Power supply by Midi?

[Effraktor]

Hi everyone, i'm new to the forum and i am very excited about the possibilities of the mega drum.

I've wanted a zendrum for a while now and while I can't afford to buy one if i'm right i should be more than able to afford building my own one, and be able to make it much more awesome with the help of megadrum.

So my question at the moment is... is it possible to power the megadrum through a midi cable? like the system the zendrum uses, where the midi cable from the instrument is connected into a "powerpack" on the floor that is plugged into the mains and has a midi out that connects to the module.

Is it as simple as wiring the whole setup as usual but putting 5v through one of the midi connectors? I haven't looked into the whole wiring setup of the megadrum yet, as i'm planning on talking to my fellow band mates about it first (one is a computer technician and the other builds custom guitars) so together we should make a good team.

[dmitri]

If it is not a long cable then you can power MegaDrum over it directly from a 5v source.
If it is a longish cable, then it should be a higher voltage source and a +5 stabilizer on the MegaDrum's end.

[Effraktor]

What is considered long? I just bought a 10m midi cable for my electric kit and can't see myself needing any more than that for my megazen. Would that need a stabilizer?

thanks for the reply dmitri, keep up the good work

[dmitri]

I'd consider anything longer than 1.5-2m as long.

[Effraktor]

ok, so one of these http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=7939 ?

how many volts would be good to put through it with a 10m midi cable? 9v, 12v? or would I have to do some testing?

edit- just noticed synthex's kit comes with one of those, will i need a second one or does that one do the job?

[dmitri]

ok, so one of these http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=7939 ?

how many volts would be good to put through it with a 10m midi cable? 9v, 12v? or would I have to do some testing?

edit- just noticed synthex's kit comes with one of those, will i need a second one or does that one do the job?

It can be the wide range of voltages, e.g. 9-18V. Important thing is that the voltage stabilizer you add to MegaDrum can accept it and then provides +5 to MegaDrum.