Hope me adapt
March 16, 2021 1:53 PM Subscribe
I need to replace a lost power adaptor. But, snowflakes...
I’ve had this little Roland synth for ages. It originally had a Boss PSA-100 power adaptor supplying the juice. Somewhere, somehow, over the decades, I lost the adaptor. I now need to find a suitable replacement. However...
Looking at the power port, I see the following notation: DC IN, the negative polarity symbol, 9V ~ 12V.
It’s that tilde between 9V and 12V that puzzles me. What is it trying to tell me that I’m too thick to understand?
Thanks!
I’ve had this little Roland synth for ages. It originally had a Boss PSA-100 power adaptor supplying the juice. Somewhere, somehow, over the decades, I lost the adaptor. I now need to find a suitable replacement. However...
Looking at the power port, I see the following notation: DC IN, the negative polarity symbol, 9V ~ 12V.
It’s that tilde between 9V and 12V that puzzles me. What is it trying to tell me that I’m too thick to understand?
Thanks!
Roland gear like that could work at different voltages. Some of the replacement PSUs are fine for Boss guitar pedals but will not be great for a synth - before buying, I'd recommend checking sites like Gearslutz for people's experience with your specific synth to see if anyone's posted good/bad experiences with a given 3rd party replacement.
posted by Candleman at 3:32 PM on March 16, 2021
posted by Candleman at 3:32 PM on March 16, 2021
RustyBrooks is right it means anywhere between the two voltages.
On reason gear is made for this is so it could use a 9v unregulated power supply Which will actually put out more than 9 volts at low current. Those unregulated wall warts were very cheap and common.
To be safe, if you want to use a 12v power supply, much more common these days, use a switched mode power supply. Those have built in voltage regulation integral to their design so they will not go over voltage. Bonus is, for the same power the switched supply will be lighter and more efficient.
posted by sol at 4:23 PM on March 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
On reason gear is made for this is so it could use a 9v unregulated power supply Which will actually put out more than 9 volts at low current. Those unregulated wall warts were very cheap and common.
To be safe, if you want to use a 12v power supply, much more common these days, use a switched mode power supply. Those have built in voltage regulation integral to their design so they will not go over voltage. Bonus is, for the same power the switched supply will be lighter and more efficient.
posted by sol at 4:23 PM on March 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
Are you sure it was a PSA-100? This PDF on Roland's site lists pretty much everything they've made for the last 40 years, what the original adaptor was, and what the current model is, and there's no mention of PSA-100.
https://www.rolandus.com/assets/press_media_resources/ACAdapterGuide.pdf
I have an SH-101 (which originally came with a PSA-120), and I use a third party adaptor with it and it works fine.
posted by jonathanhughes at 5:50 PM on March 16, 2021
https://www.rolandus.com/assets/press_media_resources/ACAdapterGuide.pdf
I have an SH-101 (which originally came with a PSA-120), and I use a third party adaptor with it and it works fine.
posted by jonathanhughes at 5:50 PM on March 16, 2021
The new version of the PSA-120 is available for about $30 various places.
The TrueTone OneSpot is another super-common music gear power supply, usually about $20.
There are some reports of older gear being very noisy with cheap 9v adapters, which are often not filtered properly, but either of the above should be fine.
posted by soundguy99 at 8:50 PM on March 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
The TrueTone OneSpot is another super-common music gear power supply, usually about $20.
There are some reports of older gear being very noisy with cheap 9v adapters, which are often not filtered properly, but either of the above should be fine.
posted by soundguy99 at 8:50 PM on March 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
FWIW the Boss PSA-100 is a 9V adapter. There are a bunch of knockoffs on amazon, and it's probably still possible to buy them, from ebay if they're not still for sale elsewhere.
posted by RustyBrooks at 2:01 PM on March 16, 2021 [1 favorite]