+DamonicFury Posted April 27, 2013 Share Posted April 27, 2013 I recently came into a large lot of Adam equipment. Among it was a 3.5 inch drive from Micro Innovations and a GTCO power supply. (Pic below.) I'm guessing that they go together, but I wanted to ask if anyone knew before I accidentally fried the drive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIAD Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Congrats on the ADAM package pickup and the great score of an M.I. disk drive... these as well as the converted Coleco disk drives to 5 1/4" 320K and 3 1/2" 720K are extremely rare and never seem to become available. As far as if the pictured Power Supply goes with this drive, I unfortunately am not sure since I never did purchase one of M.I. drives back in the day. Hopefully ADAMcon will see this thread and chime in with the answer as I know he has a number of these units. How about pics of the rest of your big score! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DamonicFury Posted April 28, 2013 Author Share Posted April 28, 2013 As requested, here's more pics of the lot. I was shocked at the size of it when I picked I up... Found on Craigslist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIAD Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Very nice, very nice indeed! CraigList around here is a baron wasteland for the most part. That ADAM Home Software Library is one of the hardest boxes to find as far as ADAM related software, especially seeing that Coleco provided these free with the purchase of an ADAM Computer and they were mailed out in a padded brown envelope with no box. The boxed version was sold in retail stores. Also there are four different variations of media that the software was provided on: 1 - 4 Data Packs with the programs grouped by similarity. This is the most common version that was produced by Coleco. 2 - 1 Data Pack with all the programs and menu grouped together. Again, produced by Coleco. 3 - 1 5 1/4" Disk that is the same as #2. 4 - 1 Data Pack version which is the same as #2 but released/produced by dilitium Press. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamcon Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Ya'll got one funny looking power supply there. Now, the MI disk drives I have seen and own have a power brick similar in size to the black one pictured. I can't see the back of the MI drive, but the power connector is probably a 4 prong flat male end. Also on the back is an ON/OFF switch; a toggle for drive 1 or drive setting; data in and data out phone like male plugs. A picture of the back would be helpful. Also, IF the 9 pin serial plug is the cable out of the black "ps" box, then it doesn't match UNLESS someone has altered the power in on the back of the MI drive. [as Mark used a "whatever parts are available" type of construction, anything is possible] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamcon Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 I recently came into a large lot of Adam equipment. Among it was a 3.5 inch drive from Micro Innovations and a GTCO power supply. (Pic below.) I'm guessing that they go together, but I wanted to ask if anyone knew before I accidentally fried the drive! In retrospect, the power supply pictured may just be a aftermarket or homebrew power supply for the ADAM itself. IF you have an electrical tester, check the pin voltages of an ADAM printer and then the power supply pictured to verify IF it is an ADAM cpu power supply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DamonicFury Posted April 28, 2013 Author Share Posted April 28, 2013 Thanks for taking a look! Here's the rear of the drive... As you can see, it does match the power supply. Here's a look at what is inside that Home Software box. NIAD, if you need it for your collection, feel free to make me an offer if you like. Initial testing of the main Adam unit didnt go well ... Won't boot as an Adam, but will play Colecovision games. At one point, there was smoke coming from the L1 component on the Adam board. Ugh. Hoping for better luck with the Colecovision expansion unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DamonicFury Posted April 28, 2013 Author Share Posted April 28, 2013 Crud, Colecovision expansion Adam doesn't seem to work at all. Oh, well... Still lots of other nice stuff in the lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamcon Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Thanks for taking a look! Here's the rear of the drive... As you can see, it does match the power supply. Well, that's a new one on me, haven's seen on quite like it; but as I said, Mark used anything laying around and available. The drive will need +12volts; +5 volts; & possible -5volts ..... all DC. If the power supply states that or you check it with a tester and come up good, plug it in!! That is if you have a working ADAM to use it with; saw the rest of your post about the non working stuff....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DamonicFury Posted April 29, 2013 Author Share Posted April 29, 2013 Yes, thankfully I had a working Adam prior to obtaining the lot. And I'm very happy to report the power supply does indeed watch the disk drive and they both work great! :-) Thanks so much for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DamonicFury Posted April 29, 2013 Author Share Posted April 29, 2013 Also was able to get the Colecovision expansion Adam mostly working... everything but the tape drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIAD Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 Here's a look at what is inside that Home Software box. NIAD, if you need it for your collection, feel free to make me an offer if you like. Initial testing of the main Adam unit didnt go well ... Won't boot as an Adam, but will play Colecovision games. At one point, there was smoke coming from the L1 component on the Adam board. Ugh. Hoping for better luck with the Colecovision expansion unit. Thanks for the offer to sell the A.H.S.L., but I already have it in all it variations except for the original 5 1/4" disk... but I have PBoland's tremendous replica disk label to hold me over until a real Coleco released disk shows up somewhere. Sorry to hear about the ADAM. I would be careful with the Printer that you used to power the system until you can checkout the voltages that it is supplying the rest of the system. You can check with eColeco as far as a replacement ADAM Logic Board seeing as the ColecoVision Delta Board is operating. Then it's just a matter of disassembling the Memory Console and swapping out the boards. While this lot would be impossible for anyone to pass up, this is why I decided to accumulate some extra ADAM systems to offer for sale to AtariAge members first and then eBayers if they don't sell. I honestly can't stand when I hear that someone buys an ADAM and the thing doesn't work or has issues even though these units are approaching 30 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DamonicFury Posted April 29, 2013 Author Share Posted April 29, 2013 So is it possible to copy Adam programs to disk on a PC and run them on the Adam? Because that would really be great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIAD Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 Also was able to get the Colecovision expansion Adam mostly working... everything but the tape drive. A non-functioning Digital Data Drive is becoming very common now-a-days and usually indicates that the Drive is bad, but it could also mean that there is an issue with the ADAM Logic Board in the Memory Console with the ADAMnet chips or circuit and possibly the chip at U24 that is sometimes soldered, but usually socketed. One more thing to add to the mix, the system power supply could be the culprit for a non-functioning Data Drive. So if you have another power supply (Printer), give it a go to see if that fixes the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIAD Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 So is it possible to copy Adam programs to disk on a PC and run them on the Adam? Because that would really be great! With the DOS utilities DCOPY and The ADAM Connection, you can transfer disk images, files, etc. back and forth. However, you will need a 5 1/4" disk drive on the ADAM and the PC. I seem to recall using these DOS utilities with 3 1/2" 720K disks years ago, but I can't verify now seeing as I no longer have a 3 1/2" drive. Use the Forum Search with DCOPY as your search criteria for a couple lengthy threads that give all the specifics on transferring between the ADAM and a PC. Pretty sure there is no way with the High Density 3 1/2" 1.44Mb drive and disks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caterpiggle Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 Hello NIAD, Is possible for me to using 3rd party power supply to work on my ADAM 5.25 disk drive and is possible for me to using non-ADAM "phone" cable attachment to drive at the back ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIAD Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 Yes and Yes to your questions, but you have to use the right Power Supply and the right phone cable. For the Disk Drive Power Supply, you will need a 9V Transformer that matches what Coleco sold with the drive. There is an Atari 9V Transformer that is an exact match (except for the Atari info. printed on the unit) and www.eColeco.com still has available a good stock of 9V replacement Transformers. As far as the ADAMnet Cable (phone cable), you can use the Keyboard Cable (the coiled phone cable that attaches the Keyboard to the Memory Console) if you have any extras. If you don't have extras, you will need an RJ12 6 Conductor Twisted (or some say Reverse) Phone Cable. You can buy these from ShowMeCables for $2.20. Here are some pics of Disk Drive Power Supplies. The originally supplied 9V Transformer was beige in color and then later the color changed to black... just like the Atari one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caterpiggle Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 Is possible for me to using 1 of those Atari Power Supply that supply to 9 volts ? Is "RJ112" has 6 lines instead of 4 or 8 lines ? Is that correct ? Common phone cable are RJ11 but yours is "RJ112" ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caterpiggle Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 Can you be kind to give me an specific link to ShowMeCables for RJ112 for $2.20 ? I would not find specific under that web site ShowMeCables.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIAD Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 Is possible for me to using 1 of those Atari Power Supply that supply to 9 volts ? Is "RJ112" has 6 lines instead of 4 or 8 lines ? Is that correct ? Common phone cable are RJ11 but yours is "RJ112" ? Yes, the Atari Power Supply/Tranformer is the same exact one that Coleco used down to the spec and physical appearance, so if you have one, it will work perfectly. The RJ12 phone cable is 6 lines and very important that you get the TWISTED / REVERSE style because the STRAIGHT will not work... this is what you need for the ADAM Keyboard and ADAM Disk Drive. Can you be kind to give me an specific link to ShowMeCables for RJ112 for $2.20 ? I would not find specific under that web site ShowMeCables.com http://www.showmecables.com/product/RJ12-6-Conductor-6P6C-Flat-Silver-Satin-Crossed-Telephone-Line-Cord-3-FT.aspx http://www.showmecables.com/product/RJ12-6-Conductor-6P6C-Flat-Silver-Satin-Crossed-Telephone-Line-Cord-7-FT.aspx Thh first link is for the 3ft. cable and the second is for the 7ft. cable. I have bought both of these cables and they work great. The next length that is availale is 14ft., but have never used anything longer than 7ft. and am not sure if there is a max length before there is signal degredation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jblenkle Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 I have also purchased these cables!!! They are great...and fairly cheap, all things considered. Yes, the Atari Power Supply/Tranformer is the same exact one that Coleco used down to the spec and physical appearance, so if you have one, it will work perfectly. The RJ12 phone cable is 6 lines and very important that you get the TWISTED / REVERSE style because the STRAIGHT will not work... this is what you need for the ADAM Keyboard and ADAM Disk Drive. http://www.showmecab...-Cord-3-FT.aspx http://www.showmecab...-Cord-7-FT.aspx Thh first link is for the 3ft. cable and the second is for the 7ft. cable. I have bought both of these cables and they work great. The next length that is availale is 14ft., but have never used anything longer than 7ft. and am not sure if there is a max length before there is signal degredation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caterpiggle Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Hello Jblenkle, Will it works without "bulk" within ADAMNet cable ? Just buy the whole flat cable without bulk (for electric flow , I guess). Hello NIAD, I need to know which one Atari Power Supply 9 Volts that will work on my ADAM disk drive ? Atari 1050 ? Atari 1027 ? Because I don't want to see blow the fuse inside the ADAM disk drive with wrong Atari Power Supply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardhat Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 The thick bump in the usual AdamNET cables are magnets to limit the amount of RF interference that the cable generates. It doesn't affect the function of the cable on the Adam to use it without those magnets. My Adam didn't come with those RF suppressing magnets actually. I buy a lot of cables from digikey.com and they certainly sell the 6 wire phone cables in various lengths. It's not clear to me that it is any better, but just another option. For shipping to Canada you can shop digikey.ca. But several of the electronic component shops near here also have the 6 conductor cables. I also have some MI disk drives with the DB 9 connector for power. Mark Gordon couldn't get more of the flat 5 pin connector power supplies, so he changed the design to match what he could get. At the moment, I've misplaced my MI power supply. I'll have to dig around and find it. I find that 22disk, dcopy and adam connection worked well with the 1.44 MB 3.5" floppies. Is that a 720k drive or a 1.44MB drive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIAD Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Will it works without "bulk" within ADAMNet cable ? Just buy the whole flat cable without bulk (for electric flow , I guess). Not quite sure that I understand your question. Hello NIAD, I need to know which one Atari Power Supply 9 Volts that will work on my ADAM disk drive ? Atari 1050 ? Atari 1027 ? Because I don't want to see blow the fuse inside the ADAM disk drive with wrong Atari Power Supply. I couldn't tell you for sure, but the power ratings on the ADAM Disk Drive Power Supply/Transformer are as follows: 9V AC 31 VA (therefore 3.44 Amps) Checkout this thread for another discussion about the Disk Drive Power Supply: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/177853-looking-for-specs-on-coleco-adam-floppy-drive-model-%237817-power-supply/page__hl__+adam%20+disk%20+drive%20+power%20+supply?do=findComment&comment=2221158 Read Post #2 by Coleconut carefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caterpiggle Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 You mean this below: " Posted Sat Feb 26, 2011 4:06 PM nectarisneo, on Sat Feb 26, 2011 2:22 PM, said: Hello everyone. I'm new to this forum (and to the Coleco ADAM) and am trying to get some information on the external power supply for the 5.25" floppy drive. I was able to find a drive but unfortunately it didn't include the power supply. If I can find out what the voltage, polarity, and amp rating for the factory unit is I may be able to find a suitable substitute. Info on the plug type would be great too. Thanks. 9V AC 31 VA (therefore 3.44 Amps) Since its AC, no polarity. I have a spare but shipping from Canada might be a deal breaker. There's an Atari equivalent but careful, the connector sizes are the same with circumference but the Atari one might be too short often making the connection intermittent. Edited by coleconut, Sat Feb 26, 2011 4:09 PM. Like This Quote MultiQuote Report" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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