Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility Jump to content

Heavy duty power supply for Pod Go - some possible solutions


voxman55
 Share

Recommended Posts

I think most of us would agree that the Pod Go is a smashing bit of kit - but let's be honest, it's power-supply iets it down. It's cheap & nasty with an ugly 'wallwart', and a short thin cable that might be OK for home use, but it just is not gig worthy.

 

So, whilst looking for a quality, noiseless PSU solution to power my mini-3 pedal FX board that goes into the FX loop of my Vox Valvetronix AD120VTX amp, I found two solutions that also have enough juice to power the Pod Go.  Surprisingly, Pod Go needs 9v at 2,500 mA according to the spec, hence the 3,000 mA PSU.  A good quality gig-worthy PSU isn't cheap, but if you are a gigging player and need something a lot more robust, then the following might well fit the bill.

 

Option 1:

Fender Engine room LVL5 . Isolated PSU, that is powered through a standard IEC (amp/ 'kettle') lead. So no wallwart and being an IEC easily available spare cable. I'm in the UK so here it will have a standard 3-pin plug.  It has 5 x 500mA isolated outlets that can be daisy chained to connect a single device at 2,500mA.  Very compact and noiseless. And if you are US, no problem - can be used for 100v-240v AC.  Store price (UK) c£89

https://www.andertons.co.uk/guitar-dept/guitar-pedals/pedal-power-supplies/fender-engine-room-lvl5-power-supply-230v-uk

 

Fender Engine Room LVL5 Power Supply 230V UK

mLuVROU.jpg

 

Option 2:

Diago Powerstation Multi Pedal 9v Power Supply. Very similar to a laptop cable, and again no ugly wallwart
PEDAL POWER WITH 6 WAY DAISY CHAIN CABLE SPLITTER. UP TO 3A OUTPUT.  For Pod Go, you won't need a daisy chain splitter. Price c£100

https://www.andertons.co.uk/guitar-dept/guitar-pedals/pedal-power-supplies/diago-powerstation-multi-pedal-9v-power-supply

 

Diago Powerstation Multi Pedal 9v Power Supply

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quick update - I'm not a techy so I can't verify this, but it's been suggested to me that if you combine the 5 outs in the LVL5 you lose the isolation and can get noise. So for Pod Go, the Diago might be best unless there's any reason why you shouldn't use it with Pod Go (if the voltage & mA's are right I can't think why there would be any problem but I'm caveating only because i'm not a techie & I don't know what I don't know! lol).

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

I've been gigging with my Pod Go for a couple of months now using the Truetone CS7 (Pod go, shure glxd receiver, Digitech Drop and mooer tender octave) for power with no problems whatsoever . What's great about Truetone is that they include the 2 necessary adapters you need for the Pod Go (Polarity flip and smaller connector) and no wallwart necessary. Just an IEC power cord straight into the box. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, marvinthemartian said:

I've been gigging with my Pod Go for a couple of months now using the Truetone CS7 (Pod go, shure glxd receiver, Digitech Drop and mooer tender octave) for power with no problems whatsoever . What's great about Truetone is that they include the 2 necessary adapters you need for the Pod Go (Polarity flip and smaller connector) and no wallwart necessary. Just an IEC power cord straight into the box. 

 

The max total current draw is 1900mA as compared with 2500mA with The Fender LVL5 Engine Room, and the LVL5 is less than half the price.  I'm intrigued that you can power Pod Go with it as reportedly it needs 2500mA. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's strange, I know. I have a feeling that the Pod isn't drawing that much current. I was using the CS7 with a Digitech RP1000 (9v 1.5A) with the same external items for a couple of years with no issue. I thought I would have to replace the CS7 once i got the pod, but it hasn't failed me yet. For giggles, I had tried using it with an Ampero and the ampero would shut down after about 10 minutes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 3 months later...
Power supply - Verifone 9V 4A
 
I found a good, replacement, desktop type (wall/plug power supplies are EVIL ;) ) power supply, part number Verifone DSA-42D-09. I picked mine for 10$ equivalent. Very quiet.
Spec:
  • direct replacement
  • 9V
  • center negative
  • 2.5mm tip
  • 4A max
 
Try also "zx spectrum power adapter" - apparently this Verfione was used as ZX Spectrum adapter replacement, too ;)
 
I hope you'll find it useful.
 
Cheers

podgo_power_supply.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I know this is an old thread, but can I just ask one question as I've seen conflicting information.

 

Is the POD Go supply center negative just like all standard 'Boss' power supplies?

 

Reason I ask is I have seen people saying the need a polarity reversing cable - which would be in accurate as the Boss standard is center negative. I think the conversion cables are needed as the L6 plug is a slightly different size - the pin is larger than a Boss. So you can use the L6 PSU to power Boss pedals (or any other), but you can't use a Boss PSU to power Pod Go without a converter.

 

Is this correct?

 

Reason I ask is that I am looking at a pedal that needs 400mA standard Boss jack, so was wondering if the POD Go supply can power it.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

BOSS is same polarity...I have a 2A BOSS supply and it powered my GO...It's supply for a BCB60, so the plug fits...you would just need a splitter...Or you can buy some pigtails and make one...I did that...I have since switched to the HX Stomp XL...supply requirements are pretty much the same. I bought a 6A medical grade psu for $18 and a couple of pigtails. My GO was actually in this same old case...my primary reason to switch was integrating SA pedals with midi...had the go had midi with the need for an embedded host, I probably would still be using it...The GO is my favorite board layout Line 6 has done to date...

 

 

4802D54B-81A3-4B2F-8725-FBDD03B008A1_1_105_c.thumb.jpeg.d6269dfa113f049f748cebe615ffbc8d.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...
On 9/8/2021 at 12:53 AM, marvinthemartian said:

I've been gigging with my Pod Go for a couple of months now using the Truetone CS7 (Pod go, shure glxd receiver, Digitech Drop and mooer tender octave) for power with no problems whatsoever . What's great about Truetone is that they include the 2 necessary adapters you need for the Pod Go (Polarity flip and smaller connector) and no wallwart necessary. Just an IEC power cord straight into the box. 

Hi there,

Im just looking for a little help please. I have just got myself the cs7 and had a look through the manual, specifically in regards to the CL6 green adapter. It appears to be just a straight through adapter. In your post above you mentioned that you used two adapters. I am assuming the CL6 green adapter (to fit to the pod go) but I am wondering why you would need to use the CYR red polarity converter (my assumption - please correct me if I am wrong) considering the center pin in the CS7 is negative and the center pin in the pod go is also negative. The CS7 manual does not say anywhere that the CL6 green adapter reverses the polarity, so why would you need to use the CYR Red reverse polarity converter? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/24/2022 at 12:19 AM, RichiBmusic said:

Hi there,

Im just looking for a little help please. I have just got myself the cs7 and had a look through the manual, specifically in regards to the CL6 green adapter. It appears to be just a straight through adapter. In your post above you mentioned that you used two adapters. I am assuming the CL6 green adapter (to fit to the pod go) but I am wondering why you would need to use the CYR red polarity converter (my assumption - please correct me if I am wrong) considering the center pin in the CS7 is negative and the center pin in the pod go is also negative. The CS7 manual does not say anywhere that the CL6 green adapter reverses the polarity, so why would you need to use the CYR Red reverse polarity converter? 


The TrueTone CL6 adapter reverses the polarity. It’s a holdover from the old Line 6 4 button stomp pedals and the Visual Sound adapters that were made for them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

I conditionally recommend the Meanwell GSM40A09-P1J medical power supply, but be sure to read below, as there's likely a better option.

 

Conditional recfommendation because there are three (3) things to be aware of:

   1. You must reverse the polarity of the DC tip. The Pod Go requires center negative conductor.

   2. You must use a different size DC tip than what this ships with, because it will not fit into the Pod Go with the stock tip.

 

To solve #1 and #2 above, I cut and soldered a DC tip (from another power supply I had laying around that fit the Pod Go) onto this power supply. Except for #3 below, it works great.

 

   3. I gigged with this new power supply (and Pod Go) last weekend, and it sounded clean over the house PA system. It also sounds clean on my Fender Rumble 100 amp at home. HOWEVER, it adds a nasty high-pitch tone (didn't measure it, but it's in the KHz range (not a low, 50-60 Hz AC hum)) to my Scarlett Solo The Pod Go doesn't even need to be turned on to get this tone into the Scarlett Solo. If this power supply touches the conductors on the Pod Go, the tone is present.

 

I believe the problem is due to RF being dumped to ground on the AC side of the supply, since I the GSM40A09-P1J is a three prong (grounded) power supply. I thought that this would be better, but I'm thinking differently now. ;)

 

There is a two prong version of this I may try at some point. By the way, I did try ferrite beads. Multiple configurations, from one to many. Didn't touch the high-pitched tone at all.

 

So now I use the stock power supply, which I have immobilized to prevent shorting, for home use. And I use the Meanwell power supply for gigging. It is rugged, and seems to do great for that purpose.

 

Anyone know what size DC tip the Pod Go uses? 2.1mm x 5.5mm?

 

Thanks,

 

buzz

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

The barrel is 5.5mm, but the tip is

2.5mm.  

 

I tried hooking it up to a Mission Engineering 529M,  which has a single 9v out rated at 3amps (3000ma), same as the wall wart.  When I turned it on, all I got was a white screen, even when I ran it straight from an outlet instead of the charging brick.  Anyone else had success with this?  I'd like to compare nores

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

I had the problem of the cylinder weight damaging the wall-wart cord by cracking the rubber shielding on the thin power cord.  I currently have it taped up and hope that holds for awhile. But, I'm looking for a suitable replacement.  Some good comments here (below) but no expert advise on which unit would be best, or what specifics I should be looking for in a replacement.  I did find this on Amazon and it claims to be a direct replacement for the Line 6 product ...

https://www.amazon.com/MyVolts-Supply-Adaptor-Compatible-Effects/dp/B08512J8J8?th=1

 

Comments please?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/22/2024 at 9:18 AM, Treering said:

I had the problem of the cylinder weight damaging the wall-wart cord by cracking the rubber shielding on the thin power cord.  I currently have it taped up and hope that holds for awhile. But, I'm looking for a suitable replacement.  Some good comments here (below) but no expert advise on which unit would be best, or what specifics I should be looking for in a replacement.  I did find this on Amazon and it claims to be a direct replacement for the Line 6 product ...

https://www.amazon.com/MyVolts-Supply-Adaptor-Compatible-Effects/dp/B08512J8J8?th=1

 

Comments please? 

 

Oops: I just noticed that this adapter is wired wrong with the barrel negative and the tip positive. 

 

This one looks right ...
https://www.amazon.com/KFD-Processor-Simulator-59-00-0219-SMI36-9-N-N290R-C1/dp/B0D14M57SH/ref=pd_ci_mcx_pspc_dp_d_2_t_2?pd_rd_w=t4Ee1&content-id=amzn1.sym.568f3b6b-5aad-4bfd-98ee-d827f03151e4&pf_rd_p=568f3b6b-5aad-4bfd-98ee-d827f03151e4&pf_rd_r=YY99EQCT62HA3F1HZ1M9&pd_rd_wg=5186B&pd_rd_r=b9c1efa9-773e-4588-9305-07259d13dc81&pd_rd_i=B0D14M57SH

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...