4ms Pods

Dragonaut · Post by **Dragonaut** » Sun May 19, 2019 11:13 am

pablowdadon wrote:Feedback about expert sleepers on pod 40x or 48x?
Anyone ?

ES users have been left behind on the latest slew of small portable cases. Doesn’t make any sense to me as ES gear makes small cases like this capable of containing a very powerful small instrument. Not being able to drop my Es-3 and Es-6 in these guys makes the case look more like a novelty product than the tool it could be. I blame it on the anti-laptop sentiment within the community. Cue long rant.

JohnLRice · Post by **JohnLRice** » Sun May 19, 2019 11:19 am

propertyof wrote:Just managed a lil hack to put a pretty deep module into my pod60 using nylon spacer nut. Here’s the result...

Not too bad I’d say for a holiday case

Good job and cool Pod setup!

propertyof · Post by **propertyof** » Sun May 19, 2019 11:24 am

Thanks John. I’m following your paths into the abyss of discontent

pinkflag16 · Post by **pinkflag16** » Sun May 19, 2019 11:52 am

Some (slightly too short) aluminum bars and Gorilla tape off of Amazon:

JohnLRice · Post by **JohnLRice** » Sun May 19, 2019 11:55 am

propertyof wrote:Thanks John. I’m following your paths into the abyss of discontent

If someone went crazy . . . they could attach tall rubber feet to the bottom of the Pod and then cut out a section of the bottom to let a deep module pass through?!

If I ever do that, you'll know that I've gone off the deep end and wont be coming back.

JohnLRice · Post by **JohnLRice** » Sun May 19, 2019 12:09 pm

pinkflag16 wrote:Some (slightly too short) aluminum bars and Gorilla tape off of Amazon:

Good idea!

vailsy · Post by **vailsy** » Sun May 19, 2019 1:15 pm

Dragonaut wrote:
pablowdadon wrote:Feedback about expert sleepers on pod 40x or 48x?
Anyone ?
ES users have been left behind on the latest slew of small portable cases. Doesn’t make any sense to me as ES gear makes small cases like this capable of containing a very powerful small instrument. Not being able to drop my Es-3 and Es-6 in these guys makes the case look more like a novelty product than the tool it could be. I blame it on the anti-laptop sentiment within the community. Cue long rant.

I would look to the module manufacturer first. It is hard to find modules these days that are 50mm plus. I have two modules that cannot fit in a 4ms x pod , or a moog case either btw, and both are old modules.. an odio and a fc trans europa. The former manufacturer went out of business and the second is thankfully modernizing their lineup, hopefully they will update the trans Europa and trim down it’s depth since it is a great module. ES might think about doing the same with their deeper modules

embodead · Post by **embodead** » Sun May 19, 2019 1:54 pm

Dragonaut wrote:
pablowdadon wrote:Feedback about expert sleepers on pod 40x or 48x?
Anyone ?
ES users have been left behind on the latest slew of small portable cases. Doesn’t make any sense to me as ES gear makes small cases like this capable of containing a very powerful small instrument. Not being able to drop my Es-3 and Es-6 in these guys makes the case look more like a novelty product than the tool it could be. I blame it on the anti-laptop sentiment within the community. Cue long rant.

With ~2mm washers, it nicely fits 48X.

Nutritional Zero · Post by **Nutritional Zero** » Sun May 19, 2019 2:33 pm

Y’know washers under all the modules might actually be a good idea from a heat dissipation perspective... My Pod32 gets a bit warm really.

Post by **Paranormal Patroler** » Mon May 20, 2019 3:17 am

Did a similar thing with the ADDAC221 in a small POD, so now it's a standalone MIDI controller.

marcelvidela · Post by **marcelvidela** » Mon May 20, 2019 6:48 pm

i got a 60hp pod, I have to wrestle the fkker to get the holes to align

if you have the same problem. Put in on the ground and apply some weight, I did with my knee, to push one side of the pod closer to the other side thus getting the holes to align.

joeSeggiola · Post by **joeSeggiola** » Wed May 22, 2019 5:37 am

Hovercraft wrote:Took my battery powered Pod60 out Saturday evening, and played at an art gallery opening for 2.5 hours.

I just got a Pod 48X, and I'd love to make it battery powered. What type of "small" battery can I use? Everyone else made it?

klacke · Post by **klacke** » Thu May 23, 2019 8:45 am

Could anyone confirm if these 2 modules will fit in a Pod 60, depth wise that is?

Make Noise Phonogene
Befaco Kickall

Both of these modules are 30 mm deep. But I think the placement of the connector cables matters a lot.
I have had two different report regarding Phonogene. One said that Phonogene will fit in Pod 60 but another said it wont. Not sure who to trust. So I would like to be sure before buying the modules.

kpreid · Post by **kpreid** » Thu May 23, 2019 11:00 am

Kickall will definitely fit in a shallow Pod; I just held up the one to the other and there's plenty of room. From what I've seen, Befaco always puts their power headers recessed so that the depth of the module is the depth of the board rather than having a header sticking out in one spot, which is great for Pods.

Can't comment on Phonogene.

In general: You do still need to be able to fit the power ribbon behind the module(s) — it can be tricky to get it tucked in even if you see how to make it fit when you're putting the last module in. And for a Pod60 you might find yourself in need of a different power cable to reach and line up right. Personally, I am glad to have ribbon cable and connectors on hand to make up long, short, or branched power cables to suit.

jeannot · Post by **jeannot** » Thu May 23, 2019 2:02 pm

Edit: There's a chance the Phonogene will fit, but not sure since it's 30mm plus a bit of power header height. We've had customers successfully solder right angle headers to take up a bit less space, and we also have the PodX series with more depth.

Dragonaut · Post by **Dragonaut** » Thu May 23, 2019 7:52 pm

joeSeggiola wrote:
Hovercraft wrote:Took my battery powered Pod60 out Saturday evening, and played at an art gallery opening for 2.5 hours.
I just got a Pod 48X, and I'd love to make it battery powered. What type of "small" battery can I use? Everyone else made it?

Personally I would wait for the new battery module from Polyend. Looks really sweet. He shows it off at the end of their Superbooth video.

joeSeggiola · Post by **joeSeggiola** » Fri May 24, 2019 12:45 am

Dragonaut wrote:Personally I would wait for the new battery module from Polyend. Looks really sweet. He shows it off at the end of their Superbooth video.

Wow, it looks like it takes input from common 5V USB battery packs for smartphone you find everywhere. It's a neat idea! I'll wait for it.

In the meantime I made some researching, the only viable 15V battery option seems to be external laptop chargers like this or this one. For about $100, they seems the only option which is portable enough, elegant and fully packaged, without too many moving parts and questionable recharging process.

jeannot · Post by **jeannot** » Fri May 24, 2019 12:57 pm

We did a video on this already: https://youtu.be/bb7jsVkTW_Y

Krisdonia Portable Laptop Charger 92.5Wh/25000mAh (link in video)

The trick is finding a battery with a low current shutoff value, or ideally none at all. Many of these batteries will shut off if your draw dips below a relatively high value. Some are around 100mA which is not going to work for Eurorack in most cases. The one listed here is low enough to stay on even with a single Pod and it's TSA approved.

joeSeggiola · Post by **joeSeggiola** » Fri May 24, 2019 1:11 pm

jeannot wrote:We did a video on this already: https://youtu.be/bb7jsVkTW_Y

Thanks, I completely missed that! I'm happy to see I was on the right track, but I would have never thought about automatic shutoff, why they have that?

jeannot · Post by **jeannot** » Fri May 24, 2019 1:38 pm

These larger batteries are designed to charge high capacity devices like laptops. A computer is always going to draw a fairly high current when charging, so the shutoff is a way for the battery to stop operation once the charge is done.

I've only found one battery that had a low current shutoff that could be toggled on and off, and it didn't have the DC output jack. The jack isn't essential, but it's nice to use your existing DC cable and just plug straight from the battery to the Pod or other enclosure.

joeSeggiola · Post by **joeSeggiola** » Fri May 24, 2019 3:10 pm

Got it. However in the Amazon product description of the battery you used it says it has a shutoff current of 100mA... You said 100mA is probably not enough. Maybe you wrote the number wrong?

jeannot · Post by **jeannot** » Fri May 24, 2019 4:50 pm

Maybe I was mixing up the USB and DC outputs, either way we had a single Pod going on this one, but were having it shut off with other batteries. YMMV

Still on the hunt for one that has DC outs and no low current shutoff.

donpachi · Post by **donpachi** » Sat May 25, 2019 2:07 am

joeSeggiola wrote:
Hovercraft wrote:Took my battery powered Pod60 out Saturday evening, and played at an art gallery opening for 2.5 hours.
I just got a Pod 48X, and I'd love to make it battery powered. What type of "small" battery can I use? Everyone else made it?

I am using this one:
https://sonnenrepublik.de/en/accessories/powerbank/91/power-bank-mp18

It will charge from a USB port and can power a USB light etc. in parallel to the pod.

pablowdadon · Post by **pablowdadon** » Sat Jun 08, 2019 7:08 am

embodead wrote:

With ~2mm washers, it nicely fits 48X.

Finally! Thanks a lot

JohnLRice · Post by **JohnLRice** » Sat Jun 08, 2019 9:46 am

I just had an idea so I tried a partial implementation (since I didn't have all the needed parts here.)

For people who need another 10mm depth out of their Pods and can handle some mild mechanical DIY (sawing, filing, taping, and possibly drilling aluminum) consider using Makerbeam rails and parts?
https://www.makerbeam.com/makerbeam/ The spacing works out and the screws are 3mm. It might take a little ingenuity and a lot of patience to attach the rails to the case but it might be worth it? Or at least this concept might give someone some ideas on a different way to do things.

Cut two pieces of 10mm Makerbeam so that they fit perfectly between the sides of the Pod and attach them to the Pod:

Use the special Makerbeam t-slot sliding nuts to attach the modules to the rails. The sides are left open of course like when using washers but . . .

You can tap the center holes in the rails and attach 2hp blank panels as extended sides!

MUFF WIGGLER

MUFF WIGGLER

4ms Pods