PSA: Mackie Freeplay refurbs $189, free ship

[lkingston]

Here I am being redundant again! The price of slow Internet while I'm visiting my parent's house!

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[dannyg1]

Originally Posted by lkingston

Here I am being redundant again! The price of slow Internet while I'm visiting my parent's house!

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Since there's more than one of us saying the same thing, maybe we'll actually get them to believe what we're saying, Instead of the usual.....

[martingitdave]

I ordered an inexpensive TS to XLR Male cable to connect the guitar to the Mackie FreePlay, since we now believe there is no sensing in the preamp. I'll report back if it works. It would be the best option and require no preamp or DI. Thanks for the different perspective guys.


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[lkingston]

Ive been getting my cables at monoprice.com. Very good quality for very cheap prices. You do have to pay shipping though.

https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_...seq=1&format=2


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[dannyg1]

Dave,

Can you relay the specs from the Freeplays power supply? Pin orientation too, if you would please. Does it use a proprietary connector?

[martingitdave]

Hi guys, I've been off AGF today. Here's a pic of the brick. (Yeah, that rhymes. I got skillz.)




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[dannyg1]

The for that Dave. Is the connector a common one? The Freeplay can pull 65w from the wall, which is quite a bit.

Have you noticed a large difference in overall level on batteries? There's plenty of room to up your delivered battery power and it might make a difference in the front end of the amp, if you did it.

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by dannyg1

The for that Dave. Is the connector a common one? The Freeplay can pull 65w from the wall, which is quite a bit.



Have you noticed a large difference in overall level on batteries? There's plenty of room to up your delivered battery power and it might make a difference in the front end of the amp, if you did it.

There is more power on A/C as far as I can tell. But I haven't cranked it up on battery, so I can't judge. It's a standard plug. I'll get a picture soon.


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[dannyg1]

Thanks again Dave.

If it is a standard laptop sized plug, this should work for anyone who needs a new AC brick:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/20V-3-25A-65...EAAOSwnK9ZRkT-

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by dannyg1

Thanks again Dave.



If it is a standard laptop sized plug, this should work for anyone who needs a new AC brick:



http://www.ebay.com/itm/20V-3-25A-65...EAAOSwnK9ZRkT-

Very nice. I'll get a picture and confirm the tip size. I'm leading a bunch of bluegrassers tonight. Won't need any amplification for sure!

BTW, the proprietary battery in the Mackie uses a special connector for the charging. So, if you were to try and boost the power/voltage, I'm not sure if it would be able to charge. Are the charging brains in the battery itself? Thoughts?


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[dannyg1]

Originally Posted by martingitdave

Very nice. I'll get a picture and confirm the tip size. I'm leading a bunch of bluegrassers tonight. Won't need any amplification for sure!

BTW, the proprietary battery in the Mackie uses a special connector for the charging. So, if you were to try and boost the power/voltage, I'm not sure if it would be able to charge. Are the charging brains in the battery itself? Thoughts?

If I were to build a pack to power the Freeplay I'd look to the AC connect for where I'd power it, just to be sure that the amp runs at full power. It also gives the advantage of being able to externally charge the battery with a standalone charger (or the supplied brick if you like).

I'd build it using high capacity and known quality 18650 cells and buy a BMS board on eBay, they cost $15-20 (or at least a lot of them do) and you can set your own parameters if you like, on some.

You might also be able to find a directly compatible laptop battery for this, if you're willing to look hard. I'd start with the batteries for the computers compatible with the brick I posted from eBay.

[dannyg1]

You could get a 20v 6a brick like this to fast charge your external battery. If you made a 16ah battery, it would charge in 2.5 hours.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Powe...4AAOSwB-1Yu09M

Here's a pre built, industrial, known MFG pre built battery that will slightly over volt your Freeplay but should work. Its got a BMS board in it and could be charger standalone with a 24v charger (lead acid charger would be fine):


http://www.ebay.com/itm/K2-Energy-K2...MAAOSwTM5Y2-pZ

Another:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RAIDER-OUTBO...YAAOSwPWRZR8W~

A cheap 24v charger (2a, around 6hrs to charge a 16ah pack):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lithium-Ion-...EAAOxyoA1RSXMP

Here's an 18-21v 30a max balance board for a 5s pack ( Connection/monitoring of 5 groups/series of 18650's):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/18V-21V-18-5...3D222130191271

Here's a simpler, cheaper one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/7S-24V-20A-B...kAAOSw3v5Ypcho

[dannyg1]

Forgot to answer your question directly- the balance board or battery management system, BMS, is typically built into each pack.

[CCHannah]

Originally Posted by martingitdave

Does the unit come with any accessories. I didn't bother to read. I just clicked! I trust you knew what you were doing. :-)


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Hi Dave, could you PM me your source for the accessories you picked up that were not included in the eBay listing like the Tilt-Base w/ Hole-Stand adapter, the stand itself, battery etc.?


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[lkingston]

As I think about the input problems more, this is what I see. Mackie products such as the FreePlay, the Reach, the DLM 8/12 and several others use inputs called "Wide-Z". Wide-Z inputs are designed for three types of inputs: mic level balanced (through XLR), line level balanced (through TRS), and acoustic guitar preamp level hi-z (through TS). Judging by the reviews on this forum, various music store reviews, and some YouTube videos, often this Wide-Z technology is unable to sense when a high-z guitar is plugged in and treats the signal as though it was a line level balanced. This does not always happen and some users are quite happy with the levels, but when it does, it often happens with several guitars in one disappointed user's collection.

Using a direct box engages a boost preamp, and that is what we've been talking about here mostly.

I have done specific searches for "Mackie Wide-Z" and have yet to find a source explaining the technology behind how it functions.

Anyway, the best case scenario would be if these refurbishes had been returned because of problems with the Wide-Z inputs not sensing hi-z signals properly and if that was what was fixed during the refurb process.

Other possibilities are that some guitar cables don't trigger a ring/sleeve short connection or some guitars have impedances outside of what the sensor is expecting. I'll won't know for sure until it is delivered and I can test it.


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