Coleco ADAM Disk Drive power supply replacement information

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Coleco ADAM Disk Drive power supply replacement information

(Same exact power supply is used for the ATARI 400, 800, 822, 850, 1010, 1200XL, 810, 1020, 1050, and XF551)

I have spent several months researching power supplies and hopefully the following information well be useful. The information in this post is for people that own an original Coleco ADAM Disk Drive and are looking for a replacement power supply since their existing Coleco Disk Drive power supply stopped working or was lost (The Coleco ADAM Disk Drive power supply well not power the ADAM computer and it well not work with the Micro Innovations ADAM Disk Drives). This power supply information is for the original single sided 160K 5.25 inch Coleco Disk Drives, Coleco Disk Drives that have been upgraded to double sided 5.25 inch 320K, and Coleco Disk Drives that have been upgraded to 3.5 inch 720K (This 9 volt AC power supply information well work perfectly with the Coleco Disk Drive as long as one has not modified their Coleco Disk Drive to work on a different voltage).

 

Back in 1984 Coleco released the 5.25 inch single sided 160K Disk Drive that used a 9Volt AC 3.4amp power supply with a long 2.5mm x 5.5mm male plug on the end. The official Coleco Disk Drive Power Supply Part Number is 42871 however the real manufactories part number is C017945. This exact same power supply comes stamped with at least three different brand names on it. The Coleco version was gray color with black letters that says “ADAM Disk Drive Power Supply Low Voltage 9V AC” and the bottom of the power supply saying “Coleco Power Supply Part Number 42871”. However again the real manufactories part number is C017945 and can be found in black color with the ATARI logo or the Trak Microcomputer logo stamped on the front. Regardless of the brand name on the power supply as long as it is a Coleco part number 42871 or part number C017945 it well work perfectly fine on many ATARI computers or the original Coleco ADAM Disk Drive.

 

The original unregulated Coleco Disk Drive Power supply was a good quality power supply in its time. However, the official Coleco Disk Drive Power supply went out of production in January of 1985. In January 1992 the C017945 power supply with the ATARI logo went out of production. Therefore, the original power supplies are no longer in production and anyone claiming to have new C017945 power supplies in stock have inventory that is at least 26 years old and sometimes as old as 39 years. I noticed that Amazon and EBAY dealers that are selling used and new C017945, many times are selling even new ones as is with no returns.

 

Therefore, I set out to find the best quality replacement power supply that is compatible with the C017945 instead of purchasing a used power supply that is between 26-39 years old. Another problem I discovered is that no one in 2018 currently makes a 9 volt AC power supply that is 3.4amps. What happen is all 9volt AC power supplies that are 3.4amps or higher went out of production before the Department of Energy, energy efficiency level VI certification became law on February 10^th 2016. I could not even find a 9 volt AC 2amp power supply with level VI certification (however 9VAC 1amps power supplies most likely exist with the level VI certification). What has happen is that power supply manufactories that use to make 120 volt AC input with a output of 9volt AC 2amp-4amp+ models all stopped production of their power supplies in 2015 (and many companies imported as many power supplies as possible to the United States before the February 10^th 2016 level VI energy certification became law in the USA). Another problem is that power supply companies have no plans on creating a new 9volt AC power supply with at least 3.4amp output that would be energy efficient level VI complaint. In reality, it was mostly 20^th century products that needed 9volt AC 3.4amps of power, and in 2018 most consumer products are made more energy efficient and can work off 9 volt AC at 1amp and 1.5amps of power. So it appears there is really not a demand and business model for someone to start making new 9 volt AC 3.4amp power supplies that are energy efficient level VI.

 

The best power supply solution for the original Coleco ADAM Disk Drives in the year 2018

 

Therefore, since no one makes 9volt AC 3.4amp power supplies anymore, I had very limited choices to choose from. The best solution I found is to use the Stancor STA-5790 Power Supply with a required female 2.1mm x 5.5mm to 2.5mm x 5.5mm male adapter plug to make it fit correctly on the Coleco ADAM Disk Drive. The Stancor STA-5790 Power Supply is better quality when compared to the original Coleco Disk Drive Power Supply. It is my understanding that the Stancor STA-5790 power supplies were manufactured between the years of 2008 to 2015. Therefore, the oldest factory new power supply that dealers would have in stock would be inventory that has been sitting around for a maximum of 10 years and possible factory new inventory that is only 3 years old. The Stancor STA-5790 has a United States UL safety certificate number, is CSA International Certified by the Canadian Standards Association, and is RoHS complaint. This power supply is not level VI energy efficient. However because this Stancor STA-5790 power supply was manufactured and imported into the United States before February 10^th 2016, this power supply is except from the Department of Energy level VI energy efficiency requirements. Also all 9 volt AC 3.4 amp power supplies have all been discontinued, and none of them every received a level VI energy efficiency certification.

 

This Stancor STA-5790 unregulated Desktop power supply accepts an input voltage between 117-120 volts AC at 60Hz (45 watts) and well output 9 volts AC at up to 3.4 amps. Operating temperature is between -10 to +40 degrees Celsius (14 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit). This power supply was engineered in the United States and is made in Taiwan. The only negative feature of this power supply is that it comes with a 2.1mm x 5.5mm output plug, therefore one has to use a long female 2.1mm x 5.5mm to 2.5mm x 5.5mm male adapter plug to make it fit correctly on the Coleco ADAM Disk Drive. Except for the original very old C017945 power supplies, I could not find a UL listed power supply with a built in 2.5mm to 5.5mm output plug, therefore I was forced to go with the Stancor STA-5790 Power supply which is UL listed and also requires a female 2.1mm x 5.5mm to 2.5mm x 5.5mm male adapter plug to make it fit correctly on the Coleco ADAM Disk Drive. After several hours of testing this Stancor solution ended up working perfectly. It should be mentioned that no one makes a UL listed female 2.1mm x 5.5mm to 2.5mm x 5.5mm male adapter plug (I spent several days searching for a UL listed or UL certified plug.) Now if one purchases certain UL listed 12volt DC power supplies in the retail box that come bundled with an adapter plug then that adapter plug has also received UL listing since it has been tested with the actual adapter (But no 9 volt AC UL listed power supplies come bundled with UL adapter plugs). UL listed and certified products are optional listing in the United States and are not required (However many USA companies get their products UL listed including the original Coleco ADAM Disk Drive Power Supply).

 

The best price I found on the Stancor STA-5790 Power Supply

Remember the Stancor STA-5790 Power Supply went out of production around 2015, and once online USA dealers are out of stock there will be no more available. The cheapest factory new price I found on the Stancor STA-5790 is from Allied Electronics for $23.94 plus shipping and tax. However, one also must purchase a required long female 2.1mm x 5.5mm to 2.5mm x 5.5mm male adapter plug to make it fit correctly on the Coleco ADAM Disk Drive. One can purchase a pack of 8 for $4.50 from a USA dealer . These are also the proper length adapter plug that fit properly in the Coleco ADAM Disk Drive (and they should also work fine with ATARI products but since I do not own an ATARI computer system or accessories, I was not able to test the Stancor STA-5790 power supply on those products). So final cost of this power supply is around $30+ and it is the best quality solution for 2018. If one decides to choose a different solution, be careful. I see a lot of used and new generic no brand name 9 volt AC 3.4amp power supplies on Amazon and EBAY that are not UL listed and they are sometimes selling for around $41+ after shipping. In addition, there is absolutely no energy efficiently level VI 9volt 3.4 amp power supplies on the market in 2018, so any Chinese dealer that is still importing their old stock to the United States currently is not obey the law that went into effect on February 10^th 2016.

One day all 9volt AC 3.4amp power supplies well be out of stock in the United States

I have been communicating with a few Chinese power supply manufactories that make high-end consumer power supplies using military quality components. A modern day replacement to the Coleco 42871 (also known as the ATARI C017945) can be made with the required level VI energy efficiency certification, FCC, UL, and other worldwide certifications. The powers supply would have a 100-240volt 50/60Hz AC input and a 9Volt AC 3.4amp output. The power supply would work worldwide, however items that have motors like Disk Drives might not work properly in areas like Europe that use 50Hz. Certain electronics sometimes with AC motors need 60Hz. The main issue is a minimum order of a QTY of 500 9Volt AC 3.4amp power supplies would need to occur for a Chinese power supply company to make a modern power supply. There might not be enough Coleco ADAM Disk Drive owners or ATARI computer owners that would be interested in purchasing a new 9volt AC 3.4amp power supply with all the required worldwide certifications. Therefore, once the exiting supply of 9volt AC 3.4amp power supplies are gone from USA dealers, new ones might never be made again.

 

A high quality Coleco ADAM memory console power supply and ColecoVision power supply that operates between 100-240 volts at 50/60Hz could also be made with a minimum order of 500 from China. Possible some power supply companies in China would allow a minimum run of 250, but 500 is the norm for a custom power supply run.

Edited June 11, 2018 by HDTV1080P

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The Coleco ADAM Disk Drive power supply and all other 9 volt AC 3.4 amp power supplies on the market are unregulated power supplies. A more expensive and better quality power supply would be a 9 volt regulated power supply that would output a constant 9 volts AC under no load and 9 volts AC under a full load (That is how regulated power supplies function as long as the device connected is not using more than the power supplies rated output current). No one has every designed a 9 volt AC 3.4 amp regulated power supply. Therefore all the 9 volt AC 3.4 amp power supplies on the market are unregulated. For example most unregulated 9 volt AC 3.4 amp power supplies on the market well output between 10.94-11.09 volts AC when there is no load, and then they well output around 9 volts when a load is applied. Some poor quality unregulated 9 volt AC power supplies have a no load voltage of around 13 or 14 volts AC, and then when there is a load they end up outputting around 11 to 12 volts AC which may damage a product that only needs 9 volts. The unregulated Stancor STA-5790 power supply when used with the required adapter plug had a little bit more stable voltage when compared to the unregulated Coleco Disk Drive power supply. Both power supplies have a good build quality, however the Stancor STA-5790 appears to have a little bit better build quality out of all the 9 volt AC 3.4 amp power supplies I tried (The Stancor STA-5790 also has a slightly heavier weight).

 

 

Attached are some pictures of the 3 different styles of 9 volt AC 3.4 amp unregulated power adapters.

Edited June 17, 2018 by HDTV1080P

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A new style adapter plug for the Stancor STA-5790 power supply for those that need to have a shorter wall gap when connected to a Coleco ADAM Disk Drive

The original female 2.1mm x 5.5mm to 2.5mm x 5.5mm male adapter plug that comes in a pack of 8 for $4.50 from a USA dealer (This is the web link), is the best quality solution since no cable is involved when creating the very small adapter plug. However the original Coleco ADAM Disk Drive when against the wall, only has around a 1.2 inch gap if one uses the original Coleco Disk Drive power supply plug. The problem with using the above adapter plug with the Stancor STA-5790 is that the Coleco ADAM Disk Drive wall gap is around 2.5 inches. Some people might not like having a 2.5 inch wall gap. I have been testing another style of adapter plug that uses a short cable when attached to the Stancor STA-5790, and the advantage of this stye of adapter plug when used on the Stancor STA-5790 power supply is that the wall gap is only around 1.4 inches (That is almost the exact same wall gap when using the original Coleco ADAM Disk Drive power supply plug). Therefore if anyone wants to reduce the wall gap from 2.5 inches to 1.4 inches when using the Stancor STA-5790 power supply on a Coleco ADAM Disk Drive, you can purchase a pack of 10 female 2.1mm x 5.5mm to 2.5mm x 5.5mm male adapter plugs with short cable for only $5.79 after shipping (this is the web link).

 

*** Disclaimer *** Only the high quality Stancor STA-5790 power supply mentioned above is UL listed and tested. 100% of all female 2.1mm x 5.5mm to 2.5mm x 5.5mm male adapter plugs on the market are not UL listed or tested. There is only a few of these adapter plugs on the market and they are made of high quality material but lack the detailed specs like certifications, cable gauge information, etc. I wish there existed a UL certified adapter plug on the market (The problem appears to be for a adapter plug to be certified for UL listing it needs to be bundled and tested with a UL power supply that one plans on using the power adapter plug with. There is one high end power supply manufacture that bundles a adapter plug with a UL listed 12 volt DC power supply, but no manufacture has every bundled a UL listed 9volt AC 3.4 amp power supply with a adapter plug). UL certification is an optional certification in the United States and is not required.

Edited June 19, 2018 by HDTV1080P