Power Supply, a cheap alternative

Quad Cortex
1

I’m trying out this cheap 12v 8,33A switching power supply.
It’s running the QC & a midi switcher at the moment.
I’ll leave it running for the day but so far everything’s running smoothly.

It has a higher switching noise (around 100ma in the Mhz region) than the OEM power supply, but it’s dead quiet on the QC plugged into my mixer.

A lot cheaper than the pedal oriented power supplies and could be an alternative to MyVolts…

EU : https://amzn.eu/d/gtrHi38 16,99€

US : https://a.co/d/8BpPRfI 12,99$

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Edit : it’s been a little bit more than 7 hours straight and the power supply is not heating at all and is still quiet as a mouse…
Ready for road testing…

Edit 2 :

Here are some pigtail (barrel jacks) I use for connection to the QC

US : Amazon.com

EU : RUNCCI-YUN 18AWG 12V 5A DC d'alimentation Connecteur Mâle/Femelle, DC Pigtail Cable,5.5mm x 2.1mm Connecteur DC pour Vidéo Surveiller CCTV Caméra Câble LED Strip Light 2,1 x 5,5 mm : Amazon.fr: High-Tech

From memory (I am away from home at the moment) the colors are inverted for the QC (Red is inner core and black is outer ring). Please check with a multimeter before plugging in !

6 Likes
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Update :

Been running this thing for 7-8 days now.
Been playing & recording demos with it.

Not a hiccup, still dead quiet, no heating.

Happy bunny !

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Amazon suggestion for cabling?

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Input : Live, Neutral, Ground from 110/220V on input.

Output : Inner Core on V-, Outer ring on V+.

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:wink:

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Thx, helpful, but I was referring to if you had links for what you purchased to do the wiring for the AC plug to the power supply, and the cable from the power supply to the Quad Cortex.

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Ah ok… I edited my first post…

It’s in there now.

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AC plug link? Guess any Amazon offering of a grounded plug with the correct adaptor plug for the user’s country and bare wires on the other end will work. Cable length may vary depending on usage.

Seems like this would be best suited to pedal board mounting. Also, between the cost of the cables and power supply you might be creeping up on, or past, the cost of one of the low-cost pre-wired options. Strong recommendation regarding low noise and low heat though.

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Hi, I was looking at a similar solution and something I could easily put under my Temple Audio Duo board.

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[UK](DUSKTEC Slim LED Transformer 12V 60W, IP67 LED Driver 5A Power Supply, AC 240V to 12V DC Waterproof Constant Voltage Adapter for Outdoor LED Bulbs Strip Lights : Amazon.co.uk: Lighting)

Has anyone experimented with a LED driver?

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The one I use (pic in the first post) IS a LED driver (fancy word for a 12V power supply)

If I was you, I’d take the 100W version (12V 8,33A)…

The QC spikes between 2 & 3 Amps at bootup… And I like the 33% rule (I’d rather have a power supply working at 33%, less stress, less heat)

And an important note : most power supplies show their max rating.

That means you get a max of 12V OR a max of 8,33A… When one goes up, the other comes down.

It is NOT max 12V AND max 8,33A (as I assumed before measuring with an electronic load… sneaky companies)

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Re-Update :

Been running nearly every day for a month and a half now.
Live gigs in big theatres with lotsa lights, rehearsals, recording, etc…

Not one issue !

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Thanks Thomas.

I did know that the one you use is an LED driver, I was jusat looking at an alternative for here in the UK :slight_smile:

Glad to hear that the on you use is holding up!