Commodore 64 Power Supply

[Jim Brain]

Golan Klinger wrote:
> Seth Morabito wrote:
>
>   
>> The trick with the C64 is that it
>> requires both 9V AC and +5V DC.  (I've considered frankensteining
>> together 9V AC and +5V DC wall-wart adapters onto the same DIN-7
>> cable, but it just feels so very very wrong).
>>     
>
> Like this:
>
> <http://c64.digitalscream.com/Slappy/slappys-power-supply.JPG>
>
> The power supply in that photo caused quite a stir in the C= community
> earlier this year. You can read more about the sordid affair here:
>
> <http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys.cbm/browse_thread/thread/b34f9bdb9522b96b/ad2abef064030e2a>
>
> The consensus was that going the wall-wart route isn't wise.
>
>   
As one of the electrical engineers that commented on the issues with 
that "supply", I want to point out that the idea isn't so horrid.  Wall 
warts, if you can find suitably rated ones, can rise to the challenge.  
My main issue was that:

I didn;t think the warts were suitably powered for the load.  It's 
impossible to tell from the pics, but the failure of the unit seems to 
vindicate me.
I mentioned  wall-warts were only UL rated if they are used outside an 
enclosure.  Putting them in a box made me cringe.
Selling a unit built in this way without disclosing the implementation 
was inexcusable, in my opinion. 

But, if you're trying to preserve your machine, this would probably not 
be my first choice.  I just wanted to point out that you might see me 
use wallwarts at some point in this fashion, but I doubt I'd sell such a 
unit, and I know I'd not mount in a box.

Jim

-- 
Jim Brain, Brain Innovations                                      (X)
brain at jbrain.com 
Dabbling in WWW, Embedded Systems, Old CBM computers, and Good Times! 
Home: http://www.jbrain.com