Guitar amplifier made portable?

[Lieke20]

Hi there!
Me and a friend would like to go busking in London. We do have two guitar amps which will be enough for the amount of instruments/mics we will be using. However, the amps still need to be plugged into a socket. Is there any way we could buy a cheap power bank or another kind of portable power provider so we can make this work? My amplifier says it needs 6.5V / 3A and there's obviously an adapter in between the amplifier and the plug. If you know a solution, specific product recommendations are welcome too!
(there are battery-powered amplifiers on the market, but us poor students don't really have the money to buy a complete new amp. Neither do we have deep knowledge of electricity, so help is greatly appreciated )

 

[DPG]

There are regulator modules available which will step down the battery voltage (which will vary and may be above 13V if fully charged) to a lower voltage. Your amplifier has a slightly unusual requirement of 6.5V, so you would need to make sure it can be adjusted to this value, or as near as you can get it.

This method would be better than stepping the battery voltage up with an inverter and then dropping it back down again.

 

[Lieke20]

There are regulator modules available which will step down the battery voltage (which will vary and may be above 13V if fully charged) to a lower voltage. Your amplifier has a slightly unusual requirement of 6.5V, so you would need to make sure it can be adjusted to this value, or as near as you can get it.

This method would be better than stepping the battery voltage up with an inverter and then dropping it back down again.

Thank you for your reply.
This may be a stupid question, but do you mean that I should buy (disposable) batteries (which ones?) and how do I connect them to my amp (with this VRM in between)?
The adapter that came with it says Output: 10V so apparently it has been working on 10V even though the amp itself said 6.5V.
Thank you!

 

[DPG]

Thank you for your reply.
This may be a stupid question, but do you mean that I should buy (disposable) batteries (which ones?) and how do I connect them to my amp (with this VRM in between)?
The adapter that came with it says Output: 10V so apparently it has been working on 10V even though the amp itself said 6.5V.
Thank you!

Sorry, I assumed you would be using a 12V car battery as many buskers do. If you use normal (AA etc) batteries then they wouldn't last long if playing at reasonable levels.

I wouldn't recommend using a 10V adaptor on your 6.5 V amplifier by the way.

 

[Jim_e_Jib]

Could you post up some photos of the amplifier - specifically where it mentions the power input. Likewise the adaptor that you use with it.

 

[Lieke20]

Could you post up some photos of the amplifier - specifically where it mentions the power input. Likewise the adaptor that you use with it.

Here the amplifier and adapter.

 

[Jim_e_Jib]

Here the amplifier and adapter.

It is quite strange that the output voltage of the adaptor is different to the input requirements of the amp. It may be worth double checking with Blackstar that this is correct, just to be sure...!

As per @DPG , a 12V car battery or similar with a voltage regulator that gives you the voltage and current that you require would be the way to go.

 

[Lieke20]

It is quite strange that the output voltage of the adaptor is different to the input requirements of the amp. It may be worth double checking with Blackstar that this is correct, just to be sure...!

As per @DPG , a 12V car battery or similar with a voltage regulator that gives you the voltage and current that you require would be the way to go.

Thanks to both of you! I've had this amp for a year now and never realised there was this difference. I will check with Blackstar.
I will also have a look at the 12V car battery option with voltage regulator.

 

[stevels4]

You can buy DC-DC converters fairly cheaply which will drop a 12v car battery down to 6V. I would however get some inline fuses fitted to both supplies and always make sure you connect the battery polarity correctly.

Example below

View: https://www.amazon.co.uk/EBILUN-Converter-Voltage-Changer-Regulator/dp/B07HCC8C6Z/ref=pd_sbs_107_3/258-3637499-7746104?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07HCC8C6Z&pd_rd_r=8ca6729a-ff4f-4688-ad8e-b471eb247451&pd_rd_w=m4yBR&pd_rd_wg=CK85J&pf_rd_p=f4a31d1d-8f61-48f5-b6f4-a22ba06df575&pf_rd_r=Y42BBANR48ZR4Z4YFB3S&psc=1&refRID=Y42BBANR48ZR4Z4YFB3S

 

[John Brown]

You can buy a car battery. This is my car jump start, you can have a look.
USB Output: 5V2A
Start Current: 300A
Cycle Life: 3000times
Vehicle Jump Start Power: 12V

 

[DPG]

You can buy a car battery. This is my car jump start, you can have a look.
USB Output: 5V2A
Start Current: 300A
Cycle Life: 3000times
Vehicle Jump Start Power: 12V

The 5VDC output is the wrong voltage and doesn't provide enough current for the amplifier being used.

 

[snowhead]

Whatever you have will need to be lightweight so that when the Unofficial Tax collectors come for their Unofficial Tax, you can Run, like the wind,,