Power Supplies

famicom

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Is there such thing as a universal power supply or do you have to have a specific (more or less) for every game?
 
They're all pretty universal. There were *original* supplies for every game - but power is power, and a standard screw-terminal switcher works for most games. It's just a metal rectangle with a row of screw terminals on one side - a pair for AC input, an AC ground, and outputs for +5, +12, and -5.

You can also hack in an old computer power supply.

Note that some games have funny power requirements and thus need something more than just a standard supply. MCR games come to mind (Tron, Spy Hunter, etc). They had their backup battery on the power supply board, so wiring in a switchmode supply is a bit different.

-Ian
 
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Awesome, I was hoping that this would be the case.

Can you recommend any particular model that is reliable and priced right?
 
I know Bob carries some for $25 each - I think they're the Happ PowerPro supplies. The old Peter Chou power supplies were pretty good, I haven't seen those for sale new lately. I think MtZRcade was selling used switchers for $15 in the FS section here.

What game do you need it for?

-Ian
 
I haven't exactly decided yet. It is more background research for that Atari vector project I was asking about on the monitor board.

Tempest is probably my first choice, though, if I can get a fully working PCB and RAM Controls gets the repro spinners finished.
 
OK, now Tempest really is one of those games that needs it's original power supply. It needs 22v to the edge connector, as well as the 10.3v unregulated from the power block. Furthermore, you NEED the power block to power the monitor anyway, so using the AR-II isn't that much of a stretch.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if there is a way to run Tempest off a switcher, but I've never done it (or bothered...). The AR-II supplies are pretty reliable.

AR-II's are plentiful and not expensive. Just be sure you get one that's compatible with Tempest. That would be the -02 version.

Atari games have the audio amplifier in the power supply (I should have mentioned that earlier... heh.) So, if you do run the board off a switcher, you need an audio amplifier too.

-Ian
 
Also, if you're going for that multi-vector setup, the AR-II (-02) version is probably your best bet, since it provides all the voltages. Other versions are the same thing, just producing less voltages. IIRC Tempest only uses the 22v for the EAROM (high score save).

I've used switchers with Atari games before, and just used another audio amp, like one from a small pair of cheap computer speakers. It works, and it's an option if you want - I just need to look at the Tempest schematics and see if you can get away with not supplying 22v and if it'll take 12v on the unreg DC line.

The AR-II supplies were, IMHO, one of the better linear power supplies used in arcade games. I've seen them still running, powering conversions many times, where someone converted a Centipede or a Kangaroo, and left the AR-II in there, and wired it up to power the Jamma or Konami board that was stuffed in there.

-Ian
 
Ok so it gets a bit more complicated. At least I know what to go with if I do end up going with Tempest.

When you originally said that most games don't need a specific power supply, you mean most raster cabs with standard size monitors / not a lot of extra lights / strange controllers etc?

I just wonder because I am trying to accumulate a general level of a knowledge overall. I don't really have a specific goal in mind at this point, other than I will own an arcade game at some point and the first one probably will be put together rather than bought as a dedicated cab that doesn't need work. ($$$ / space related)
 
Ok so it gets a bit more complicated.

When you originally said that most games don't need a specific power supply, you mean most raster cabs with standard size monitors / not a lot of extra lights / strange controllers etc?

Yeah... sorry. Had my mind in the wrong era...

*Most* games can be rigged to run off a switcher easily. And everything since about 1986 used the same power setup. With earlier games, MOST things can be made to use a switcher with little difficulty.

Atari games have just a bit more difficulty :)

If you substitute the Atari supply, you need an audio amp. I've done this before on things like Kangaroo. Works fine, not too hard. And with the wide majority of color raster games, you can rig up standard parts to power the whole game. Or, in some Atari games, like Pole Position, it's advantageous to hack the AR-II to only be an audio amplifier (easy), and power the whole game off a nice hefty switcher.

But with vector games, you absolutely need that power block at the bottom of the cabinet for the monitor - it does not run off a standard isolation transformer, you must have a power block from a color vector game to feed the power to the monitor. So, you already need one half of the original power supply as it is.

As for running Tempest off a switcher... I'm pretty sure that it can be done. I've just never done it... I'm looking at the schematics now.

-Ian
 
you're the man...thanks for all the info

My next step is to build a small kit of tools and get ahold of that WG6100 monitor
 
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