wireless system

[Mlazarus]

I just purchased a LEKADO wireless system. I know i only connects to the regular jack on my series 1.  Does alembic have a cordless system for the xlr jack? It would be nice for one connection is on the XLR port and the other on the DS-5 box, that way i won't have to worry about using the 9-volt battery in order to use this cordless system.

[lbpesq]

The short answer is “no”.  Alembic makes no such unit.  And there is no way to use a wireless to run power from the blue box to the instrument.   Without a hard cable, the Series is running on the two internal 9v batteries.  People have made external battery packs.  There should be an old thread or two about these.  I seem to recall one was made out of an Altoid tin box.   I imagine you could use such a battery pack in conjunction with a wireless so the power pins in the 5-pin jack go to the battery pack, and the signal pins go to the wireless.  Of course you would be running the instrument in mono.  You would need two wireless sets to run in stereo.

Bill, tgo

[Mlazarus]

I figured there is no such device by Alembic to connect to the blue box. That would be cool. Using the normal passive 1/4 jack directly to an amp is the only way, just like a normal bass setup. I just have to remember to monitor the 9-volt batteries after every gig. I use rechargeable 9volt batteries.

[jazzyvee]

Here is the Altoids tin link Bill Referred to.
https://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=734

[Mlazarus]

Thats too much work, but interesting. I'll just change the internal batteries. I used a cordless for the 1st time at a gig In Florence/Northampton, MA last Saturday.

[lbpesq]

I always play wireless.  Aside from the freedom of movement, I haven’t zapped my lips on a mic in many years.  I even had my Custom Further, “Woody”, built without the OBEL because I don’t want all the cables.

Bill, tgo

[bucephylus]

I too use the LEKATO wireless transmitter / receiver for sound checks, and usually the entirety of the first set, for one of my gigs. This could be possible with the Alembic Series I, IF rechargeable 9V batteries were actually 9V. They aren’t. So, my Alembic Series I has been sitting on the sidelines, and not seeing gig time.


I do have an old stereo to mono adapter cable I built many years ago with 2.2kohm resistors to step the signal down for an ordinary 1/4” instrument cable. That works; but the bass eats alkaline batteries doing it.



Enter the CIOKS 4 Extender. This little unit can put out 18VDC regulated power, AND can be powered by a rechargeable power bank. This is potentially a game changer for my gig needs.


So, I am starting in on a home brew BELT CLIP Rechargeable Blue Box! Does anyone have the part number and supply source for the 5 pin panel mount jack?


Also, the pinout info for the jack would be useful; though I can probably sort that out from my Blue Box internals.


Thanks for reading, and best to my fellow Alembicians.

[bucephylus]

Oops. Perhaps, this Series I circuit may continue to frustrate me, in terms of wireless capability.


I did find this schematic for the Blue Box pinout:
http://alembic.com/club/messages/394/207738.html?1427059429


Post 7 seems to show that the actual supply to the instrument is 30VAC across pins 4 and 5 of the Blue Box jack. So, perhaps, having the 18VDC does NOT solve the power issue.


It does seem a bit confusing that the instrument preamp can either be powered by the 18 VDC batteries or by 30VAC at the input jack.


Anyhow, one more idea for the rubbish bin.

[JimmyJ]

Hey Paul,

The Series preamp board can operate with a wide range of power supply voltage but as you've discovered it can only run for a few hours on the internal 9V batteries.  The main thing to be aware of here is that the board is designed to operate on +/- power.  Meaning when it's running on internal batteries it is +/- 9VDC.  When running off the DS-5 it is somewhere between to +/- 15VDC and +/- 20VDC.

That +/-9VDC is 18VDC overall but it has a center "0" so I don't think the CIOKS unit would do that for you.

Because the preamp board requires so much current I've always considered the onboard 9V batteries to be a backup system meant to be used temporarily.  Be aware that the batteries are being drained whenever a 1/4" plug is in the jack. 

Not sure what you mean about rechargeables not being 9V.  I think there are people in here who use them but they may not hold a charge as long as Alkalines and it's a hassle to constantly be pulling them in and out of the instrument.

But if you search a bit further here in the club you'll find others who had made wireless rigs with external battery packs.  You can build a strap with as many 9V batteries as you can attach and they can be wired to power the bass through the 5-pin connector.  DC power-in and audio signal-out for your wireless pack - also on the strap (which is now getting quite heavy ).   The batteries can be two sets of many 9Vs in parallel, or even sets of pairs of 9Vs making 18V.  Then you divide the number of batteries in half, connect them there and that becomes your "0" point while the other ends become your "plus" and your 'minus" power.

We can draw you a rough diagram if you're interested in building something.

Jimmy J

[lbpesq]

My rechargeable 9v batteries test out to a little under 9v, even when fully charged.   I use them in my ‘76 Series I MSG.  They work fine, no problem.   Since all my players are Alembics or loaded with Alembic guts, I always bring spare batteries to gigs and jam sessions.

Bill, tgo

[bucephylus]

My rechargeable 9v batteries test out to a little under 9v, even when fully charged.   I use them in my ‘76 Series I MSG.  They work fine, no problem.   Since all my players are Alembics or loaded with Alembic guts, I always bring spare batteries to gigs and jam sessions.

Bill, tgo

That is interesting. I have tried three different versions of rechargeable 9V batteries in my ‘76 SSB; and none of them, at full charge, will power it up. The alkaline work just fine.

[bucephylus]

Hey Paul,

The Series preamp board can operate with a wide range of power supply voltage but as you've discovered it can only run for a few hours on the internal 9V batteries.  The main thing to be aware of here is that the board is designed to operate on +/- power.  Meaning when it's running on internal batteries it is +/- 9VDC.  When running off the DS-5 it is somewhere between to +/- 15VDC and +/- 20VDC.

That +/-9VDC is 18VDC overall but it has a center "0" so I don't think the CIOKS unit would do that for you.

Because the preamp board requires so much current I've always considered the onboard 9V batteries to be a backup system meant to be used temporarily.  Be aware that the batteries are being drained whenever a 1/4" plug is in the jack. 

Not sure what you mean about rechargeables not being 9V.  I think there are people in here who use them but they may not hold a charge as long as Alkalines and it's a hassle to constantly be pulling them in and out of the instrument.

But if you search a bit further here in the club you'll find others who had made wireless rigs with external battery packs.  You can build a strap with as many 9V batteries as you can attach and they can be wired to power the bass through the 5-pin connector.  DC power-in and audio signal-out for your wireless pack - also on the strap (which is now getting quite heavy ).   The batteries can be two sets of many 9Vs in parallel, or even sets of pairs of 9Vs making 18V.  Then you divide the number of batteries in half, connect them there and that becomes your "0" point while the other ends become your "plus" and your 'minus" power.

We can draw you a rough diagram if you're interested in building something.

Jimmy J

Hello Mr J! Many thanks for your thoughtful response.

Indeed, I would be interested in the diagram you referenced. In particular, I am unsure about your statement, “You can build a strap with as many 9V batteries as you can attach and they can be wired to power the bass through the 5-pin connector.”

The link I included in my second post shows the Blue Box feeding the instrument -15VAC on Pin 5 and +15VAC on Pin 4; which sets the “zero” point you mentioned. But, those are AC sources. Are you suggesting that -15VDC and +15VDC can be used instead on Pins 4 and 5? That’s my specific confusion. I had presumed Ron W had put a rectification bridge in the onboard circuit; but not clear on what DC power would do there.

Hope that makes sense.

Off track story:
About 20 years ago or so, our young ones had a James Taylor show on the projection television (that dates it) while I was doing house chores in another room; and I heard this marvelous bass part sitting in the mix, which I immediately recognized as an Alembic! I hadn’t been aware that you were doing that gig. So, when I went and looked at the screen, there you were; and I thought ok, that makes sense, sounds fantastic. JT made a great choice.

[FC Bass]

I use this one with wireless, has the same options as the old DS-5. (stereo if you use both outputs and Mono if you use one)
And obviously lights up the side Leds :-)


I guess this delivers approx. +18 and -18V?
I don't notice a difference in brightness of the Leds when using the DS-5, DS-5R and the battery powered ps, so I guess they must be about the same Voltage?
Side Leds are a great battery life indicator, when black dots start to appear in the middle of the Leds its time to get nervous :-)


I've been fantasizing about a battery ps with a rechargeable  power bank, which you can recharge through the 5 pin XLR.
Would be great if Alembic could offer something like that, or just the 4 x 9V version would be great also. DS-5B 


Apparently, mine was made by Alembic in the early 90's and I'm pretty sure they made a couple for Jason Newsted.
There's also an extremely cool guy on Facebook that has an almost Identical Series II Europa, his is a 4 string version and he also has a Battery powered ps. (looks the same as mine)

[dannobasso]

I have Been asking for this for a long time. Hopefully they will make them available.

[cntrabssn]

"The link I included in my second post shows the Blue Box feeding the instrument -15VAC on Pin 5 and +15VAC on Pin 4; which sets the “zero” point you mentioned. But, those are AC sources. Are you suggesting that -15VDC and +15VDC can be used instead on Pins 4 and 5? That’s my specific confusion. I had presumed Ron W had put a rectification bridge in the onboard circuit; but not clear on what DC power would do there.”

Hello Paul,

Slight correction:
The power supplies used with series instruments do output DC voltages. From the schematic in the link you referenced, pins 4 & 5 are fed (from the center-tapped transformer secondary) via the bridge rectifier and smoothing/filtering capacitors shown in the diagram. So there’s no need to have onboard rectification.

This is why it’s possible to build the battery packs as JimmyJ described for use with wireless transmitters.

-nate.