Have I bought a compromised Boss GT-6B?

[bedroommuso]

I recently bought a GT6-B via postage. After probing the seller over email, and be assured that it was 'in excellent condition' and 'came with everything' I now find out that the power supply is a non-original unit.

Turns out it's a 12V power supply, of unknown milliamps, when it should be a Boss BRU-120 putting out 14V & 800ma.

I can't find basically any details on the said power supply, except the voltage but it's an In-Li YL.41-10-12V.

Would running the GT-6B at 12V instead of 14V, over an indiscriminate number of years have potentially damaged anything?

Unfortunately the seller has refused to accept the unit for return, or chipping in for a new adapter, insisting that it's a non-issue because 'everything worked fine' for him, and that 'I didn't ask specifically if it had an original adapter'..

[line6man]

Undervoltage is bad, but depending on the power supply design, voltage may or may not be regulated. I would personally look into disputing the seller, depending on how you arranged the transaction.

[bedroommuso]

Originally Posted by line6man

Undervoltage is bad, but depending on the power supply design, voltage may or may not be regulated. I would personally look into disputing the seller, depending on how you arranged the transaction.

I'm not sure I have any avenue to dispute the seller - it was on ebay and he offered to go outside of ebay for cheaper.. should've been a warning sign. He had 125+ 100% feedback and I didn't think anything of it, but upon looking again, that was 100% feedback as a buyer only, not one single feedback as a seller. Just effing bad luck..

[caeman]

Is the purchase of an actual Boss power supply beyond your means?

If you want to press the issue, and you paid via PayPal, you could file a complaint against the seller.

[mgalat]

Yeah, I would have to say that putting in a complaint isn't worth the $25 it will take to buy a power supply off ebay.

If the unit is still working, then it probably hasn't suffered any damage that undervoltage would cause.

[pacojas]

line voltage will naturally fluctuate + or - a few volts, so i think the unit will be fine. it will perform less than optimal without the stock PS, though.

[MrLenny1]

Digital gear will work with lower voltage without degrading components.
If voltage was too low the BOSS would not work.
+1 with mgalat's comment on if the unit is working it has not suffered any damage.
Peace of mind would be a new BOSS unit.

[Crater]

If the unit works fine I'd forget about the 2 missing volts and go on down the road.

[bedroommuso]

Originally Posted by mgalat

Yeah, I would have to say that putting in a complaint isn't worth the $25 it will take to buy a power supply off ebay.

Originally Posted by caeman

Is the purchase of an actual Boss power supply beyond your means?

Originally Posted by Crater

If the unit works fine I'd forget about the 2 missing volts and go on down the road.

Thanks for all the comments.

Not to complicate the issue, but I can't get out of this as cheap as $25 I don't believe. I'm located in Australia, and need a 240V supply. As usual we get stiffed on prices here, and the cheapest replacement power supply I can find rated equivalently is $62.50 AU posted. Not to complain but I paid about market value for the GT-6B here, and with footing the power supply bill I consider that I have been ripped off price wise.

Can anyone recommend a cheaper alternative, and is possible to run a 120V US unit and just use a prong changer?

Originally Posted by MrLenny1

+1 with mgalat's comment on if the unit is working it has not suffered any damage.

If the current adapter is regulated or unregulated etc., does that any bearing on whether any damaged may have been caused?
Because I can't tell based on what's written on the adapter if it is or not.

[Darknut]

Put a volt meter on the PS you have & see what its actually putting out ...

Edit ... Just talked to my cousin who is a repair tech ... he says running it at 12v most likey won't hurt it but it will prob have less head room.

found these

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BOSS-BRC-120...item1c2d86c94b

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AC-Adapter-F...item51a42d2f52

[cybersnyder]

You're kinda screwed. Even filing a complaint may not work since you admittedly went outside of eBay to do the deal. PayPal is eBay and they don't like it when buyers/sellers work around the system to bypass their fees.

I think your best course of action is to get a legit Boss power supply from a retailer that allows returns. The last thing you want to do is get a cheap power supply that will end up burning out the board. If the legit power supply doesn't work, then the GT-6B doesn't work and you can return the power supply. The downside is that you're out the money spent on the GT-6B.

We in the US sometimes forget how good we have it when it comes to cheap music gear. My daughter is going to Spain in the Spring for a Spanish class trip and I was devising an evil plan to send along an extra suitcase of effects. Nah, can't do that to her.

[bedroommuso]

Originally Posted by Darknut

Put a volt meter on the PS you have & see what its actually putting out ...

Edit ... Just talked to my cousin who is a repair tech ... he says running it at 12v most likey won't hurt it but it will prob have less head room.

found these

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BOSS-BRC-120...item1c2d86c94b

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AC-Adapter-F...item51a42d2f52

Thanks, appreciate you asking your techie cousin! Also, these are fairly decently priced adapters, good finding, only trouble is that I need 240 volt one. Grr..

Originally Posted by cybersnyder

You're kinda screwed. Even filing a complaint may not work since you admittedly went outside of eBay to do the deal. PayPal is eBay and they don't like it when buyers/sellers work around the system to bypass their fees.

Yes, most definitely understand. Actually, it was the buyers idea to go outside of ebay this time.. I had originally put an offer over ebay but had received communication from him over email. I thought, as I basically have it in writing, reporting him for doing this but don't really know if it's worth it.

[mgalat]

Sorry that I didn't look at your location. That changes a lot.

This is one of those deals where something probably won't ever go wrong (with using the lower voltage power supply), but there's always that chance....