Phone chargers

[TheGreek]

Found a couple of old phone chargers in a drawer recently. Got me wondering - can they be used as power supplies for effects pedals?

[Thunderbird]

I dont think so I think they run at a much lower current but I am normally  wrong lol

[foxyFuze]

 

35 minutes ago, Thunderbird said:

I dont think so I think they run at a much lower current but I am normally  wrong lol

Correct. Phone chargers run at 5V normally.

[Mottlefeeder]

If they are really old, then they will run at 5 volts. However the recent crop of fast chargers can run at higher voltages depending on what they are connected to. Check the charger labels - they should tell you.

David

[rmorris]

As others have said - old phone chargers almost certainly 5V. But it will likely be marked on the charger anyway if you look closely enough together with the current rating.

Apart from that they are likely to be noisy for audio use.

[itu]

USB 5 V / from 100 mA / 0.5 W, USB-C, up to 20 V / 5 A / 100 W. Power regulation level depends on the manufacturer. A functional USB charger (or cable) does not have to be approved according to the standards.

[MartinB]

It's possible to boost voltage - it's pretty common for pre-amp pedals to do this internally, from 9V to 18V or whatever. I think the term is a "charge pump"?

Anyway, there's a cable that does this, allowing you to power 9V pedals from a 5V USB source: https://www.songbirdfx.com/products/birdcord/