advice needed. is it ok to replace the 9v battery on this di box with a 9v mains supply?

vale

this may seem a lame or obvs question to some but while i have built a few easy effects from pcbs with 9v supplies i have never needed to swap a 9v battery for a 9v mains.

i am trying to set up a basic (nothing fancy or complex) & cheap (open source) daw & i have been given one of these little guys.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61EHs3tA8sL._SL1000_.jpg
it seems to do all i i need for now, 1 or 2 in & stereo possible & reviews all good. nice & simple.
but it takes a 9v battery & i am terrible for forgetting things & returning to dead batteries & no fun.

i have a spare standard 9v power in socket so can i drill a hole in the case in an empty space, put the socket in & wire the wires from the battery attachment to the 9v socket instead? that's not a difficult job even for my basic skills. or are di boxes battery-only to stop power supply noise entering the loop? i just hate batteries in anything.

thankq for wise advice.

wayneirie

Just use phantom power on your sound card or console

vale

wayneirie said:

Just use phantom power on your sound card or console

thankq wayneirie. will that be 9v tho? i thought usb power from a pc is 4.5v.

ICBM

It's a bit annoying that it's not designed so the battery is disconnected until a 1/4" plug is in - it would be very easy to do that.

If whatever you're plugging it into doesn't have phantom power and it's not possible to modify it like that, yes you can fit it with a 9V power socket. It's as simple as arranging it so the battery positive supply is broken when the plug is inserted.

wayneirie

The battery is for when, your console or card doesn't have phantom power. Assuming you have an audio interface that powers of a USB cable. It usually has a phantom power button on the front (it'll probably say +48v/phantom power or similar). On a mixing desk it'll be at the top usually where the gain knob is, or on cheaper desks a switch for channels 1-4 on the back somewhere. Connect your di box with an XLR cable,into whichever channel on the interface you want to record your bass/synth/Rhodes whatever, Press that in check the dis getting phantom the red light will come on, and your good to go. You can leave the battery in it and just turn the box on and off with the switch with those di's as well.

vale

big thankq for the explanation @wayneirie & @ICBM
it may sound shocking to long-termers but i have yet to work out what phantom power even is yet (i'm a technophobe). all i know from pedalboard experience is that batteries are a weak link so i always seek to get rid.
it would drive me mad to be struggling with a piece of software that isn't doing what it should, only to discover that software was fine but i had a dead battery in the loop. so a peace of mind thing.

Sporky

Phantom power is just power from the next thing in the signal chain. generally used for condensor mics and DIs. Most audio interfaces can supply phantom power along the XLR cables.

olafgarten

You can also get one of these for a less invasive solution 
www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/RockBoard-by-Warwick-Battery-Clip-Converter/1FUY?origin=product-ads&campaign=PLA+Shop+-+GENERIC&adgroup=GENERIC&medium=vertical_search&network=google&merchant_id=1279443&product_id=67210d1&product_country=GB&product_partition_id=143992864839&gclid=CjwKEAiAz4XFBRCW87vj6-28uFMSJAAHeGZbpSiZkuzwMZc5OWSa_0LRb06V7LA1_WR8C_WD9hmxVBoCkPvw_wcB

ICBM

There's also this, which I'd almost forgotten about despite owning one for exactly this sort of situation!

http://www.gear4music.com/Recording-and-Computers/Behringer-PS400-Phantom-Power-Supply/794?origin=product-ads&utm_campaign=PLA+Shop+-+Behringer&utm_medium=vertical_search&network=google&adgroup=1+-+Product+Level+-+Behringer&merchant_id=1279443&product_id=9400d1&product_country=GB&product_partition_id=111956568799&gclid=CKPHjLOkjdICFU08GwodaUkCFg

Basically you can use it to power anything which takes phantom power if your desk/soundcard/whatever doesn't have it, not just microphones.

vale

thank you for the recommendations for phantom supplies.
will see how far i get with a 9v socket in the behringer before buying anything else. am doing this on scraps & hand me downs as a super low-budget experiment.
in truth i'm not sure daw will be for me. i'm profoundly awful at computers. i get brain freeze installing word. so wary of investing scarce funds before i have more self-confidence about what i am doing.
we shall see!