BOSS RV-3 & AC/DC Adapters

Chip Fossa · From: Monson, MA, USA (deceased)

Hello everyone,
I know many of you folks play through the
Boss RV-3 Digital Reverb/Delay. I just bought
one about 2 months ago and really like it quite a bit. You really are able to fine tune
all the nuances of reverb & delay.

Anyway, I was playing the steel this AM with the RV3 and IT was plugged into a graduated
ac/dc adapter, that also has a POLARITY switch on it. The setting was 9 volts and I
have know idea what the polarity was set at.

At low volume you didn't notice it, but at high volume, after I would play something,
there was this awful WHHRR/ROAR/SORT-OF-A-BUZZ ugly presence coming thru the speaker.

I heard you can fry an electronic box if you have the polarity set wrong, so I just pulled the plug on the adapter and then stuck
in a 9v battery. Everything, now, was crystal clear and sounded wonderful.

In the RV3 users' guide, they mention to use only THEIR adapter. I have a dozen adapters around here and figured they would work OK.

Do ya'll think the adapter is losing it's power, or it was the polarity setting, or something else? I've used different adapters in the past on the RV3 and they worked OK, but I'm just curious as to what was going on this AM with this particular adapter.

Thanks for any input, everyone.

ChipsAhoy

Jon Light · From: Saugerties, NY

Hey Chip. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't work at all with reverse polarity. But I think the RV requires a 'regulated' power supply, something that a cheap generic unit may not be. That would be my first suspicion.

----obvious question: how to tell? the only thing I can suggest is to read the fine print on the box and look for that word.

[This message was edited by Jon Light on 14 April 2002 at 11:56 AM.]

Chip Fossa · From: Monson, MA, USA (deceased)

Jon,
Thank you. Not sure what "word" I should look for > regulated? <. Most of these
adapters I have came from long lost devices and/or from Radio Shack. RS
ones run about $12-$15. I'm sure they are cheap, alright. Where would you even begin
to look for a quality adapter? - I guess do as BOSS says, and buy the one made for the RV3.

ChipsAhoy

Jon Light · From: Saugerties, NY

Sorry for fuzzy language. Yeah, the word regulated is what you are looking for. Obviously the Boss PSA 120 is the sure-thing solution. $20. When I was setting up the power system for my outrigger I was concerned that the 200mA of the PSA would be insufficient so I checked out Radio Shack. Although I forget the relative pricing, what I did discover is that the cheapest units did not say 'regulated'. For that you had to pay more. And the word 'regulated' was on the label.
Turned out the PSA was fine for powering the RV3, a Boss PQ4 (parametric eq) and a Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive. And the polarity needs to be neg (-) at the tip, the inside contact, and pos (+) on the sleeve.

[This message was edited by Jon Light on 14 April 2002 at 12:39 PM.]

Chip Fossa · From: Monson, MA, USA (deceased)

JHEEEEZZZZ.....Jon. Slow down. I'm, now, more
confused. Please explain furthur. Take
your time, good friend...we are both on East Coast Time...It's 5:11 right now, and I'm on
the way out the door for the eve.

Please let me know, in more depth, what you are talking about.

Thanks, Comprade... ChipsAhoy

Jon Light · From: Saugerties, NY

My bad habit, Chip--too much info, too much noise. Did you ever hear the story of why theycall me honest Jon?....it goes back to the time when........just kidding, apologies to WC Fields.

The only info here that matters is:

get the Boss PSA 120 adapter and be done with it. Or, if you think you can get a better deal at Rat Shack then be sure it says 'DC 9V regulated' on it.

This is all assuming that we are diagnosing this right. I was the one who told them that the ground was firm enough, they don't need no stinkin' foundation for the Tower of Pisa.

Bob Bowden · From: Vancouver, BC, Canada * R.I.P.

Personally, I have been using the 9V 300ma Radio Shack adapter for about 20 years to power up to 5 Boss pedals at a time. I have found them to work just as well as the Boss unit as well as being just as dependable.

Of course your mileage may vary.

Chip Fossa · From: Monson, MA, USA (deceased)

Thanks again Jon, and Bob as well. Jon, I like tour sense of humor.

It's not the $20 for BOSS' adapter. It's just, well, jheez, I already have a good dozen kicking around.

I'll either get another one as Bob has mentioned, or the Boss one. 'Regulated'
is the word to look for.

Thanks again fellas. I appreciate the input.

ChipsAhoy

Matt Steindl · From: New Orleans, LA, USA

Man, learning how not to fry expensive pedals by using the wrong adaptor is a lesson you only need to learn once(twice in my case). I fried an original small stone phaser in college, and an old tubescreamer a few years after.

My life lesson? Spend the extra $15-$20 and use the right adaptor, and then have a nice little garage sale w/ your old adaptors!

------------------
Mattman in "The Big Sleazy"-:
S-10 Dekley, Suitcase Fender Rhodes, B-bender Les Paul

Chip Fossa · From: Monson, MA, USA (deceased)

Thanks, too, Matt. Advice well taken. In my case, who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

ChipsAhoy

ajm · From: Los Angeles

So just what is the difference between a regulated and a non-regulated adapter electronically speaking? Has anyone ever taken them apart to find out? The adapters that I've opened up only have a small transformer, a couple of diodes and maybe a cap.

For reference: Most of the 9v battery effects pedals draw around 10 ma (I've actually measured 4 or 5 of them). I have a Boss PN-2 tremolo/pan pedal that draws a whopping 20 ma though. In that light, a 200 ma adapter should power up around 20 pedals.

Dave Seddon · From: Leicester, England.

If you have a D.C. volt meter or a multimeter it is easy to chech whether the unit is regulated or not, if it is regulated it will actually read 9 volts, unregulated will probably read about 13 volts, and for ajm they are usually regulated with a 7809 chip.
Cheers Dave.

Earnest Bovine · From: Los Angeles CA USA

Chip Fossa · From: Monson, MA, USA (deceased)

Thanks, Doug Livingston.
Bad enough, my real vinyl LP, of where I caught wind of you, and Dan Fogleberg, and
"Fools Gold", is worn-out as much as my
ac/dc adapters, but,now, I have to listen to your brilliance in electronics???.....come
on!!!........you're too much (with love).

Thanks Mr Doug......."You Can Run"...and
all those other great folk/country tunes.

What I really liked about your style, was your timing.........................
the notes and chords are somewhat easy to replicate.......even tho your tuning, at first, is a nemises, but we all can, and will adapt.

I just happened to pick up the album "Fools Gold", when I was living in Leadville, Colorado. This was around 1979 or so. I just flipped out. I had been playin' steel for about 5-6 years, and when I heard "Fools
Gold", I went nuts..........sorry (Buddy, Jeff, Doug, Curly, Lloyd, Weldon, Hal), ........I knew you had this abbreviated
sort of style.......somewhere between TWANG,
and somewhere between SWING....actually,
I might add, you had a steel guitar folk
style.......................it worked.......

I especially loved [and still do] just the simple and wonderful pedal steel move of MASHING/REALEASING...STOMP/RELEASE that you employed so well in, especially, "I WILL RUN"............THAT'S RIGHT... stomp on those pedals.......that's half of what the thrill of this instrument is all about.

Stomp On....ChipsAhoy

If you got the artillery, then, use it!!

Tony Palmer · From: St Augustine,FL

Hey Chip!
I've given up on wall wart adapters and use a 9V lithium battery on all my devices. It's marketed as a 10 year battery for smoke detectors and haven't had to replace one yet for my pedals.

Jim Smith · From: Midlothian, TX, USA

I heard an ad for these lithium batteries a few days ago. $8.99 per battery I think. I figured they were designed for a long idle time, not for long use. If they really do work for a long time, that could be a very good thing!

Chip Fossa · From: Monson, MA, USA (deceased)

Hiya Tony,
Can these Lithium batteries be had anywhere?
Are some rechargeable. As Jim just mentioned,
are they around $10/per?
Of course, you haven't had yours for 10 years yet.

And like you, I'm sure getting to despise thost AC adapters. They're just a nuisance.
Another wire and another connection that can cause problems.

"Regular" 9v batteries work OK and I suppose if you always carry 1 or 2 backups in case the inserted one runs down, there's still no guarantee that the backup one[s] will not have lost power as well.

Len Amaral · From: Rehoboth,MA 02769

Hiya Chip:

The RV-3 is a digital device and it eats batteries. The best bet is the Boss PSA-120 power supply for the RV-3 or when daisy chaining several pedals.

Lenny

Chip Fossa · From: Monson, MA, USA (deceased)

Lenny...thanks my friend..........for the
litho battery 9v con-tro di-letto rama.

And.............great WEBFIDELITY RISGA
newsletter..........................................................................................Now..................................................I'm going to bed.

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