Hello all,

I bought a new POD HD500 and fell in love it with it immediately.  Unfortunately, I didn't care much for the power adaptor (DC-3G), and when I went to band practice, I had problems finding a free outlet that it would fit in, or didn't cover others.  Like others here, I searched for alternatives, and found that only 1 other solution was presented (a generic power adaptor at Radio Shack with the specific plug) and that was yet another wall wart.

Here were my requirements:

1. Regular power cord with a typical power brick and the DC cord.  This is a very sturdy solution and I can replace the power cords easily if they go bad.

2. 9 Volts

3. 3 Amps

4. DC plug with 2.5mm center opening and a 5.5mm outside diameter

5. Negative center connector.

6. Less than 10 dollars shipped to my door (so I can buy a bunch of them)

Why can't Line6 sell a decent power supply at a decent price?

The only problem is that nobody seems to sell something like this.

I saw on Ebay a lot of 9V 3A 2.5mm adaptors that met my requirements perfectly, except they have a positive center connector for $7.68 shipped for free anywhere in the USA.   I thought what the heck.  It's very close, and I'll just rewire it.  (Type in search keywords: 9V 3A Adapter 2.5mm 5.5mm )

I ordered 2 of the adaptors from "insidecomputer", and received them very quickly.  Unfortunately, one was not functioning.  I can't comment yet on their customer service.   The one that was working, I rewired, checked the voltage with a volt-ohm meter, and everything works perfectly.  Here are the steps I performed:  

Disclaimer: Do this at your own risk.  Opening power supplies is potentially risky because they contain capacitors that hold a charge even after they have been unplugged for a while.   This power supply is not recommended by Line6, and would probably be considered a violation of your warrantee.  Do this only if you know how to use a soldering iron and a volt-ohm meter.

1. Carefully split the power supply case with a kitchen knife and a hammer on both sides (look on you tube, you will see videos of people opening their laptop power supplies)

2. Removed the circuit board from case using a flat head screw driver.   It is secured to the case using double sided sticky foam. 

3. I heated up my soldering iron and removed the two DC wires (red and white)

4. I secured the soldering iron on the edge of the table, and then holding the circuit board in one hand, and the wire that need to be soldered in place, I put the hot tip on the top of the circuit board opposite the hole and the wire into the hole.  When the solder melted, it allowed the wire to pass through the solder.  I held it in place and pulled the board away from the soldering iron and it cooled quickly and made a nice connection. 

5. Repeat for the other wire.   Make sure that solder doesn't cross the traces.   I didn't have to add any additional solder to either wire.

6. Plug in the power cord and test the voltage

7. Put the circuit board back into the case. 

8. Secure the strain relief in the case.

9. Put PVC glue on the edges of the cases and glue together.   I suppose you could use model glue or wire ties etc.

10. Test with a volt-ohm meter to assure that you are getting around 9 volts and the outer part of the plug is positive and the center connector is negative.

11. Relabel your adaptor so someone (or you) doesn't in the future pick it up and think that it has 9v center positive.

After it dried, I had exactly what I was looking for, and it works great with my HD500.  Now I have a spare power supply in my gig bag, and as soon as I get another one of these, I will have one always under my desk to plug into my HD500 when I'm practicing.   I only have the original plug in my gig bag for emergencies.

Hope this helps someone out.

Bob