Battery power for a TCHelicon HGXT

Guitars44me · #1 10-12-2022, 10:23 AM

Anyone have suggestions on how to power a Harmony G XT from a small portable battery?

I am on the verge of moving to all battery power small PA/amps. I would love to be able to use the HG.

A font of knowledge here, hope someone may have found a solution already….

Thanks all

Paul

Marty C · #2 10-12-2022, 12:07 PM

Been using this with mine for about 5 years.

Easy to do. You need the following:
- portable battery of at least 10,000 mAh

https://www.amazon.com/Portable-2580.../dp/B07XQ94ZL9

- converter from usb to 12 volt, this will be positive center

https://www.amazon.com/SinLoon-Conve...ps%2C93&sr=8-9

- reverse polarity converter to convert to negative center
https://www.amazon.com/Truetone-CYR-...ps%2C96&sr=8-3

Guitars44me · #3 10-12-2022, 05:38 PM

I find all this stuff quite bewildering….

Thanks for the info!

I will give it a shot!

Cheers

Paul

YamahaGuy · #4 10-12-2022, 06:35 PM

I ran into some power issues at an outdoor venue I regularly play at. I bought a Jackery 280 power supply. I can run a fair amount of PA equipment off it including a couple powered speakers, a small mixer and a 7 pedal pedalboard for well over 90 minutes and have 60 - 70% power left.

L20A · #5 10-15-2022, 07:35 PM

Yes, look into using a Jackery inverter.
It will power a lot of different things.
Small and you have several choices for the amount of power that you may need.

Guitars44me · #6 10-19-2022, 06:25 PM

I just hooked up the stuff Marty C suggested and unfortunately I am getting a bunch of weird noise from the HG…. Sigh

Back to the drawing board.

Paul

Marty C · #7 10-19-2022, 06:49 PM

Really sorry about that. I use this same set up for my Harmony G, Play Acoustic and Play GTX and I am not getting this. I really hate you spent the funds and it isn’t working for you. The converter was not the exact brand I used. Those were no longer available so I made a suggestion based on the exact same specs.

Guitars44me · #8 10-19-2022, 07:01 PM

No worries, Marty

The stuff was inexpensive at least. The power supply was hanging around already. So I only invested in the two cords….

Electronics. A necessary evil, sometimes

There are a few other battery power supplies like the Beaudens, too.

Tempting to just play unamplified and pass on the gigs that want PA.

Cheers

Paul

Peter Z · #9 10-19-2022, 10:51 PM

I use a Varta 20.000mAh powerbank and voltage converter cables to power the G-XT or a HX Stomp or my Flow 8 mixer. Same setup as Marty suggested.

Paul, have you tried to plug your USB to 12 volt cable directly into a a USB power supply from your phone or tablet or whatever? Just to find out if it’s the cable or the powerbank. I assume, it’s the powerbank.

Also, there might be a bit science fiction starship noise when booting the G-XT. That should stop after 30 seconds or so.

Guitars44me · #10 10-20-2022, 08:50 AM

Once again, what a font of information this forum is…

Thank you all for this technological insight!

Science fiction starship noise is an excellent description of the weird sounds coming from the HGXT, using the Power supply.

It works fine plugged into the wall. I’ll try and get a USB charger out of the wall and see if it works that way.

Happy Thursday to all

Paul

Guitars44me · #11 10-21-2022, 11:09 AM

OK. I tried a USB charger out of the wall, using the two cables suggested, and it’s still making a bunch of racket. Sigh

So I guess the cables need returned to Amazon…. Sigh

Still works fine with the wall wart.

Thanks all

Paul

Lost Sheep · #12 10-21-2022, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guitars44me

Anyone have suggestions on how to power a Harmony G XT from a small portable battery?

I am on the verge of moving to all battery power small PA/amps. I would love to be able to use the HG.

A font of knowledge here, hope someone may have found a solution already….

Thanks all

Paul

Something like this might work except that the Harmony GxT wants 300 mA at 12V. But something like this should work for you without the extraneous "sci-fi" noise.

https://www.amazon.com/JOYO-4400mAh-...3d670b6bc&th=1

I have used my GxT with a 9V power supply (and adequate current flow), but I would not use it for very long. I do not have confidence that low voltage would not cause excess strain on the components.

Guitars44me · #13 11-05-2022, 11:40 PM

Tried a second cable today. Still making noise. Time to try a new battery widget….

Sigh…

Happy Saturday night to all

Paul

Peter Z · #14 11-06-2022, 01:58 AM

Paul,
there must be something wrong with your cable or the powerbank or both of them. You just need 3,6 watts and 12 volts (0.3 ampere x 12 volts = 3.6 watts). DC is a simple thing. If you get a hum from a wall plug, it is the filter. If you get other noise, it’s because of not enough voltage/watts. Check your powerbank.
I assume, the cause is the cheap electronic in your cable.

Try, if you can find, a cable from Ripcord. They have a version for the Harmony G-XT. It is a bit more expensive (about 25 USD), but should work. You can buy it from the company myvolts.

Hope that helps.

Peter

Guitars44me · #15 11-06-2022, 06:01 PM

This charger cord is more simple, so better! Less stuff to loose…. Or break

I have a Sunburst Gear amp with a USB connector that says “charging only”,
Which is silly as it does not specify WHAT is charging! Hahaha

Anyone know about this? Could I power the HGXT out of the Sunburst amp?

That would be nice!

Cheers

Paul