Question: AC power adapter variances

[Greg]

I recently bought two used rack-mounted electronic devices, and Ibanez
GE131 equalizer and a Digitech MIDI Vocalist. IN both cases, the wall-
wart power supply was not the original for the device, and in both cases
the power supply "puts out" move amps (?) than the device "takes in."

Example: The power-supply-in jack on the Ibanez GE131 say "9v 70mA"; the
AC adapter that came with it says it puts out "9v 830mA."

I know that if the voltages are different, that's a bad thing (e.g.,
never use a 12v power supply on a 9v device). I've gotten conflicting
info on the amperage part. Some have told me that if the power supply
puts out too little amps, the device will have to "pull" too hard and
will not work (and may get damaged). I also been told that if the device
puts out MORE amperage, then it's "not as bad," and possibly fine - the
device will only pull what it needs. Some have gone so far as to say it's
a "good" thing to have more amps, because it "prevents power drop-outs."

The best ting, obviously, is to have the power supply that was designed
for the unit. But the EQ is discontinued, and Ibanez does not sell the AC
adapter for it on their web site. I've called afew electronic shops, but
none have that specific combination - the closest I've found is 9v 300mA.

Any advice would be very much appeciated; especially links to info on the
web and to manufacturers that may have what I need. My own Google
searches have not been very productive.

Thanks!

--Greg

 

[scada]

I recently bought two used rack-mounted electronic devices, and Ibanez
GE131 equalizer and a Digitech MIDI Vocalist. IN both cases, the wall-
wart power supply was not the original for the device, and in both cases
the power supply "puts out" move amps (?) than the device "takes in."

Example: The power-supply-in jack on the Ibanez GE131 say "9v 70mA"; the
AC adapter that came with it says it puts out "9v 830mA."

I know that if the voltages are different, that's a bad thing (e.g.,
never use a 12v power supply on a 9v device). I've gotten conflicting
info on the amperage part. Some have told me that if the power supply
puts out too little amps, the device will have to "pull" too hard and
will not work (and may get damaged). I also been told that if the device
puts out MORE amperage, then it's "not as bad," and possibly fine - the
device will only pull what it needs. Some have gone so far as to say it's
a "good" thing to have more amps, because it "prevents power drop-outs."

The best ting, obviously, is to have the power supply that was designed
for the unit. But the EQ is discontinued, and Ibanez does not sell the AC
adapter for it on their web site. I've called afew electronic shops, but
none have that specific combination - the closest I've found is 9v 300mA.

Any advice would be very much appeciated; especially links to info on the
web and to manufacturers that may have what I need. My own Google
searches have not been very productive.

Thanks!

--Greg

The current (Amperage - ma) needs to be at least what is required, having
more current available can only be better. The device will only use the
current it needs. The voltage needs to be the same, and type (AC or DC). If
the supply is DC then it is "Polarized" the connector has to be correct, one
pin is +, the other -.

 

[Greg]

The current (Amperage - ma) needs to be at least what is required,
having more current available can only be better. The device will only
use the current it needs. The voltage needs to be the same, and type
(AC or DC). If the supply is DC then it is "Polarized" the connector
has to be correct, one pin is +, the other -.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for the info. I'm glad you mentioned the AC/DC thing; I just
noticed that the Ibanez EQ unit has a "DC In" and "DC out" jacks, and
also says it's "RING +9V" and "TIP GND". The Alesis wall wart says it's
"OUTPUT: 9VAC 830mA."

This sounds wrong to me; the wall wart puts out AC and the unit requires
DC. Correct me if I'm wrong: There doesn't seem to be any way this AC
adapter could be used with this device.

Sigh.... now I have to e-mail the seller and complain. And I'm sure he's
gonna say, "Well, I always used it that way, and it always worked fine."
But I can't see how that could be. I'm afraind to even plug it in, for
fear of frying the unit.

Can someone tell me in theoiry what would happen if I DID try to use the
two together? Would the unit even power up? Would it fry out immediately?
Would it work at all?

Thanks again for any info on this.

--Greg

 

[scada]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for the info. I'm glad you mentioned the AC/DC thing; I just
noticed that the Ibanez EQ unit has a "DC In" and "DC out" jacks, and
also says it's "RING +9V" and "TIP GND". The Alesis wall wart says it's
"OUTPUT: 9VAC 830mA."

This sounds wrong to me; the wall wart puts out AC and the unit requires
DC. Correct me if I'm wrong: There doesn't seem to be any way this AC
adapter could be used with this device.

Sigh.... now I have to e-mail the seller and complain. And I'm sure he's
gonna say, "Well, I always used it that way, and it always worked fine."
But I can't see how that could be. I'm afraind to even plug it in, for
fear of frying the unit.

Can someone tell me in theoiry what would happen if I DID try to use the
two together? Would the unit even power up? Would it fry out immediately?
Would it work at all?

Thanks again for any info on this.

--Greg

DO NOT USE IT! It will probably do damage to the unit! Buy an after market
wall wart, if you can't get the original. Make sure that it meets the
criteria!