Hi to all. I have an issue that is probably ridiculously simple for most of the great minds on this forum. I recently bought a used (discontinued) electric travel guitar, a Fernandes Nomad Deluxe. Very cool little instrument with onboard electronic effects, speaker, etc. It is powered by a 9v battery, but the little booger consumes a battery in approx 20 minutes. At that rate, I'll need a home equity loan to buy Duracells. In the owner's manual, an AC adapter is listed (output is 9v, 1.3A, part number PS0913B) and this would be a much better alternative, so I purchased one. So far, so good -- except that the plug on the adapter doesn't seem to fit the jack on the guitar. They look identical in size, but even with moderate pressure I couldn't get that plug into the jack. Then I noticed something about the jack: it seems to have a thin plastic sleeve inside (almost like a tiny plastic drinking straw) and that sleeve extends to the very entrance of the jack (the point at which the plug would enter). I suspect that if the sleeve weren't there, the plug would fit. I am a complete moron regarding electronics, but it seems to me that the plastic sleeve might not belong and would prevent the outer cylinder of the plug from making contact with the cylinder of the jack. I hope I am making sense.

I hesitate to attempt removal of the plastic sleeve, for fear that I'll permanently damage the jack if the sleeve does, indeed, belong. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated and I thank you in advance.

With Kind Regards,
Mick

 

It obviously takes a different plug. Radio Shack carries a wide variety of them. Be sure you've got the polarity right, sometimes they use the outer barrel as the + instead of the center pin.

 

Thanks for the reply! I'm at a loss because I spoke with the manufacturer's tech rep and he verified that the AC adapter is, indeed the correct one. To the naked eye, both the plug and the jack look identical in diameter - yet the jack doesn't want to accept the plug. Neither looks damaged and the polarity is correct: center post negative. When I noticed the little plastic sleeve which seems to be inserted into the jack, I thought maybe someone, sometime inserted something that didn't belong there and might have left a residual piece behind. Or maybe it belongs there, I don't know. I suppose I'll have to find some local electronic wiz to take a peek. Thanks for the Radio Shack thought -- I'll start with them. Meanwhile, I'm consuming 9v batteries like popcorn.

Thanks again....

 

post a clear pic of said sleeve/plug/jack

 

Thanks and I'll try to take a couple of decent photos. Not sure how to post them, but I'll figger it out. (BTW, your username is very cool for this forum...)

 

I took several photos and tried to show the relative size of the jack to the plug:

 

Yea, you've just got the wrong size plug on the power supply. Go to Radio shack and match up the right one then cut off and replace the plug on the power supply you bought, paying particular attention to the polarity. If you have a voltmeter I'd verify that it's correct before I used it.

 

Thanks! I owe you a favor which I'll probably never be able to repay. But the thought's there...

 

Now you know why I own stock in the manufacturer of 9 volt batteries.
FWIW, Radio Shack markets a kit of plugs containing several different sizes, and individual plugs for each size. Just bring money. (I do not own stock in Radio Shack, consider it a poor investment.)

 

maybe you need to add a good push? I've experienced being stupid after a friend simply pushed in the jack into my phone.

 

From your pictures, it looks like the red plastic piece might be just a tad too large. If it was me, I'd use a small file to reduce the diameter of the red plastic piece, also tapering it towards the tip of the plug. Shouldn't take more than a minute or so of work and it should fit fine. File and rotate the plug at the same time -- practice on a piece of scrap first to get the idea if you've never done it before.

 

someones dad may be onto something.

There is a little switch inside the jack. It appears that the red plastic MAY grab the switch (located at 4-5o'clock in the first picture.)

This may also be a tension spring, either way, a taper on the tip of the red plastic MAY do the trick, by allowing the spring to compress rather than GRAB the plastic.

You are going to be getting rid of the current reg plug anyway, so its worth a try.

 

I didn't want to ride off into the setting sun without thanking everyone for their kind responses. Here's the wrap-up for you: the guitar itself (now discontinued) was made by a guitar company called Fernandes. It's the neatest little instrument you've ever seen, if any of you are into rock music. The onboard electronics provides a full array of effects such as reverb, delay, chorus, flange, octave shift, etc. plus a range of different amplifier simulations. It can sound as clean and acoustic as you would ever imagine, as snarly and dirty as Eddie van Halen, or as heavy as Metallica. That's so cool, especially since everything is self-contained within such a small package. Anyway, the electronics were designed for the guitar by another company called Digitech. It was a Digitech tech who informed me about the allegedly correct power supply but as many of you observed, the plug was just a hair too big to fit the jack. I thought about filing the nose of the plug a hair as was suggested on this thread, but then decided to contact Fernandes directly. A nice guy there sent me one of the original power supplies (he had a few still lying in a warehouse). I received it yesterday and....voila!! To the naked eye, the plugs appear identical in size, but the OEM Fernandes plug could be inserted with only nominal pressure. The other plug is now listed on eBay. And they all lived happily ever after.

Thanks again -- you guys are all great and very smart. I write and record rock music and so if you ever hear a future tune called something like "High Voltage", or "Electron Boys" that'll be me and the song'll be about you.

 

I only listen to rock music when I run out of ipecac.

OK, turn off the flamethrowers -- I was only kidding. I've enjoyed rock & roll since the 50's. I still remember buying the first record I ever owned -- "White Silver Sands" by Don Rondo. But it wasn't rock & roll...

 

I only listen to rock music when I run out of Ipecac.
I needed to look it up in Google because I wrongly thought it was a Magic Mushroom or LSD.
I never tried Magic Mushrooms nor LSD and never needed to use Ipecac.

Some rock and roll was simply loud noises played by deaf guys.

 

Maybe I should rephrase: you guys are all great, very smart....and funny! No offense taken, I know rock music isn't to everyone's taste. But I'll add a little mystique to your circuit forum: back in 1968 (yes, I'm really that old), I was lead singer in a band. So what, you say? A lot of guys were in bands back then, right? Well, my band toured and we were the "warmup" band for the group which, in that very year, had six straight gold records and sold more records than any other recording artist(s) in the world.

Now besides solving electronic mysteries, you can set yourselves about solving a Rock History Mystery. In your spare time, of course...



γ∏ατυγ

 

back in 1968 (yes, I'm really that old), I was lead singer in a band.

Did it deafen you?
Did you get rich?
Are you still rich?
Can you still sing?

 

Duh Beatles?

(I wasn't hatched until Jan '77)

 

Gary Puckett and the Union Gap.
"Young Girl" , "Woman Woman" , "Lady Willpower" , "Over You", "This Girl is a Woman Now", "Don't Give In to Him"
http://www.garypuckettmusic.com/

 

And the winner is.....
.....ding....ding.....ding.....
.....drumroll, please......
.....SgtWookie!!

(Did my feeble attempt at the Greek alphabet give it away, or did you actually solve it without the clue?)

And to AudioGuru:

(BTW, I'm answering your questions at face value as being sincere. But if your questions were intended to be wisecracks, please give me a clue by using sarc on or sarc off.)

Did it deafen you?
No. My hearing range is probably better than most folks my age. When I'm recording, I hear all but the very highest frequencies.

Did you get rich?
Definitely not in monetary terms, but perhaps in wealth of life experience.

Are you still rich?
Yes. I'm rich in faith, in family, and in friendships.

Can you still sing?
That depends upon who is listening.