So I ordered some cheap pedals from Aliexpress on Singles Day (Chinese Black Friday apparently) and the first one has arrived...
It's a Caline Big Dipper pitch shifter. It was less than £30 so I was not expecting much to be fair, but I've fired it up tonight and it's already seemingly fried without even being used.
I had to use a straight angled power supply as the right angled one wouldn't go in, the input seems to be slightly recessed. When I plugged it in, the LED came on then quickly went off and now it smells burny.
I can't get the PCB to move so can't see the input barrel therefore also assume I can't replace it easily. Is it doomed before I've even begun?
I've got another octaver, a looper and a delay still to come so I'm dreading the pile of crap I've acquired on impulse
https://i.imgur.com/E5Xl9hQ.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/cxdRLr2.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/oUZ0A2O.jpgThanks
Comments
That was my second thought, well the voltage rather than the diode as I don't know what that is really. But no, it's a 9v DigiTech power supply that I normally use without issue with a Polara so I've no idea.
This was the most expensive (well least cheap) one I bought so it's basically knocked out the savings made on the others by failing so soon. I'll never learn
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I suppose not on a sub £30 pedal.
Well, a sub £30 painted metal box that smells of burn...
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youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
it may also be that the sleeve of the jack was shorting on the side of the case/enclosure rather than sitting in the jack socket neatly.
as someone above mentioned, the diode will usually pop before any serious harm can be done, effectively cutting power supply so current can't reach sensitive bits.
if you can locate and replace that diode (with whatever it was) you may find it's all good.
but that jack socket being out of line with the casing is something you may need to deal with. usually you can fine tune their posiition (if they are out of line) by adding-subtracting washers to whatever is holding it in place. usually the pots/3pdt/jacksockets hold the board in place.
(you will need to remove knobs, unscrew bolts on pots,3pdt and jacksockets to get the board out).
if you want to fix it, then maybe get the whole thing out of the box and post another pic for some group feedback. although bear in mind that if you are intending to send it back that may invalidate your warranty.
If the LED came on, even briefly, the polarity was correct.
Any '9V' power supply, even a completely unregulated one, should not put out more than 13.5V unloaded, which is not likely to be enough to fry a 9V pedal unless it's extremely badly designed.
It won't be a short between the PSU plug and the casing because that would short out the power supply not the pedal, and the LED wouldn't come on.
So I would send it back as faulty for a refund. (Not replacement, if possible,)
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Will try and fix it if I can though as that will man a free pedal!
soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic