RE: [Harp-L] Kinder AFB batteries

["John Balding" <John.Balding@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

If this is too long, at least read the first and last paragraph...

John Kinder is a perfectionist. He is also a trained and experienced
electronics expert. My feeling is that he knew an adapter would be
convenient, but chose not to incorporate the ability to use one for a
good reason; what that reason is I don't know. But it would have only
cost him the price of a jack and some extra soldering time to equip the
AFB+ with the means to run on an adapter, but he chose not to do so. It
sure as heck wasn't to "save on the cost". The HarpKing amps have the
same anti-feedback circuit in them and they are powered by wall current
with a transformer ahead of the anti-feedback circuit. So, in practice,
it has been done. But, because John did not incorporate that ability
into the AFB+, it solidifies my belief that he made that decision based
on some hard facts/evidence.

The thing to consider about "converting" a Kinder AFB+ to be used with
wall warts/adapters is the amp draw of the AFB+. 9-volt adapters can put
out 9-volts at a very low amp rating. They can also put out quite a bit
of juice at a higher rating (usually stated in milliamps). This is why
you can't (shouldn't) hook up the adapter from your brand X delay pedal
to your brand Y reverb pedal; even if the polarity and jack size is the
same.

Not knowing the amp draw of the unit and crafting a crude "link" to a
parts-bin converter could lead to disaster. Jason Ricci probably got the
advice of either John Kinder or a skilled tech; or maybe he just got
lucky.

I own an AFB+. The circuit board in these things is like something from
the dashboard of the space shuttle (i.e. - not local amp tech-friendly
if you screw it up). I wouldn't want to take the chance on frying that
circuit. I don't know what the draw is for the AFB+. When I get home,
I'll check the manual and see if it gives a rating.

To me, it's just not worth blowing a $360 piece of equipment to save a
couple of bucks on batteries; especially when good batteries (e.g. -
Energizer Industrial) last for 165 hours. In other words, you could turn
the unit on Sunday at midnight and it would not die until 9:00pm the
following Sunday! At three hours of actual playing time per gig, that
equates to 55 gigs. Even a professional musician, playing 20 gigs a
month, could get almost three months out of a set of batteries. That
means probably six months or more for the rest of us.

John Balding
Tallahassee, FL



-----Original Message-----
From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of samblancato
Sent: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 4:14 AM
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Harp-L] Kinder AFB batteries

Jason Ricci plugs his AFB+ in via 2 9 volt wall warts from radio shack.
Works
great that way and no battery worries.Michael Peloquin

 

What are wall warts?  Are they adapters?  I have two adapters for my
Digitec
Delay and a Boss Equalizer pedal I used to use.  These adapters have a
plug
the fits the pedals but I doubt that they make a male/female plug like
the
ones used to connect the 9v. batteries.  Can you enlighten me a little
more
about these wall warts?

 

I've found that the battery life on my Kinder AFB+ is very inconsistent.
It
varies based on quality of the batteries I use.  Sometimes they last for
weeks and sometimes they're shot after only a few playing sessions.  I
tried
the lithium batteries and they seemed to really suck - maybe too much
power?


 

That's the one criticism of the Kinder box I have; two actually.  Why he
couldn't put power adapter plug(s) on it and maybe a on/off switch I
don't
know.  Having to always unplug the whole shebang is kind of stupid.

 

Sam Blancato, Pittsburgh

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