Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Walter Haapapuro on October 7, 2016 at 3:21am

As a newbie I think it sounds good. No real hum/his unless the volume is dimed and then you get fairly nice/loud overdrive when you play. Good for practicing or playing with friends.

Permalink Reply by Preston J. Laisure on November 20, 2016 at 10:32am

Thanks to your introducing these amp units to our group, I get to build a cabinet for one. I think Jon ordered 5 kits for our club. Thanks for the pictures here, it was a good reminder. I have only built a CBG box amp/speaker with a "Gitty" kit one before, this will be totally different. Was there a way to make it battery powered?

Permalink Reply by Preston J. Laisure on November 20, 2016 at 1:43pm

No offense intended, but since I have actually seen & heard Walter's amps and he told us of some mod's he had made, I was hoping for his input. Plus these are 5 watt amps.

 

Permalink Reply by Walter Haapapuro on November 20, 2016 at 2:31pm

Wayfinder knows what he is talking about. The Footnote has a higher output so 9V batteries are a no go. I've read about people using 12V sealed lead acid batteries, they will supply higher amps and greater head room. AA, C, and D will work but you will need six of them and I estimate that the average draw is half an Amp so AA's would last maybe five hours. Doubling them up so you have six in parallel would help but that would be a lot of batteries. Lithium ion batteries would work, two of them would give you 8.4 volts fresh off the charger and three would give you 12.6 volts. A good size to use is called 18650. Lithium ion batteries need special care and feeding and you want to use the 'protected' type. The easiest, longest running, but most expensive option is a 12 volt sealed lead acid battery. The absolute key thing is to insure that you are matching polarity with the amps power jack.
Walt

Permalink Reply by Walter Haapapuro on November 20, 2016 at 3:52pm

You got 20 amps! I look forward to seeing them on your Etsy store.

Permalink Reply by Walter Haapapuro on November 20, 2016 at 4:20pm

PartsExpress did a Footnote amp build in their winter catalog. Let me know when you are listening on Etsy, I'm excited to see how you house them.
Walt

Permalink Reply by Walter Haapapuro on November 20, 2016 at 5:16pm

I'm glad you are on the mend. I'm sorry I didn't realize you were hurt. When you hurt your hands they remind about it regularly!

Permalink Reply by Preston J. Laisure on November 21, 2016 at 1:15am

I guess a more exact question is: should there be a suggested factory battery holder/connection to go with the kit? My VOX cube has a battery mount & a transformer female connection, which allows me to be given the choice, of which the footnote does not(as is).

Permalink Reply by Walter Haapapuro on November 21, 2016 at 12:20pm

Parts Express: 140-489 12 volt battery $14.98; 090-489 jack with 6' cord, $1.59; 095-806 spade connectors, $4.95
To verify polarity make all of your battery connections to the spades and cord and use a multi meter to check the barrel polarity. Then compare that to the polarity of the supplied wall wart/power supply barrel.
Walt

Permalink Reply by Walter Haapapuro on November 22, 2016 at 11:45am

I see that the Parts Express website is not being very cooperative.
Power-Sonic PS-1250F2 Sealed Lead Acid Battery 12V 5Ah
Gold 18-16 AWG 1/4" Female Disconnect 5 Pair
Parts Express 2.1mm x 5.5mm x 11.2mm DC Plug with 6 ft. Cord

Permalink Reply by Walter Haapapuro on November 22, 2016 at 4:39pm

I guesstimate that the 12 volt lead acid battery would play for 10 hours and you could recharge it with a car battery charger (you would need to watch it closely) there are better options, Grip Tools 38020 12V Automatic Battery Float Charger, $14.50
With six D cell batteries you might get 30 hours of play. Get the Parts Express 4 D cell battery holder, 2 D cell battery holder, and wire them in series. You can use two Snap-type Battery Clip with Wire Leads for 9V Batteries & Battery Holders along with the DC jack with 6' cord. As always, test the polarity before you plug it into the amp!

Permalink Reply by Gene Jones on December 6, 2016 at 4:32pm

Any advice on what to look for in a 12v wall wart for this setup, I know it has to be center negative, I just get lost in the amp,milliamp,Hz, thing as they seem to vary a lot from one to another and I know zero about electronics.

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