jeffbab Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 (edited) So I bought a modded Colecovision off bradd1978. It appears to be in excellent condition and was supposed to have been refurbished and has a blue power LED and composite video out. When I bought it, it never had a power supply, so I couldn't test it. I finally bought a Canadian power supply off ebay as I heard they were the superior model. Of course I still have no games. So I bought a lot of games off here from Mumbai (they arrived today and are in ridiculously amazing shape. I almost don't want to take them out of the package.) Anyway, so now that I can finally have a colecovision, a power supply and games to go with it, it turns out it doesn't work!!! So how can I figure out where the problem lies. When I switch it on the blue LED turns on for a second, and the TV looks like it is getting ready to detect a signal, but an instant later the blue LED goes out and I sit there with a black screen and no activity from the Colecovision. Would your guess be a bad power supply? How can I figure this out? Anyone have an extra power supply they can sell me? I had to pay almost $40 for this one since I am in Canada. Half of the price was the dam shipping. I don't really want to sink that much money into another power supply if there's nothing wrong with this one. I haven't left feedback on ebay yet for the power supply I bought, but I don't want to just come out and accuse him of selling me a bad one when I have no idea if that is what the problem is. Is there some way I can test it to show proof? I do have a little multimeter I bought years ago, but I'm not really sure how to even use it or how to test the power supply. Any help would be appreciated. Edited September 30, 2014 by jeffbab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffbab Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 (edited) OK I found a youtube video that showed basically how to test the power supply. He is checking it internally in the video but I just stuck the multimeter pins in the holes on the end of the power supply cord. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfO1VFQBAvY There are 4 holes. When I test the first two holes on the left, I get 12 volts. When I check the first hole on the left and the third hole from the left (on the bottom row) I get -5 volts. Then when I check the first hole from the left with the upper hole on the right I get 5 volts. So if I am doing that correctly it appears to me there is nothing wrong with the power supply. Am I correct? Edited September 30, 2014 by jeffbab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+nanochess Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 OK I found a youtube video that showed basically how to test the power supply. He is checking it internally in the video but I just stuck the multimeter pins in the holes on the end of the power supply cord. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfO1VFQBAvY There are 4 holes. When I test the first two holes on the left, I get 12 volts. When I check the first hole on the left and the third hole from the left (on the bottom row) I get -5 volts. Then when I check the first hole from the left with the upper hole on the right I get 5 volts. So if I am doing that correctly it appears to me there is nothing wrong with the power supply. Am I correct? Right! Probably something got loose on shipping, I would suggest to open your Colecovision and check connections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffbab Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 Right! Probably something got loose on shipping, I would suggest to open your Colecovision and check connections. OK, never thought of that. Hopefully it is something simple like a loose wire somewhere. Time to search for a video on how to take these apart now. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffbab Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 OK, now I am even more confused. I took it apart and looked for any loose connections and didn't see anything that looked out of place. So I bring it back upstairs and just for the heck of it I decide to stick the multimeter back in the power supply holes again, and now the first and 4th hole are reading no voltage at all instead of 5 volts! WTF! It was working perfectly when I tested it an hour earlier. Heck, I even recorded myself testing it on my camera phone so I could upload the video to my youtube channel, so I know I wasn't doing it wrong. Of course I just finished leaving positive feedback to the ebay power supply seller since I was so pleased with myself for being able to test the power supply myself and prove it was working. Ugh! Do you think I should bite the bullet and buy another power supply? Why would the voltages be reading correctly one minute then be wrong an hour later? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+nanochess Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 OK, now I am even more confused. I took it apart and looked for any loose connections and didn't see anything that looked out of place. So I bring it back upstairs and just for the heck of it I decide to stick the multimeter back in the power supply holes again, and now the first and 4th hole are reading no voltage at all instead of 5 volts! WTF! It was working perfectly when I tested it an hour earlier. Heck, I even recorded myself testing it on my camera phone so I could upload the video to my youtube channel, so I know I wasn't doing it wrong. Of course I just finished leaving positive feedback to the ebay power supply seller since I was so pleased with myself for being able to test the power supply myself and prove it was working. Ugh! Do you think I should bite the bullet and buy another power supply? Why would the voltages be reading correctly one minute then be wrong an hour later? Try to move the power supply cable to check for a broken wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thevnaguy Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 More than likely you have a broken wire in the cord and possibly the -5 volt output is dead. I made the video that was mentioned here. it is a common problem I see with the power supply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phattyboombatty Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Try to move the power supply cable to check for a broken wire. Yes. It sounds like you have a CV power supply with some fractured copper within the insulating plastic sheathing. When this happens, you may see intermittent power coming through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffbab Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 Crap. I tried wiggling it around but couldn't get it to read any voltage on the 5 volt pin. I guess I am buying another power supply afterall. At first it was at least trying to turn on for half a second. Now the blue power LED doesn't turn on at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffbab Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 Cheapest one on ebay dot ca right now is around $55 Canadian after shipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIAD Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Cheapest one on ebay dot ca right now is around $55 Canadian after shipping. Send Retroillucid or coleco_master a PM to see if they still have extra Power Supplies available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffbab Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 Thanks Ill send them some nessages tomorrow morning. So frustrating. The worst oart is i have 41 new colecovision games that came in the mail today and i cant play any of them. Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chart45 Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 (edited) since you open the colecovision go for a cfm40t-01 this will give you a internal power supply and it will be new not another 30 years old power supply for the same price.... do a search picture of this internal power supply mod can be found on aa Edited October 1, 2014 by chart45 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galax Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Could you hack an ATX or similar PC power supply to work? Should have the right voltages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iscout62 Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 I have a couple DIY external supplies still, just wire up your existing 4pin female cable and attach it into a project enclosure (radio shack $3.95) PM for details. :^) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffbab Posted October 9, 2014 Author Share Posted October 9, 2014 Just an update... i bought another us power supply and all is working fine now. Now i guess i can hack my canadian power supply up and see if i can get it working or maybe attach the end to one of those arcade power supplies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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