Zennmaster Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 Hi all - You've heard this part of the story before: I got a new CRT, and went to fire up my NTSC 800XL that I've had for a couple of years. It had been working great, running through an upscaler onto my flat screen, but I hadn't used it much recently since my older 800 was doing great. Anyway, I plugged the XL in, and got this through the monitor port, along with the dreaded buzz. I got the same results through the RF port, and when I tried the upscaler again, no image (not surprising), but still got the buzz. I checked my power supply, which is one of the bad epoxy-encased megabricks, and actually got around 4vdc on the 5vdc pins when measuring with no load (of course). Could LOW voltage cause this kind of issue? Or does the load bring the voltage back up? Obviously, I'll be looking for a new power supply. Even if this one works right, it seems it's just a matter of time before something really gnarly happens. Is Best still the best source for the serviceable bricks? Or are most folks going the 5 volt router/switch mode? Thanks for your help! -Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baktra Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 (edited) Artifacts in the video output or unusable video output is one of the typical symptoms for bad power supply. I would suggest doing your computer a favor and provide it with a new, quality 5V/2A switching power supply. I am happy with my 5V/3A from MEAN WELL, for example. Unless you are a purist, bricks are unreliable luxuries (and you can always buy a bare bone PSU and install it in the casing of the original PSU) This was discussed in this thread. Edited August 4, 2017 by baktra 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zennmaster Posted August 4, 2017 Author Share Posted August 4, 2017 Artifacts in the video output or unusable video output is one of the typical symptoms for bad power supply. I would suggest doing your computer a favor and provide it with a new, quality 5V/2A switching power supply. I am happy with my 5V/3A from MEAN WELL, for example. Unless you are a purist, bricks are unreliable luxuries (and you can always buy a bare bone PSU and install it in the casing of the original PSU) This was discussed in this thread. Great tip, thank you! I've just ordered the GS18U05, which is the US version of the one discussed in that thread. Next question, which I'm sure will be obvious once I start cutting: It looks like there are just two leads in the ingot's connector cord: One for all three +5Vdc pins, and one for all three ground pins, so after I snip the connectors off of the ingot and the Mean Well, there are only two wires to connect? Or is there something I'm not seeing? Obviously, polarity is crucial. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baktra Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 (edited) The MEAN WELL power supply comes with a concentric female connector for its 5V DC output. I would do the following: 1. Buy an opposite male concentric connector (either for soldering or with terminators) 2. Cut the cable that connects the old PSU and the computer (the one with DIN connector) 3. Solder two wires from the cut cable to the concentric connector, or just use terminators of the concentric male connector to connect. Ensure the polarity is correct (use Atari DIN power connector pinout description to check) Another possibility is to remove the concentric female connector of the new PSU and solder directly to the cut cable as described here. The result look as follows (soldering variant): Edited August 4, 2017 by baktra 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 I hope that Ingot power supply didn’t fail and fry your computer on its way down ... its been know to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zennmaster Posted August 4, 2017 Author Share Posted August 4, 2017 The MEAN WELL power supply comes with a concentric female connector for its 5V DC output. I would do the following: 1. Buy an opposite male concentric connector (either for soldering or with terminators) 2. Cut the cable that connects the old PSU and the computer (the one with DIN connector) 3. Solder two wires from the cut cable to the concentric connector, or just use terminators of the concentric male connector to connect. Ensure the polarity is correct (use Atari DIN power connector pinout description to check) Another possibility is to remove the concentric female connector of the new PSU and solder directly to the cut cable as described here. Thank you! It actually looks like the US version comes with a male plug, but it was easy enough to find a female connector, which should work just fine. If anyone else wants to build one of these in the future, the connector is a 2.1mm x 5.5mm barrel plug, which is common in CCTV applications. Thanks again, and I'll follow up here with my results once all the parts are in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zennmaster Posted August 4, 2017 Author Share Posted August 4, 2017 I hope that Ingot power supply didn’t fail and fry your computer on its way down ... its been know to happen. I hope so too, thanks. It appears that the most destructive failure mode on the ingot is when the voltage regulation fails, and it goes above it's rated value. This one has gone low, so hopefully it hasn't fried anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zennmaster Posted August 5, 2017 Author Share Posted August 5, 2017 UPDATE: I had a spare arcade switching power supply laying around, which I know gives a stable 5 volts. It's too bulky and cumbersome to use as a permanent replacement, but I figured I could use it to see what the 800XL did when it had good power. I snipped the connector cable from the ingot, and after verifying that the lead with the white stripe is indeed the 5v lead, hooked it up to the 5Vdc terminal on my arcade switcher, and the other lead to the ground terminal. With this power supply solution in place, the 800XL fired up immediately! Just to make sure everything was ok, I entered test mode and let it run. No errors were reported on the first pass. I am now considering this to be a success. Once the Mean Well power supply arrives, probably this week, and the female barrel connectors arrive (tomorrow), I'll build up an adapter cable, and I think this issue will be solved. Thanks to everyone who chimed in, your help is greatly appreciated! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baktra Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 It is good to see one more 800XL up and running. Not a tank like 800, but still a sturdy and well-built machine. Consider yourself lucky. It could have been much worse (12 V from the broken supply instead of 4) The conclusion is: Never ever connect your Atari to PSU of an unknown condition; ever! I hope the MW PSU will serve you well when it arrives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 It is good to see one more 800XL up and running. Not a tank like 800, but still a sturdy and well-built machine. Consider yourself lucky. It could have been much worse (12 V from the broken supply instead of 4) The conclusion is: Never ever connect your Atari to PSU of an unknown condition; ever! I hope the MW PSU will serve you well when it arrives. Even better, never, ever use an Ingot if you find one in the wild (I've got two sitting in a box myself). I'm saving them to nick the DIN connectors off if one of my good non-Ingot supplies ever fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 Yep, I had one arrive with a bought machine a few years back. Evident straight away from the auction description and sure enough live test revealed the death buzz which stopped once I used a normal PS. From memory it wasn't hugely overvolting either, only a few tenths over so was nearly crossing that thin line. Keep the DIN, chuck the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinks Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 I use my ingot only... someone should make new power supplies as I should replace mine soon just in case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 I use my ingot only... someone should make new power supplies as I should replace mine soon just in case. Just make a new one. Cut the DIN connector and lead off the Ingot at the root, so to speak, and wire it to a modern 5V, 2A power supply. Verify the positive and negative leads on the wire - I haven't done it myself yet but Zenmaster above says that the white stripe is positive, unmarked is ground. Verify that of course, but it's only two wires to solder and then a couple tiny bits of electrical tape or better yet, heat shrink tube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 The shame about most USB wall-warts you come across is most seem to be in that 500-1200 mA range. Of over 10 I've got, probably only 2 or 3 rated at 1.5 Amps or more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 The shame about most USB wall-warts you come across is most seem to be in that 500-1200 mA range. Of over 10 I've got, probably only 2 or 3 rated at 1.5 Amps or more. You can buy a Canakit 5V 2.5A Raspberry Pi power supply for $10. Cut off the microUSB connector and voila. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinks Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 Can you buy new din power connectors somewhere? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+remowilliams Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 I use my ingot only... Like living dangerously do you? Ingots are good for snipping off the business end and attaching to something like a Dlink 5V power supply, which is exactly what I did with the one I had sitting around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baktra Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 Can you buy new din power connectors somewhere? Most of the stores that sell electronic parts should have them in stock. It is a standard 7-pin male DIN connector. You will just need to solve the problem of soldering one wire to 3 DIN connector pins, but that's also doable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zennmaster Posted August 5, 2017 Author Share Posted August 5, 2017 I am so excited to have this working, and I got to thinking: My current setup, which I consider to be temporary while I am waiting for parts, might not actually be all that bad of a solution if someone is looking to build a bench power supply, or needs to power a number of XLs in close proximity. The arcade power supply I am using is a Suzo-Happ, rated at 15 amps on the 5v rail. They are available from the various arcade suppliers for around $25.00us. The big advantages I see of setting one of these up on a bench: 1) It's got enough power to run several XLs using a single power cord occupying one power socket in the wall. This would, of course require either stacking wires under the terminals or else building a "bus" with barrel connectors. 2) The voltage is adjustable, so you can easily keep it in the healthy range. 3) This supply is designed with all its weak spots arranged so that when it dies, it will generally just quit, and not spike. Disadvantages: 1) It's a bit bulky to use the same way you'd use a brick. 2) There is some set up involved: You'll need to provide a mains cord and do some wiring. 3) The mains terminals are exposed, so you'd need to address the shock hazard, probably with some sort of enclosure. 4) This one just has 5Vdc, so it won't work for any of the machines that want 9Vac. Something to think about, though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinks Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 I am so excited to have this working, and I got to thinking: My current setup, which I consider to be temporary while I am waiting for parts, might not actually be all that bad of a solution if someone is looking to build a bench power supply, or needs to power a number of XLs in close proximity. The arcade power supply I am using is a Suzo-Happ, rated at 15 amps on the 5v rail. They are available from the various arcade suppliers for around $25.00us. The big advantages I see of setting one of these up on a bench: 1) It's got enough power to run several XLs using a single power cord occupying one power socket in the wall. This would, of course require either stacking wires under the terminals or else building a "bus" with barrel connectors. 2) The voltage is adjustable, so you can easily keep it in the healthy range. 3) This supply is designed with all its weak spots arranged so that when it dies, it will generally just quit, and not spike. Disadvantages: 1) It's a bit bulky to use the same way you'd use a brick. 2) There is some set up involved: You'll need to provide a mains cord and do some wiring. 3) The mains terminals are exposed, so you'd need to address the shock hazard, probably with some sort of enclosure. 4) This one just has 5Vdc, so it won't work for any of the machines that want 9Vac. Something to think about, though... That might work for a coleco and 8 bit atari computers..hmmmm maybe a step down convertor to do 9vdc as well could be one plug to the wall for all systems.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zennmaster Posted August 5, 2017 Author Share Posted August 5, 2017 That might work for a coleco and 8 bit atari computers..hmm Anything that just needs 5Vdc. Of course, one would have to build cables with the appropriate connectors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddtmw Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 I just ordered one of these: https://smile.amazon.com/Controller-Interface-Olufsen-Stereo-SystemsCable/dp/B01CQR5L1C/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1501966008&sr=8-4&keywords=7+pin+din+cable 2 male 7-pin DIN's and according to the QA, all seven pins are wired across. Cut it in half and you have plugs for 2 cables! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zennmaster Posted August 5, 2017 Author Share Posted August 5, 2017 I just ordered one of these: https://smile.amazon.com/Controller-Interface-Olufsen-Stereo-SystemsCable/dp/B01CQR5L1C/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1501966008&sr=8-4&keywords=7+pin+din+cable 2 male 7-pin DIN's and according to the QA, all seven pins are wired across. Cut it in half and you have plugs for 2 cables! There ya go! Just make sure you've correctly identified all the wires, bundle 'em together, and you're off to the races. Those look like nice connectors, and thats a nice length of cable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinks Posted August 6, 2017 Share Posted August 6, 2017 There ya go! Just make sure you've correctly identified all the wires, bundle 'em together, and you're off to the races. Those look like nice connectors, and thats a nice length of cable! USA only.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillC Posted August 6, 2017 Share Posted August 6, 2017 (edited) USA only.. Here's the same from eBay.ca for CDN$13.85(US$10.95) w/free shipping. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Ancable-7-Pin-Din-Midi-Cable-Male-to-Male-Controller-Interface-Cable-9ft-3m-/162408752915?hash=item25d050e713:g:gtgAAOSw1S9We7PO Edited August 6, 2017 by BillC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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