oakcitycomics Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 I currently have the original long repairable as (BEST) calls its XL Power supply. Looks just like this one "not my photo just using as reference" I'm thinking of building a USB power cord as I have a bunch of Atari connectors and high quality shielded usb cables. However all my 2A or higher power bricks are all 5.2v. Is 5.2v safe to use or should I order one. If I should order one any suggestions on a good quality Their is nothing wrong with my original supply its just big, gives off heat and I'm sure horrible when it comes to power efficiency Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillC Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 41 minutes ago, oakcitycomics said: I currently have the original long repairable as (BEST) calls its XL Power supply. Looks just like this one "not my photo just using as reference" I'm thinking of building a USB power cord as I have a bunch of Atari connectors and high quality shielded usb cables. However all my 2A or higher power bricks are all 5.2v. Is 5.2v safe to use or should I order one. If I should order one any suggestions on a good quality Their is nothing wrong with my original supply its just big, gives off heat and I'm sure horrible when it comes to power efficiency 5.2VDC is a little bit high but still within 5% which is the normal tolerance for +5VDC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChildOfCv Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 TTL chips recommend between 4.75 and 5.25V. Typical max voltage before destruction for most chips (TTL and CMOS) is up to 7V. So 5.2 is a tad high but still in the safety area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nezgar Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Are you measuring it under load? 5.2v is fine, but may measure a bit lower with the computer in use. (You can measure from the gnd and +5v pins of a joystick or sio port) That is one of the best type of power supplies - easily servicable to replace failing components like the 5v voltage regulator. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakcitycomics Posted September 17, 2020 Author Share Posted September 17, 2020 3 hours ago, Nezgar said: Are you measuring it under load? 5.2v is fine, but may measure a bit lower with the computer in use. (You can measure from the gnd and +5v pins of a joystick or sio port) That is one of the best type of power supplies - easily servicable to replace failing components like the 5v voltage regulator. I was going by the output rating written on the power supplies. One is an Apple Ipad and the other a Lenovo that goes to one of those windows 10 mini stick pc's.. Both have output rating as 5.2v 2.4a All my others usb power supplies are either 5v 1a or that are quick charge style. Quickly looking online I found a chart that said the XL lines need minimum 1.5a but the XE would work with 1a. Not sure how much truth is to that but to be safe I want to stay around 2a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nezgar Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 12 hours ago, oakcitycomics said: I was going by the output rating written on the power supplies. One is an Apple Ipad and the other a Lenovo that goes to one of those windows 10 mini stick pc's.. Both have output rating as 5.2v 2.4a The higher specified voltage in a phone charger PSU is likely to compensate for voltage drop over the tiny and/or long wires in a typical USB cable. You may find it actually measures at 5.0 or lower at the end of the wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwilbar Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Shielded cables (as mentioned) are not necessary for power (unlike USB data). 5.2V as others indicated will likely be fine. I'd be careful with any 'smart' power supplies, which iPad chargers and the like would be. Newer ones I think can produce multiple voltages/amps ratings. If something goes sideways you don't want it to up the output and fry the Atari. I don't know about your specific charger, but it would be something to look into. Modern phone chargers for instance can do this... it's how they can get faster charging w/o upping the current (of which you can only push so much over those wires/connectors). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+tf_hh Posted September 18, 2020 Share Posted September 18, 2020 12 hours ago, cwilbar said: I'd be careful with any 'smart' power supplies, which iPad chargers and the like would be. Newer ones I think can produce multiple voltages/amps ratings. If something goes sideways you don't want it to up the output and fry the Atari. Under normal conditions this isn´t possible. All highspeed charging power supplies (cellphones, tablets) initiate a special protocol before highspeed mode (higher voltages and more amps) is activated. If the protocol doesn´t be taken, the power supply switches to compatible mode - 5 volts, 2 amps max. I´ve tested Huawei and Samsung highspeed charge power supplies with the XL... works fine ? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwilbar Posted September 18, 2020 Share Posted September 18, 2020 good to know.... though most high speed chargers I think would be overkill for an A8, only need 2amps ? or less depending on upgrades, right ? still good to know, even though Muprhy's law states that I will be the one with a high speed charger that gets stuck in overdrive ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+tf_hh Posted September 18, 2020 Share Posted September 18, 2020 1 hour ago, cwilbar said: good to know.... though most high speed chargers I think would be overkill for an A8, only need 2amps ? or less depending on upgrades, right ? still good to know, even though Muprhy's law states that I will be the one with a high speed charger that gets stuck in overdrive ? When you say it so, it´s a self-fulfilling prophecy ? A stock 800XL draws around 800 mA, a stock XE around 700 mA. But with a some expansions you can easily exceed above 1A. The most genuine Atari power supplies offers up to 1.5A. So when talking about a modern power supply, I think 2A is a good choice. IMHO it´s better not to take the cheapest chinese availible. Since several years I buy the Raspberry Pi Foundation branded power supplies for use with Atari 8 bit stuff. You can get the 2.5A version for RPIs less then V4 for 10-12 EUR / USD. Until today no outage with one of them. Even when they look like all the other, I have a better feeling. Maybe only self-deception Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGB1718 Posted September 18, 2020 Share Posted September 18, 2020 6 minutes ago, tf_hh said: I buy the Raspberry Pi Foundation branded power supplies for use with Atari 8 Have to agree there, I think they would have ensured their recommended PSU's for the Raspberry Pi would have been thoroughly tested as they wouldn't want their PSU's frying the actual Pi's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StickJock Posted September 18, 2020 Share Posted September 18, 2020 10 minutes ago, tf_hh said: IMHO it´s better not to take the cheapest chinese availible. Here's my (non-Atari related) cheap power supply story: I'm driving to work, and my car throws up a message saying that there is problem with the tire pressure monitoring system. I'm only about a mile from work, so I keep going. When I get to work, I check my tires, and they are all fine. On the way home, no issue. But it happens again the next day, at about the same location on my commute. And it keeps happening almost every day! So I do some research on this, and find that the tires' TPS unit sends a wireless signal to the car's computer at some interval, and if the computer doesn't get the signal for about 20 minutes, it displays the error. In my research, I find that other people have had this issue, and it was caused by a noisy USB power supply plugged into the cigarette lighter port! So I unplug my cheapo phone charger and never got the error message again. So yeah, my cheap Chinese USB power 12V to 5V USB power adapter, which didn't have any problems for over a year, suddenly started interfering with my tire pressure monitoring system. It didn't cause any damage, but it was both annoying and a lesson learned. BTW: The reason it didn't trigger on the way home is because I had less traffic going home and so I got home before the timeout expired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakcitycomics Posted September 18, 2020 Author Share Posted September 18, 2020 22 hours ago, cwilbar said: Shielded cables (as mentioned) are not necessary for power (unlike USB data). 5.2V as others indicated will likely be fine. I'd be careful with any 'smart' power supplies, which iPad chargers and the like would be. Newer ones I think can produce multiple voltages/amps ratings. If something goes sideways you don't want it to up the output and fry the Atari. I don't know about your specific charger, but it would be something to look into. Modern phone chargers for instance can do this... it's how they can get faster charging w/o upping the current (of which you can only push so much over those wires/connectors). Thankfully both of the ones I have on hand are not smart power supplied. They offer a signal output 5.2v. The Apple one is a first gen Ipad Mini Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakcitycomics Posted September 18, 2020 Author Share Posted September 18, 2020 26 minutes ago, tf_hh said: When you say it so, it´s a self-fulfilling prophecy ? A stock 800XL draws around 800 mA, a stock XE around 700 mA. But with a some expansions you can easily exceed above 1A. The most genuine Atari power supplies offers up to 1.5A. So when talking about a modern power supply, I think 2A is a good choice. IMHO it´s better not to take the cheapest chinese availible. Since several years I buy the Raspberry Pi Foundation branded power supplies for use with Atari 8 bit stuff. You can get the 2.5A version for RPIs less then V4 for 10-12 EUR / USD. Until today no outage with one of them. Even when they look like all the other, I have a better feeling. Maybe only self-deception Yea not going anywhere near a cheap chinese charger. Thats why I preferred to use the ones I have on hand from Apple or Lenovo as I at least trust those brands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StickJock Posted September 18, 2020 Share Posted September 18, 2020 Several years ago, I read an article that tested a bunch of power supplies/chargers from various manufacturers. I don't remember everything that they tested about them (noise was one thing), but the winner of the "shootout" was the 2A power supply that came with the HP Touchpad WebOS tablet (OK, so it was more than several years ago). They are barrel shaped, about the size of a D-cell battery, with folding prongs on the bottom and a USB socket on the top. I don't use the tablets anymore, but the power supplies are still one of my favorites! BTW: The iPad charger also scored high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakcitycomics Posted September 18, 2020 Author Share Posted September 18, 2020 1 hour ago, StickJock said: Several years ago, I read an article that tested a bunch of power supplies/chargers from various manufacturers. I don't remember everything that they tested about them (noise was one thing), but the winner of the "shootout" was the 2A power supply that came with the HP Touchpad WebOS tablet (OK, so it was more than several years ago). They are barrel shaped, about the size of a D-cell battery, with folding prongs on the bottom and a USB socket on the top. I don't use the tablets anymore, but the power supplies are still one of my favorites! BTW: The iPad charger also scored high. Oh wow really.. Thats awesome I actually have a Touchpad in storage. I was a big Palm WebOS user back in the day. Its in storage now with my Palm Pre's and Pre Mini. I'll dig it out this weekend and check the power supplies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwilbar Posted September 18, 2020 Share Posted September 18, 2020 I'm willing to be most all power supplies (in this class) are made in China these days.... the only difference is probably the QC standards dictated by the company ordering the power supply ? I have a friend in a particular service industry that installs equipment at customer premise.... when equipment gets turned in, he accumulates the power supplies.... every now and then when I need a 5V or 12V power supply, I raid the loose ones he carries in the truck ? Plus I have a nasty habbit around "e-waste" of taking anything remotely useful or desirable (once repaired ? ). So, I have WAY TOO MUCH stuff :-).... I have boxes of different sized power supplies. I have a 5V box, a 12V box, a laptop supply box, and an 'other' box ?, comes in real handy sometimes ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StickJock Posted September 18, 2020 Share Posted September 18, 2020 I, too, have boxes of power supplies. I recently went through them and put P-touch labels on all of them showing the voltage & amperage. As my eyes are getting older, I am finding it really hard to read the specs on them, which is why I labeled them all. Since most of them are pretty old, they are very low amperage. For example, 5V 250mA. I divided them into boxes of <6V DC, 6V DC - 12V DC, laptop supplies, and AC-AC supplies. I keep the USB wall-warts in another box. I find that sorting & organizing things is a great way to procrastinate! ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwilbar Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 I only wish I had started sorting and organizing long before I got to the stage of 'collection' (read: hoard) I have today ? Getting better at it now that I purchased a bunch of storage shelves from an auto dealer parts department that was closing ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StickJock Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 (edited) I use a lot of these 3-drawer units. I probably have over three four dozen of them! I have shelves of them in the garage holding all sorts of stuff, as well as in the craft room, office, living room, etc. For example, the one with screws has flat head, pad head & hex head screws in the three drawers. Much easier than digging through pickle jars for screws! I also have a bunch of the smaller ones, as well as a few of the larger ones. I like the drawers better than boxes since most things don't need the depth of a box, and I can pull out the bottom drawer without having to move the upper ones (try that with boxes!). You may want to clip off the plastic tabs drawer stops on the sides at the rear of the drawers to make them easier to remove (if you want to have them easier to remove, that is). Edited September 19, 2020 by StickJock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 On 9/18/2020 at 5:11 PM, StickJock said: Several years ago, I read an article that tested a bunch of power supplies/chargers from various manufacturers. I don't remember everything that they tested about them (noise was one thing), but the winner of the "shootout" was the 2A power supply that came with the HP Touchpad WebOS tablet (OK, so it was more than several years ago). They are barrel shaped, about the size of a D-cell battery, with folding prongs on the bottom and a USB socket on the top. I don't use the tablets anymore, but the power supplies are still one of my favorites! BTW: The iPad charger also scored high. I've got 3 of those from when I bought several hp touchpads in the staff fire sale. They were bloody good tablets at the time and I still use the power supplies now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StickJock Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 4 hours ago, mimo said: I've got 3 of those from when I bought several hp touchpads in the staff fire sale. Yeah, we got a couple of the tablets, and then I bought a couple more of the chargers for $5 each, too. I also still have a couple of unopened cases for the tablets. I suppose that was overzealous of me! I don't have a use for those anymore. I got the spare cases in case the ones I had on the tablets broke at the hinge. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 35 minutes ago, StickJock said: Yeah, we got a couple of the tablets, and then I bought a couple more of the chargers for $5 each, too. I also still have a couple of unopened cases for the tablets. I suppose that was overzealous of me! I don't have a use for those anymore. I got the spare cases in case the ones I had on the tablets broke at the hinge. I had the wireless charging dock too, pretty cutting edge at the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StickJock Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 19 minutes ago, mimo said: I had the wireless charging dock too, pretty cutting edge at the time Yeah, I've got a couple of those, too! It was a great tablet. I put Android on it, and used the heck out of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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