Third party AC adapters for SNES - found a good one yet?

[brento]

I don't know about you but I've tried out various third party adapters on my SNES and none of them seem to do the job like the ole trusty Nintendo branded one. I keep seeing minor distortion in the picture quality. I am wondering if anyone here has used a third party AC adapter that works as well as the Nintendo one...

 

Just look at these poor reviews of this third party adapter. Scrolling lines down your screen, the wrong amount of power being fed to your SNES. It's sketchy.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Super-Nintendo-AC-Adapter-Power-Supply/dp/B000A7I71C

 

I don't like all these "all in one" adapters. Why can't someone just make one that's truly SNES compatible? I'm shocked that nobody seems to have done it... Unless I'm missing something.

Edited June 13, 2016 by brento

[Oge]

Scrolling lines down your screen, the wrong amount of power being fed to your SNES. It's sketchy.

 

This is caused by RF disturbances going from mains (AC) to output.

[Osgeld]

the missing something is the asshole non standard connector that no one wants to reproduce except for sketchy china shops

[copy]

I recently ordered one of these:

 

http://en.retrogamesupply.com/products/power-supply-for-nintendo-super-nes-us-ntsc

 

I haven't received it yet so I can't personally confirm the quality, but it sounds good on paper. The pictures show it comes with a plug adapter to fit the proprietary SNES power jack.

[copy]

I was reminded in another forum that you can also get plug adapters separately, giving you lots of options for alternative power supplies:

 

http://console5.com/store/super-nintendo-snes-power-supply-adapter-plug-cable.html

http://console5.com/store/2-pin-interchangeable-dc-plug-adapter-for-us-ntsc-super-nintendo.html

[Oge]

I have two solderable DC plugs built back in the day, you can find them in real life through some electronic shops. With a good 9V@2A Power Supply the perfect NTSC SNES Adapter is a reality.

[Oge]

By the way, the official size for the DC Plug seems to be 7x1mm.

If someone is able to confirm that 6.5x1mm and 7.5x1mm fits as well it would be an useful information.

[icemanxp300]

I have found these work well for nes and snes but suck for genesis. Of course last time I bought some was years ago and from a different seller. I am hoping they are the same. classic-game-source was where I bought mine from years ago.

 

This is my new order that is on the way.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/111214147919?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

This is from the seller I bought from years ago.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/12-Lot-Yellow-box-9V-DC-850-mA-NES-Nintendo-Turbo-Grafx-AC-Power-Adapters-/311382894233?hash=item487fdde699:g:00AAAOSwNSxVgB0H

 

I am hoping they are just as good as before and the same.

[copy]

I received the US SNES power supply that I linked to earlier from Retro Game Supply. Unfortunately the DC plug adapter they included does not fit my US SNES. It seems the main problem is that the adapter has a 1.0mm pin, while the SNES apparently accepts a 0.7mm pin.

 

I used the contact form on their site to ask them about this. In the same order I also got their NES, Genesis 1, and Genesis 2 adapters, and they work well so far.

[brento]

Iceman: I hate to be the bearer of bad news but that yellow packaged 3-in-1 is not good for the SNES. It is fine, however, for Genesis and NES though I've heard the build quality is questionable.

 

The problem with the adapter there is that it's specs don't match the original of the SNES. This led to (for me and others) some distortion in the picture... either rolling lines or static.

[thecrypticodor]

Iceman: I hate to be the bearer of bad news but that yellow packaged 3-in-1 is not good for the SNES. It is fine, however, for Genesis and NES though I've heard the build quality is questionable.

 

The problem with the adapter there is that it's specs don't match the original of the SNES. This led to (for me and others) some distortion in the picture... either rolling lines or static.

Their power output is actually fine. The reason why those 3-1 things are so crappy is because they are actually switch mode supplies. You're lead to believe because of their size and shape that they are linear class 2 transformer supplies but they're just a switch mode supply and a ton of empty space.

As to why they can create noise in your video output is because switch mode supplies create a ton of electromagnetic and RF noise that are supposed to be filtered out with components such as inductors and chokes. Since switch mode supplies will technically still work without them Chinese manufacturers will often leave them out to save money.

Edited June 23, 2016 by thecrypticodor

[icemanxp300]

Iceman: I hate to be the bearer of bad news but that yellow packaged 3-in-1 is not good for the SNES. It is fine, however, for Genesis and NES though I've heard the build quality is questionable.

 

The problem with the adapter there is that it's specs don't match the original of the SNES. This led to (for me and others) some distortion in the picture... either rolling lines or static.

 

Your not bearing any bad news to me. I already have them and they work absolutely fine for me. My nes and snes systems play 100% perfect. They gave me problems for genesis but I mainly buy them for snes and occasional nes.

 

This will be the 2nd time I purchased these yellow 3 in 1's. The first time was like 5 years ago and never a problem with snes or nes. Must be because I use them on an old CRT TV.

[Osgeld]

switch mode power supplies are quite possibly the best thing you can use

 

if they are not made for a nickel, cutting out every single part that technically is unrequired for its very core base bare bones functionality... which goes back to my other post in this thread

 

SNES uses a nonstandard connector that no one will reproduce except shady china shops, they do not care how shit they are, they only care they somewhat fit the plug and produce somewhat the right voltage at the required current without catching fire somewhat easily (electrocuting you is not even a thought, see thecrypticodor picture, not a single isolation slot tween mains and your low voltage plug, that's one humid day away from sending 120-240 volts direct up your ass)

 

dont be surprised when they are shit, especially in ice's second link, where they cost you 3.32$ each with a 50-75% markup

Edited June 24, 2016 by Osgeld

[brento]

Iceman: I'm glad they worked out for you... I do wonder why mine wasn't perfect and yours is. I mean, it can't be that they're exactly the same. Perhaps since I got mine over a year ago, they've been improved since then. I remember that one game (Starfox) didn't work at all while others had distortion in the picture. Just curious what prob it gave for your Genesis? On my NES and Genesis it worked perfectly. It was just the SNES with probs.

 

I noticed that the output of an OEM SNES adapter is 10v & 850ma. The output on my old Chinese-made 3-in-1 is 9v 850ma. Not sure if that's a big deal or not.

 

Thecrypticodor: Your explanation seems good... It seems to me the 9v 10v difference isn't a big deal... It did look a lot like RF noise. I'm sure that was it... A shame these things are made without the proper filters.

 

Dunno why Star Fox was weird... It never worked with that 3rd party adapter. Could it be voltage related or maybe I was just unlucky that day...

[Oge]

I noticed that the output of an OEM SNES adapter is 10v & 850ma. The output on my old Chinese-made 3-in-1 is 9v 850ma. Not sure if that's a big deal or not.

 

You need at least 1000mA. An American Super Nintendo can function with 850mA but a Sega Genesis needs 1000mA. And if we consider plugging a device like a Everdrive, 9V@1200mA is to my opinion recommended.

 

Looks like the component count on the picture posted by thecrypticodor is even less than bare minimum...

Edited June 24, 2016 by Oge

[7800fan]

3rd party adapters most likely don't have noise filter so sensitive games like Starfox or Everdrive can glitch. Stick with original if possible

[icemanxp300]

Just curious what prob it gave for your Genesis?

 

 

On my genesis systems "multiple systems" the adapters caused a humming sound in the audio as well as green horizontal bars the moved from top of screen down. The guy swore to me it was genesis specific but I tried on many systems non tmss, HD, and TMSS, and all systems had same problems. I think sometimes the green bars were not as pronounced but I did get humming or sound distortion on all genesis.

[brento]

Interesting thing with the audio hum. The audio hum thing happens with all 3 of my Genesis systems which use OEM adapters. Mind you, I haven't opened up the adapters to see if all of the capacitors are in good shape. is this just something we get with the Genesis? I dunno, I've never owned one until about a year ago... And is there any cure for it?

[Andromeda Stardust]

I made my Frankendaptor out of one of those garbage Yobo 3-in-1 NES-Gen-SNES thingies. The wires are very thin and brittle, making them difficult to solder to. The Adapter put out 13v (12v under load) which I felt was uncomfortably high, so I cut off the tips and soldered them onto a 9v Radioshack brand adapter. Now I can run Atari, NES, AV Famicom, SNES, Genesis (Model 1), and Turbografx all off a single power brick. The RadioShack adapter only runs 10v unloaded so won't generate a ton of excess heat at the 7805 regulator.

 

[copy]

I bought a couple of the adapter plugs from Console5, and they work fine. I successfully used a Genesis 1 power supply with my SNES.

Edited July 6, 2016 by copy

[Atariboy]

Does anyone repair AC adapters for this system? Ruined my original at the usual place, which is the first couple of inches of the cable. It still works just fine if I get the cord in just the right place, so internally, it's still in tip top shape.

 

Have a spare, but I'd hate to finally open a brand new Super Nintendo after nearly two decades even though it was bought for just such a purpose. And I'd kick myself a bit less if I got this one back up and working after I wrecked it by a bit of carelessness.

Edited July 16, 2016 by Atariboy

[brento]

Update: I think I have solved some of the confusion. I recently did a test with 4 different Super Nintendo consoles, power supplies, and cords. Here are my results. I *only* get the scanning static lines if both the AV cords and power supply are 3rd party. If I mix an OEM AV cable with a third party AC adapter, no problem. Same thing is true if I use a third party AV cable plus original power supply... again, no problem.

 

So! The problem seems to be that using BOTH third part av cable and ac adapter is the issue. This sort of sucks, as I have recently been fixing up Super Nintendos, raising them from the dead. And when I get "broken" consoles, they never have the OEM cables or power supply. I don't want to give these perfectly functional SNES consoles to people with the static issue. And trust me, I know it's nothing wrong with the SNES consoles as they are ALL perfectly fine with OEM cables.

 

So, now since I am not rabidly against *just* the third party AC adapters, I am now open to using them, but need compatible AV cables.

 

So, I am wondering if anyone here has ordered third-party cables and does not have the static / rolling lines problem? And do you remember where you bought them if you did so online? I'd like to find a good combo of third-party cables that don't have this static issue.

Edited July 24, 2016 by brento

[Elizabeth1701]

So you know the 3 in 1 in the yellow box if its not correct for a SNES like someone previously mentioned. Since I'm not sure where mine is I can't check it unless I look up the Volt/amps and their wrong. This particular power supply has 9v 850ma, well that only matches a Genesis Model 2 that I know of, It doesn't match Model 1 or my NES. But the kicker is unless you take it apart attach a lead off an old Model 2 power supply or find an adapter it wont fit.

 

So they made the voltage/amps compatible with Model 2 but the plug fits a Model 1.

 

I did get a couple of the Retro2600 in the red box, Obviously for Atari 2600. I can say that these have the correct Volts/amps. As far as missing filters in the power supply I will have to compare it with one of my originals and see I get more RF noise.

 

It comes down to if the volts/amps don't match the system (and the Plug) they are worthless because they don't work correctly. Your likely to fry a board with long term use of incorrect volts/amps if they power on at all.

[Andromeda Stardust]

So you know the 3 in 1 in the yellow box if its not correct for a SNES like someone previously mentioned. Since I'm not sure where mine is I can't check it unless I look up the Volt/amps and their wrong. This particular power supply has 9v 850ma, well that only matches a Genesis Model 2 that I know of, It doesn't match Model 1 or my NES. But the kicker is unless you take it apart attach a lead off an old Model 2 power supply or find an adapter it wont fit.

 

So they made the voltage/amps compatible with Model 2 but the plug fits a Model 1.

The 3-in-1 Yobo fit my model 1 Genesis and NES perfectly but the voltage was way too high. 13V open, 12V under load. That puts the 7805 a bit too warm for comfort. That's why I cut the cords and soldered them onto a 850mA 9V Radioshack adapter. 10V open, 10V under load. Sure it's more expensive than the Yobo 3-in-1 schite, but you get what you pay for. Perfect for my NES, Genesis, TurboGrafx, AV Famicom, and SNES. I also cut a headphone patch cable and wired it up for Atari VCS after the OEM adapter got internal wire breakage. Tip positive, sleeve and middle ring negative. Compare that to vintage power bricks that often put out too much juice, as well as new shitty bricks that have similar issues in addition to much too thin wires. My NEC Turbografx power supply also puts out too much juice, 13V or so, and my Turbografx runs notably warmer with the OEM brick than it does the "frankendaptor."

[thecrypticodor]

So you know the 3 in 1 in the yellow box if its not correct for a SNES like someone previously mentioned. Since I'm not sure where mine is I can't check it unless I look up the Volt/amps and their wrong. This particular power supply has 9v 850ma, well that only matches a Genesis Model 2 that I know of, It doesn't match Model 1 or my NES. But the kicker is unless you take it apart attach a lead off an old Model 2 power supply or find an adapter it wont fit.

A US SNES is rated for 10v 850ma DC. The SNES uses a 7805 voltage regulator that knocks the voltage down to 5V which is what the system actually runs off of. So anything with a voltage with between 7 to 12V is fine. Amperage should be equal or exceed the rating of the original supply. Excess amperage won't hurt the system as it will only draw as much current as it needs. Aside from RFI/EMI noise those supplies make they are perfectly fine for the SNES. Not so much for early revisions of the model 1 Genesis they really need at least 1 amp.