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Battery powering a Phil Jones Double Four
- Thread starter CauliColin
- Start date
So...after reading this whole thread,,,and seeing the 20v power tool batteries being used...is there a way to use a Ryobi 40v battery?
I already found the shoe for it on eBay, but don't know how to go about lowering the voltage.
Not sure if the juice is worth the squeeze on this idea.
I already found the shoe for it on eBay, but don't know how to go about lowering the voltage.
Not sure if the juice is worth the squeeze on this idea.
Yes! You buy the Ryobi 40V 300w pure sine wave Inverter and plug your normal PJ power supply into that!So...after reading this whole thread,,,and seeing the 20v power tool batteries being used...is there a way to use a Ryobi 40v battery?
I already found the shoe for it on eBay, but don't know how to go about lowering the voltage.
Not sure if the juice is worth the squeeze on this idea.
HOLY CRAP!
Home Depot card just took a $140 hit (damned taxes).
And yet, I am still gonna get a power bank to Velcro to the side of the amp!
Home Depot card just took a $140 hit (damned taxes).
And yet, I am still gonna get a power bank to Velcro to the side of the amp!
Here I go down the rabbit hole. Have a double four on the way from TB Classifieds and catching up on this thread to find a good battery solution for ~ 4 hours play time. This will be used for a recurring jam session in a public park. Super fun time, was borrowing a Roland micro cube bass which honestly did pretty well but I think the cost difference to upgrade the sound to a PJ setup will be worth it.
Only power tool batteries I have already are 18v Ryobi. I prefer the smaller laptop battery setups from earlier in this thread for size/easy mounting.
Only power tool batteries I have already are 18v Ryobi. I prefer the smaller laptop battery setups from earlier in this thread for size/easy mounting.
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Micro Cubes are ok. You’ll forget all about it once you play through a Double Four. Fantastic amp with great low end and beautifully clean tone! I love mine!
I'm waiting for an Anker Prime 20000mAh power bank to arrive this weekend. Hoping it will do the trick for my newly imported D4+.
Keep us updated! I’m currently looking for a good solution and would prefer the anker over a power tool battery
Same, I intend to use the Anker for my phone, laptop, D4+, and other various devices (not all at once).
Ok big disclaimer: I have a Double Four Plus. It has native USB-C 20 volt power input. (And optional AC power input.) My experiences will not apply directly to a Double Four. (Ok, it might, if the conversion cable at the end works. )
My tests with the new Anker Prime 20000mAh power bank show this as a good pairing. I played bass along for 2 hours with Bluetooth streaming and my bass at bedroom/practice volumes (master volume between 9 and 12 o'clock). The Anker display reached 4 watts only briefly. The rest of the time it was in the high 3s. When done, the battery said 88%, and predicted I could go another 12 hours at that rate.
Today, I brought the D4+ outside to serve as a boom box while doing some yard work. I cranked it up accordingly, maybe around 2 o'clock. Basically, at a slightly obnoxious level.
I saw the power draw get up to 7 watts, and the time left showing 5 hours. It's fun to listen to music in the D4+, as the bass comes through nicely. After 4+ hours of use, and an hour of loud use, I still have 77% left.
It is important to know that the "time left" display is based on how much power is being drawn at the time of display.
The Anker (albeit expensive) is really versatile. It recharges stupid fast if you've got a 100 watt charger.
I bought it to use with the D4+, my cell phone, and my work laptop. (All USB-C powered.) I have a personal laptop that's 45 watt 19.5v charging through a 4.5mm barrel plug. I found a converter cable on Amazon. A similar cable might work for a D4.
My tests with the new Anker Prime 20000mAh power bank show this as a good pairing. I played bass along for 2 hours with Bluetooth streaming and my bass at bedroom/practice volumes (master volume between 9 and 12 o'clock). The Anker display reached 4 watts only briefly. The rest of the time it was in the high 3s. When done, the battery said 88%, and predicted I could go another 12 hours at that rate.
Today, I brought the D4+ outside to serve as a boom box while doing some yard work. I cranked it up accordingly, maybe around 2 o'clock. Basically, at a slightly obnoxious level.
I saw the power draw get up to 7 watts, and the time left showing 5 hours. It's fun to listen to music in the D4+, as the bass comes through nicely. After 4+ hours of use, and an hour of loud use, I still have 77% left.
It is important to know that the "time left" display is based on how much power is being drawn at the time of display.
The Anker (albeit expensive) is really versatile. It recharges stupid fast if you've got a 100 watt charger.
I bought it to use with the D4+, my cell phone, and my work laptop. (All USB-C powered.) I have a personal laptop that's 45 watt 19.5v charging through a 4.5mm barrel plug. I found a converter cable on Amazon. A similar cable might work for a D4.
Your post reminded me - I had a similar experience where it seemed I needed to plug into AC to be able to get the Krisdonia power bank to power on again. In my case it was that I wasn't waiting long enough with the power button pressed and held for the unit to turn on. I think I was revved up during practice and just impatient. It's been a great thing for me since then - I haven't seen the battery shut down when plugged into the amp at all, so I hope you can get that sorted.
I picked up this combo last week for use with my BG75 as well as Macbook Pro when traveling:
Anker 737 power bank PowerCore 24K A1289
USB-C to 5.5mm power cable
Voltage readings from Fluke multimeter:
PJB AC adapter: 19.96V
USB-C/5.5mm cable from Anker 737: 20.26V
USB-C/5.5mm cable from Apple 140W AC adapter: 20.56V
The barrel on the PJB adapter is 10mm while the USB-C/5.5mm has a 12mm barrel. Not ideal, but still works for power delivery. Would definitely look at getting another cable as a backup and/or a USB-C female to 5.5mm adapter since the battery includes a 100W USB-C power cable for charging and USB-C cables are a lot easier to find in a pinch.
The display on the Anker shows power draw per port, percentage remaining, and estimated time remaining, which I found enlightening since I had been conservatively using the input ratings on the amp (20V @ 2.75A=55W) to estimate battery needs, despite most reports of much longer battery life. I have only been playing it at home solo but here's what the battery is reporting for power draw:
BG75 turned on, doing nothing: 4.8W
Input select "high", input level max, EQ all 12noon, master volume max:
• J-bass, passive: 5-8W, some peaks above 10W (similar draw for U-bass with active onboard preamp)
• J-bass, active: 9-12W, peaks around 20W (mostly lower notes and multi-stops)
The battery display estimates about 10-12hrs of playing time on a full charge, which seems about right based on the 86.4Wh capacity, though the Anker Troubleshooting page has this caveat:
"Usually, an external battery could supply 60% of power to other devices. Approximately 40% of the battery capacity is lost in circuit heat and voltage conversions. A fully charged PowerCore 24000 can only offer 13000-14000mAh battery capacity to your devices."
So if the usable capacity is more like 50Wh, then playing time may be more reliably around 6-7hrs at 7-8W draw, which is still enough for a couple sessions of what I usually play but I might consider picking up another one if I were at an off-grid music weekend. With the knowledge gleaned from this battery's display, though, I'd save some money next time by going with a lower max output- maybe as low as 50W- and a simpler battery gauge, or possibly also smaller capacity for portability (the 737 is too squarish to fit in the BG75 handle).
Anker 737 power bank PowerCore 24K A1289
USB-C to 5.5mm power cable
Voltage readings from Fluke multimeter:
PJB AC adapter: 19.96V
USB-C/5.5mm cable from Anker 737: 20.26V
USB-C/5.5mm cable from Apple 140W AC adapter: 20.56V
The barrel on the PJB adapter is 10mm while the USB-C/5.5mm has a 12mm barrel. Not ideal, but still works for power delivery. Would definitely look at getting another cable as a backup and/or a USB-C female to 5.5mm adapter since the battery includes a 100W USB-C power cable for charging and USB-C cables are a lot easier to find in a pinch.
The display on the Anker shows power draw per port, percentage remaining, and estimated time remaining, which I found enlightening since I had been conservatively using the input ratings on the amp (20V @ 2.75A=55W) to estimate battery needs, despite most reports of much longer battery life. I have only been playing it at home solo but here's what the battery is reporting for power draw:
BG75 turned on, doing nothing: 4.8W
Input select "high", input level max, EQ all 12noon, master volume max:
• J-bass, passive: 5-8W, some peaks above 10W (similar draw for U-bass with active onboard preamp)
• J-bass, active: 9-12W, peaks around 20W (mostly lower notes and multi-stops)
The battery display estimates about 10-12hrs of playing time on a full charge, which seems about right based on the 86.4Wh capacity, though the Anker Troubleshooting page has this caveat:
"Usually, an external battery could supply 60% of power to other devices. Approximately 40% of the battery capacity is lost in circuit heat and voltage conversions. A fully charged PowerCore 24000 can only offer 13000-14000mAh battery capacity to your devices."
So if the usable capacity is more like 50Wh, then playing time may be more reliably around 6-7hrs at 7-8W draw, which is still enough for a couple sessions of what I usually play but I might consider picking up another one if I were at an off-grid music weekend. With the knowledge gleaned from this battery's display, though, I'd save some money next time by going with a lower max output- maybe as low as 50W- and a simpler battery gauge, or possibly also smaller capacity for portability (the 737 is too squarish to fit in the BG75 handle).
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Someone talk me out of getting a second 18v drill battery and running my Cali 76 (and maybe a few other?) pedals with my Double Four for park busking.
One thing I've noticed is I can get quite a bit more volume out of my active Spector bass with the double four than my passive short scale Jazz, P Bass, or Kala UBass. If I can run my Cali 76 I could boost the output of those basses into the double four.
This little amp sounds awesome, and love that I can get about 5 hours out of it on a drill battery, what a cool setup.
One thing I've noticed is I can get quite a bit more volume out of my active Spector bass with the double four than my passive short scale Jazz, P Bass, or Kala UBass. If I can run my Cali 76 I could boost the output of those basses into the double four.
This little amp sounds awesome, and love that I can get about 5 hours out of it on a drill battery, what a cool setup.
Are you adjusting the input selector switch when going from passive to active basses? If I'm reading correctly, you use Low for Active, and High for Passive basses.
I am, but even on high with the passive basses it doesn't get quite as loud as I'd like in some settings (always sounds amazing though)
With an active bass I'll sometimes put it on high and dial the input volume down a bit and it will get louder without distorting.
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