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  #1  
Old 05-20-2019, 04:27 AM
Per Burström Per Burström is offline
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Default External battery for Yamaha THR5A

Howdy,
I have an Yamaha THR5A which is a fantastic little amp with awesome sound if you want to boost the volume of you acoustic guitar a little (as well as adding some effects). And the small format and battery option makes it really portable and great to bring outdoors when you sit an play at an park bench... in theory! The big drawback with the THR5A is that the battery life on rechargeable NiMH AA batteries (8 of them) sucks!!

Does anyone use the THR5A with an external battery pack? It needs 15 V at 1.5A. I have tried feeding it with 12 V through an USB step-up converter, but that doesn't work.

Thanks in advance!
/Per

Edit: I get around 1.5 hours at moderate volume with NiMH batteries.

Last edited by Per Burström; 05-20-2019 at 10:43 AM.
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  #2  
Old 05-20-2019, 06:51 AM
jonfields45 jonfields45 is offline
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The USB converter could not deliver enough current/power. If 8 AA batteries work then 12 volts will be fine though you may lose some peak volume/power depending on how the THR5A is designed, (12/15)^2 worst case. The radio controlled hobbyists are served a plethora of rechargeable 12 volt Lithium batteries and those products are power hogs. You will find loads of listings on eBay/Amazon and I used one for a few years to power various 12 volt Roland amps (AC33, Cube Street Ex) before getting frustrated with those amps. The hardest part will be finding one with the right tip. Most of the batteries are M5525 or M5521 (OD/ID millimeters with one decimal point) positive tip. Looking at a THR5A photo on Sweetwater (not the best way...) it appears you need something out of the list of usual suspects.

Mouser and Digikey stock all the options if you are adventurous with a soldering iron.

Maybe this one???

https://www.digikey.com/products/en/...=1&pageSize=25
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Last edited by jonfields45; 05-20-2019 at 07:06 AM.
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  #3  
Old 05-20-2019, 08:30 AM
Per Burström Per Burström is offline
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Thanks for your help Jon! (y)

I have been looking at this powerbank as it's widely available at on-line stores in Sweden: https://sandberg.it/en-gb/product/Po...000-for-Laptop

It has no setting for 15 volts though, wonder if feeding the THR5A with 16 volts will break it? Or maybe it will work with 12 V?

/Per
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  #4  
Old 05-20-2019, 12:09 PM
jonfields45 jonfields45 is offline
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16 volts is close enough to 15 to be no problem. 12 volts will be fine too. I have a USB 5 to 9 volt converter and it won't run my Katana Mini because even that minimalist amp draws too much current. The nice thing about the RC batteries is you can velcro them to the side of the amp and have a nice compact grab and go setup. Sort of like this:



This is the kind of battery I was suggesting:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-3000-20...vnZll1f9byq42w
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jf45ir Free DIY Acoustic Guitar IR Generator
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IR Demo, read the description too: https://youtu.be/SELEE4yugjE
My duo's website and my email... [email protected]

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  #5  
Old 05-20-2019, 02:42 PM
Kabi Kabi is offline
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Have a look also at this aceyoon Powerbank 20000mah Quick Charge 3.0 5V-24V, https://www.amazon.it/aceyoon-Portat...8-1-spell&th=1
you can select 5V / 9V / 12V / 15V / 16V / 19V / 19.5V / 20V / 24V at 92 euros
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  #6  
Old 05-21-2019, 12:03 AM
PatrickMadsen PatrickMadsen is offline
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I've used a Lenmar Powerport PPU916RS comp. battery for my Phil Jones bass Double Four amp and the Yamaha THR5A

https://www.ebay.com/itm/5-500mAh-Po...QAAOSwpcRcsx0w

I've used it for 5 hours straight and still had several lights on. Very compact and sits in the handle of the amp perfectly. Size is 4.5"x7"x3/8".

Have never had to plug the amp into a socket because the battery lasts forever it seems.
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