Disclaimer...
So before you go and start calling me names; note that this is simply an informational post. I'm not suggesting this is a good (or safe) way to power your external pedals. My goal was to eliminate moving a 1-Spot wall wart from my pedal board when using external pedals with my Line 6 Pod X3-Live multi-effects board during practice with headphones. The X3 Live has a particularly useless compressor for bass so I wanted to use my LM-2B with it, without worrying about batteries.
About the Variax port...
I used to own a Variax bass I used with my Line-6 X3 Live... The Variax bass weighed a metric ton and sounded pretty unremarkable on most of its settings other than synth-bass. I don't play synth bass so I sold it and my back thanked me.
Now I have this nifty Variax port on the back of the multi-effects board... I hate to waste a port and I wanted some power for pedals...
The Variax port uses a standard RJ-45 ethernet connector.
8 volts (yes 8v not 9v and yes I'm aware 9v is the requirement) is available on pin 2 from the Variax, with ground on pin 1. I made a cable that puts the 8v (yes 8v not 9v) to the outside of a barrel connector and ground/earth on center pin... why Boss decided putting the positive voltage on the outside of the barrel connector was a good idea all those years ago is a mystery to me.
This cable was made so that I can attach a daisy chain of barrel connectors, which is what was included with a 1-Spot power supply. .
I tried a couple different pedals with the variax power and very little smoke was seen. Actually no smoke was seen but it might be invisible smoke.
Do you like the fancy knob on my LM-2B? I had to pay extra for that.
Voltage held steady between 7.96v ~ 7.93v whether pedals were turned on or off.
I wouldn't try this with many pedals or with pedals that are picky about their power. Likely the power regulator in the pedals is requesting a bit more amperage than normal given the lower voltage but I don't see the voltage drop when the pedals are turned off and on, so with the miniscule amperage requirements of most pedals the power supply for the Variax is likely okay. If it's not I'd guess Line6 built in some protection... if not, I don't plan to use a Variax in the future anyway so there you have it.
Again, this is not a recommendation, and I don't think I'd be confident to gig with this setup. I don't gig the X3-Live anymore since the volume pedal stopped working temporarily during a particularly hot and humid outdoor gig a number of years ago. Although it revived after being brought out of the sun, my trust in it did not.
Nowadays I simply use the Line-6 X3-Live for practice and use pedals into an amp or DI.
So before you go and start calling me names; note that this is simply an informational post. I'm not suggesting this is a good (or safe) way to power your external pedals. My goal was to eliminate moving a 1-Spot wall wart from my pedal board when using external pedals with my Line 6 Pod X3-Live multi-effects board during practice with headphones. The X3 Live has a particularly useless compressor for bass so I wanted to use my LM-2B with it, without worrying about batteries.
About the Variax port...
I used to own a Variax bass I used with my Line-6 X3 Live... The Variax bass weighed a metric ton and sounded pretty unremarkable on most of its settings other than synth-bass. I don't play synth bass so I sold it and my back thanked me.
Now I have this nifty Variax port on the back of the multi-effects board... I hate to waste a port and I wanted some power for pedals...
The Variax port uses a standard RJ-45 ethernet connector.
8 volts (yes 8v not 9v and yes I'm aware 9v is the requirement) is available on pin 2 from the Variax, with ground on pin 1. I made a cable that puts the 8v (yes 8v not 9v) to the outside of a barrel connector and ground/earth on center pin... why Boss decided putting the positive voltage on the outside of the barrel connector was a good idea all those years ago is a mystery to me.
This cable was made so that I can attach a daisy chain of barrel connectors, which is what was included with a 1-Spot power supply. .
I tried a couple different pedals with the variax power and very little smoke was seen. Actually no smoke was seen but it might be invisible smoke.
Do you like the fancy knob on my LM-2B? I had to pay extra for that.
Voltage held steady between 7.96v ~ 7.93v whether pedals were turned on or off.
I wouldn't try this with many pedals or with pedals that are picky about their power. Likely the power regulator in the pedals is requesting a bit more amperage than normal given the lower voltage but I don't see the voltage drop when the pedals are turned off and on, so with the miniscule amperage requirements of most pedals the power supply for the Variax is likely okay. If it's not I'd guess Line6 built in some protection... if not, I don't plan to use a Variax in the future anyway so there you have it.
Again, this is not a recommendation, and I don't think I'd be confident to gig with this setup. I don't gig the X3-Live anymore since the volume pedal stopped working temporarily during a particularly hot and humid outdoor gig a number of years ago. Although it revived after being brought out of the sun, my trust in it did not.
Nowadays I simply use the Line-6 X3-Live for practice and use pedals into an amp or DI.
