Redwitch Rechargeable Pedals.

[petemoore]

  Interesting experiment.
     

[twabelljr]

These batteries (12v) will run a drill / driver for days before needing a recharge. http://www.milwaukeetool.com/tools/cordless-tools/batteries/batteries-12-volt/m12-lithium-ion-battery/48-11-2401 They are very small and use a "smart" charger so you can recharge them anytime without them being fully dead, and they do recharge fast. I know there are many types available at different voltages, but I have experience with this battery and it is impressive. I'm sure this has been discussed before but building an adapter to use these batteries with pedals would seem to work well. If you do not want to use a plug in ac adapter power supply a fully charged battery or two like this in a small box would should run more than a few pedals for quite some time. Some outlets could be regulated to 9v, others left at 12v? The only cables needed to pedalboard would be guitar in and out to amp.
Has anybody tried something like this yet? Batteries have a 2 year warranty! This one has a wierd shape (not flat and regtangular like the old Makita batteries) but could be easily connected to with a bit of creativity.
9V "stick" type Makitas http://www.makita.com/en-us/Modules/Accessories/AccessoryDetails.aspx?ID=34109

[petemoore]

  Here's the specs ! 
  Specifications

Voltage  12V 
Battery Type  LITHIUM-ION 
Warranty  2 year 
Weight  .4 lbs 

  Such as they are, .4 Lbs is very useful information...lol.
  I attempted and failed to get some specifications on what I consider to be the most derstood components in the house [that's an 'understood' without the 'un' pun]. The distributor representatives only Worx here, doesn't know anything about the specs or anything except can sell Li-Ion weedeater. I tried to get it actually worx tho, I experienced extremely limited service and great difficultly to manage a electron discharge into weedhead motor. I recieved a spare 18v li-ion to attempt to make the things work from Worx, so not a total loss, 2 superbatteries 'n charger would be cooler if it didn't require ''delving into violations'' to use them [ie requires funky pins-poked-into the +/- slide-slots to get power out, there are like 8 conductor-slots [fortunately I found + and - were ''logically'' placed at the L/R end positions, and I just happened to have some semi-suitable 'poker pins' to contact the wiper/output slots.
  From what I've been able to allude to vaguely, there are no spec sheets on these, the most volatile components I know of, and they require somethings that 'normal' batteries don't require. Or these requirements have been bestowed upon them by the DDT ?
  They are dedicated to their accessory unit's, it can be assumed they have specific charge and discharge rates. You are not intended to understand them well enough to do anything else with them.
  IME very limited knowledge and small experience level, they vary from unit to unit, models may have very different applications and current flow rates for the various design intentions, hence require 'this' [smart charger] and 'that' [thing they power that doesn't short or overcurrent the output], if not 'the other' [some kind of protection to everything outside the cell from energies which are contained inside the cell].

[twabelljr]

They are oddly shaped and would be difficult to adapt to. I was just wondering if anyone has ever tried to make a power supply using this type of battery.? And to get back O.T. those pedals are small and look like they could be a cell phone and an effect pedal in one unit.

[petemoore]

  I supply power w 18v Li-ion to LM3886 amp. Works great.
  The weedeater battery, dinkster/monster in terms of weight-size Vs. power ouput, lion batt.
  Something to tune of no less than 10v [the Amp has 12v cutoff point], and use their charger.
  Interesting connector of battery has female lug recievers in a 3'' row contained between/under plastic guards, an 8pin multi-connect slide-dock affair.
  The extra pins are for ? probably charging monitor and discharge limiter.
  Can't recommend it...I used pins from..salvage that happened to be the right width and the depth is close enough..but that is wierd/unique/keep away from children, pets, other unknowns. And remember to disconnect and recharge the battery more often than needed [hopefully if the amp ever does a low-volt shutoff].
  Also can't recommend it because I attempted to get small tidbits of information [beyond advertisement and simple user manual info], couldn't get any specs on the battery or the charger or anything about the amperage of the weedeater motor. Fierce when it worked 3 tiny bits with lots of nursing, I twice got 20minutes of thick weed and tall grass cutting out of a charge, other full charges failed to trip the electronics in the handle and start the motor. Attempting to weedeat got time consuming and boring so I decided a new application for the measured >18vdc battery would be altered. Ran the amp for 3 days straight during the initial test run, it outlasted the MP3 charge.

[rosscocean]

If they sound good then fair enough, but surely it'd be better to use a power supply and the mains power be greener. I play a lot but when compared to runnng a valve amp, a computer, lights, tv, the kettle etc... an effect pedal is just a drop in the ocean?!  A better idea would be a green power supply.

[Scruffie]

If they sound good then fair enough, but surely it'd be better to use a power supply and the mains power be greener. I play a lot but when compared to runnng a valve amp, a computer, lights, tv, the kettle etc... an effect pedal is just a drop in the ocean?!  A better idea would be a green power supply.

Read my Earlier Posts

Have Redwitch themselves actually used the word green yet or are we just assuming that was the intention? I don't think of my mobile phone as green just because it has its own battery and I don't have to use AAs.

Might be a pain for the average player and not a DIYer though... personally i've come up with 2 options for myself, DC jacks connected to Battery snaps & The Big Battery Pack for the whole board option.

However, Sometimes yes I don't wanna use a power supply though and that's why I still put batteries in my pedals in the first place, if I just wanna take a few boxes to a quick jam or just wanna break out some pedals to play for fun on my practice amp for an hour, I don't want a whole pedalboard set up or seperate power supply, or even to have to find a wall socket, plug and play just makes life easier.

Instant gratification, it will always be there and batteries provide it to those who choose it.

At gigs, yeah I mean, without wall power, how can you even play that gig through an amp so i'd use power supplies there but at home, sometimes I just don't want that hassle and even at gigs, less worry about there being enough sockets for my board and I hate excess wire.

They're not extinct in designs for a reason, they're phased out for greener purposes. I do not believe Redwitch are tapping the green market here, they are just offering something a bit simpler, no need for a charger, if you like the pedal enough to buy it, you just saved yourself some hassle and as you need a 9V DC Jack to charge them, they're kinda encouraging people to get one that don't anyway.

Redwitch haven't yet used the word green as far as i'm aware, we're just assuming.

And if you're gunna use batteries, then it coming with a decent rechargeable cell that can be charged from your usual power supply is probably greener than buying rechargeable batteries and the recharger anyway.

[runmikeyrun]

wow, that's nuts- they now have 5000 mah batteries for RC cars... mine were 1700 mah, i only got a good 10 mins of run time, then back on the charger for another 20.  I wonder how long an RC car will run on a 5000 mah battery?