fyi... my adapters were 9vac 1a or 1000ma. mine was a custom bestronics 25' cable with a 7 pin xlr on one end and a 7pin midi on the other. new one i made from bestronics cable, brand new xlr 7 pin, and 7pin midi.
Can we get a word from FAS on the current rating of the bead?
If I know the rating, I can easily measure the current consumption of the controller when using the adapter, and know if I can use the 7 pin or not...
It's not the voltage that matters here, it's the current. Jeff at LF believes that the ferrite bead used here has a 1A rating. So if you exceed 1A for any length of time, the bead will pop whether you're using 9V, 12V, or 20V.
I hope to talk to Fractal Support today, and believe me, I'll push hard to have this issue more proactively warned about, and also suggest that a more robust part might be the best solution in future build specs.
As for the cable, I wonder what gauge the wires are in the Rocktron cables? Length may matter, too, since the longer the lead is the less current capacity it has for a given gauge. I got a pair of 30' Rocktron cables cheap, and there's an advantage to using stock cables like this if possible: they're relatively cheap and readily available. But if it would be better to get a single, reliable but relatively expensive custom cable, it might be worth it. If the wires in the Rocktron are the typical 24 gauge like for data, I think that 1A exceeds the recommended ampacity for that wire. It'd be interesting to see what the voltage drop was at the controller end of the cable, to see how much current is being converted to heat over the length of the cable. But the Rocktron has molded ends, so...
Javajunkie, I'm curious what Best-Tronics cables you've used, and whether they have cable gauges associated?
From Fractal:
"The phantom power jack is rated at 1A. If your pedal draws more than that you risk burning up the EMI suppression beads."
I got the same word, along with their expressed surprise that any board would require more current than an amp. That surprise helps me understand why they had not included this current limitation in their documents anywhere. I wonder what the RJM Mastermind might draw?
Agreed.Good news in a way. I hope they'll also come to regard this as an unnecessary limitation and might have future builds accommodate more current, too.
Agreed.
I would like to hear them weigh in on it and advise if there was a specific reason the phantom jack wasn't just hard wired to the midi pins as a pass through or if the bead is there to protect something.
The 1a thing still doesnt explain my situation.. mine power supplies were only 1a, because that is what the LFJR required and my FX1 used as well, i dont own one with more amps. It also cant draw more than what the power supply produces. I'm assuming there is a tolerance on that part and if it's under and you hit it with one amp... pop. I'm going to guess that is what it was. Not a huge deal, I just spent the better part of a week figuring it out, rewiring my panel, and 3 power supplies. That part would also seem like a prime candidate for a replaceable fuse.
To be safe i wouldnt even use the phantom power on the axe2 at all. Make a custom cable.