Mess up your pedals real good

[ActiveCape]

I was doing some research on power supplies when shopping for an Ethos overdrive
The issue of regulated vs non-regulated power supplies came to my attention
Basically, non-regulated supplies usually put out much more voltage than they're rated for, and the voltage will vary depending on the load put on them. Using them is a great way to fry any voltage-sensitive pedal. Just tested a bunch of my PS, I had an unregulated 12v putting out 19v and an unregulated 9v putting out 14v...
Conclusion: check your power supplies!

 

[TrueTone500]

I was doing some research on power supplies when shopping for an Ethos overdrive
The issue of regulated vs non-regulated power supplies came to my attention
Basically, non-regulated supplies usually put out much more voltage than they're rated for, and the voltage will vary depending on the load put on them. Using them is a great way to fry any voltage-sensitive pedal. Just tested a bunch of my PS, I had an unregulated 12v putting out 19v and an unregulated 9v putting out 14v...
Conclusion: check your power supplies!

You need to first make sure of the wall voltage supply. If you're wall is putting out 126VAC, your power supply MAY put out an equal increase in voltage. Load has nothing to do with voltage... Load is determined by the amount of current the device draws. Voltage = electrical pressure / Amperes = current.

I use a Furman voltage regulator (117VAC), and also a Furman Voltage Conditioner (glorified power-strip) to get a readout of what's coming out of the Furman 117 regulator.

 

[ActiveCape]

I'll quote from the link. Sorry if my explanation was bad

"The output does not remain constant with loading or line changes. Unloaded output can be almost double the rated output under rated load. Unregulated supplies are rated by their output Voltage at the rated load. Example 12VDC @ 1A supply will give you 12V when loaded at 1A, at 1/2A the output will rise to a higher value say 17V or when overloaded at 1.5A the output could be lowered to around 9V."

https://www.mpja.com/understanding-regulated-and-unregulated-power-supplies.asp

 

[TrueTone500]

I'll quote from the link. Sorry if my explanation was bad

"The output does not remain constant with loading or line changes. Unloaded output can be almost double the rated output under rated load. Unregulated supplies are rated by their output Voltage at the rated load. Example 12VDC @ 1A supply will give you 12V when loaded at 1A, at 1/2A the output will rise to a higher value say 17V or when overloaded at 1.5A the output could be lowered to around 9V."

https://www.mpja.com/understanding-regulated-and-unregulated-power-supplies.asp

Yes... On an unregulated supply. I've never seen a power supply designed for use with pedals that is unregulated?

 

[ActiveCape]

The aforementioned Ethos Overdrive uses an unregulated 12V power supply
I'm not sure about other specific pedals though

I've been using a MIDI footswitch 12V adapter to power old Boss pedals, which turned out to be unregulated. I guess my point is: don't use just any adapter to power pedals, test them first to see if they're regulated.

 

[TrueTone500]

The aforementioned Ethos Overdrive uses an unregulated 12V power supply
I'm not sure about other specific pedals though

I've been using a MIDI footswitch 12V adapter to power old Boss pedals, which turned out to be unregulated. I guess my point is: don't use just any adapter to power pedals, test them first to see if they're regulated.

That's a good tip! I've never really thought about it before, and I will now watch out for this. I can see the logic of using an unregulated supply for a single pedal though... Trying to use the same supply in a "daisy chain" setup would not be good.