Dead Power Supply
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Just received my new Spark in UK after a relatively short wait of 7 weeks.... YAAAY! ....
UK Power supply officially dead. as. a. Dodo. .......BOOOO!
So now I have a Positive Grid paperweight and a wait of up to 48hrs before someone will even talk to me about fixing it.
Is this level of reliability & service normal & what kind of wait do people see for replacement power supplies in the UK. (apart from the old hum issue, which I understood took a long time)
Positive Grid are making it very hard for me to love them.
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@allan-queen What a bummer! I'm so sorry your new toy doesn't work! Definitely pursue getting a replacement power supply from PG. But you might consider buying a replacement computer power supply. They're usually not very expensive and you'll be able to enjoy the use of your amp while waiting for PG to get out of its own way and provide you with a replacement. The power supply should have a 3-prong grounded (earthed) plug, it has to be 19volts, have at least 2.5amps, the connector that plugs into the amp must be 5.5mm outside dimension, and 2.5mm inside dimension and the center must be positive. It can have more than 2.5 amps, that won't be a problem since the power supply will only put out the power that the device asks for, but it does have to have at least that. If you look through old posts on this forum you'll find links to such power supplies. In the U.S. they cost around $19-$30. I don't know what that equals in PoundsSterling, and I don't know what items are offered through Amazon in the UK but a search at Amazon should yield results.
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@dhbailey Many thanks for the reply & the advice. Its much appreciated. A replacement power supply from PG is on its way on a slow boat from China. I bought a replacement power supply today (3 pin with ground). At least my paperweight now lights up. However I now have the dreaded backgound hum on all starter amps, even with the noise gate to high levels. Firmware is up to date, but surprisingly no hum when connected to my imac. It sounds great then - but I dont remember anything on the PG sales pitch saying the Spark only works when connected to a PC. Any suggestions welcome.
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@allan-queen The hum is a grounding issue, usually solved by using a grounded power supply. Since the hum goes away when you attach the amp to the USB on your computer, that proves that it's a grounding issue because the computer's USB port is grounded properly. Are you plugging the amp into a grounded outlet or are you using some sort of adapter or power strip where things might not be properly grounded?