Serpentor Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 I have been looking for smaller, more energy efficient replacements for the original Atari power supplies. So far, I have produced an adapter cable that allows PSP power adapters to work with the 800XL (and some other Atari machines). Now, my search for a modern replacement for the 1050's power supply begins. So far, the only one I can find is this: http://www.houseofdeals.com/AC-93A9V3.33AAC/ACAdaptor.aspx It does not appear to be a large improvement over the original. Can anyone inform me of a smaller, better power supply that provides the required 9V AC and 3A or more power? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 even the european ones I've seen - Stontronic, for instance - are same size/weight etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 Funnily, I just conducted a similar search tonight for a Facebook friend of mine looking to power his newly bought 1050. He lives in Sweden though so for us it is 230V transformers that are the deal. I have understood that around 2.1 - 2.3A might be just enough for a 1050 but there is a lot of YMMV about the actual power use, both here on AA and elsewhere. Someone claimed to have powered four 1050 drives with one original power supply while others repeat that below 2A you will have problems. Also due to energy efficiency regulations in use since late 2015, it seems single voltage transformers like this one are getting more difficult to sell and thus harder to find. There used to be a couple on UK Maplin similar to the one you linked to, but they have removed them from their inventory. I'm not an electronics engineer by any means, but I think a transformer needs a certain size and number of windings that may determine its efficiency, unlike DC power supplies going to switched mode getting smaller, lighter and probably using less power on the primary side. One could compare with those R-Core transformers, if they are more efficient than other transformers. I have also read that if you're willing to make internal modifications of the 1050, you can bypass the internal part of its PSU and feed 5V DC + 12V DC directly, from a possibly more efficient power supply, but it would involve a bit of soldering and hacking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 these are the Stontronic ones - i have four of them - you can still find them search for Stontronic N56DL i put this info up on our little forum a year (or so) ago http://atari.boards.net/thread/203/psu-specifics?page=1&scrollTo=1019 hope it helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathy Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 Hello guys Try replacing the 7805 and 7812 instead of the power supply. That will reduce the power consumption by quite a lot. Read all about it here: http://www.mathyvannisselroy.nl/Atari%201050%20goes%20green.htm Sincerely Mathy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serpentor Posted March 16, 2017 Author Share Posted March 16, 2017 these are the Stontronic ones - i have four of them - you can still find them search for Stontronic N56DL i put this info up on our little forum a year (or so) ago http://atari.boards.net/thread/203/psu-specifics?page=1&scrollTo=1019 hope it helps That looks like a nice replacement power supply for those living in the UK! Being in the USA, I need one designed for the specs of our power system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 Correct the problem is not the transformer at all ....it's the power supply in the drive itself and Mathy is spot on! Please refer to those upgrades.. there is one for the XF551 floating around as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlowingGhoul Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 (edited) . Edited March 17, 2017 by GlowingGhoul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serpentor Posted March 17, 2017 Author Share Posted March 17, 2017 Correct the problem is not the transformer at all ....it's the power supply in the drive itself and Mathy is spot on! Please refer to those upgrades.. there is one for the XF551 floating around as well What alternative power sources could be used after such an upgrade? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fujidude Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 Okay you need 9VAC 3 amps. Let me see.... Wow. It was considerably harder to find such an animal than I had anticipated! But I did find a couple finally. You may have to splice on a 1050 barrel plug, or build a adapter cable. https://www.elliottelectronicsupply.com/power-supplies/ac-ac-wall-type/9vac-3a-s2-1mm-plug-power-supply-ac93a.html http://www.rocktron.com/power-adaptor-9-vac3a.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 No more efficient than any other step-down transformers.... Mathy is correct to reduce wasted current draw replace the voltage regulators and such as it saves power and the drives run much much cooler. you can bake with the original 1050 heat sink and regulators........ using the newer components your lucky if things get very warm at all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 found this http://www.ebay.com/itm/Generic-9V-3000mA-3A-Power-Supply-AC-Adapter-Charger-5-5mm-x-2-5mm-2-1mm-PSU-/251038147829?hash=item3a730a24f5:g:cMIAAOxy~g5RpbLX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serpentor Posted March 17, 2017 Author Share Posted March 17, 2017 found this http://www.ebay.com/itm/Generic-9V-3000mA-3A-Power-Supply-AC-Adapter-Charger-5-5mm-x-2-5mm-2-1mm-PSU-/251038147829?hash=item3a730a24f5:g:cMIAAOxy~g5RpbLX Unfortunately, that one appears to output DC current instead of the required AC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 Unfortunately, that one appears to output DC current instead of the required AC. there's others http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intertek-4002215-AC-Adaptor-Model-YN36W-0900300UW-9V-3A-winna-/162399750247?hash=item25cfc78867:g:q-8AAOSwjDZYf5Cx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 https://www.elliottelectronicsupply.com/power-supplies/ac-ac-wall-type/9vac-3a-s2-1mm-plug-power-supply-ac93a.html That one is the exact same as the OP linked to, but at twice the price he had found. But as mentioned, power efficiency is not within the transformer as much as within the internal part of the power supply, so if one really wants to save on power usage, you should probably hack the 1050 internally instead of looking for an eco-friendly AC to AC transformer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 Brenski: It seems that Maplin was one of few (the only?) to sell the N56DL, which now is discontinued, whether it is due to new regulations or something else: http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/32a-acac-fixed-voltage-9v-power-supply-n56dl So if you've got four of those units, you might want to hold them tight to you as the supply of equivalent transformers are drying up quickly, at least for 220-240VAC conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serpentor Posted March 17, 2017 Author Share Posted March 17, 2017 Hello guys Try replacing the 7805 and 7812 instead of the power supply. That will reduce the power consumption by quite a lot. Read all about it here: http://www.mathyvannisselroy.nl/Atari%201050%20goes%20green.htm Sincerely Mathy Each of those outputs 1A, so would it then be possible to utilize a lower powered supply, such as 9V AC 2A? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 Brenski: It seems that Maplin was one of few (the only?) to sell the N56DL, which now is discontinued, whether it is due to new regulations or something else: http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/32a-acac-fixed-voltage-9v-power-supply-n56dl So if you've got four of those units, you might want to hold them tight to you as the supply of equivalent transformers are drying up quickly, at least for 220-240VAC conditions. only thing that has worried me about them - they do get much warmer than std 1050 psus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 @Serpentor: Besides earlier discussions here at AA, I found a Slovak website which involved actual measurements of how many amps were used by the drive at different types of operation. I noticed it seems to top out at 2.3A when saving to disk, so 2.0A might be a bit on the weak side but then again there is a lot of YMMV as I noted above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 It seems to me the easiest thing to do would be to get a small switching 12V supply, remove the 7812 but leave the 7805 and connect it to 12V. You've now got a much more efficient source and you've eliminated one of the two linear regulators. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fujidude Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 That one is the exact same as the OP linked to, but at twice the price he had found. But as mentioned, power efficiency is not within the transformer as much as within the internal part of the power supply, so if one really wants to save on power usage, you should probably hack the 1050 internally instead of looking for an eco-friendly AC to AC transformer. I didn't realize that I had found the same one. Oops. Agreed on the replacement of components in the drive itself to reduce power consumption since it apparently is an option in this case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tep392 Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 @Serpentor: Besides earlier discussions here at AA, I found a Slovak website which involved actual measurements of how many amps were used by the drive at different types of operation. I noticed it seems to top out at 2.3A when saving to disk, so 2.0A might be a bit on the weak side but then again there is a lot of YMMV as I noted above. Do you have a link to that site? I'd like to take a look at the details. I want to change to switching regulators but I'm not sure if the 1A regulators are ok or if I should spend a little more for the 2A parts. I think Mathy used the 1A variety. I would guess that you can go a little over the rating without damage as long as internal temp of the regulators remain in an acceptable range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 Here is the link: http://blog.3b2.sk/igi/post/Odbery-ATARI-1050-DCDC-version-power-consumption.aspx(May 2016) The same blog has additional posts about the 1050 power supply and what you could do about it: http://blog.3b2.sk/igi/post/ATARI-1050-ATARI-XF551-napajaci-zdroj-Power-Supply-ATARI-1050-ATARI-XF551-modification.aspx(November 2013) http://blog.3b2.sk/igi/post/ATARI-1050-nove-napajanie-new-power-supply.aspx(May 2016) I see that he uses the same component or something similar to what Mathy is using here: http://www.mathyvannisselroy.nl/Atari%201050%20goes%20green.htm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillC Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 (edited) An option similar to what Bryan suggested in post#20 is to get a dual voltage(+5V/+12V) switching power supply, remove both regulators and connect the power supply outputs to the respective regulators output pad. These dual output supplies are normally used with external HDD/HDD enclosures, can often be found for about 1/2 the price of each of the Traco switching regulators Mathy suggested, and completely replace the inefficient Atari power supply. They are also 120V/240V input tolerant, making them able to be used worldwide. eBay Auction -- Item Number: 141755814948 I have a couple of supplies similar to the one linked above that came with USB 2.0 to IDE/SATA adapters, they differ in that they have power connections that plug directly into a bare HDD. Edited March 17, 2017 by BillC 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZuluGula Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 Are there any switching power supplies that can do AC/AC 9V? We can power our XL/XE computers from USB chargers which can be as small as power plug, but the drive requires heavy and expensive transformer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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