replacing hilton volume supply (USA to UK)

Christopher Hillman · From: Manchester, UK

I have on lone an older Hilton volume pedal that has the big USA non detachable power supplies. I think i could possibly buy this pedal for a lot less and being in the UK, could i cut off this power supply and replace it with the 9v socket like on the newer pedals?

I'm currently using it with a massive transformer/adapter but, have become really fond of the pedal compared to my old sho~bud one. Also this one seems to have a tone/volume/off point adjustment and i've noticed some newer ones only have the off point!?

Thanks,
Chris

Malcolm McMaster · From: Beith Ayrshire Scotland

Chris , check that out with Keith Hilton, the newer ones are 24v, think older ones are 12v, not 9v, the six string guitar one is 9v, think it may be called the guitar pro.
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MSA Millenium SD10, GK MB200, Sica 12inch cab, Joyo American Sound Pedal/ Jay Ganz Straight Ahead amp, Telonics 15inch in Peavey cab, Digitech RP150, Peterson tuner.Hilton volume pedal.Scott Dixon seat and guitar flight case.

Keith Hilton · From: 248 Laurel Road Ozark, Missouri 65721

Christopher, thanks for using my pedal. I will try to answer your questions. The pedal you have was built between 2000 and 2007. In 2008 I started using a plug in power supply, instead of an attached power supply. I can convert one of the older pedals that has an attached supply to work from the plug in type power supply. It takes about 2 hours work, about $28.00 in parts, plus the cost of the new power supply, plus shipping. In the case of shipping from the United States to Europe by air, the cost is $50.00. My advise, if it is working, and you like it, keep everything as is.
Now about the adjustments on the bottom of your pedal. In 2008 I eliminated the tone adjustment, and volume adjustment. So pedals built after 2008 only had the off point adjustment. Why did I eliminate these adjustments? The volume adjustment confused those who did not read the instructions that came with pedals. I started setting the overall volume level at the factory. I eliminated the tone control because I never knew of a single famous player who ever used the tone control on a Hilton pedal. On the other hand, the bed room players were consumed with the tone control. They seemed to think it was everything about their sound, and the tone controls on their amp meant nothing. For that reason these bedroom players would constantly adjust the tone control until they broke it. Removing the tone control has been wonderful great. Since 2008 only 4 people have ask for me to install the tone control.
Now about my Pro Guitar pedals. These pedals were designed for stand-up guitar players. The Pro Guitar pedals operate from 9 volts DC. My pedals designed for sit down steel guitar players operate from 24 volts DC.
Hope this information helps.

Kevin Mincke · From: Farmington, MN (Twin Cities-South Metro) USA

Good info Keith! I have one of your older pedals with the large. Motorola transformer and it has operated flawlessly. I never felt the need to adjust the tone/volume cutoff pots as it was originally sent from factory.i could see this feature of use for those instruments with very trebly (light) pickup windings found in the older console & lap steels I guess, but most could be dialed in by the amp I suspect.

Keith Hilton · From: 248 Laurel Road Ozark, Missouri 65721

There were advantages to the power supply being connected to all those old pedals built before 2007. When the power supply is attached: #1 You don't forget it. #2 You don't plug in the wrong thing. #2 You don't lose it. Those were medical grade power supplies.

Chris Schlotzhauer · From: Colleyville, Tx. USA

Keith repaired my older pedal when the power supply cord had come out of the molded wall wart. There were other issues...he said my pedal looked like it had been to hell and back....hahaha!
But he fixed it like new and I also bought the newest model, which is awesome! So now I have a reliable backup.
btw Keith, I don't know if I ever got around to thanking you for the job you did...but big thanks!

Keith Hilton · From: 248 Laurel Road Ozark, Missouri 65721

Chris, you are welcome. Building and repairing these volume pedals is a labor of love for me. It makes it all worthwhile when someone tells me they appreciate what I did for them. I really should be retired at my age, but working on these pedals keeps me off the street, and out of trouble.
Yes, Chris, I remember telling you your pedal had been to hell and back. I knew from looking at the pedal you had played in many nigh clubs. Most of the time pedals that come in dirty, come from really good players that play in a lot of different situations. A pedal that comes in pretty, and clean, probably means the guy only plays in his back bedroom.

Lynn Kasdorf · From: Waterford Virginia, USA

I have one of the old Hilton pedals, and I really like it. I did have a problem with the cord from the power supply. One of the wires in the cord broke from fatigue.

It was simple enough for me to open it up and cut off the bad section of cord and re-attach. While I was at it, I installed an led pilot light to let me know when I had power. I've found this to be very handy.

My only fear is of the cord breaking again. I play a lot (>100 gigs last year), so this thing is constantly being unpacked and packed. Not sure whether going to a detachable power supply would be better or not- one more connection to fail. And it is not a standard power supply anyway.

Keith- what kind of connector do you use? I know the power supply is +-12v, so it has 3 connections.
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"You call that thing a guitar?"

Keith Hilton · From: 248 Laurel Road Ozark, Missouri 65721

Lynn,thanks for using my pedal. Most audio ICs-chips, operate from dual polarity. This means plus voltage, minus voltage, and ground. The old Motorola power supplies created regulated dual polarity. This meant 3 wired from the power supply connected to the circuit board. Most power supplies only have a positive and negative. If the power supply only has a positive and negative, you must convert that to dual polarity, with a ground. The concept of dual polarity escapes most people, because most people think of a battery having two poles, one plus and one minus. Or people think of alternating current. IC-chips operate from dual polarity DC current, with a ground.
I really don't know how to explain it in any simpler terms. So to get dual polarity DC with a ground from a positive and negative power supply, you must create it on the circuit board. The big problem then becomes making the positive equal in voltage to the negative, both relative to ground. Then the ground must keep up with the signal.
So a person has two choices: #1 Use a power supply that has DC dual polarity with a ground. #2 Create DC dual polarity with a ground on the circuit board.
One other thing, any power supply you use must be regulated, or you must regulate on the circuit board.
Hope this information helps.

Lynn Kasdorf · From: Waterford Virginia, USA

Christopher Hillman · From: Manchester, UK

Keith! Thanks for making a beautiful pedal! For now i'll keep working with the step down transformer until the guy sells... if he does. If i do end up buying it from my friend i'll keep it in mind that i can send it back to you for a bit of modifying. It seems like it could be quite a light weight pedal without the Motorola plug on the end (i'm forever flying with the steel).
I can see how people could obsess on the tone & volume control underneath. I really like these options myself but, have set them to a very normal/slightly brighter tone if anything. Love it!

Cheers,
Chris

Lynn Kasdorf · From: Waterford Virginia, USA

I was looking up ways to build a bipolar power supply and ran across this really cool Maxim chip application note. Maxim makes some amazing ICs.

This is a chip and application note on building a single pole input (i.e. 9vdc) and outputting bipolar (i.e. +- 12vdc) for opamp circuits.

I may try building this. It would be really great to be able to power the Hilton pedal from a standard 9v Boss style power supply.

https://www.maximintegrated.com/en/app-notes/index.mvp/id/3943[/url]
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"You call that thing a guitar?"

Keith Hilton · From: 248 Laurel Road Ozark, Missouri 65721

Lynn,I use a common DC power plug that I get from Mouser Electronics. The plug is 2.1X5.5mm
The link to the Maxim power supply you listed is interesting. I will read it completely when I get time.
By the way, My 2-steel guitar pedals are 24 volt pedals. My Pro Guitar pedal, for stand up 6 string guitar players operates from 9 volts DC. I don't boost the voltage to 24 volts with the Pro Guitar pedal. I do boost it, but I use a different method than the Maxim part.

Keith Hilton · From: 248 Laurel Road Ozark, Missouri 65721

Lynn, one other thing I forgot to mention is that the pre-amp, the infra red control system, and VCA all are set in relation to the voltage. That is why a regulated power supply is required. For example, take my 24 volt pedals. If the voltage is 24.6, 23.8, 25.2, 24.3 ETC, the operation of the pedal will not be accurate. Most of the stand up guitar players use pedal boards that are powered by the Voodoo power multi-port power supplies. The Voodoo power supplies will not produce accurate 24 volts DC. That is why I started building 9 volt pedals, because the Voodoo will produce 9 volts DC pretty accurate. If you or someone builds a plug-in power supply to replace the old fixed power supplies, make certain the voltage is accurate 24 volts, +12 volt, and -12 volt rails with a ground. If you convert to 9 volts,you will need to boost the voltage to at least 12 volts or more, otherwise you will get distortion. Also,you will need to change the gain of the pre-amp. set new values for the IR emitter, and IR photo transistor, and re-calibrate the VCA. By the way, that MAXIM MAX668 part takes a huge number of exterior parts. Like I said, I do it a different way. Hope this information helps.

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