Aftermarket AC Apdapter for Intellivision 2

[PowerPakBlog]

My Intellivision 2 has the original AC adapter, but it's a little wonky. I have to pull up on the part that plugs into the console to get it to fire up and stay working. Usually I jam something underneath it, like an NES cartridge, as you can see in the picture. As long as it's stable, it stays powered on. I wanted it to be rock solid, so I thought I would try an aftermarket power supply and see if that solved it.

 

 

Bought the new adapter from eBay, new in box. Plugged it in, works great, solved the problem completely... until... it caused it's own problem. After a few games of Burgertime, the console crashed to a green screen mid-game. This has never happened before. Reset, game worked for a minute, then glitched out again to blank screen. I tried another very well tested game (TRON DD) and the same thing occurred. Play for a minute or two, crash.

 

So I started looking at the console, and it smelled hot. It's not like I was playing all day, only a half hour maybe. Started thinking the new AC Adapter may be the problem.

 

Came back later and switched back to original power pack, works fine, played 45 mins to an hour, no problem.

 

I guess the question is... why? As you can see, the new one is marked 16V 1A. I'm not a expert in electronics, all I can do is follow instructions. Is it not the right thing? Just cheap/faulty?

 

 

And follow-up question: anybody ever have (and solve) this problem with an old power pack (the bad connection)? I'm wondering if the inside of the connector (the hollow post) is corroded... wondering how I could clean it up.

 

As always, any input is appreciated!

 

 

 

 

[+KylJoy]

Hmmm.... Ignoring the second adapter for a moment...

 

I would have suspected a loose AC adapter connector on the motherboard of the Intellivision to be causing the issue with the first power supply (or any for that matter). Have you opened the unit and inspected around that connector for loose solder joints? Let me know what you see.

 

I don't trust that second power supply just yet so I'm ignoring it for now.

[PowerPakBlog]

Hmmm.... Ignoring the second adapter for a moment...

 

I would have suspected a loose AC adapter connector on the motherboard of the Intellivision to be causing the issue with the first power supply (or any for that matter). Have you opened the unit and inspected around that connector for loose solder joints? Let me know what you see.

 

I don't trust that second power supply just yet so I'm ignoring it for now.

 

Yeah, I looked at it initially. Just double checked, and it seems rock solid, lots of bright solder, can't wiggle it at all.

 

And also to that point, I thought trying a second power supply would help me determine that as a point of failure or not. And with the new plug, it didn't need the extra nudge, it just fired up without support.

[thecrypticodor]

16V 1a is pretty damn close to the original 16.2V 950ma. It doesn’t say on there whether it’s output is AC or DC but since it obviously a switch mode supply it's going to be DC. Although that doesn’t matter since INTV II has a internal rectifier. Could be the PSU is just defective and isn’t staying in regulation. If you have or know someone with a multimeter you can check it's output voltage.

 

I had the same symptom when the STIC IC failed on one of my Intellivisions. It would play for a half hour or so until the chip started to get ridiculously hot and than the system would crash. It would than crash again almost immediately until I allowed the chip to cool than it would work again for another half hour or so. I replaced it with another STIC IC from a parts system and I was back in business. So I would try leaving the system on with it’s original adapter for a few hours and than see if crashes.

Edited September 12, 2016 by thecrypticodor

[mr_me]

That line with the three dots usually means DC. AC is sometimes written as 16V~950mA. And AC would not specify tip +/-. I've read people using AC adapters as low as 9V DC with Intellivision II. Can too low a voltage damage anything? Someone should test the original AC adaptor to see if it is actually supplying 16V rms under load.

 

The problem might just be the end connector. You can cut them off and put the new connector on the original ac adapter.

 

Edit: dont know how much that ac adapter cost but be carefull with cheap ones shipping from china

Edited September 12, 2016 by mr_me

[PowerPakBlog]

16V 1a is pretty damn close to the original 16.2V 950ma. It doesn’t say on there whether it’s output is AC or DC but since it obviously a switch mode supply it's going to be DC. Although that doesn’t matter since INTV II has a internal rectifier. Could be the PSU is just defective and isn’t staying in regulation. If you have or know someone with a multimeter you can check it's output voltage.

 

I have an inexpensive multimeter I used when repairing an arcade machine years ago. I'm not an expert with electrical systems by any means. If you don't mind, what would be the process for checking the output? I don't want to fry myself...

 

 

I had the same symptom when the STIC IC failed on one of my Intellivisions. It would play for a half hour or so until the chip started to get ridiculously hot and than the system would crash. It would than crash again almost immediately until I allowed the chip to cool than it would work again for another half hour or so. I replaced it with another STIC IC from a parts system and I was back in business. So I would try leaving the system on with it’s original adapter for a few hours and than see if crashes.

 

Could you give me some insight into the STIC IC and what it does? I have no idea, just did a quick Google search, but got all kinds of unrelated stuff. Really appreciate the input.

[PowerPakBlog]

That line with the three dots usually means DC. AC is sometimes written as 16V~950mA. And AC would not specify tip +/-. I've read people using AC adapters as low as 9V DC with Intellivision II. Can too low a voltage damage anything? Someone should test the original AC adaptor to see if it is actually supplying 16V rms under load.

 

The problem might just be the end connector. You can cut them off and put the new connector on the original ac adapter.

 

Edit: dont know how much that ac adapter cost but be carefull with cheap ones shipping from china

 

Yeah, the end connector... how would one go about swapping that if I was interested? Any good tutorials out there? Just curious how hard it would be.

 

It cost $12 shipped, I knew it might not work. I felt like it was worth the gamble. It did tell me that it has something to do with the output connector (seemingly at this point).

[mr_me]

 

Yeah, the end connector... how would one go about swapping that if I was interested? Any good tutorials out there? Just curious how hard it would be.

 

It cost $12 shipped, I knew it might not work. I felt like it was worth the gamble. It did tell me that it has something to do with the output connector (seemingly at this point).

First try and clean the existing connector if you can; hopefully that works. If not I would put a new connector simply by cutting the wires, twisting them together and wrapping with electrical tape; making sure there is enough tape between them so there is no short. I'm sure there is a better way but that's what I'd do. It doesn't matter with an AC power supply but I would probably make sure the inner and outer connectors are wired the same as the original.

 

That $12 dollar AC adapter is not necessarily cheap, and just because its made in China doesn't mean its poor quality. I was thinking of the under $4 AC adapters I see on ebay. Check with your multimeter how close its voltage is to 16V. If you don't have your instructions there's lots of info out there on using multimeters. Maybe 16V is just too high for the Intellivision?

[thecrypticodor]

 

I have an inexpensive multimeter I used when repairing an arcade machine years ago. I'm not an expert with electrical systems by any means. If you don't mind, what would be the process for checking the output? I don't want to fry myself...

 

 

 

Could you give me some insight into the STIC IC and what it does? I have no idea, just did a quick Google search, but got all kinds of unrelated stuff. Really appreciate the input.

Standard television interface chip STIC is like the INTV's GPU it’s what renders the graphics.

 

If your original power supply connector is corroded inside and is making poor contact just roll up a piece of sand paper a sand the inside of the barrel. If you don't get a good connection after that than the connector needs to be replaced.

[PowerPakBlog]

If your original power supply connector is corroded inside and is making poor contact just roll up a piece of sand paper a sand the inside of the barrel.

 

Wow... this worked like a charm! Old power pack now works without any special contortions. Actually can jostle the wire, turn the plug, etc, and it stays powered on solid.

 

I had poked a small screwdriver bit in there to scrape at it before, but I wasn't thinking sandpaper. Great suggestion.

 

Will still see if I can determine what the problem is with aftermarket unit, but I'm back in the game.

Edited September 12, 2016 by PowerPakBlog

[PowerPakBlog]

If you have or know someone with a multimeter you can check it's output voltage.

 

FYI, The new one tested a steady 16.2V 2.15A of DC.

[thecrypticodor]

 

FYI, The new one tested a steady 16.2V 2.15A of DC.

Original Mattel INTV supplies have rated outputs of 16.2 and 16.7. So 16.2V sounds good to me.

 

I don't think you measured the amperage right. To test amps with a multieter you need to have to put the red probe inserted into the amp socket on the multimeter and have it inline with the adapter with a load. I don't suggest you worry about doing that. You don't have to worry about the amp output as the system should only draw what it needs. As long as the adapter is supplying at least 1 amp or over it's fine.

 

If the the problem doesn't reoccur with your original supply I say just use that one and forget about the new one.

Edited September 13, 2016 by thecrypticodor

[PowerPakBlog]

I don't think you measured the amperage right. To test amps with a multieter you need to have to put the red probe inserted into the amp socket on the multimeter and have it inline with the adapter with a load. I don't suggest you worry about doing that. You don't have to worry about the amp output as the system should only draw what it needs. As long as the adapter is supplying at least 1 amp or over it's fine.

 

Right on. I took a crash course on YouTube. Problem would be no load condition, didn't realize that part. I was just excited to find out I could measure anything, thanks for your help.

 

Yep, old one is working now, so problem solved! Thanks, all.