Game power usage - detailed breakdowns

DarrenF

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I know there's already a thread with the current draw in amps, or power usage in Watts for many games. However, I was curious how that total power usage broke down with the major components. So I had some time this evening to play with the clamp meter...

Here are results for a couple of my games, broken down by major sub-system. Typically, I'd make these measurements by using my clamp meter to get the "typical" steady-state current draw (in attract mode), then repeat the measurement with certain components unplugged and do the subtraction to determine the effect of that system on the total draw. In cases where sub-systems ran on 120VAC and the lines were easy to access, I'd measure them directly (i.e. monitor or marquee lighting).

Battle Zone (Atari)
------------------
total (typ): 1.6A
marquee & blacklight (together): 0.55A
monitor: 0.3A
game boards (both main and aux): 0.5A

Dig Dug (Atari)
--------------
total (typ): 1.3A
marquee: 0.25A
monitor (VisionPro): 0.3A
game board: 0.5A

Data East JAMMA cabinet with ArcadeSD board
-------------------------
total (typ) 0.5A
[didn't do the breakdown yet]
 
Last time I ran a Kill a Watt on my games a couple years ago, I found that my Paperboy drew the most power at around 3-something amps. It was pretty surprising.
 
I know there's already a thread with the current draw in amps, or power usage in Watts for many games. However, I was curious how that total power usage broke down with the major components. So I had some time this evening to play with the clamp meter...

Here are results for a couple of my games, broken down by major sub-system. Typically, I'd make these measurements by using my clamp meter to get the "typical" steady-state current draw (in attract mode), then repeat the measurement with certain components unplugged and do the subtraction to determine the effect of that system on the total draw. In cases where sub-systems ran on 120VAC and the lines were easy to access, I'd measure them directly (i.e. monitor or marquee lighting).

Battle Zone (Atari)
------------------
total (typ): 1.6A
marquee & blacklight (together): 0.55A
monitor: 0.3A
game boards (both main and aux): 0.5A

Dig Dug (Atari)
--------------
total (typ): 1.3A
marquee: 0.25A
monitor (VisionPro): 0.3A
game board: 0.5A

Data East JAMMA cabinet with ArcadeSD board
-------------------------
total (typ) 0.5A
[didn't do the breakdown yet]

Wow, that's crazy that BZ's marquee and black light uses more power than any other part of the game.
 
What watt bulbs are you using?

The formula is A=W/V
LOL... I was looking at that "formula" thinking WTF is that formula for??? I think the proper formula would be I=P/V (until some old guy comes in here and says it should be I=P/E :p ).

DogP
 
Maybe I am just not good with math... but doesn't .55A + .3A + .5A come to 1.35a? Where is the other .25a being used? Coin door?
 
A typical 18" white or blacklight bulb in an arcade game should only be using 15 watts, plus a little wasted on the ballast. 15 watts = .125A @ 120volts. Therefore 2 of them measuring .55A (66 watts) seems awfully high to me.

As far as where the other "amps" are at --
Any incandescent lighting on the coin door (assume 2, .250A 12V lamps = .5A@12V or .05A@120V (6 watts))

ARII boards (horribly lossy linear 5V regulator and sound amp) will eat up power

Main power transformer will also lose some power to heat since it's a linear low frequency transformer, not a switch mode power supply.

The better way to test this game may be to simply use a KillAWatt meter and disconect stuff and reconnect one by one. You may get a better reading than using a clamp meter?


As far as the ArcadeSD board, Clay has already mentioned that the *maximum* power draw the board itself can ever have is 400mA @ 5V (2 watts) at full volume driving a low ohm speaker. That equates to .017 amp @ 120V draw, plus whatever you lose in the power supply. (I have switched to using cell phone charger wall warts as you only need a +5 feed, run cooler than a PeterChou and less wasted to the non-used rails) So in an ArcadeSD setup, it's 99%+ towards the monitor, marquee and power supply itself for draw.
 
I just go to the thrift stores and hunt through the bins of used wall warts. Look only at the ones that are very light weight--not the old heavy ones. The old ones just have a small transformer and a single diode to provide half-wave rectification. They would be bad to use as power to any sensitive electronics as when input power varies so does output power.

The newer "cell phone" chargers weigh almost nothing and include basically what your computer power supply has it in: A small switch-mode power supply, which includes a tiny high frequency transformer, at least 2 transistors to provide the frequency pulsing voltage regulation and filter capacitors and other key components to provide a much better regulated signal output that doesn't vary with voltage, just frequency.

I look for the largest ones possible. Most are 750-850mA, but sometimes you can find 1A and from old external computer hard drives sometimes you can find 2A or even 3A units. I avoid the 500mA ones since you can pretty easily find ones with more headroom for other uses.

Here's examples of them, and what they have inside:
 

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I look for the largest ones possible. Most are 750-850mA, but sometimes you can find 1A and from old external computer hard drives sometimes you can find 2A or even 3A units. I avoid the 500mA ones since you can pretty easily find ones with more headroom for other uses.
Yeah, I usually snag these from old wireless routers and stuff... I've gotten a lot of nice 5V 2.5A switchers that way.

DogP
 
I just go to the thrift stores and hunt through the bins of used wall warts. Look only at the ones that are very light weight--not the old heavy ones. The old ones just have a small transformer and a single diode to provide half-wave rectification. They would be bad to use as power to any sensitive electronics as when input power varies so does output power.

The newer "cell phone" chargers weigh almost nothing and include basically what your computer power supply has it in: A small switch-mode power supply, which includes a tiny high frequency transformer, at least 2 transistors to provide the frequency pulsing voltage regulation and filter capacitors and other key components to provide a much better regulated signal output that doesn't vary with voltage, just frequency.

I look for the largest ones possible. Most are 750-850mA, but sometimes you can find 1A and from old external computer hard drives sometimes you can find 2A or even 3A units. I avoid the 500mA ones since you can pretty easily find ones with more headroom for other uses.

Here's examples of them, and what they have inside:

Can all the new tiny 5V only jamma boards run off those things?
 
Maybe I am just not good with math... but doesn't .55A + .3A + .5A come to 1.35a? Where is the other .25a being used? Coin door?

As Pac-Fan pointed out, mostly the inefficiency of the power supply. I did one measurement with only the PS powered, nothing else, but I didn't write down the current. IIRC it was in the 0.4-0.5A range. These old linear power supplies are NOT efficient.

A typical 18" white or blacklight bulb in an arcade game should only be using 15 watts, plus a little wasted on the ballast. 15 watts = .125A @ 120volts. Therefore 2 of them measuring .55A (66 watts) seems awfully high to me.

The better way to test this game may be to simply use a KillAWatt meter and disconect stuff and reconnect one by one. You may get a better reading than using a clamp meter?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's 2x 15W bulbs. But these are old magnetic, 60Hz, ballasts, so not as efficient as more modern electronic (high frequency) ballasts. In any case, I agree that it sounds high. I'm pretty sure I made that estimation using the "subtraction method", so I might not have compared apples to apples. I'll re-do it with everything but it disconnected. Everything but the monitor is pretty level as far as current draw; the vector monitor seems to change quite a bit (0.2A or so) depending on what's being drawn on the screen. So if I compared one phase of attract mode to another, it might have skewed the numbers.

I don't have a KillAWatt meter, but I do have a clamp meter... so there's that :)
 
Can all the new tiny 5V only jamma boards run off those things?

I would suspect all of them. In fact, get a pair of them (a +5V and a +12V one) and wire the grounds together, and then use them to power a 60-in-1; as it needs +12V for the sound amp only. IIRC, the 60-in-1 uses well less than an amp on the +5V line, never metered the +12V. I have one I just use to test wiring before I toss an expensive ArcadeSD in and it has always booted with the 800mA or so range ones.

To test to be sure: Just connect an amp meter (even a crappy $2 HarborFreight one) between the +5 and the edge connector and meter to be sure on an unknown board; using a power supply that is more than beefy enough. Then scale down appropriately leaving a bit of headroom once you switch to the cell phone ones. If you want extra protection, just pop in a fuse on the +5V line that is at or below the rating of the power supply. Course finding < 1A fuses, cheap, is gonna be harder than finding the cheap supply.
 
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