopwr.png)
Quote from: mattlee0037 on May 21, 2014, 10:48:06 PM
Weber sells transformers made for DIY pedal powers. I believe for it to be isolated each tap of the transformer needs to be on one outlet. The weber one has like enough for 8 I think?
I see them at the bottom of this page. Thanks I will read up on them also.
https://taweber.powweb.com/store/magnetic.htm (https://taweber.powweb.com/store/magnetic.htm)
WPDLXFMR-1
WPDLXFMR-2
Cody
There is a shared pcb project on OSH for that weber transformer. I msged aballlen about the schematic earlier.
For my Spyderish PS the cheapest way was with 5 small dual secondary transformers, about 60ma per secondary. Not particularly tiny but in a 2" high chassis so figure it will easily go under a pedal board. Over the top regulator so something simpler could be used to shrink down the overall size.
http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=13420.msg123528#msg123528
QuoteWeber sells transformers made for DIY pedal powers. I believe for it to be isolated each tap of the transformer needs to be on one outlet. The weber one has like enough for 8 I think?
I believe that it's a fairly sizable transformer though. I faced the same issue when I built mine, and if you look for it on this forum, you'll see that it is pretty hefty but I also ended up using 3 1A transformers!
The smaller builds I've seen have utilised a number of much smaller transformers around 100-200ma as opposed to a single 1A or 2A. Another option would be to see if you can find a suitable toroidal transformer as they tend to be much smaller, but also a lot more expensive.
What you also have to look out for in a lot of these commercial power supplies is that they themselves run off a wallwart, which defeats the purpose in my mind. It's deadset easy to build a tiny power distribution box. Maybe you could find a cheap laptop power supply and use that to feed a box on the pedalboard...
Here's mine anyway.
http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=9871.msg87154#msg87154
The examples give of your DIY projects are awesome, but.. what are the other companies doing to keep the boxes smaller that we in the DIY community can't do?
Cody
They're using a Torodial (spelling?) transformer, which makes all the difference. It looks like a little donut, and it can be much smaller than the Weber unit.
Walrus is probably being honest - they have to get them custom made to be small enough, and chances are that's why the price is so high. They probably cost then $40 a pop, and even then, they're buying in bulk.
Jacob
Custom toroids with up to 14 secondaries.
http://www.multi-circuit-boards.eu/en/pricing/toroidal-transformers/order.html
I built a spyder using the weber. The enclosure I used was roughly 2.5" x 4" x 6". It's a pretty tight squeeze in there and I think I need to add some heat sink, but it works great.
(http://i746.photobucket.com/albums/xx105/leevibe1/Spyder%20power%20supply/image_zpsb8ae266e.jpg) (http://s746.photobucket.com/user/leevibe1/media/Spyder%20power%20supply/image_zpsb8ae266e.jpg.html)
(http://i746.photobucket.com/albums/xx105/leevibe1/Spyder%20power%20supply/image_zpsfd0dad5d.jpg) (http://s746.photobucket.com/user/leevibe1/media/Spyder%20power%20supply/image_zpsfd0dad5d.jpg.html)
(http://i746.photobucket.com/albums/xx105/leevibe1/Spyder%20power%20supply/image_zpsc7b1c91d.jpg) (http://s746.photobucket.com/user/leevibe1/media/Spyder%20power%20supply/image_zpsc7b1c91d.jpg.html)
(http://i746.photobucket.com/albums/xx105/leevibe1/Spyder%20power%20supply/image_zpsf446f3c5.jpg) (http://s746.photobucket.com/user/leevibe1/media/Spyder%20power%20supply/image_zpsf446f3c5.jpg.html)
You got some nice little amps in that mancave of yours... ;D
Quote from: muddyfox on May 22, 2014, 06:00:50 AM
You got some nice little amps in that mancave of yours... ;D
Haha! Thanks. That man cave is my office. Lucky me! Want to know a sad story? I'm selling some gear so I can buy me a mexican strat. So far I've sold my nova delay and the blackheart 5w half stack. (you can see the speaker cab in one of the pics) Then one of our cars decides to have trouble today. I literally sold the amp today! Now my strat money is going to end up with the mechanic. Rrrrr.
That's a really nice layout, especially on the inside. Nice work! (If you don't mind my asking... ) Who makes the enclosure?
Quote from: Leevibe on May 22, 2014, 05:52:52 AM
I built a spyder using the weber. The enclosure I used was roughly 2.5" x 4" x 6". It's a pretty tight squeeze in there and I think I need to add some heat sink, but it works great.
That's a really nice layout, especially on the inside. Nice work! (If you don't mind my asking... ) Who makes the enclosure?
Quote from: Leevibe on May 22, 2014, 05:52:52 AM
I built a spyder using the weber. The enclosure I used was roughly 2.5" x 4" x 6". It's a pretty tight squeeze in there and I think I need to add some heat sink, but it works great.
If you don;t have a natural aversion for supplies using DC-DC converters instead of the usual transformers, you could give that a go.
A lot easier to build as you don't have to deal with high voltage safety.
Usually they are a bit pricey but if you look around you sometimes find good deals. I have built a few multi supplies using these for example:
http://www.bgmicro.com/pm6078-004.aspx
Dirt cheap (except for their shipping to Europe ..)
They are 5v to 9v converters, which means that you need to feed them with a 5v supply.
Just hook as many of these up in parallel on the primary side and you have yourself a nice small isolated powersupply.
I have been using one with 16 converters on my board for months and have not had an issue yet. None of my pedals, digital and analog has had any noise created by the supply. I am feeding them with a 5v 8A supply but a 3-4 A supply would have been enough for the power consumed by my pedals.
oh .. old thread :-)
Quote from: drolo on April 12, 2016, 03:13:20 PM
oh .. old thread :-)
Yes. Sorry. I'm new here. I was looking for a build for a pedal board power supply using the Weber transformer. I've been 'lurking' here for a few weeks, and thought I'd give it a shot. Found this.
On the schematics above, you should always be fusing one or both inputs from the mains. Do not rely on a circuit breaker.
I think it got even harder to compete with commercial PSUs since Cody's initial post. I did it just for the fun of it, but my PSU is big and chunky and has a lot less features than commercial ones do. If I had the choice again, I'll probably buy one.
Quote from: lousaad on April 12, 2016, 12:59:21 PM
That's a really nice layout, especially on the inside. Nice work! (If you don't mind my asking... ) Who makes the enclosure?
Quote from: Leevibe on May 22, 2014, 05:52:52 AM
I built a spyder using the weber. The enclosure I used was roughly 2.5" x 4" x 6". It's a pretty tight squeeze in there and I think I need to add some heat sink, but it works great.
Thanks. Man, I don't remember who makes the enclosure. I bought it at Fry's Electronics a few years ago. If you're still interested, I can look around my bench. I think I still have the little slip that came with it that has the manufacturer's name etc.
Felix is right in that it's a lot of work to come up with something that is big, heavy, and has less features than what you can get commercially. Still, it was a fun build. The Weber tranny would be pretty sweet to integrate into a custom pedalboard. One thing I like about it is that it's transformer based. No worries about switching supply whine.
Quote from: m-Kresol on April 12, 2016, 09:05:32 PM
I think it got even harder to compete with commercial PSUs since Cody's initial post. I did it just for the fun of it, but my PSU is big and chunky and has a lot less features than commercial ones do. If I had the choice again, I'll probably buy one.
This is exactly why I went with a 4x4 from Voodoo Labs. I just could not get what I wanted in a DIY for the price and size. One day we will be able to do it economically and size worthy.. one day
Cody
I'm planning on buying (at some point) a walrus audio Phoenix. I have limited build time and it makes no sense to build something inferior and more expensive than the commercial product.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I spent a lot of time and some money on trying to figure out the best way to go but ended up buying the 1 spot trutone and its mounted under my board.
Back in the day I just got a wall wart and made a harness. Used it forever but I was running 5 Boss pedals. Wish I still had a few of them. No noise but then they were all the same company and no fuzzes or finicky pedals.
Drolo might be onto something though.
Yeah, I threw in the towel. My old PS was the one in the photos over at AMZ and I've reconfigured it so many times it's about worn out. The toroidal trannies that the big guys are using are very specialized but in low enough quantities that it's really not worth the manufacturers doling them out on the open market (let alone any non-disclosures they're under). Not really sure how you could do better from a price point so it's pretty much love of the game. That said, I built the Pig-Butt and when I tossed it on my Voodoo Lab powered main rig it was pretty noisy...even bypassed. Fine on it's own and if I power it with most of the same pedals from my main rig with the AMZ supply its quiet. Still think the Voodoo is killer but there's so many weird variables...
I built these little dudes a few years back from a guy at BYOC who sold some PCB's he did. All isolated inputs.
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8225/8586148469_ea9a8d1945_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/e5JfNz)
Quote from: selfdestroyer on April 12, 2016, 11:31:23 PM
Quote from: m-Kresol on April 12, 2016, 09:05:32 PM
I think it got even harder to compete with commercial PSUs since Cody's initial post. I did it just for the fun of it, but my PSU is big and chunky and has a lot less features than commercial ones do. If I had the choice again, I'll probably buy one.
This is exactly why I went with a 4x4 from Voodoo Labs. I just could not get what I wanted in a DIY for the price and size. One day we will be able to do it economically and size worthy.. one day
Cody
No need, Cody, but thx for offering. I have since found several similar on eBay that would do the job, along with a couple from Hammond.
As has been stated here, it becomes a question of whether it's worth building one vs buying off-the-shelf these days. The units from Voodoo (~$110 to $190), 1-spot Pro CS7 ($120), and Powertrain1250 ($200) are all very compact (The Voodoo ISO-5 is the size of a 1590BBT!) and reasonably priced. I purchased the Powertrain1250 unit for my son a couple years ago. Nice PS, but it's the priciest of them all. (But it mounts beautifully on a Pedaltrain pedalboard, which is why I chose it... ) I'm going to have to work up a BOM and price list to see. Just the enclosure, ranging from $25-$35, plus the xfmr, $~25, $30 with shipping, for the Weber unit, is half the cost of the 1-spot! DiY lets me make what I want, but yeah, it's never as small.
One can easily build a small PS in a standard enclosure using a DC wall wart for the input power that's dirt cheap, regulated, and adjustable. For modest needs, it might be the most economical way to go... (example: http://www.muzique.com/tech/power3.htm)
Here's mine. It's fairly choccas, but it does the job..
http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=9871.0
Quote from: Willybomb on May 11, 2016, 02:47:58 PM
Here's mine. It's fairly choccas, but it does the job..
http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=9871.0
Unfortunately the pictures aren't showing up.
Quote from: lousaad on May 11, 2016, 12:38:52 PM
Voodoo (~$110 to $190), 1-spot Pro CS7 ($120), and Powertrain1250 ($200) are all very compact (The Voodoo ISO-5 is the size of a 1590BBT!) and reasonably priced. I purchased the Powertrain1250 unit for my son a couple years ago. Nice PS, but it's the priciest of them all. (But it mounts beautifully on a Pedaltrain pedalboard, which is why I chose it... ) I'm going to have to work up a BOM and price list to see. Just the enclosure, ranging from $25-$35, plus the xfmr, $~25, $30 with shipping, for the Weber unit, is half the cost of the 1-spot! DiY lets me make what I want, but yeah, it's never as small.
One can easily build a small PS in a standard enclosure using a DC wall wart for the input power that's dirt cheap, regulated, and adjustable. For modest needs, it might be the most economical way to go... (example: http://www.muzique.com/tech/power3.htm)
A quick BOM yields a price to build of approx US$80, not including shipping from a few sources. Most parts from Mouser; transformer from Weber; enclosure from eBay.
I guess if you have many of the components, it would be worth it, but it falls into the price range of being questionably worth the effort, not to mention the size. $80 is enough short of $120 to build another pedal, but you get to build what you want (inputs/outputs/features,) not to mention the satisfaction of building it... YMMV
QuoteUnfortunately the pictures aren't showing up.
Fixed it.
Quote from: Willybomb on May 14, 2016, 09:35:03 AM
QuoteUnfortunately the pictures aren't showing up.
Fixed it.
First, love the name! Cleaver. Nice labeling, too. Brilliant idea with the wall wart! I agree, a jiffy box (I think they're called a "plastic hobby box" in the US) might not be rugged enough for a PS, but it depends on your use; home use is probably fine, but gigging... Nice work!
It's a lot more roadworthy now. I've gooped it up to the eyeballs with a silicon gun - nothing inside is moving anywhere anytime.