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Posts: 3532
Joined: Oct. 20 2003
From: Phoenix, AZ
Hot Boxes
For all you engineers out there, Tom and Ron, got a question about those boxes that are at the end of the cords? You know, I think they're called transformers, but when you are plugging your keyboard intot he wall, and instead of a regular plug there's a big black box with the plug in it?
Yeah, those things? Well, for one of my amps and the keyboard, I noticed that they are hot when they are in the wall for a few minutes. Is it normal and healthy to leave them plugged in?
Hi Mike, You mean so-called "AC Adaptors". Yes, they sometimes get quite warm. Don't worry though, because the transformer has a thermal fuse which will melt and break the circuit if it gets hotter than it should, due to overload or a fault. This fuse is based on wax with a predetermined melting point, so once that melts, the unit is gone...you can't reset it or anything. A bin job! The problem is that these thermal fuses tend to go without a problem even being present...a real pain.
If you are not using it then unplug it from the wall socket to prolong the life.
If you are not using it then unplug it from the wall socket to prolong the life.
I would add, "and to prevent a possible fire hazzard". Leaving anything plugged in that you cannot turn off can cause problems.
Remember when computers had real transformers in the power supply? Like the S-100 Buss? Since the PC came out transformers have been replaced with a technology called, "switching power supplies". It saves money and creates other problems when they get to be about three years old, like lost data.
I am not sure that those plug in power supplies have a transformer or not? I have not taken one apart. I think I will check one out - hehehe!
By the way, Ron, last night I played a gig at a resort called Caleo. It was recently bought out, and I heard through the grapevine that it was going to be devoted to, er...the "alternative" lifestyle. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Anyway, I plugged my guitar into my new amp, without my messed-up effects pedal, and was surprised to hear a weird "whirring" sound, very reminiscent if not identical to the one I earlier had blamed first on my old amp, and then my pedal. The problem was that this was my new amp and I wasn't using my pedal!
So that narrows it down to the chord or the guitar.
I'll replace the chord first.
PS: I'm sure this is eventual fallout from the infamous sprinkler free-for-all at Dennis Hopper's house last year!
We sometimes get weird noises and buzzings caused by "60 cycle hum" or somethng in the electrical system, if we share power with lighting systems/house stereos etc. Try getting a LONG extension chord that reaches to a socket on a different wall. If that is the problem, and you don't want a long chord running through the room (weekly gig?), have the owner set it up for you around the base or above in the ceiling, so you have it for the next gig. Always get to the gig early to try different outlets.
Ricardo, Invest in an "Earth Free" fully isolated transformer to plug your kit into. It'll be pretty heavy...a few Kgs..and wil cost a couple of hundred dollars. But not only will it stop any hum issues, but will prevent you ever from receiving an electric shock, regardless of how dodgy the gigs wiring is!!
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