eobard

Hamilton but I've aready bought the transformer from the link above.

I saw that and was looking at one other deal too. Thing is I'm in Canada so the shipping would hammer me. But I hemmed and hawwed about it and finally pulled the trigger. WTH, no guarantee the next transformer(s) I buy would be close enough and I might wind up spending lots more before finding a suitable substitute anyhow so I bought it. Intellivision console: $10CAD replacement transformer: $10USD paying more than those two totals for shipping: Disgustingly Priceless!

Yeah I'm gonna have to keep searching around for a transformer that meets those specs or possibly get two 18vCT and see where that gets me. I've proven the rest of the system works so I've shut it down and removed the transformers for now. And the wife's back in 2 days, so it looks like I'm done tinkering for now.

I think the GREEN BLANK PURPLE bit was a cartrige contact issue. Not 100% sure about the smell either way. The two transformers I used as a replacement have one primary and two secondaries that can be bridged to make a single with Center Tap. They are the same brand and model and are rated 10V2A each secondary or 20V1A when bridged together. When I tested them unloaded they read 12V/24V instead of 10V/20V but that is unregulated. When connected to the board I get inbetween those two, so It's not perfect but not way out of their spec. I know 18v and 18.5vCT are what the official requirements are but I don't think 20v and 20vCT are too far off. Heck the transformer that was in it when I got the unit was rated way different. Here's what was stamped on the shield in the way it was stamped: G-G/Y-G 15.5v 12.9VA B-Y 14.5V 7.25VA Which reads to me as 14.5v on the 18V line and 15.5v on the 18.5v (which would split to 7.75v on the CT). That's way below spec and yet (I assume) it ran for the previous owner for a while at least.

S-U-C-C-E-S-S-that's the way you spell success!!!! (sort of) I plugged in the cable to see what I'd get for readings and got 28v with the console fully powered but no game. So I hooked it up to my modern tv's coax and..... nothing. I took a chance that it was the age difference between 1080p LCD digital tech and the intellivision and I hooked it up to an old 19" crt. First power on with a cartridge I got a blank screen for ~3 seconds, then solid green for ~3 secs, then blank again, then solid purple which stayed. I powered off and tried without the cartridge just to see if I got the same green/blank/purple cycle and got a black screen only. Put the cartridge back in and fired it up HELLO ASTROSMASH!!!!!! It works but it smells like it's trying to cook something. I'm not sure it the voltages are a bit too high on that one line or if it's just burning off X number of years of dust and pet hair. I think I'm going to consider this a victory for now and see what I can do about getting a more in-sync transformer before I use it for any amount of time. Can anyone tell me what the "blank-bright green-blank-purple" means? Is it in any way diagnostically significant?

Beautiful! 25.5v is a lot closer to 33v. I think I'm going to gamble on it and see what I get. btw: I like the link thread here. I used it to get a copy of the official service manual and in the manual it says "Meter should read at least 16v". So it would seem even the official repair manual is vague...

Yeah I know it seem a bit pushy and I do apologize for that. Unrelated to the technical issue I'm under a time restraint. My wife's out of town for a bit and I'd like to get this wrapped up and put away before she returns in 3 days so I don't have to face "Why the @#$% is all this crap laying around the living room!?!?!?!!" so I'm hoping someone has an answer for me soon. Even if the answer isn't what I'm hoping for at least then I can put it away without it chewing in the back of my mind about wether I was close to getting it working or not. This is not related to my issue. I already know what was wrong with the system, the transformer was blown. I've since replaced it with a pair of transformers and I think the output from the power board is good but I'm not willing to just assume it is and then blow out the mainboard if I'm wrong. All I need to confirm my system is in spec is for someone with a working intelivision (original, not II or the sears unit) to crack open their system, unplug the cable going from the voltage regulator board to the main board, then power up the unit and take a volt meter reading between pins #3 (+16v unregulated) and pin #4 (ground). If someone can do that for me and confirm they get an unloaded voltage reading of ~30v then I should be safe to plug in my main board to the power board and then see if there are any other issues down the line. If you follow this link http://www.intvfunhouse.com/faq/intv_faq7.php and scroll down to section 7.4 you see the layout for both the connector going from the transformer to the voltage regulator board (first image) and from the voltage regulator board to the system board (second image). I just need to know if that 16v is when running the system or if that is an unloaded measurement. That article and any of the other ones I've found online don't specify. If that's a 16v unloaded requirement then I'll most likely blow something on the main board if I hook it up like that. If someone else can confirm that their reading are around 30v unloaded then I feel safe enough presuming that my system is in range to now power up the whole thing. Hopefully I've made things clear enough with my explanation.

30+ view and no response? Can anyone tell me what voltage they get from their power board's output for the middle pin going between the power board and the main board without the cable connected to the main board please?

A few years back I found an original Intellivision console in a antique shop for only $10 so I bought it. Got it home and it wouldn't power. I cracked it open and found that the transformer was shot. Long story short I tinkered with other transformers to no luck and then shelved it. Well today I took a run at it again and I've made headway. The transformer has been replaced and now the power board outputs are mostly in spec. The 5v, 12v and -2v register fine with my multimeter but the unregulated 16v reads as 33v when tested with my meter. Is this acceptable when the power plug going to the main board is disconnected and the only load is the multimeter? I don't want to hook the power circuit up to the main board and blow it. I know unregulated lines give a wide range of reading depending on the load connected. Is the 16v line 16v when the system is running or just the base output with the cable not connected to anything but a meter? Btw: Nice forum