Battery Tester

Jon Light · From: Saugerties, NY

Is there a way to read 9v battery health without opening an FX unit and removing the battery?
I'd love to wire a plug > test-leads > multimeter rig for testing battery strength in a couple of units that require removal of the case to access the battery.

I suspect the answer is no --- I think I used to know this --- but it's worth asking.

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

The general answer is no. I suppose you could wire an external test jack.

Ron Whitworth · From: Yuma,Ariz.USA Yeah they say it's a DRY heat !!

Hello Jon;
I do not know if this will work for you but I use this meter to check the 9v battery in my stomp box pedals -

https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/tools-by-job/tools-for-electronics/batt-o-meter/

Just saw it is on backorder - if this will work for you maybe someone else sells them ??

My best to you.
Ron
_________________
"Tone is in the hands. Unless your wife will let you buy a new amp. Then it's definitely in that amp."

We need to turn the TWANG up a little

It's not what you play through, it's what you play through it.

They say that tone is all in the fingers...I say it is all in your head Smile

Some of the best pieces of life are the little pieces all added up..Ron

the value of friendship. Old friends shine like diamonds, you can always call them and - most important - you can't buy them.

Jon Light · From: Saugerties, NY

Thanks Jack.
Thanks Ron. I remember seeing this StewMac product. I confused me because I thought I remembered learning that you had to disconnect the battery from the circuitry in order to read its actual capacity (and hence my question here). But maybe somehow the TRS plug on this unit actually does this?
Do you give this a good review from your use of it?
It is worth investigating.

Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

Be sure and read the info. Only works with center positive negtive ground jacks.

FWIW, Just for fun, I just tried to use a DVOM with a one spot cable adapter to measure battery voltage through the DC jack on a Small Stone. Center negative. I got no reading.

Samuel Phillippe · From: Douglas Michigan, USA

Ron Whitworth · From: Yuma,Ariz.USA Yeah they say it's a DRY heat !!

Hello Jon;
It looks like the mfg is no longer building them so maybe ( if you want one ) you can search & find one that did not sell in a store.
It will tell you what your 9v battery voltage is while it is inside of what you want to check via the 1/4 plug -
plus if you have a 9v battery out in your hand it will check that too.
I have one of my acoustic guitars that has a 9v battery inside of it that i have to pull the 1/4 plug out a touch as it is not an exact fit
but i did get it to work & read the battery voltage & % of remaining life of the battery.
It has worked for me when i used it to check battery life of my stomp box pedals.
Here is a link to what it can do -
https://www.americanmusical.com/keith-mcmillen-batt-o-meter-musician-battery-tester/p/KES-BATOMETER-LIST

Hopefully you can find one - maybe even a used one.
Ron
_________________
"Tone is in the hands. Unless your wife will let you buy a new amp. Then it's definitely in that amp."

We need to turn the TWANG up a little

It's not what you play through, it's what you play through it.

They say that tone is all in the fingers...I say it is all in your head Smile

Some of the best pieces of life are the little pieces all added up..Ron

the value of friendship. Old friends shine like diamonds, you can always call them and - most important - you can't buy them.

Jon Light · From: Saugerties, NY

Yeah -- looks like it is no longer made, per the Sweetwater message.

Jim Kennedy · From: Brentwood California, USA

Cut the end off a a quarter inch cable. Get some alligator clips and attach it to the the leads of your volt meter. Polarity wont matter if use a digital meter. You could also attach the appropriate connectors to the end of your cable and plug it directly into the meter.
_________________
ShoBud Pro 1, 75 Tele, 85 Yamaha SA 2000, Fender Cybertwin,

Paul Arntson · From: Washington, USA

I think you'll want a stereo 1/4" cable to have a home made one work right. Ignore the tip and test between the ring and the ground.
_________________
Excel D10 8&4, Supro 8, Regal resonator, Peavey Powerslide, homemade lap 12(a work in progress)

Jon Light · From: Saugerties, NY

While considering if I might mess around with making a cable, I found a Bass-O-Matic on Ebay (from Greece!!! exotic!). So I've got on on the way. A few bux more than the StewMac price.

Don Downes · From: New Hampshire, USA

"WOW! That's terrific bass!"
_________________
"The secret to a long life is to keep breathing."

Bill A. Moore · From: Silver City, New Mexico, USA

The problem you'll have with most pedals, is that the wall wart connector bypasses the battery when something is inserted!

Jon Light · From: Saugerties, NY

Len Amaral · From: Rehoboth,MA 02769

I have one of those battery testers from StewMac. It's convenient to find out if you have a battery in a pedal and what the voltage is without taking the pedal apart. It also has other functions but you have to read the manual to figure out the codes. A bit confusing and I rarely use it.
_________________
I survived the sixties!

Tom Campbell · From: Houston, Texas, USA

To Paul Arntson,

Aren't the ring and ground wires connected together on the stereo plug and/or jack?

Jim Kennedy · From: Brentwood California, USA

Sleeve is ground. Tip and ring are left and right in stereo mode. Tip and ring carry signal to both sides of the center tap transformer when used in
balanced line input.
_________________
ShoBud Pro 1, 75 Tele, 85 Yamaha SA 2000, Fender Cybertwin,

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

I did a bit of digging and found a source for these here in the US - https://www.thetapeworks.com/tape/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=30_198&products_id=545

The price was very reasonable. I got two, one for gig bag and one for the bench. The shipping was about the cost of one of them, but I got it in two days. When compared to what I was seeing these go for other places, I think it was still a reasonable deal.

Depending on how the battery is wired to the circuit, it clearly won't work for every possible situation. But it worked for the pedals on which I tried it. I still have to dig out my Freeloader to check it, but it worked on my Goodrich clamp-on pedals, assorted tuners, and some a couple of battery-operated stomp boxes OK, and it did seem to correctly distinguish between fresh batteries and several that were in various stages of discharge. I did have to make sure to maintain pressure to make sure the jack is pushed in all the way - without pressure, it doesn't seem to make contact with the pedals I tried.

BTW, for our European brethren - thomann seems to have them - https://www.thomannmusic.com/keith_mcmillen_batt_o_meter.htm

Jon Light · From: Saugerties, NY

That's good info, Dave. I spent some time but never turned up that source. I don't lose sleep over woulda-coulda's but...I sure spent more $$ than that for one unit in Greece. Ah well. I'll while away the next two weeks thinking about gyros and waiting for it to arrive.

Ron Whitworth · From: Yuma,Ariz.USA Yeah they say it's a DRY heat !!

Great detective work there Dave.
Also about 1/2 price of what I paid for the same one.
It does do the job for me.
Thanks for finding that.
Ron
_________________
"Tone is in the hands. Unless your wife will let you buy a new amp. Then it's definitely in that amp."

We need to turn the TWANG up a little

It's not what you play through, it's what you play through it.

They say that tone is all in the fingers...I say it is all in your head Smile

Some of the best pieces of life are the little pieces all added up..Ron

the value of friendship. Old friends shine like diamonds, you can always call them and - most important - you can't buy them.

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