Sequencer - Increasing Voltage?

[SamVsSound]

Hey guys

This is probably a bit of a newbie question so I apologize but I've never attempted something like this before and am having trouble finding answers. I recently got a Kawasaki i-Soundz drum pad at my local thrift store:

https://www.amazon.com/Kawasaki-Isoundz-Audio-Pro-Drum/dp/B0015Y76CK

I am interested in building a simple 4017 based step sequencer into this toy to essentially turn it into a drum machine. The issue I'm having is my step sequencer build requires at minimum 5V of power and should probably be running at 6 or 9V. The toy itself however only takes 3 AA batteries so is running at 4.5V or less. Is there an easy way to provide more power to the sequencer but keep it isolated from the main board? For instance if I run the sequencer off of a 9V and connect the grounds between the sequencer circuit and the main circuit will this work or will the 9V fry my toy?

Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated
Thank You

[Circuitbenders]

you could use a simple voltage regulator power supply circuit to take the 9v down to 5v.


What sequencer build are you using? Is it running on 9v or does it have its own power supply circuit so its actually running on 5v?
If you're running the 4017 on 9v then surely the output pulses will be 9v, which might be a bit much.

[SamVsSound]

Thanks for your advice, It is a 4017 sequencer I had planned on using resistors (a voltage divider if necessary) along the pulse outs to drop them to a workable voltage, that being said you are probably right that this would be much easier from 5V then 9 I've set up triggers using a 555 LFO on other devices but I was always able to run the 555 chip on internal power so I never really ran into this.

EDIT :
I've been doing some further testing and it looks like I was wrong, The toy I'm modifying uses piezo disks to trigger the drums normally and it looks like they need an input of at least 7-8 volts to trigger. In that case I will set up transistors and use the full 9V as a trigger.