Korg Forums

I can't get an answer from Korg on this one. Hoping the forum can help me. I've also tried searching the forums.

Both of these units internally take 4x 1.5V batteries. Thats 6V but the external power connector is only rated at 4.5V (3x AA).

Does anyone know if the internal battery runs through a regulator (seems unlikely) ??

In any case I want to power the units from a much larger capacity external 6V battery pack through the external connector.
Does anyone know if I'm damaging the units by doing this ?

Cheers...

OK. going to answer my own question..
at least it'll be here for others if they need it.

There is in fact an internal dual voltage regulator. It supplies the internal DSP with 3.3 V and the second output may be adjusted from 0.8 to 3.3V and might be set to 1.8V for the DSP - but not sure.

Its a BA30E00W and its new. Datasheet here:
http://jp.ic-on-line.cn/IOL_BA30E00WHFP ... 216630.htm

So that looks like you can power the unit with anything nominally over 4.5 volts.

FYI - mods and internal images for Kaossilator are here:
http://kaossilator.wordpress.com/

does this mean that I can use a 6V power plug without having to worry about damaging my kaossilator?

It certainly looks like you can - but I have not traced the circuit, nor have I tried it yet.
I will be soon though. I will post my result.

Thanks for the quick reply! Have you tried to trace the circuit yet?

I just found a 4.5V power connector but it has 500mA as opposed to the 300mA of the original Korg one. Could this be a problem?

There is no problem with a replacement power supply having a greater power/amp capacity than the original. You can take the 300mA of the original to be a minimum capacity for the power supply. The kaossilator will not draw more current than it needs when you supply the correct voltage. If the voltage is too high and the current too big, you will end up frying the regulator and the whole thing will go up in smoke. Get the voltage right, the polarity right, with a minimum of 300mA, and you're good to go.

By the way, four 1.5V batteries does not equal 6V. The 1.5V rating on the batteries is a nominal voltage - not an actual voltage. The actual voltage is a curve that starts at a higher voltage and drops due to load, charge level, temperature and other factors. The reason for the voltage regulator is to provide an internal voltage that is more stable than what the batteries provide directly. The original AC-DC adapter should have internal regulation that allows it to supply a constant 4.5V DC, therefore a regulator may not be on the DC input. The DC input on many devices IS NOT INTERNALLY REGULATED, even a when a regulator is used for the batteries. If you supply too high of a voltage to the DC input, you have a good chance of frying the device.

The way a manufacturer usually indicates if a range of voltages is permitted is to specifically list the range on the DC input, such as 4V-9V DC. If it lists a specific voltage and not a range, you should always provide a clean, regulated voltage that matches what is given, at least unless you have traced the circuit yourself or otherwise know for a fact that you can supply a different voltage.

Alright, thats all I needed to know. Thanks for the detailed response!

I just bought this adapter and it works great with the Kaossilator:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie ... 243wt_1006

The brand is Wellson, the item name is "500mA Deluxe Universal AC Adaptor". Model WA-89

Great thread - thanks for the info.