DIY Portable Pedalboard With Parkside Battery and Noise-Free 9V Power Supply

This project shows how to build a low-cost, battery-powered guitar pedalboard using a Parkside 20V tool battery. Unlike most commercial pedalboards that rely on noisy 9V wall adapters, this design ensures clean, isolated power for multiple pedals on the go.

The custom power solution uses a DC-DC buck converter to drop 20V down to ~10.5V, followed by an LM317 linear regulator that smooths out remaining electrical noise, delivering pure 9V DC power to all connected pedals. The power distribution is fully modular, thanks to a 3D printed multi-output box and custom mounts for all components.

You’ll find:

1. A sturdy wooden pedalboard frame with 3D printed angled side panels
2. Velcro mounting strips for easy pedal placement
3. A 3D printed battery mount compatible with Parkside batteries
4. Custom-made power rail for multiple pedal connections
5. Integrated DC-DC and linear regulation for noise-free audio

Ideal for musicians who gig, rehearse, or jam without access to stable power outlets — this build makes your pedalboard truly portable and studio-silent.

Includes:

1. Full wiring photos
2. Schematic/dimensions
3. Custom 3D printed component mounts
4. Parts list and tool requirements

Mechanical

1. Plywood plate
2. 3D printed parts
3. M4 wood screws
4. Velcro tape

Hardware

1. 5.5mm x 2.1mm DC Barrel Connectors Female (Panel mount) x8
2. 5.5mm x 2.1mm DC Barrel Connectors Male (angled) x7
3. 5.5mm x 2.1mm DC Barrel Connectors Male (straight) x8
4. 6.3mm Spade connectors male x2
5. DC-DC Step Down (Buck) converter x1
6. 7809 or LM317 Linear regulator
7. ~100nF capacitor x1 (optional)
8. ~100uF capacitor x1 (optional)
9. 330Ω resistor (only if LM317 is used)
10. 2kΩ resistor (only if LM317 is used)
11. 22-28 AWG wire (approx. 5m)

Tools

1. Soldering iron
2. Screwdriver (preferably a hand drill)
3. Side cutters / pliers
4. Wire crimping tool (optional)
5. Hand saw or Jigsaw (for cutting the wooden board to the required shape)

This step will depend on how long you want to make your board. The board's legs are 3D printed and have a specific width of 250mm so the width of your wooden board should be fixed to that. I used a combination of a Jigsaw and a hacksaw to cut the plywood board. I also opened some slots roughly in the middle of the board for cable managment as you can see in the attached drawing, but I would suggest making the slots a lot thinner for better pedal adhesion later.

There are 3 main components that need 3D printing:

1. The Parkside battery adapter
2. The power distribution box
3. The side legs

Actually, the side legs are easy enough to make them from wood, that it may not be necessary to 3D print them. Furthermore, if you deside to print them, you will have to make them with very thick walls and dense infill to make them tough enough.

In this step, you have to use several M4 wood screws to screw the side legs on the side of the wooden board. Be careful to drive them straight in the thin wood, otherwise the screws may prodrude out on either side of the board.

I would suggest partially screwing them using a power hand drill, and hand tighten them only after making sure the board sits on the ground straight and flat. If not, a bit of sandpaper on the plastic legs can get the job done.

In this step, you need to screw all the female panel mount barrel connectors on the 3D printed power distribution box. Make sure to tighten them while their connections point at the same direction to make wiring them easier.

Once tightened, you can now solder all their positive and all the negative connections together, making sure none of the positives touches any of the negatives. Remember that in guitar pedals, the outside is the positive and the inside is the negative.

Now it's time to assemble the adapter for the Parkside tool battery. The corresponding 3D printed adapter has a small "pocket" with 2 slots for sliding in a 6.3mm spade connector in each one. These spade connectors, first need to be crimped or soldered to a wire, and then inserted with a bit of force inside these slots to become the battery terminals. Optionally, you can cover this hollow area (where the spade connectors sit) with hot-glue to make them one with the plastic part. Finally, you can screw the adapter on the top-right corner of the pedal board.

In this step you can use the attached diagram to solder all the electronic components together. Basically, the battery wires, should go to the input of the Buck Converter module, the output of which should (optionally) be connectd to an 7809 linear regulator. If you choose to add the linear regulator, I would suggest adding some capacitance on the output to futher stabilize it and filter any noise.

Don't forget to adjust the voltage of the Buck Converter to something slightly higher than 9-10V to reduce the load on the linear regulator.

Also, if you're using an adjustable linear regulator like the LM317, you have to aditionally solder 2 resistors of 330 and 2k Ohms, between the output pin and adjust pin, and between the adjust pin and ground respectively to configure the regulator for 9V output.

You can now screw the power distribution box on the bottom side of the pedal board using small wood screws. Besides it, you need to also screw or glue the Buck Converter as seen in the attached picture.

Preferably you should buy ready-made pedal wiring cables to save some time, but if you want to save money and customize the length of the cables, you can now solder 22-28 AWG wires to all the male barrel plugs ensuring that their terminals don't get mixed going from one end of the cable to the other. This is by far the slowest step because if you have a lot of pedals, need to strip and solder up to 30 individual wires to create all the connections necessary.

In this final step, you have to glue some velcro strips lengthwise on the top side of the board, and the opposite side of the velcro to all your pedals. Then, you have to attach the pedals in the orientation you like, and route one power cable to each one. Connect the other ends of the cables to the power distribution box, and your portable pedal board is ready! Plug in a Parkside battery and you're live.