C128 power supply.

[+Tillek]

Long story short. I'm a die hard Atari guy who is about to acquire his first Commodore through the generosity of a Commodore user who recently got his first Atari. The machine doesn't include a power supply though.

 

Any recommendations where I can get a reliable one?

 

Thanks in advance.

[carlsson]

Ray Carlsen sells a "bare bones" PSU that will use two wall outlets for $50, or a more exclusive one for $90.

http://personalpages.tds.net/~rcarlsen/custom%20ps.html

 

You might be able to find cheaper solutions on eBay, and even if the PSU itself would be toast, you could reuse the square connector which is uncommon though it does have a part number somewhere. The connector is the same as used on Amigas but the voltages differ between Amiga and C128 so you should not mix the two up.

[motrucker]

C-128 power supplies are bringing about $50.00 on ebay these days:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Commodore-DSP-128-Power-Supply-128-310416-1-9V-1A-Tested-Working-/322476538859?hash=item4b15197beb:g:sSAAAOSwhQhY3VCW

 

I would suggest buying one of Ray Carlsen's units instead.

 

http://personalpages.tds.net/~rcarlsen/custom%20ps.html

 

The C-128 is a great 8 bit computer - Enjoy it.

Edited April 11, 2017 by motrucker

[+Tillek]

So does Ray have a store, or do I just email him?

 

Anyone know the average turn around time on his products?

 

Thanks again for the suggestions so far. I'm looking forward to getting this thing fixed up (it also has a problem that is generally believed to be a VDC issue, but at least it works fine as-is in 64 mode).

[+sm3]

You just email him and tell him what you are looking for. He accepts PayPal. A lot of times he will ship before you have even finished sending him the payment.

 

I have purchased 2 power supplies from him so far, 1 being a 128/64 supply and I can vouch for the quality and great service with him.

 

Even sent him a 3rd party old 64 power supply for repair and he fixed it and shipped it out the same day as he received it!

[Grimakis]

+1 for Ray. He is by all definitions of the phrase "the man".

 

His PSUs are top notch, and I would definitely use those over any old one that may fail and lay waste to your machine.

[+Tillek]

Thank you again for all the help. I ordered one from Ray. Seemed like a no-brainer.

 

Thanks again!

[AtariLeaf]

So for just playing a c64 and carts a simple 35 dollar psu from Ray would sufficient?

[+sm3]

So for just playing a c64 and carts a simple 35 dollar psu from Ray would sufficient?

 

Correct! If that's all you will do, then yes. If you were going to use an REU then you'd have to get something that provides more current as needed.

 

The supplies I have purchased from him have been the metal cased varieties, but I'm sure the bare bones versions he provides are up to the task. The original power brick supplied with the 64 (in the US anyway) was 1 AMP if I'm not mistaken.

 

If you plan on adding anything else later like the 1541 Ultimate or Chameleon, you might want to just go ahead and get a power supply that supplies more current now or you will run into problems.

[AtariLeaf]

REU?

[carlsson]

RAM Expansion Unit, a special memory expansion cartridge that came in variations of 256K or 512K. Later on there were RAMlink etc up to 16 MB. All those operate through bank switching, 16K at a time if I recall correctly.

[AtariLeaf]

Ok thanks so if I just run a basic set up with a stock C64 I'll just get one of these. I do plug in a disk drive now and then but that has its own power supply but its the stock C64 psu's that are the problem, not the disk drives correct?

 

The reason I'm asking is that although I enjoy my C64 I'm afraid to use it because of the horror stories of the power supplies destroying systems and I've contemplated selling the whole C64 collection because of it but if a small investment of $35 will change that then that's an investment I can be comfortable with.

[motrucker]

You can use Ray's basic PSU for your setup, as long as you stick to basic stuff, you're fine.

Edited April 14, 2017 by motrucker

[+sm3]

Yeah, sorry, I guess I provided a little too much info. You should be fine in your case with the $35 power supply.