## Power Supply for the Elektron MachineDrum Mk1

I'm so lucky to have met some lovely people over the years and got to know many customers on a personal level. One of them is Alex Simler. Alex is... well, kind of a bit geeky, eccentric, loves old gear and recently commissioned me to build a power supply for the Elektron MachineDrum Mk1.

Being a simple 6V ac supply, this wasn't a particularly challenging or even difficult project. Alex lent me his MachineDrum Mk1 as he was off to New Zealand for a couple of weeks and this would be an opportunity for me to knock something together. After a couple of days and in-between my regular stuff, I WhatsApped Alex a picture of the finished product.

Yeah, okay, it's a bit more fancy than your average wall-wart but that's just me. While the power cable is integral, the low-voltage cable is detachable. Hey let's face it, these cables get mashed, right? Having a detachable cable means that when your cable does get müllered, you can just buy another one or even just have some spares. It's a standard 5.5mm x 2.5mm DC cable and available for a couple of quid, bucks, Euros or whatever from Amazon.

The MachineDrum Mk1 pulls about 1.6A from a 6V a.c. supply. This means that the current supplied from the mains into the primary of the transformer is about 42mA when used on a 230V supply. Here's how you work that out:

$Supply Voltage = 230V$
$Secondary Voltage = 6V$
$Voltage Ratio = 6/230 = 0.026$
$Secondary Current = 1.6A$
$Primary Current = (Voltage Ratio \times Secondary Current)A$
$Primary Current = 0.026 \times 1.6A = 0.042A$

0.042A is 42mA and so a standard 63mA fuse is fitted internally, which gives sufficient margin for things like switch-on spikes, without compromising safety.

Since power is the product of voltage and current, if the supply voltage is halved from 230V to 115V, you have to double the current to maintain the same power. Hence the fuse rating on a 115V supply, is 120mA (about 2 x 63mA). Hope that all makes sense.

This power supply for the Elektron MachineDrum Mk1 is offered with either

• a 3-pin UK plug with the PSU configured to operate on 230V.
• a 2-pin European plug with the PSU configured to operate on 230V.
• a 2-pin US plug with the PSU configured to operate on 115V.

Anyway, the main thing was that Alex returned from his New Zealand adventures and loved his new power supply!

Incidentally, this power supply for the Elektron MachineDrum Mk1 which I've christened 'PSU-MDMK1' (well I had to call it something), can also be used on the Elektron MonoMachine Mk1.

You can buy this power supply here...

And if you need something a little special, just contact me. 🙂

And finally...

THIS POWER SUPPLY IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THE
ELEKTRON MACHINEDRUM MK2