WTB Atari power brick stickers (or entire power block)

[TheYeti]

I know a couple individuals like @etienneodk and @ThisOldGame did a run of these at some point but I don't think they have any for sale any longer. Anyone have some I could buy for my power block restore?

Hell, I might be interested in buying a full power block if you are selling one. (Mice chewed through multiple wires on mine and I'm on the fence right now if it is worth the trouble restoring vs just buying another in good working shape)

 

[etienneodk]

I have some leftovers
Shoot me a PM

 

[andrewb]

If you peel that one off, let us know if there are amp values under the sticker.

Some bricks have them stamped into the frame. Others have the stickers. I think they might have changed the fuse rating for one or more of the fuses, and maybe that's why they made the sticker. But ultimately you don't really need it. The values are all in the schematics.

Just get that frame powdercoated, or give it a good coat of some fun color, and rebuild yours.

 

[ELutz]

If you peel that one off, let us know if there are amp values under the sticker.

Some bricks have them stamped into the frame. Others have the stickers. I think they might have changed the fuse rating for one or more of the fuses, and maybe that's why they made the sticker. But ultimately you don't really need it. The values are all in the schematics.

Just get that frame powdercoated, or give it a good coat of some fun color, and rebuild yours.

I know Atari sent out a service bulletin on Pole Position to "upgrade" F3 to a 25 amp fuse.
I'm also curious why some Atari bricks include the F2 fuse while some (like the OPs) do not.

 

[TheYeti]

If you peel that one off, let us know if there are amp values under the sticker.

Some bricks have them stamped into the frame. Others have the stickers. I think they might have changed the fuse rating for one or more of the fuses, and maybe that's why they made the sticker. But ultimately you don't really need it. The values are all in the schematics.

Just get that frame powdercoated, or give it a good coat of some fun color, and rebuild yours.

@andrewb I removed my label that was already peeling. Here is what was under it.

Also, this is from my Asteroids Deluxe. I assume not all Atari power bricks are interchangeable?

 

[andrewb]

Yeah, that's what I expected.

All Atari color raster bricks are exchangeable with each other (except Warlords and Missile Command cabaret, as those use 100V monitors, and have a slightly different brick, with a different main pinout. You technically can use them with 120V monitors, you just need to deal with the pinout, as those bricks output 100 and 120V).

Atari color raster bricks are interchangeable with b/w vector bricks. They're basically the same thing. They all have two 60V AC outputs for the monitor power. However in raster games, the harness wires these two outputs in series, to make 120V for the monitor. B/W vector bricks wire them in parallel, to make 60V for the b/w vector monitors. So it's really just the harness that differs between the two cases. The brick itself is the same.

Color vector bricks are not interchangeable with any of the above (but are all interchangeable with each other), as they have 50V AC outputs for the monitors, and a different pinout.

 

[mgkastra]

I have a raster color block that I can send to Yeti that is said to work based on this site:

Elektron Forge Atari Transformer Application Guide

Anyone know of a simple guide of what to re-pin to make let's say a centipede power block work in an asteroids deluxe?

 

[mgkastra]

Atari color raster bricks are interchangeable with b/w vector bricks.

Sounds like it is wired the same, no changing anything on the power block to make a color raster block work in a BW game?

 

[andrewb]

Anyone know of a simple guide of what to re-pin to make let's say a centipede power block work in an asteroids deluxe?

In that case, you don't need to repin anything. It will be plug and play.

Basically the only thing you can't swap between is color vectors (with everything else).

If the brick lets you plug into it, it will work. The pinouts prevent the wrong bricks from being used.

 

[andrewb]

I know Atari sent out a service bulletin on Pole Position to "upgrade" F3 to a 25 amp fuse.
I'm also curious why some Atari bricks include the F2 fuse while some (like the OPs) do not.

The extra F2 fuse was added after the rectifier and big blue, to the 10.3V leg that goes to the AR, to give it some extra safety and isolation.

On the bricks without the F2 fuse, there is only one fuse (F3) for the 10.3, which is before the rectifier and big blue. However the 10.3 is used for multiple things in the cab. One is powering the AR (and then the game board). However it's also used to power the coin door counters and lockout coils. Those are high-current, which is probably why the fuse was value was upgraded, as 7A likely wasn't enough initially, and maybe they were having high failures in the field (as a repeated high-current burst will wear out a lower-rated fuse over time). That also explains why there was a service bulletin about it, as Pole Position was pretty popular, and my guess is they were probably seeing more fuse failures than normal.

Having a separate fuse on the AR/game board link also better isolates that section, which makes troubleshooting easier. And it also gives a slight safety improvement if F3 was also upgraded to 20A at the same time, because if there is a fault on the game board, it will take out that 4A F2 fuse faster, instead of requiring the 20A F3 fuse to blow.

So basically the bricks with the F2 fuse are just a slightly modified version of the ones without it. However for home use they'll all be fine.

 

[TheYeti]

So basically the bricks with the F2 fuse are just a slightly modified version of the ones without it. However for home use they'll all be fine.

So because I like to have things explained to me like I'm 5 years old...

My current AD power brick does not have an F2 fuse. But the one I'm looking to buy from mgkastra DOES have and F2.

That's not going to be a problem for my AD, correct?

 

[andrewb]

So because I like to have things explained to me like I'm 5 years old...

My current AD power brick does not have an F2 fuse. But the one I'm looking to buy from mgkastra DOES have and F2.

That's not going to be a problem for my AD, correct?

Correct, it won't be a problem. It's technically a little bit better to have the extra fuse, but won't make any difference.

 

[TheYeti]

Correct, it won't be a problem. It's technically a little bit better to have the extra fuse, but won't make any difference.

Perfect! Thanks a TON for all the great explanation in this thread. Really appreciated.

Also, I still plan on restoring my current power brick at some point. It's just going to take a while because the mice really did a number on these wires under the brick.

Last question for now...

What gauge wire did Atari use on these power bricks? It looks like 16AWG but I cant tell for sure.

 

[andrewb]

Perfect! Thanks a TON for all the great explanation in this thread. Really appreciated.

Also, I still plan on restoring my current power brick at some point. It's just going to take a while because the mice really did a number on these wires under the brick.

Last question for now...

What gauge wire did Atari use on these power bricks? It looks like 16AWG but I cant tell for sure.

I actually don't know that one. I just have some heavy silicone wire that I use for most repairs. I think it's 20 AWG (maybe?), but just match the thickness of the copper, not the insulation, and you'll be fine.

Wiring can all be fixed. Not worth tossing a good brick for, IMO.

 

[TheYeti]

I feel like a idiot....

When in doubt, just look at the damn wire label. LOL

It's 18AWG