Powering Pod with 9v Battery--why the noise?

Troubleshooting and Support
1

I’m trying to power a Pod from a battery (using a very simple additive synth out of PD). If I use 9v, it works, but after a minute or so, I start to hear a noise in the headphones (static with a pitch, like when you run a motorized appliance near a radio.) This gets continually louder until it overpowers the signal. If I disconnect/reconnect the battery, the noise persists unless I let it sit for a while. When I come back later, it starts off working but goes through the same transformation.

I’ve tried lowering the voltage using resistors to make a voltage-divider, but even at 6v it looks like it’s not enough to power the pod (LED on the seed gets a dim glow, so there’s power, but nothing happens.).

Edit: Is anyone else having this problem?

I’m new to electronics and Daisy, so I’m sure it’s something simple/stupid. Any suggestions?

2

I’ve had this exact same issue with multiple different projects - all from PD patches flashed to Daisy Seed. The issue never happens with 9v wall power, only on battery power.

Did you find a solution?

3

One thing to note is that 9-volt batteries have a very high output impedance, meaning that the voltage will drop quite a bit once they’re under a load. Try measuring the battery voltage when it’s powering the Pod and see how low it’s going.

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