Okay so really.. how risky is running an M9 from a PP2+ ??

Drew_TNBD

I just swapped my Marshall Valvestate 8008 for a Line 6 M9. Yes, another one!

Anyway... using a Pedal Power 2+ - one of the high voltage L6 outputs running at 12VDC 200+ ma... but the M9 is running perfectly fine from it, even though it is rated for 1200ma 9vAC. I'm using the red cable that comes with the PP2+ and it's running perfectly fine...

So what is the risk of doing this?? Am I going to end up frying either of these units?

GIJoe

Current won't fry the M9, 12v might, but then again might not.  If you try draw more current than the pp2+ can supply you might fry that.

randomhandclaps

If you continue to do this most of us will mourn your inevitable death. 

Drew_TNBD

I've dug this post out:
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=850784

According to Cioks support:

Hi,

OK, let me reveal all the mystery about powering the Line6 M9.

The original adapter supplied with Line6 M9 when loaded with this pedal and with nominal mains voltage level supplies the pedal with an AC voltage of 10,6V. The current drawn at this supply voltage changes between 680mA and 720mA.

Since the pedal has several internal switching power supply circuits the current drawn by the pedal is lower the higher voltage it gets (the power drawn stays almost the same then).

Since the pedal draws below 800mA it can be powered of one single 800mA section/outlet of either CIOKS AC Rider, CIOKS AC8, CIOKS AC10 or CIOKS CIOKOLATE. You just need to use the green cable for this pedal and the 9V AC outlet. When powered of outlet 9 of the AC10 @ 9V AC the pedal receives 9,6V AC and draws approx 780mA. The voltage is slightly lower than with the original adapter (this is measured in Europe and a mains @ 231V) so in case of a low mains level if you experience strange behaviour of the M9, I'd switch to the 12V AC outlet (outlet 10 on AC10) and everything should be ok then.

In case with our CIOKOLATE please use outlet 15 and the green Flex cable to power the Line6 M9. On AC Rider outlet 5 should be used and with AC8 power supply please use outlet 7.

BTW, the Line6 M9 rectifies the AC supply voltage to a single DC voltage. This means the pedal also can be powered with a DC voltage with no harm to the pedal. The current draw depends on the voltage you use and we’ve measured the current at the three common DC voltages in pedal business. At 9V DC Line6 M9 draws approx. 600mA, when powered with 12V DC it draws 480mA and at 15V DC the current is 430mA. We do not recommend to go higher than 15V DC to avoid overheating or damage to the M9, although we had a customer powering this pedal with 24V by exident and it still worked fine. So if you wish to power your Line6 M9 with DC voltage please use any voltage 9-15V and make sure your source is able to supply the current stated here. Please use CIOKS green type 4 Flex cable or other type just with 5.5/2.5mm DC plug on the pedal end. The polarity doesn’t matter.

Best,
Poul Ciok

steamabacus

I don't know about the M9 specifically but this sounds like a similar situation to the DL4 where the AC and DC current draws are wildly different. For the DL4, I have found this explanation...

Feb 8, 2011 3:13 PM
http://line6.com/support/thread/55666

Ok. Here’s what’s up.

The DL-4, as designed, expects a 9VAC signal, which is non-polarized at the jack. At the power input of the DL-4 is a rectifier/filter that turns the 9VAC into 6VDC. That 6VDC line is tapped to the battery line, which is 4 D batteries (4 * 1.5VDC per battery = 6VDC). That 6VDC is used to generate all the operating voltages within the unit (6VDC, 3.3VDC, 6.6VDC, and 5VDC). Notice that what makes the DL4 REALLY work are all DC voltages.

 

Now wouldnt it be nice if we could use a DC supply from our VDL Pedal Power to bypass that rectifier circuit? Pay attention.

 

Diode rectifier/filter circuits CAN accept a DC signal with no damage to the circuit. The rectifier circuit will just simply pass the DC signal (with a voltage drop because of the forward drop of the rectifier diodes). It will rectify an already-rectified signal. Because of the diode voltage drop, you have to feed it a slightly higher DC voltage to get the same output as you would with an AC voltage. That’s why the VDL PP has a dip switch to up the DC voltage from 9V to something higher (12-14VDC, lets just say 12VDC for this argument). But because you are using a DC supply now, polarity matters! And in the case of this circuit, it must be center-positive to prevent from reverse biasing the semiconductors and blowing them up.

As far as current draw goes, a circuit will only draw what it needs. So most ratings are given as a maximum expected current draw times some safety factor (usually 50%). So in a worst case scenario, a circuit will draw 100mA, so a designer may recommend a 150mA rated adapter.

 

That said, you have 2 ways to power a DL4: 9VAC or 12VDC. Remember, AC and DC power draws are measured differently. Straight DC voltage is able to supply more current than an equivalent VAC supply. So at 12VDC, it may only require a max of 200mA, but at 9VAC it may require 1200mA. That’s why the VDL guy and the DL4 guy give you different current draw ratings. Also, they both may be assuming 2 different safety factors!

When youre comparing electrical power, you have to make sure youre talking the same voltage levels, voltage types, load, etc. It happens all the time in pro-audio. A car stereo maker will take a peak to peak VAC measurement across some frequency range into a 16ohm speaker and calculate power from that. A tube amp maker will take it from an RMS measurement over a different freq range in an 8ohm speaker. And then the listener wonders why a 200W car stereo is no where NEAR as loud as a 100W tube amp.