Mark12345L6

My old multiFX board finally died, so I am considering buying a POD GO wireless. Is there a size difference between older G10 transmitter (all black one) and the newer G10TII (black/grey one) used in the POD GO? The size difference I'm interested in specifically, is the diameter of the body immediately after the jack (the round bit before it expands out into the rounded triangular battery area. On pictures it looks as though the new grey unit is slightly wider than the older one, which would be a problem for me, as the electric violin I play already creates a very snug fit for the older G10 transmitter. Thanks

I know, but I assumed you needed a working USB port to upgrade the firmware, so anyone thinking of removing a working one and going straight to a 9V option only, to circumvent a possible future failure, would no longer be able to upgrade. Obviously, if they already have a broken USB port, and don't have the knowledge/skill/tolls to fix it, then my point is moot. EDIT: This has got a bit cross posted, so to clarify, the above reply was to cbrillow's reply.

I just had an email from Line6 (and a warning when I signed in on this forum) about a firmware upgrade required due to a possible issue with overheating, so not sure I'd want to ditch the USB option altogether.

Yes, something similar at least. Check my response, including photo from 27th June 2018. Instead of hot melting the micro USB cable directly in, I used a short extension/fly lead. There are three reasons I did this. 1. It provides a break point for if the cable is stepped on very heavily, in that it should separate the charging cable from the fly lead, rather than break the heavily reinforced area around the charging port. 2. I don't have long charging cable permanently attached to the receiver that could get in the way/get trapped when I close up my pedal board/box. 3. As I mentioned in the earlier post, I wanted a heavier duty USB-A connector to plug into for gigging, rather than using the micro USB, hence why I bought a micro USB to full sized USB-A adaptor lead. This last one is just a personal preference, and a short micro USB to micro USB extension lead would allow you to use the lead that came with the G10. I'll also re-iterate that if you ever need to remove the cable you've just glued on to the G10 with hot melt (I'm assuming that it's hot melt glue), then a couple of drops of methylated spirits (denatured alcohol), will normally separate the two parts that are fixed together fairly easily.

It's not just plugging/unplugging though. If the cable is stepped on/tugged on at the wrong angle, it can break the socket from the board. Just giving you a heads-up on that. If you are going to leave it unmodified, at least consider one of the magnetic connectors a few people have mentioned.

I agree that the micro USB socket is weak, and I wouldn't have used this method without some safeguards. If you look at my post and picture on the previous page from 27th June last year, you'll see that I heavily reinforced the area where the micro USB plug goes in to the socket. It has almost a cm (deep) of hot melt glue surrounding the entire plug, spreading out more than a cm all around. It's not going anywhere, in/out, or up/down, it's extremely solid. I could have installed the 9V to 5V converter inside and fitted a standard dc socket as other people have done, but as it was a brand new replacement unit, I didn't want to go drilling into the case, until I'd tried this method. It's obviously not as neat as fitting a converter internally, but it was quick, pretty straightforward, and did mean I could easily return it back to it's original state if I had to send it back for other warranty work. There are two additional minor benefits (I've found and used since) to having the converter external. One, I can unplug the converter, and optionally power the receiver/charge the transmitter using pretty much any USB source, and two, as I'm running my pedal board from a large battery pack, the output from the converter is always a useful emergency back up for things like charging phones. If people feel technically competent, their G10 is out of warranty, and they either aren't intending selling it on, or think/assume the mod won't negatively affect the sale (which it probably wouldn't) then the internal mod is probably the best option or them. My option is middle ground, as it's still using a 9V to 5V converter, albeit externally, but doesn't require opening up, or modifying the case/receiver. The simplest ways of "fixing' this (for those with lower technical confidence), and continue using the original USB power supply it came with, are to either use the magnetic USB connectors, as some people have, or use a short usb extender lead and plenty of hot melt glue. Personally, I don't trust the strength of that USB socket over time with even the light pressure required to disconnect the magnetic connectors, but it's certainly going to greatly reduce any connect/disconnect strain, and pretty much eliminate any chance the socket will get torn from the board by the cable itself being stepped on. Basically, the idea is to take as much strain off that micro USB socket as possible, and there are various ways to do that. There are many suggestions in this thread, from simple to more complex. As long as people know the pros and cons of each method then that's all good imo.

I have a home made 9v battery box feeding all of my pedals. One of the outputs goes through a 9v to 5v converter, and into the G10 via a USB C /micro USB converter cable. So it's pretty simple to temporarily put in an inline USB voltage/current meter between the battery box and the USB C end of the converter. They go under names like "USB Tester Voltmeter" or similar and start around £8/$10, and increase in cost depending on what extra functionality you want. (bigger/colour screens etc) I looked at the VoodooLabs website again, and the table that shows the PowerPlus 2 specifications. Yes, the Voltage is regulated on the SAG ports. Their table shows the 4-9V setting listed at a Max of 100mA, so I said regulated, which was a bit confusing I guess. Sorry about that. Like you, I don't know if that 100mA really is the max across the range, or if they just forget to print a range in the table.

I've just checked mine, and it uses between 95-140mA when just transmitting. When charging as well, it went up to 350mA, however, the receiver was reasonably well charged already, so it wouldn't surprise me if you would see 490mA with a fully discharged receiver battery. EDIT: Just looked up the Voodoo Power Plus 2 and it seems like the SAG ports (4V-9V) are regulated to 100mA, so you may be out of luck

You've been lucky then. It's not how tight the plug fits (necessarily), as it's more to do with how mechanically strong the connector is that sits on the circuit board behind is. If too much downward pressure is put on the cable, from something like standing on it, regardless of how tight the plug fits into the socket, the leverage experienced can break the connector on the board. This is why workarounds like magnetic connectors that come apart with less pressure than would take to break the board connector, or reinforcing the area around the socket are probably better options. It's obviously entirely up to you, but if you are past your 2 year warranty, I wouldn't risk it for the sake of such a cheap and easy fix.

It perhaps looks a bit rough, but it's all very solid, and working as intended. Micro USB to full size USB fly cable, mounted on a strip of masking tape, and then layered hot melt glue to provide a good large anchor and plenty of strain relief. Using hot melt means it should be fairly easy to remove with methylated spirits (de-natured alcohol) if I ever need to replace the fly lead in the future. I went for the full sized USB mainly for the greater mechanical strength, rather than just extending the micro USB to another flimsy micro USB. I may in the future also add a standard 9v dc socket and a step down converter inside, or just make a little external 9v to 5v adaptor that connects to the large USB connector on the fly lead. It's permanently on my pedal board, and room isn't a limiter, so an external adaptor is probably the route I'll take.

Always been more than a little concerned about the micro USB port half way up the unit, with zero strain relief. I'd been considering using a fly lead for a while, but unfortunately mine failed last week before I got round to it. Fortunately it was still under warranty, and is on the way back for repair/replacement. When I get it back I'll have two preventative options waiting, one in the form of the aforementioned short fly lead, and the other, a right angle micro USB to full sized USB adaptor. The second option I think should allow me to completely negate the flaw of the weak micro USB port, as I can hot melt/Sugru/Milliput the relatively large adaptor to the back of the receiver very solidly, and I trust a full sized USB connector mechanically a lot more than a micro USB one. I'll know a bit more when I get everything back in front of me. This is the UK eBay description if you want to search for a similar one in your area - USB 2.0 Female to Male Micro OTG Adapter 90 Degree Left 90 Right Angled To those saying the G10 is not meant for gigging: It is by far the most practical unit for a violinist such as myself. The compact light transmitter being pretty much perfect for use on a small instrument. I previously used, and still have the G30, and whilst that's usable, the much bigger transmitter is far more awkward to try and mount.