I have searched different forums to find out how to convert a rack mount equalizer from 110 volt to 12 volt. Can anyone help with a quick explanation? how much work will it be to convert ?
Are these Rane EQ's. I have the pdf file for that. Anybody else it might depend.
Any name brands you have in mind ?
Most all Op-amp based EQ's will need + & - 15 volts to 18 volts depending on the design and chips used.
A really cheap way is to get one of the cleaner 12 to 110 converters, and power it up through a bosch style relay. They handle about 20 to 30 amps and thats is way more power then the EQ's will draw.
Look at the back of the EQ's for the power consumption. It will be in the range of15 to 45 watts at 110 VAC. Thats pretty much nothing.
Other than that your looking a finding DC to DC converters like this one
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...MEWN:IT&viewitem=&item=150082360773&rd=1&rd=1
This is a wide input range DC to DC converter. It works from 9 volts to 18 volts in and delivers + & - 15 volts regulated output possibly with enough current to run one EQ.
I have also seen stacked battery supplies, but ground might have issues with that depending on who made you equipment.
Hope this helps🙂
Any name brands you have in mind ?
Most all Op-amp based EQ's will need + & - 15 volts to 18 volts depending on the design and chips used.
A really cheap way is to get one of the cleaner 12 to 110 converters, and power it up through a bosch style relay. They handle about 20 to 30 amps and thats is way more power then the EQ's will draw.
Look at the back of the EQ's for the power consumption. It will be in the range of15 to 45 watts at 110 VAC. Thats pretty much nothing.
Other than that your looking a finding DC to DC converters like this one
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...MEWN:IT&viewitem=&item=150082360773&rd=1&rd=1
This is a wide input range DC to DC converter. It works from 9 volts to 18 volts in and delivers + & - 15 volts regulated output possibly with enough current to run one EQ.
I have also seen stacked battery supplies, but ground might have issues with that depending on who made you equipment.
Hope this helps🙂
Thanks, I spent some time researching this conversion last night with very little success, This is not the first time this forum has helped me out. I bought a cheap samson E62, I'm not sure on the specs, but it's cheap enough that I can experiment on. I want to power it the cleanest way I can. This will be for a SQ car, and I need to hook it up before Spring Break nationals. An EQ was one of the main things I was missing last year, and I just couldn't fork over the cash for a 12 volt equivalent. Please keep an eye on this thread as I intend to update it with some additional pictures once I receive the unit.
thanks
thanks
Have you checked out the 31 band Phoenix Gold EQ's on e-bay lately. I saw one go for $85.00 + shipping. These are pretty nice EQ's. I own 4 of them 2 in use, and 2 black face spare. Look for EQ 230 or similar.
They have line drive capability, and seem to be well built, with clip indicators and drive level indicators.
There really isn't much better electronics in most of those other units available after market.🙂
They have line drive capability, and seem to be well built, with clip indicators and drive level indicators.
There really isn't much better electronics in most of those other units available after market.🙂
I've been tracking a few of those eq's as well, I've used Audio Control numerous times, and I was also thinking of using the new 360 from RF. I guess The challenge of something different appealed to me, also the rack equip just looks cool.
Do you remember way back when PPI and Orion had 5 pin DIN plugs on all their EQ's and modules ?
Well inside that DIN cable and plug was + & - 15 volts DC to power all their outboard devices.
Every car amp I see has + & - 15 inside for its op-amp input section. By adding a few turns of wire you could boost its current capacity and then add 3 terminal regulators inside the amps to give you you needed DC power for your EQ's.
But if your not good inside of a amp please have someone that is adept perform these mods, as its not as simply as it looks and sounds, but it is very possible.
Good luck🙂
Well inside that DIN cable and plug was + & - 15 volts DC to power all their outboard devices.
Every car amp I see has + & - 15 inside for its op-amp input section. By adding a few turns of wire you could boost its current capacity and then add 3 terminal regulators inside the amps to give you you needed DC power for your EQ's.
But if your not good inside of a amp please have someone that is adept perform these mods, as its not as simply as it looks and sounds, but it is very possible.
Good luck🙂
justonemoreamp said:
I'm gonna stay away from modifying my current amps, unless a junk amp can be modified to only be a power source ? Is this is easier than getting a dc-dc converter? I remember the din connectors Alpine used, but they were only signal and remote leads.
since I have been thinking of doing the same thing for a while now and the thought of running 5 pairs of RCA lines from the front to the back of my car puts me off, I thought about having a look into my 31band EQ........
my unit is a local brand (low cost but nice quality) and I can see a dual mono construction. it contains four boards in all. two holds the main circuitry and two attaches to the front panel containing the slide pots.
it is a dual mono construction and the main board already has on board regulators. it also has two power transformers, one for each channel. the transformers have center tapped outputs so the board accepts two AC terminals and a common making three pins. a SMPS can easily be connected to this, the ground connected to the center tap terminal and +18 and -18 connected on either pins. 18V is needed because of the voltage drop due to the on board regulators.
my unit is a local brand (low cost but nice quality) and I can see a dual mono construction. it contains four boards in all. two holds the main circuitry and two attaches to the front panel containing the slide pots.
it is a dual mono construction and the main board already has on board regulators. it also has two power transformers, one for each channel. the transformers have center tapped outputs so the board accepts two AC terminals and a common making three pins. a SMPS can easily be connected to this, the ground connected to the center tap terminal and +18 and -18 connected on either pins. 18V is needed because of the voltage drop due to the on board regulators.
same as what I saw in mine except mine uses two transformers.
you can connect a +/-18V supply to the connector going to the board from the transformer. the +18 and -18V connected to either red wires (any polarity, +18 to one red and -18 to the other red) and the common connected to the black wire.
you just need to look for a good +/-18V DC-DC converter with around 500mA output current.
you can connect a +/-18V supply to the connector going to the board from the transformer. the +18 and -18V connected to either red wires (any polarity, +18 to one red and -18 to the other red) and the common connected to the black wire.
you just need to look for a good +/-18V DC-DC converter with around 500mA output current.
I was able to modify my EQ to be used with 12V.
instead of buying a ready made DC-DC converter, I made a simple fully discrete unregulated SMPS (no need for regulation since the EQ boards already have built in 15V regs.
here's what I took just a few mins back......
a shot of the very simple SMPS:
balanced inputs and outputs! yay!
good enough quality for a little under $100 brand new.
dual mono design. it used to have separate everything except for the power switch and AC input. now I just used a common SMPS for both.
instead of buying a ready made DC-DC converter, I made a simple fully discrete unregulated SMPS (no need for regulation since the EQ boards already have built in 15V regs.
here's what I took just a few mins back......
a shot of the very simple SMPS:
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
balanced inputs and outputs! yay!
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
good enough quality for a little under $100 brand new.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
dual mono design. it used to have separate everything except for the power switch and AC input. now I just used a common SMPS for both.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
over at carsound, they were modding behringer eq's for the car,this was a few years back i think...
but is it even legal to use a non 12volt piece of equipment in IASCA? i havent read the rules concerning this yet.
but is it even legal to use a non 12volt piece of equipment in IASCA? i havent read the rules concerning this yet.
with that modification.....I don't think you can consider my EQ a "non 12 volt" equipment. 🙂 it was but not anymore. 😀
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