UPDATE: After a bit more tinkering, I can confirm that the 12V 3000 mAh TalentCell battery does indeed work (provided you fully charge it), though it only lasted about 90 minutes before draining the battery. In search of a longer battery life, I tried out the XTPower XT-20000QC3 (12V, 20,000 mAh), and it works perfectly - I jammed for over 2 hours and the battery value read about 82%, so I am quite pleased! I definitely suggest the XTPower battery if it’s in your budget since you get more time out of it, though the TalentCell would probably work well if you went with a larger mAh capacity. Thanks to ALL for chatting this through with me!
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Hi
new user (and beginner!) of a gorgeous Digitone, I would like to use the synth with an external battery.
I have seen the suggested references (Ripcord / XTPower) (which is the best option btw?) but I am wondering: is it safe for the device, and doesn’t it cancel the warranty in case of problem?
Thanks a lot for your help…
This topic has a lot of information:
I have an XTpower powerbank and the following cable. Runs like a charm for hours and hours . I use it with all my 12v Boxes. I Can even power 2 Elektron devices if you use a splitter cable Cablecc DC Power 5,5 x 2,1 mm / 2,5 mm Stecker auf 5,5 2,1/2,5 mm Stecker Kabel rechtwinklig 90 Grad 60 cm https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01787LXM6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_CS2AAPSWXJDHXT08RQ9A?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
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Thank you, I’ll check this thread.
The extract you posted is not encouraging!
I will ask Elektron directly what they think or recommend.
Good to know, thanks! I already have a relatively powerful Anker powerbank, so I’ll probably order a ripcord first.
But I want to make sure it’s safe for the device first!
I strongly advise against that.
It will definitely not damage the hardware, but prepare for unexpected side-effects.
Ok, thank you for this precise recommendation that I will follow.
What would you advise, then? To use the Digitone only in the traditional way ; or a better quality hardware (external battery + cable), and if so, which one?
After reading all the reports of issues, I bought a BirdCord from SongbirdFX, because no one complained about it, several reported success, and the manufacturer’s blog specifically discussed how their design avoided issues with Elektron devices. I too had suitably strong power banks already.
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No need for sarcasm, I assumed you read my recommendations:
But I will be more exact.
I recommend a powerbank that can natively output 12V at at least 1.5A through either a USB connection with USB Power Delivery or direcly through a 12V barrel connection.
There are several reasons for this, not just potentially underpowering your Digi.
For instance the loss in battery capacity when you add a second voltage converter to a powerbank. With a RipCord or BirdCord you instantly throw away 25% of your capacity. Add to that the fact you most likely can’t empty the powerbank completely using a cable like that and you throw away another 20 to 50%.
And that doesn’t even account for the powerbank’s own efficiency.
So you end up lugging around powerbanks that have far more capacity than you can use, hurting your back, your wallet and the environment in one go.
Did the same after two Ripcords arrived dead. Birdcord with the tip adapter has worked with every usb battery pack I’ve thrown at it. Extremely happy to have my DN truly portable now after researching options that were many times the price of the 30 something odd bucks I spent taking a chance on the Birdcord. Highly recommended.
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That wasn’t sarcasm at all, I don’t practice that.
I know very little about the specifics of electronics, does the XTPower XT-20000QC3 battery meet those requirements?
BirdCord works 100% of the time on every power bank I’ve used. 
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Yes, my french isn’t very good but I think this one does 12V 4A on the barrel connector and 12V 2A through the first USB port.
You could power 2 Digi’s if you use a simple splitter on the barrel plug.
2 things to watch out for though:
First, the barrel connector can go up to 24V, so be extra carefull to check if the voltage is set correctly.
Second, the USB port does not have Power Delivery but Quick Charge. It does support 12V 2A but I’m unshure what cable to use with that.
Fun fact:
If you use 2 Rip/BirdCords on a 10000mAh powerbank, it becomes a 5625mAh powerbank. Almost half…
Thank you.
I need to see if and how to adjust the voltage on these batteries.
The BirdCord 12V technical specification tells peak output current: 750mA.
RipCord also specifed for 750mA.
Digitone specifies DC IN as 12V 1000mA but the technical information states 7W consumption which calculated 583mA. This is average so peak current can be higher.
Seems not much headroom left.
If reported working, it means good for outdoor jamming, still not recommended for professional or on-stage application.
I bought two standard lead-acid batteries, one for 12V and one for 6V machines. I soldered cables with jacks on the tabs. Heavy, bulky, robust, cheap.
Hi DreamXcape,
I had a Talentcell 12V, 8300mAh which has a direct 12V barrel output, it works when it’s fully charged, but the damn thing drops the voltage to 11.4V when is still at 75% of the capacity, resulting in suddenly shutting down my Digitone. Thankfully I didn’t buy it, it was in my lab so I had a go with it. Is the XTPower XT-20000 ok for the Digitone? I mean does this battery drop the voltage below 12V when it is still well charged? It is quite expensive and before buying it I want to make sure that I can fully use it even when the charge goes down.
By the way great insight in these useless power cords, they are voltage regulators that decrease the efficiency of the battery a lot, also they can supply max 0.8A and the Digitone requires 1A, so, not convenient at all and not cheap either.
thanks for your help
I can understand the hesitance, but Birdcords with the barrel adaptor just work on any and every power brick I’ve used it with. Powered Digitone, Digitakt and both versions of the Octatrack with the same cable.
I’ve been using a Birdcord with my Digitakt and it works great, but I’m having problems with it powering my Digitone. It gets stuck at the boot up screen. Has anyone had any issues like that? I’ve tried it with multiple powerbanks and with a USB wall power adapter and I get the same result