Hilton volume pedal power supply

Steve Hitsman · Post by **Steve Hitsman** » 14 Aug 2011 6:12 am

I've had chronic problems with the Phihong wall wart that came with my pedal. The weak link appears to be the contacts for the clip that allows conversion for European outlets. The connection is somewhat tenuous and sometimes requires removing the clip and re-seating it to improve the connection. Too much of this and the spring loaded prongs snap off. My second unit just went south. Has anyone else had a problem? I'm looking for a viable alternative without the universal clip... 24 volt DC regulated output with a 2.5x5.5 mm tip.

CrowBear Schmitt · Post by **CrowBear Schmitt** » 14 Aug 2011 6:21 am

Hi Steve
perhaps you could contact Keith & see what he suggests
KLHilton"AT"aol.com

Steve Lipsey · Post by **Steve Lipsey** » 15 Aug 2011 3:17 am

and DO let us know what you find out.....

Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 16 Aug 2011 7:28 am

Yesterday I received my power supply from Keith. Quick turn around on the order. Pedal powered up nicely with the new supply. I'm tickled that the problem is fixed

Thanks Keith.

Steve Lipsey · Post by **Steve Lipsey** » 16 Aug 2011 8:40 am

I guess Keith's rapid response makes up for the fact that you can't just go to a local store and buy another if yours breaks....

Keith Hilton · Post by **Keith Hilton** » 16 Aug 2011 8:42 am

I have been using the current power supply since 2008 with excellent results. I have had less than 10 complaints out of 10,000 of these power supplies out in use. The problem with "ANY" power supply is people tripping over the cord. People can trip over a cord when the owner is not looking. I have seen many types of cords, and I know of NONE that are immune to damage from someone tripping over them. Dammage can happen to the plug tip, where it enters the power supply,where the wall plug clips to the power supply, or to the cord itself. Many times damage from someone tripping over the cord is not obvious. For example: The plastic power cord will streach while the copper wire inside will not streach and breaks. This leaves the plastic cover on the power cord looking unbroken and good, while the copper inside is broken. Also, the plug tip connection, and the wall plug connection can be bent-sprung where they do not connect properly. I do not warranty power supplies. Tips,cords,plugs don't magically get dammaged--there is nothing magical about it. Someone trips over the cord. You do not have to buy your power supply from me. You can buy any power supply you want. Here is the requirements: 24 volts DC--REGULATED. The tip is 2.5MM X 5.5MM and the tip is positive. I would not advise buying a power supply if you do not understand the meaning of the word REGULATED. A transformer is NOT a regulated power supply. Hope this information helps.

Steve Lipsey · Post by **Steve Lipsey** » 16 Aug 2011 8:56 am

Keith -
Thanks for the specs....I always carry spare strings and amp tubes and pedal power supplies....I'll figure out where to buy one of these, for the very reason you mention - people trip over the cord, or it gets caught between two sharp things, or whatever....(if you do sell them separately, how do I buy one?)

I wasn't at all saying that there was any problem whatsoever in the power supply itself, other than that it wasn't your garden variety Boss 9V power adapter...which I understand completely.

And by the way, I'm a pretty new steel player, and just got my first new Hilton, and truly couldn't believe how much better it was than the old Ernie Ball I used at first...

Keith Hilton · Post by **Keith Hilton** » 16 Aug 2011 9:19 am

Steve, thanks for using my pedal. You can order a spare power supply from me, the cost is $24.00 plus shipping. There is a reason I don't use the garden variety 9 volt power supply. Modern integrated circuits--chips----use dual polarity, meaning plus and minus rails. These rails provide the head room. The more head room--- the cleaner, and clearer, the sound.
A 9 volt power supply only has 4.5 volt rails. A 24 volt power supply has 12 volt rails. 12 volts provides more head room than 4.5 volts. Many guitar pickups can put out over 3 volts, in addition to other powered devices in the signal chain boosting the signal. This means it is very easy for a signal to bump up against the available head room. When this happens the signal is not clear and can distort. Distortion is not a problem if you are playing rock and roll with distortion--it does matter if you are trying to play music with a clean clear sound.

Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 17 Aug 2011 4:59 am

I've spent more than a few hours fighting with op-amps. For those who know of him, a fella by the name of Bob Pease is my hero in this arena. (Also Mr. Jung whose book is now ancient...)

Open ended infinite gain... so there is an infinity

I thoroughly understand why the power supply might not be your garden variety wall wart.

Keith Hilton · Post by **Keith Hilton** » 17 Aug 2011 1:02 pm

I have two of Walter Jung's books, my favorite is the Op Amp Cookbook. Some of my protective stratgies for transistor junctions came from Mr. Jung's book.

Christopher Wray · Post by **Christopher Wray** » 22 Aug 2011 9:15 pm

My Phihong wall wart recently failed as well. Keith responded very quickly and I'll be purchasing another one. However it wasn't ever tripped over. It just failed. My Hilton is mounted to my board so that there are no exposed wires to trip over. Sometimes things just go bad.