AC-DC adapter - fixing problem (damaged cord)

[slidincharlie (Carlo P)]

Both my AC-DC adapters got damaged right in the spot where the cord gets bent during storage, that is where it comes out of the enclosure
I was able to fix the Boss adapter because the enclosure is kept closed with four simple screws. There was already a short between the naked copper threads.
But the EH adapter for my Holy Grail pedal is sealed and I cannot open it to access the hidden part of the cord and fix it (see picture below).
What do you guys suggest? Is there a way to open such enclosure?
Otherwise I'll have to find some micro-surgery fix...

[Mark Black]

My pet technique (born of "well - nothing to lose" thinking) is to hold the adapter in the palm of my hand with a seam facing up and rap on the seam with a small hammer to flex & break the bond. Rotate and do all sides as well as the corners. The key seems to be short sharp blows and the holding in the hand allows enough give to (hopefully) keep the plastic from breaking in a big way.

You can hear & feel the difference when a seam starts to give way, and once started just work it around from there. Corners are usually toughest.

I have maybe an 80% or so success rate using that method, and will cut it open using a hacksaw along the seams as a last resort. Occasionally the beating will cause a primary wire to break, but not usually.

If someone has a less-caveman more-clever approach I would love to hear about it as well.

[slidincharlie (Carlo P)]

Thanks Mark.
Using a thin-blade saw seems a bit more promising though... hammering sounds a bit too rough...

[oc disorder]

If you can see at the seam ,which one overlaps on the outside , I then place the
adapter in a wide jaw wood vice that squeezes on the inner seam then I use a sharp
flat blade screwdriver to seperate the edges by tapping it in.
You can then usually run it along to the corners which are often the toughest so
either a sharp blade stanley knife (Aust, think you call them box cutters in USA)
or fine saw to cut them if they can't be pried apart .
Worst case where it all shatters..can rebuild in a empty enclosure that Jaycar in Aust
sell
3 Pin Plug Pack Case - Jaycar Electronics
or any suitable insulated enclosure with a mains power plug and lead added .
Some of the adapters seem to have outrageous prices here which can make it worth while.
Has any one noticed with the new switchmode PSU's that they can produce noise on their own.... harmonics of the switching freq ?
Noticed in the stores the Iron ones (with stepdown transformer) are gradually becoming
extinct !

[Ronsonic]

Thanks Mark.
Using a thin-blade saw seems a bit more promising though... hammering sounds a bit too rough...

Hammering is for fancy boys, I just beat them on the floor. Seriously, beating them open is less destructive than sawing. You aren't removing material and there's little chance of harming anything inside. When you pound the things apart you just glue the halves back together. There's nothing there to glue if you saw.

Besides, it's a wall wart. Don't let it get ideas above its station.

[slidincharlie (Carlo P)]

At the end of the story I have left the case untouched.
I have used a thin piece of plastic to keep the two cord wires apart and poured silicone cement to isolate exposed threads and keep the thing stable. Then a couple pieces electrician rubber tape to hold everthing together
Seems robust enough to last quite a bit now.
Anyway I find really irritating that such items are built in so flimsy a way... Pedal effects 'built as tanks' yet provided with such a weak piece of equipment...
Thanks everybody,
Carlo

[R.G.]

...or any suitable insulated enclosure with a mains power plug and lead added .

The penalty for doing this is that you may also be building in electrical safety hazards unless you're experienced with safety specifications. I don't know about Oz, but some countries have penalties for this if you cause damage this way. Not likely, but a danger nevertheless; perhaps years after you've done it and maybe given it away or sold it.

Has any one noticed with the new switchmode PSU's that they can produce noise on their own.... harmonics of the switching freq ?

Yes. I've tested many of the switching power supplies sold to power pedals, and they do indeed have problems with switching noise, whining, and other issues.

As an up-front disclosure, I do work for Visual Sound, so factor that into what I say about this. Part of what I do is work on any changes or improvements to the 1Spot, so I'm familiar with the issues.

The Visual Sound 1Spot adapter was developed over a period of about a year (way back when it was first developed - it's been marketed for years) specifically to NOT do this. It was the first switching power adapter specifically designed for guitar pedals, and has attracted many imitators. But they do not, in general, cause whining or distortion with pedals. The final test every 1Spot gets before it's stuffed into a box at the manufacturer is a listening test for whine using a particularly noise-prone high gain commercial distortion pedal. If they whine, they go in the bucket, not the box.

As always, the proof is when it gets into your hands. I suggest you go try it with your pedals at a dealer before you buy one. I won't try to convince you that they're perfect. But they have pleased, and continue to please some very picky touring and studio pros. They are not expensive. In the USA, a combo pack with 1Spot and adapter cables is under US$30. I don't know what they are in Australia - customs, taxes, etc. change the prices. It might be interesting for you to try one next time you're in a dealer. Don't buy it if you don't like it.

Noticed in the stores the Iron ones (with stepdown transformer) are gradually becoming extinct !

That's because our governments have decided that we are not to be allowed to have them. The USA state of California got all upset that plug-in adapters use idling current even when they are not powering whatever they power. This so-called "vampire power" offended them as wasteful, so they wrote power efficiency legislation making it illegal to sell plug in adapters with idling power greater than thus-and-such, and set up the numbers so that only switching power supplies can qualify. I believe other countries have followed their lead, and the manufacturers dutifully decided not to make anything but switchers.

As a matter of principle, I object to this kind of manipulation, and was hoping that the cell phone makers would make and sell cell phones in California but simply leave the wall chargers out of the box, but that of course didn't happen.

But that's why they're going extinct. They didn't die. They were murdered.

[JHow]

...This so-called "vampire power" offended them as wasteful, so they wrote power efficiency legislation making it illegal to sell plug in adapters with idling power greater than thus-and-such...

Aided and abetted by the Utilities, I'm sure. I won't disclose the situation, but I was listening to a utility industry personality complaining just last week about the horrible wastefulness of consumer electronics. Wait until they get their "smart grid" up and running.

[Ronsonic]

Aided and abetted by the Utilities, I'm sure. I won't disclose the situation, but I was listening to a utility industry personality complaining just last week about the horrible wastefulness of consumer electronics. Wait until they get their "smart grid" up and running.

Y'know, I will agree that an amazing amount of power is wasted on standby LEDs and the circuitry they represent. The instant-on feature has costs. But our wall warts are not the problem.

[Steve Conner]

RG, do the 1 Spots get tested for whine at the line voltage of their target market? And did you actually design the guts of the switching adapter, or just try a bunch of Chinese ones till you found the quietest one?