Dope! Now you can power ya twin DT’s
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Now that I’ve been using this mod for the last few days, I wanted a quick (and portable) way of checking the battery level.
I found this small voltage meter on Amazon:
DROK Small Digital Voltage Tester
Added a 5.5x2.5 connector to it, and it works great!
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Awesome idea, thanks for sharing. I see you modded Octatrack. Do you mind sharing photos of the insides and details (batteries, bms, working time, etc)?
I use of those I got from aliexpress for 22 euro delivered.
It powers the digitakt for at least 4 hours.
I only get about 2 hours on the Rytm.
I must try it on octatrack, but I thought I read somewhere it wouldn’t power that one.
It’s great being about to use the boxes in my car on lunch breaks in work.
I only use it with DN and DT but it’s a great little battery for jamming away from home.
It will power Octatrack mk2 as it runs 12 volts but mk1 is 6 volt so not compatible.
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You mean an external one or did you find something on Aliexpress that’s installable into the device?
Edit: oh got it, you guys speak about the external one. Just noticed it’s a reply.
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I’ll get some photos of the Octatrack after the weekend, but in the meantime, I used 3 x 18650s in this holder:
18650 Battery Case Holder, 5 Pack
I was able to fit that in the lower right of the case, just cleaning the bottom of the crossfader. I used this bms:
2Pcs 3S 11.1V 12.6V 25A W/Balance 18650 Li ion Lithium Battery PCB Protection Board
To get it to fit, the board is separately mounted off to the side of the battery pack, above the main OT PCB. It’s not super clean, but it fits and works.
Still unsure about runtimes, managing a couple hours at least. Wanted the meter so I could do some actual testing.
I have some more batteries on the way. The digitakt is next. I’ll get pictures of everything when they arrive.
Thanks for the idea, it’s breathed new life into the OT.
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Very cool, thanks! Interested to know how long the battery life is. Can you think of any non-destructive ways to mount a little status LED?
So cool. Just did the mod and I have a question: how do you charge the batteries? Just by plugging in the elektron power cable into the digitakt? And does the switch need to be on 0 or 1 for it to charge?
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The mod is installed, but i cannot turn om the digitakt when the power cable is plugged in. When the power cable is removed i doesnt turn on either. If i disconnect the battery from the two solder points shown above and connect the powe cable to the digitakt it turns on… any ideas as to what I did wrong? Maybe the batteries need to be charged for the first time before it can turn on?
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Yes, the battery should be first charged to 12v before installing. Digitakt seems to go into some kind of protection mode when you try turning it on while underpowered.
My advice would be to unsolder the battery, charge using standard Elektron power supply until voltmeter reads 12v, then solder in. It’s only the first time. Later it would be close to impossible to discharge it to levels that would cause similar behavior.
Digitakt turns off below 10.89v.
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Cool,
not being able to monitor the battery level was one of the things I was concerned about with this mod.
Thanks. Just be clear: minus from the BMS goes to the switch right?
Yes. Make sure the battery reads 12v before trying to turn Digitakt on for the first time.
Me again - so sorry to keep asking dumb questions…
I left the battery connected to the elektron psu over night, but the battery never goes higher than 10,87V. I am using the three LG M50 batteries suggested earlier. Maybe I should have bought 4 instead?
No, it should be three batteries. There might be something wrong with your BMS or wiring, I guess. Each battery can provide up to 4.2 volts when charged.
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Just reporting back that I finally managed to make the battery work:-) Turned out I connected the charged the wrong way around… So after figuring that out it finally started charging. The battery is now fully charged and my Digitakt is up and running without the power supply 
Next up: building in two small speakers!
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What about the Digitone? Would the batteries work since it needs 2A power adapter?
When the battery runs out the Digitakt does not turn on when the PSU is connected. I thought the battery would just charge while the Digitakt was running with the PSU connected?
It seems like the Digitakt can only be powered by the battery and not the PSU.
Does that sound right?
Batteries deliver up to 10A, so yes. Also there’s as much space, as in Digitakt, so Digitone should be an easy mod too.
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