#21

I’m curious, as I have a Shared System too, how are you trying to power a grid from it? I thought the monome modules were required to power a grid, or make it useful at all in eurorack? I have a isms system as well but I’m thinking about migrating some monome modules into the SS case, how do I know if I’ll be okay to power an earthsea and teletype from it @tehn ? It’s a black and gold shared system purchased last September

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#22

what does the 5v kit add to the power supply, or why would one want that?

#23

Hey, When I say ‘power a grid’ I mean using one of the modules plugged into the SS case power. Based on tehn’s replies to me above it seems you should be fine to use the case with your grid. :grin:

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#24

the 5v expander adds an extra half amp to the 1A supply, getting it to 1.5A. the monome modules pull 600mA or more to power the grid, and though they should be within the newer MN psu specs I only knew of other users confirming they worked with the added safety of the expander. if anyone’s confirmed the 1A is enough, that’s great!

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#25

I don’t use the row power as I have the Elite Modular 208 case, my point was to power bus board and switch parallel using the built in power socket of the case. But I think there is the newer MN bus board in it so maybe I don’t need the switch at all.

#26

Just a quick suggestion to double check the +5v draw of your other modules. If you have a number of digital modules running off the +5v rail you could use up most of your supplies capacity before the grid is even attached. Most supplies will shutdown when overheating, but I’m not sure if the updated MN supply does this or not.

#27

Hmmmm, good point. Feel like that takes me back to ‘f–k it just buy the switch’ territory. :slight_smile:

#28

in general the modules will draw substantially less than 600ma.

the warning is really for a severely underrated supply. anything that gives 1A would hopefully have a graceful shutdown on overheat/etc.

because honestly i find the switch annoying, needing to have an extra power cable. it’s fine if you can do something like the 4ms rowpower trick.

Ansible & grid / power issues?
#29

glad to see someone has the same setup as me. Im using a switch and I emailed make noise guys and that’s their recommendation too!

#30

So Make Noise said to use the switch? I’m confused now. I don’t want to use it but it seems prudent to do so. Sigh.

#31

of course makenoise will say use the switch, it takes away any liability.

this really is simply about arithmetic. add up the milliamps.

#32

as a switch user, i’ll just chime in and say that it’s not that bad

i have a few bricks that live on one power strip with all of their leads wrapped together.

#33

I have two switches. Wish they made an uber switch. But I prefer the peace on mind. With so many digital modules I try to lighten the load anytime I can.

#34

i just recently got meadowphysics, and have it installed in my 7u make noise case, which i purchased from them new in november. no issues at all powering the grid, as far as i can tell.

none of my other modules use 5v though, so i can’t comment on the capacity of the power supply, or whether or not it shuts down on an overheat.

edit: dunno how i hadn’t noticed before, but there is an issue with noise on the cv bus case. perhaps i will have to pick up a switch.

#35

when having more than one trilogy module in a case (or a trilogy module and nw2s::b) i much prefer using a switch to unplugging/replugging. one of those small things that makes a difference when switching often.

what i would absolutely love to have is a different switch with 2 ins and 2 outs, so you could have a grid and an arc connected at the same time and swap them. another cool option would be to be able to power it from another usb connector (kinda like ext5v), this would work really well with the new intellijel cases and their usb power 1U modules (and i think synthrotek power supply has a usb power option as well?).

#36

That’s what I’m talking bout! I have the quadrilogy and something tells me there will be more monome in the future. A push button usb hub would be delish. I had to grab another switch for computer duties. It’s harshing my vibe.

#37

Their reply to me:

"Thank you for getting in touch with us.
There have been some issues in the past when powering monome grids with our 6U Bus Board.

Our 6U Bus Board has the following power specs:
+12V 1.4A
-12V 1A
+5V 1A

In order to use your grid with our Bus Board, we suggest that you use the external power supply module developed by Monome called Switch.
This will allow you to power the grid with a wall wart and prevent any stress on the 5V rail.

If you choose to not use this module, turning on the power of your system with the grid connected to the system could damage our Bus Board.
On start up, the grid draws a lot of current and this overcurrent can cause the 5V rail not to work.

Monome has provided some information about powering the monome grid in a eurorack system found here:
http://monome.org/docs/modular/switch/"

#38

it’s difficult for me to imagine where this conclusion came from-- it’s just an effort to avoid user error by not calculating current draw. and even then, the design of the power system should gracefully shut down. simply pointing people towards using the switch is of course safe, but also lazy.

keep in mind that many old laptops from the early 2000’s can power a grid just fine.

#39

For what it’s worth I’ve now received a new grid and my white whale is in uk customs so I’ll have a definitive answer pretty soon.

Hopefully I won’t have a pile of melted plastic and metal where my modular used to be! Seems unlikely.

@tehn Would you suggest it’s worth, as a precaution, plugging the grid in after the rest of the system has powered up? It’s quite likely I’d always do this anyway because the lid is usually on.

#40

Okay, so I have a definitive answer to this now…

I have tested the grid and White Whale with my Shared System case - it’s the current CV bus version.

There are no usage problems with the grid and module, but there is the issue with high pitched whine which increases as the LED brightness increases. This is present at the system output regardless of whether WW is patched into anything else or not.

I’ve also tried them in a Doepfer case with the new PSU3 power supply and have exactly the same issue.

My conclusion is that I will need to use the switch, which is a shame - but I am pleased that an inexpensive solution is available.

[PS - This isn’t in any way a ‘complaint’ about monome, make noise or anyone else. I’m just posting so that others can hopefully find this useful in future.]