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Powering pedals by USB

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  • 23-12-2017 12:44am
    #1
    Irish Guitarist
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,736 ✭✭✭


    This is a long shot but I'm wondering if anyone here has heard of this Ionic Audio 5 volt USB to 9 volt DC converter?

    https://reverb.com/item/7341557-ionic-audio-5v-usb-to-9v-dc-converter

    The idea of it is to plug it into a USB power bank and power your effects pedals with it.

    I bought one of them as well a USB power bank and tested them. I was playing guitar for about 20 seconds when the power bank just switched off. This kept happening. I then tried charging my digital camera with the power bank. This time it stayed switched on.

    I also tried the Ionic Audio converter with a pedal connected to the USB port of my laptop. The pedal stayed turned on.

    This means both the USB power bank and the Ionic Audio converter work. They just don't work together. I'm not sure if this means the power bank doesn't have as much power as stated on the website or if it's the fault of the Ionic Audio converter so I don't know which company to complain to.

    Has anyone else bought one of these converters? If so did you have any problems with it?


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    #2
    feylya
    Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 23,359 Mod ✭✭✭✭feylya


    What are the ratings for the power bank? Sounds like you're pulling too high a current from the adaptor, and the power bank can't keep up. That said, a laptop usb port should only be giving out 500mA :/


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    #3
    Irish Guitarist
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,736 ✭✭✭Irish Guitarist


    feylya wrote: »
    What are the ratings for the power bank? Sounds like you're pulling too high a current from the adaptor, and the power bank can't keep up. That said, a laptop usb port should only be giving out 500mA :/

    The power bank is 20,000mAh.

    I've since tried a few things and I've gotten it to work for a while, although it acts up when I unplug either the adapter or the pedal. The last thing I tried was to get the charging cable of the power bank and connect it to both the charging port and the second USB port. This made it act like it was charging itself and it powered one of my pedals until I tried switching over to a different pedal, it then started acting up again.


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    #4
    martinedwards
    Registered Users Posts: 2,043 ✭✭✭martinedwards


    some pedals suck a LOAD of power.

    my USB external hard drive has a double USB cable so that it can draw double the power.


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    #5
    KeithTS
    Registered Users Posts: 743 ✭✭✭KeithTS


    Generally the USB 2.0 outputs up to 500mA at 5V, the power output is then (5V * 500mA = 2.5W).
    Some USB power banks will have a higher current output (I have one that's 700mA and 1A). This gives higher total power output.

    For the USB to 9V converter you are still limited to the same max power of 2.5W (ignoring any losses etc. ) but this time you're running at a higher voltage meaning you have less available current (2.5/9 = 278mA).

    Adding this up its apparent that if you're running your USB-9V converter box from anything other than a wall charger, you're most likely not going to have enough current to power any hungry pedals. You certainly won't be getting near the 2000mA that they sa,in fairness, they do say 2000mA (max) on the unit.
    Take a look the power bank you're using and check what the available current is.


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    #6
    Irish Guitarist
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,736 ✭✭✭Irish Guitarist


    I think I've gotten it to work now. I've put the power bank charging cable into the charging port and the second USB port. I think the power bank has some sort of auto shutoff feature but doing this with the cable forces it to stay on. I plugged a pedal into it earlier for well over an hour and it worked perfectly.


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    #7
    Gaspode
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Music Moderators, Regional East Moderators, Regional Midlands Moderators, Regional Midwest Moderators, Regional Abroad Moderators, Regional North Mods, Regional West Moderators, Regional South East Moderators, Regional North East Moderators, Regional North West Moderators, Regional South Moderators Posts: 8,008 CMod ✭✭✭✭Gaspode


    Is there any advantage to this over a dedicated psu or simply using a battery? Seems like a lot a feckin about.


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    #8
    endacl
    Registered Users Posts: 22,233 ✭✭✭✭endacl


    Gaspode wrote: »
    Is there any advantage to this over a dedicated psu or simply using a battery? Seems like a lot a feckin about.
    Exactly what I was about to post.

    An unsatisfactory solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.


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    #9
    Irish Guitarist
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,736 ✭✭✭Irish Guitarist


    Gaspode wrote: »
    Is there any advantage to this over a dedicated psu or simply using a battery? Seems like a lot a feckin about.

    It's a lot cheaper to buy a power bank than it is to keep buying 9 volt batteries. As for using it instead of a PSU there's no mains hum. I have some pedals, mainly cheap ones but also a Boss PS-2, where the hum and crackle was almost as loud as the actual effect.

    I'm not sure why but looping the charging cable back into the second USB port on the power bank is forcing it to stay on. Since I discovered that I've had no problems with it. I think it's designed for charging phones and auto shuts off once the phone is charged. It must have been detecting the pedal as a fully charged phone. It's working really well now, although I wish I had bought a different power bank. I've seen videos of the adapter on YouTube where it just works.


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