power source for 2600. HELP!

[tobias_project]

i just recieved another atari (i had a 7800 only) in the mail, this time a 2600.. only there was no power adaptor included. the 7800 uses a little rectangle plug-in, but this one uses the headphone-looking type.. i have a coleco telstar with the same type of plug + adaptor, but i don't want to mis-match voltage. anyway, my question is what voltage does the 2600 operate at, and/or where can i get an adaptor cheap?

 

thank you for your help!

carl

[tobias_project]

wicked, thanks for your help!

carl

[tobias_project]

ok, the telstar pong ac adaptor is 9v but it says only 50MA... is that one dangerous to use? what is MA anyway?

[tobias_project]

ok all clear. i won't use it just to be safe, besides i'd rather find an original 2600 adaptor so i can have all my systems hooked up at once..

 

thanks so much for your help again

[Ze_ro]

A while back I was toying with the idea of running the VCS off of a 9v battery by simply soldering a battery clip to a headphone jack. I never actually did it, but I remember seeing a document about it at the VCSp site. In fact, the guy who wrote it mentioned that the Atari has a voltage limiting circuit built into it that will take any voltage that exceeds 5 volts, and drop it down to 5 volts. What this means is that any power supply that is more than 5 volts *should* be able to power the Atari (Of course, don't go crazy... 200 volts will certainly cause damage). Now, I haven't tried this myself, so don't blame me if something goes wrong

 

--Zero

[+-^CrossBow^-]

I am curious to hear that the VCS will run on as little as 5 volts.

 

I say this because my old 4 switch woody (Which was given away long ago), used to have a variable voltage adapter I got from Radio Shack back in 85 I think. Anyway, I was bored one day and decided to start dropping the voltage on the adapter to the VCS to see how long it would run.

 

As soon as I got to about 6.5-7.0 volts...the VCS colors would go all screwy...it still played..but looked like crap. I found it would work fine at about 7.5 volts off that adapter...but anything really lower..and I actually had visual anomalies.

Does this mean that there was...or could have been a problem with the 5volt sub circuit on my old 4 switch woody? It did have a problem once before this but I found it be a short from the damn heatsink paste they plastered all over that lower left transitor. Wiped it up and it worked fine after that.

[tobias_project]

i have an even older unit a Coleco Telstar (pong) and i always unplug it because even when it's plugged in and turned OFF, the game still plays! when i turn it on again the score will have changed etc... but as for atari's, i don't know if they do this.

 

i just play it safe and hit the off switch on my power bar when i'm done.

 

carl

[Ze_ro]

Well, I don't have any actual technical info as to leaving these things plugged in... but I'll tell you this: I *never* unplug mine, and I've been doing it ever since I had my ColecoVision and Vic-20 15 years ago, and I haven't had a single problem. Not once has one of these things gone bad on me.

 

There is one exception though. A while back, my grandfather gave me an old Pong machine that he hadn't used for a long time... it still works, but when the AC adapter (or "Battery Eliminator" as it is labelled) hums and vibrates slightly while it is plugged in. Since this is old technology, it's probably normal. However, this always worries me enough that I leave it unplugged when not in use.

 

Some of my stuff has been plugged in for years, and though it does get warm, I've never had any actual breakdown.

 

--Zero

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Thanks guys,

 

This is what I figured. I basically always unplugged my old 4 switch adapter from the wall...and that is the only one I have ever had die on me (Frayed cord at the box point).

 

As for the heat..it is searing..it just warm. I wouldn't say I need gloves...but then..they will get warm when you have four of them plugged into one strip...and then three four others on another right next to.

 

But...as I stated...I unplug the surge from the outlet when leaving for extended periods of time.

 

For now...I shall just leave everything plugged in and at the ready for me.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Ben,

 

Only reason I was using the universal was because the cord to my original had frayed loose. I was only like 11 years old at the time and didn't have the nohow..or the gahoonas to try and repair the thing myself. So my Father went out and bought me a universal from RS that had all the same ratings and it worked great for another 3 years until I got rid of it in 88 once I got the 7800 I didn't really need it all anymore.

 

My recent 6 switch Heavy that I now have...does have an original Atari adapter on it...and still functions fine.

 

But I do have a question not off topic here.

 

Is it bad to leave the adapters plugged in all the time? I unplug everything from the surge strips when the wife and I leave on vacation...but I usually just leave everything plugged in..and always ready to go?

 

Just curious as my 7800 adapter would be much harder to replace OEM than the others..and I wouldn't want to damage it because I left it plugged in all the time. They do sure get warm though...ugh.

[tobias_project]

ok, in answer to the original query - i found a 9v @ 500MA ac adaptor at an electronics shop, it had the wrong end so i bought the headphone-style end, soldered them together and voila. thanks to everybody for the help, without which i wouldn't have made this thing. now i need to test it.. i'm not home right now so we'll see if i blow up later.

 

carl