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Power supplies


joeventura

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I posted this a while back here. The power supplies are interchangeable, see below for specific PS model details.

 

*

 

Here are pics of some of the different models of PS for the XL/XE series. (courtesty of B&C Computervisions)

 

post-5887-1161377660_thumb.jpg

 

C061982 'The White Brick' (Upper left) 1.5A very reliable, rare

C061982 'The Black Brick' (Lower Left) 1.5A very reliable, rare

C061982 'The Ingot' (Center Top) 1.5A if this PS fails it can damage the computer. Not recommended for unattended operations

C061982 'The Box' (Top Right) 1.5A very reliable, recommended for XL/XE computers

C70042-011 'The Mini' (Bottom Center) 1A shipped with most XEGS systems, use the 'Logo' for continuous 1A operations

C70042-01 'The Logo' (Bottom Right) 1A very reliable

Edited by remowilliams
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Can the 800xl use the 1 amp power supplies? Where can you buy one that won't kill the computer? I see B & C has one for sale for $20, and I've seen them at Best electronics too, but how do you know if you are getting the good one or the bad one?

Edited by accousticguitar
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C061982 'The Ingot' (Center Top) 1.5A if this PS fails it can damage the computer. Not recommended for unattended operations

 

What was the failure mode that could damage the computer?

 

I had one of these once that was putting out -1.2 volts (or you could say 1.2 volts with the wrong polarity).

 

The 800XL it came with was probably never left on for more than a few seconds at a time after it failed (turn it on, see black screen, turn it off). I expected the 800XL to be toast, but it came up fine with a different power supply. I used it as my main Atari for a year or two.

 

"The Ingot" is the one that's a solid blob of epoxy, right? I tried to fix one once, never did get all the gunk off the parts. Knew a guy who had figured out exactly where and how deep to drill to get at the fuse, and usually could fix them. No idea why Atari designed a power supply with a fuse that you can't change without doing rocket surgery...

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C061982 'The Ingot' (Center Top) 1.5A if this PS fails it can damage the computer. Not recommended for unattended operations

 

What was the failure mode that could damage the computer?

 

 

I dont really know what would fry an XL/XE, but one of mine failed and outputs 7+v correct polarity. I used it for my 600xl and it did not damage the system. Of course it had to be the most abundant version of the power supply that I see.

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Can the 800xl use the 1 amp power supplies?

Yes, the XL/XEs can use any of the PS's 1 or 1.5A. Higher amperage supplies are recommended for computers that have 'extra goodies' installed in them.

 

What was the failure mode that could damage the computer?

"The Ingot" is the one that's a solid blob of epoxy, right? I tried to fix one once, never did get all the gunk off the parts.

I'm quoting B&Cs original text there, so you'd have to ask them for specifics. I believe the Ingot is a 'blob cast' type of assembly.

 

I don't really know what would fry an XL/XE, but one of mine failed and outputs 7+v correct polarity. I used it for my 600xl and it did not damage the system. Of course it had to be the most abundant version of the power supply that I see.

Personally speaking, my friend did have his 130XE blown when his 'Ingot' PS that he was using went to hell. I'm not sure what the exact damage was, as he scrapped it for parts at the time.

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My 800XL came with one that is different again. Brick with a slight taper from bottom to top.

 

Although, it isn't an Atari part, was bundled by the local distributor.

 

post-7804-1161391855_thumb.jpg

 

 

I picked up a UK 600xl recently and it came with a UK PS. It shows to output 5v at 3A. Slight overkill if you ask me.

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Someone asked how the power supply could fail. If for example the transformer shorts out (melts), that could send line voltage into your Atari. I suspect that would be bad news. :(

 

I was trying to ask about the specific failure mode that usually happens to "the Ingot", if there is one. I still think it's strange that mine put out 1.2 volts with backwards polarity, was trying to find out if that's common or not... not that I'm complaining, I got an 800XL for $2 because the owner thought it was dead (and after I found it worked with a different power supply, I offered it back to him for $2... he didn't take it back).

 

Hm, while I'm thinking about it... has anyone tried using a PC power supply (just the +5V rail) to run an XL/XE? It's a switching power supply, but can generally handle the current requirements. I don't know enough about them to know what kind of issues (if any) you might run into using a switching supply to run equipment not designed for one. All I really know about them is that you can't test the voltage without putting a load on them... but I don't really know why.

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I can verify that the ingot PS can cause catastrophic damage to the motherboard of the computer. I recently had an ingot plugged into my favorite 320K 130XE. The PS went bad, and fried my computer. I gave it to a member of this forum in exchange for him upgrading my replacement motherboard to 320K. He said that all of the memory was fried on my old board. He hasn't had a chance to check any of the other chips out yet, but obviously, ALOT of damage was done to my board from that crappy PS. I threw that ingot in the garbage along with another one that I still have, and ordered 2 of the black brick units from Best Electronics. I hope that nobody else has this problem. As a side note, I accidentally plugged that bad Ingot PS into my 800XL, and the XL survived completely intact. I truly hope that nobody else has the same problem because I hate to see any atari equipment ruined in this manner. Beware of the ingot Power Supplies.

 

Bradd

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Is there anyone in addition to me that is using a SWITCHING PS for their Atari? -Larry

 

Hello! Are you using a PC type PS? Do you use it for just the CPU or the CPU.drives,

and everything?

 

Seems like it would be very possible. I got the idea from this text file:

 

 

12volt_8bit.zip

 

I have been using an old AT PS to power two Indus GT drives for quite a while.

 

Atati Forever!

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Is there anyone in addition to me that is using a SWITCHING PS for their Atari? -Larry

 

Hello! Are you using a PC type PS? Do you use it for just the CPU or the CPU.drives,

and everything? (snip)

 

 

Hi Ed-

At the "current" time, I only use one for my CPU and another for an XF-551-type drive. I use a well-regulated, 5 VDC, 4-amp "table-top" type for the CPU and a small, well-regulated, 5 VDC, 2.5-amp "wall wart" for the drive. I've thought about further consolidating the supplies by using a PC-style, but have never done it. The only real issue I've run into is that some of these small PS's put out what I consider too-high voltages, so I'm very selective. I've had no power-related issues with my system(s). Having 4 amps is quite nice -- I run an external hard drive system directly via a short wire from my XE. I've also found that by using the small individual PS's, it avoids the "minimum load" requirements of the PC-types.

-Larry

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Hi Ed-

At the "current" time, I only use one for my CPU and another for an XF-551-type drive. I use a well-regulated, 5 VDC, 4-amp "table-top" type for the CPU and a small, well-regulated, 5 VDC, 2.5-amp "wall wart" for the drive. I've thought about further consolidating the supplies by using a PC-style, but have never done it. The only real issue I've run into is that some of these small PS's put out what I consider too-high voltages, so I'm very selective. I've had no power-related issues with my system(s). Having 4 amps is quite nice -- I run an external hard drive system directly via a short wire from my XE. I've also found that by using the small individual PS's, it avoids the "minimum load" requirements of the PC-types.

-Larry

 

As I understand it,the problem with PC powersupplies (and all switching type ps) is the load is required to develope proper voltage,

 

I am pretty sure that if one uses a PC p.s. ,turning on the floppy drives first and then the

CPU should be safe.

 

Haven't had the nerve to try it yet. :ponder:

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