That is a simple question but I don’t find the answer anywhere. I bought a Digitone Keys straight out of the box but with no charger or USB cable because sadly it was aprehended by the customs in my country from someone that did not paid taxes. I acquired it in their auction.
I am currently using a charger with similar voltage and everything, only issue I had until now was the device turning off alone once before updating the firmware but it seems to work nice nonetheless.
Can I remain using that charger or do I need the official Elektron charger to avoid damaging the synth? I ask because import taxes here are pretty high and the charger would end up costing me double the price.
Yes, you can as long as specifications for the charger (output voltage and milliamps) are correct.
Digitone has a sophisticated internal power regulator electronics with all the filtering and regulating that makes it tolerant to “dirty” power input.
However be aware that warranty may only be valid with the original power supply.
It’s ok to use a supply with more than 2A (which is 2000mA) but not less than 2A 1A (which is 1000mA) but not less than 1A, and not more than 12V or less than 12V. And not centre negative.
(Edited to correct 2A to 1A, because that’s what the Digitone Keys requires. see below).
On the back of the unit (Digitone Keys) it says 12V and 1A, I am using a power supply with those exact recommendations. I am not a native English speaker so I wasn’t aware of the differences between charger and power supply in English, what I’m using is more like a normal power supply.
However, PofM above said the minimum amperage should be 2A and I checked Elektron’s power supplies and they are really all 2A.
I haven’t noticed any issue until yesterday when the unit suddenly stopped working. But I updated the firmware and it’s working fine by now.
Buying an Elektron power supply isn’t a choice because with taxes it would cost me around $ 140 in US dollars. Extremely high for what it is…
I got that number from the Elektron PSU-3b power supply itself, but you’re right, the Keys says 1A, so that’s all you need. That means the 2A PSU is over-specced for the Keys then. As I said, it’s fine to use a supply with a higher current rating (like using a 2A PSU on a device that uses 1A max) because the device will only draw as much current as it needs. Current ratings are always “up to the maximum”, whereas voltage ratings are fixed, so a 12V supply always provides 12V and so can’t be used with something that needs 9V.